Disclaimer- Dark Angel does not belong to me...
A/N- Thank god the West Test is over... Anyways there's only a few more chapters after this one if my outline correct... but yea... This chapter is going to have quite a bit of flashbacks. (~)= the beginning of a new one and the ending of one. Understand? Good.
Chapter 24 Remembering the Past
"Sam."
Adam began to get a far away look in his eyes as he stared at her. Something in his memory nagging at him as he stared at her. Kellie looked at him and waved her hand in front of his face.
"Adam, come on baby don't do this again." Kellie said and sighed in relief as she saw Adam focus his attention on her.
"That name." He mumbled.
"What's up with the name Adam?" Kellie asked.
Adam looked at her for a moment for shaking his head. "I don't know... But something... I can't remember." He told her and ran a hand through his blonde hair.
Kellie looked at him sympathetically and touched his cheek. "It will come back." She reassured him. "I promise." She kissed him lightly on the lips before turning back. "and until then we'll just keep trying." Adam nodded his head and turned his attention back to the TV, aware of Kellie's concerned stare.
(A couple of hours later)
Kellie and Adam sat on the couch talking and laughing with each other while watching TV. Kellie giggled as Adam started to tickle her. She swatted Adam away while surrendering. Adam grinned victoriously and kissed her. Kellie giggled again and sighed before leaning into his side and turning back to the TV.
"Oh the terminator's on." Kellie exclaimed.
"The Terminator?" Adam asked.
Kellie rolled her eyes playfully. "Pre-Pulse movie... honestly haven't you ever watched TV?" She asked.
"Of course... just never the Terminator." He told her. Kellie rolled her eyes. "Well shut up its on the best part... the end." She said and turned her attention back to the TV.
As Adam watched the Terminator something nagged at the back of his mind. He didn't know what... there was a block there holding him back from whatever it was that was nagging at him. The metal on the side of his face, his red eye... it all seemed so familiar to him. Adam slowly started to loose touch with reality, forgetting about the young woman snuggled against his side, or the light rain that had started to fall, his attention was focused on the red eye... Adam was pulled out of his little reverie when Kellie's phone rang. He watched as Kellie left his side, taking her warmth with her.
"Hello?" She asked. Adam raised an eyebrow when he saw her frown, and toss the phone to him. "It's for you." She said simple and sat back down on the couch as she ran an hand through her loose curls.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Adam." He heard his boss, Buddy say.
He frowned. He was still sour with him and didn't feel like talking to him. Now he knew why Kellie had been frowning. "What do you want Buddy?" He asked, a cold edge to his words.
He heard Buddy sigh on the other end. "Could you come by the ranch, some people are here to talk to you." He told him.
Adam looked confused. Who would want to come by and talk to him. "Who are they and why do they want to talk?" He asked. Kellie raised her eyebrows at that and he shrugged.
"Adam I can't explain it over the phone, but you should come... by yourself." He told him. Adam didn't reply, he just stared at Kellie, who's dark sapphire orbs were looking at him in confusion. "Adam?"
Adam ran a hand through his blonde hair in frustration. "Why should I?" He asked.
He heard Buddy sigh. "Adam I think you'll find what they have to say is important to you... it has to do with your past." He told him.
Adam looked at Kellie, who had her eyebrow raised in question. "I'll be there." He told him after a couple moments of silence.
"Adam come alone." Buddy added before Adam hung the phone up.
"What is it?" Kellie asked.
Adam stood up and looked at her. "I have to go to Buddy's. Some people are there that want to talk with me... he says they know something about my past." He told her. Kellie just stared at her, her face impassive making it hard for Adam to see what she was feeling or thinking. "He said I had to go alone."
Kellie nodded slowly as she got up and walked toward him. "Then you should go... but you'll come back right?" She asked, uncertainty in her voice.
Adam studied her face before kissing her. "You know I will." He reassured him.
She smiled at him. "See ya when you get back... maybe you'll finely get all the answers to your questions."
"Maybe." Adam said as he walked out the door kissing Kellie on the way out. "See you when I get back." He told her and she nodded as she watched him walk down the hall. She closed the door after a few moments and walked to her bedroom.
(Buddy's place)
"He's here." Buddy said to the group of X5's sitting around the room. "I'll go get him." He told them and left the room.
They looked up at him as he left and then looked around at each other, slightly nervous about the conversation to come. They didn't know how Zack would react to what they was about to tell him, what he would after they told him. Jondy sat on the arm of the car and chewed at her fingernails, waiting for Zack to show up, a nervous habit she was unable to break.
Zane put a hand on her hand and squeezed it. He gave her a reassuring smile and held her hand. Jondy felt a ease as Zane held her hand, she stopped chewing on her nails and leant back against Zane watching the door for when Zack would come in. She briefly glanced at Max who looked a bit pale and she raised an eyebrow before looking at her last two siblings. Krit had and arm wrapped around Syl as they talked to one another about god knows what.
"What if he hates me?" Max asked Jondy, whom she was the nearest too.
Jondy snorted. "Like he could ever hate you." She teased. "Max don't worry, Zack won't hate you... he couldn't even if he tried. Sure he could be royally pissed off at you, but he could never in his entire life hate you." She told her truthfully.
Max sighed. "Thanks... I think." She said and Jondy shrugged. Suddenly all eyes went to the door as it slowly started to open. Jondy gripped Zane's hand and felt him grip her hand back, just as Zack entered the room, looking quite shocked to see them of all people there.
Zack looked at the people in front of him confused. 'It was them. Why didn't they tell me.' He thought a bit angry that they had practically lied to him from the start. "Who are you, seriously?" Was the first words that left Zack's mouth.
They all looked around at each other. "Maybe you should sit down first." Syl was the first one to speak up. He looked at her, but sat down, his body tense and his eyes impassive.
"Sitting, now who are you and what do you know about me?" He asked.
Jondy bit her lip, unsure of how to tell him. "Ok this is going to be a lot to digest so-"
"Who the fuck are you already?" Zack asked losing patience.
They glanced around at each other surprised at how fast Zack had lost his patience. "We're family." Zane came right out and told him.
Zack stared at him for a moment, his face and eyes not giving off anything. "Family?" Zack asked slightly incredulously.
"Yes." Syl answered.
Zack looked at her now. "What's the relation between us then?" He asked unbelievingly.
"We're you younger siblings." Jondy told him.
Zack looked slightly surprised at this, as he looked around at all of them. His eyes rested on Max who wasn't looking at him, and then looked at Jondy. "All of you?" He asked skeptically.
Jondy nodded and wanted to grin. "Yup! And you have more also." Jondy says brightly.
Zack doesn't say anything to that. "So you're my siblings?" He asked them. "Why don't we look anything alike?"
They sat there dumbfounded at his question. They share a look with each other, knowing that now they would have to come out and tell him the plain out truth. "Ok it's a LONG story." Jondy said and they all nodded.
"I'm not going anywhere." Zack says, now interested with what these people had to say.
(A little while later)
"-And then we escaped from Manticore." Zane told him. Each one of them had trouble telling him about Manticore, never before having to retell the tell of their lives and childhood at Manticore. It was something they had never wanted to do, never dreamed of doing.
"All of us escaped?" Zack asked, finding their story a little hard to believe.
They looked away from Zack. "Not all of us... just twelve." Krit told him. "Were, including you, part of the twelve that escaped."
"What happened too the other eight then? Where are they?" He asked. "And they still alive?"
They looked around, not knowing what to say to that question. "We don't know... you spilt us up so it would be harder for Lydecker and his men to find us." Jondy told him. "But I saw Ben once, a few years back... he seemed ok for the most part. And I also so Tinga, she seemed really happy."
Max froze at the name of her brother and sister. 'They still don't know about Ben or Tinga... or Brin I bet.' She thought. "No... Two of the other eight are dead." She spoke up quietly. "And one was taken to Manticore... I don't know what happened to her."
All eyes flew to her. Jondy, Zane, Syl, and Krit look at Max shocked and confused, while Zack didn't know how to take it. "What?" Syl asked.
"That can't be." Krit protested, while Zane and Jondy stared at Max in disbelief.
Max looked at her siblings sadly. "It is."
"Which ones?" Jondy asked.
Max looked at her sister and then at Zack and then at her hands. "Ben and Tinga are dead... while Brin was... she was taken back."
A tear escaped Jondy's eyes. "No... h-how?" Jondy asked. "Why didn't you tell us? How long ago?"
"Over a year and a half ago." She whispered.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Syl exclaimed. "You knew all this time and you didn't think to tell us that are sister and brother were dead, and that one of our sisters was taken back to Manticore?!"
"I'm sorry... I didn't know how to tell you... it was the right time..." Max said.
Syl stared at Max in disbelief, but couldn't bring her self to be mad a Max. "So I guess this is the right time... Everything coming out in the open..." Syl mumbled.
"How'd they die and why was Brin taken back?" Zack asked.
"Brin would've died if she wouldn't have gone back... she choose to go back." Max explained. "You was there... do you remember?" She asked Zack.
Zack shook his head no. It all seemed to familiar to him, but he didn't remember anything. Once again there was something blocking his way to remembering. He shook his head and looked at the others once again, who looked at if they were going to start question Max again.
"What happened after the escape?" Zack asked.
"We went our separate ways, and then you found us and checked in on us every now and then to make sure we were ok..." Jondy explained. "You made sure Manticore didn't get to us... you were our big brother Zack." Jondy said.
"Zack?" Zack asked. "My names Adam." He argued.
Jondy cursed herself for forgetting to tell him his name. 'Of all things to forget to tell him.' She scolded herself. "No its not. That's the name you were given... that's your alias." She explained. "Your name's Zack." She said with conviction. Zack shakes his head as he begins to zone out getting further and further away...
~ A young blonde haired teenage boy around the age of sixteen slips in the unlocked window of the two story house. He looks around, scanning his surroundings for anything that could mean danger. His sensitive hearing picks up footsteps and voices downstairs, yelling at someone. He hears the sound of flesh hitting flesh and more yelling and shouting. Anger boils up inside of him as he listens to more of the commotions down stairs.
"Go to your fucking room!" He hears a male voice shout. He suspects from his voice that the man is husky and large. He hears the footsteps of someone light scramble of the steps, eager to get away from the man down stairs. The teenager steps in the shadows by the door as it's thrown open and a small thirteen year old brunette stumbles in, with multiple bruises forming and already on her face and body. Small sobs come out of her body as her knees hit the floor and the tears run down her cheeks. The blonde watches her try and scrub them away fiercely, but the more she does the more she cries.
The blonde steps out of the shadows and steps toward her, bending soundlessly and touching her shoulder lightly. The thirteen year old spins around her blue eyes wide as she looks at him in shock and slight fear.
"W-who are you?" She asks him.
"Jondy its ok." He gentle whispers to her.
"Zack?" The thirteen year old asks before throwing her arms around him, holding on to him as if he was her lifeline.~
~ "Zack? God its good too see you again big brother." A dark haired, dark eyes boy tells Zack as he hugs him.
"Same to you two Krit." Zack tells his little brother when they part from their brotherly hug. Zack studies Krit for a moment or two. He had been on Krit's trail for the lat two weeks and had finally caught up to him.
"Are the others ok? Is Syl ok?" Krit asked him. Zack looked at him and-~
~Zack returns home late that night and walks toward his door. All his senses go off, as he gets nearer. Zack knows something isn't right as he slips inside soundlessly. Inside he sees a dark haired woman going through his things. He approaches her as she flips through his things; the newspaper with Max's barcode circled on it, pictures of Max meeting with Vogelsang, a Jam Pony flier, his bike, and his bottle of tryptophan. He quickly grabs her from behind and holds her tightly.
"Zack! It's me, Max!" She exclaims to him.
Zack lets her go and watches as she turns around to face him.
"You? You're Zack? Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, surprised that the man she thought was Sam was actually her brother. Then they hug, but separate as they hear-~
"Zack! Zack are you ok?" Syl calls out to him.
Zack blinks and starts to focus on the blonde calling his name. He stared at her for a second unsure of what to say or do. Different emotions course through his body, all concealed behind the mask he has put up. His head begins to hurt as he slips back into state of memories, his memories. He feels the emotion; the rage, the love, the happiness, protectiveness, hate, all of it as he remembers, his old life clashing with his present one.
He cradled his head in his hands as memory after memory, flashback after flashback flashed through his head. He didn't feel the person kneeling before him checking to see if he's ok. He didn't here his name being called by those that love him. All he sees, hears, and feels is his memories of is old life.
~A little girl with dark shaven hair and dark eyes sat on the end of her older brother 'bed', worry etched on her face. She hugged her knees to her chest and felt safe when her brother put a comforting arm around her.
"Jondy's going to be ok right, Zack?" She asked in a soft whisper.
Zack looked down at the little girl beside of him and gave her a small reassuring smile. "She'll be ok... Jondy's strong." He told her. The little girl nodded, but was still worried none the less.
"What if she isn't?" She asked.
"She will be." He told her with sincerity. "Now go to sleep Maxie."~
~Zack walked into the church, his eyes scanning the rows for the one person he was looking for. When he had checked for him at his house he had found no one and had come straight here. His assumption had been correct, because there standing in front of her was his little brother. Zack walked toward him and stopped when he was beside of him, standing in front the one thing his brother was obsessed with.
"Hello big brother." The teenager said.
"Ben." Zack said. Zack knew he was losing the little boy he once knew and he was being replaced by someone far from the Ben he grew up with. He had tried many times to get Ben to stop obsessing about his wonderful 'Blue Lady', but to no avail he had failed. "Come on we have to go."
"I don't want to go. I'm not in danger yet."
"Ben." Zack warned. He never had a problem with getting Ben to leave one city for another before, his sisters usually gave him the most trouble with that. Zack turned-~
"Zack." Jondy kneels on her knees in front of Zack, her siblings behind her, watching Zack closely.
"Zack can you hear us?" Syl asks from beside of Jondy.
"Zack are you ok?" Max asks a little behind Jondy.
After a couple of seconds past, Zack nods his head. "I..." He stops not knowing what to say.
"What Zack?" Syl questioned.
Zack looks up at his siblings, confusion written in his eyes slightly. "I remember some of it..." He trails off as he closes his eyes. More memories bombarding his mind, as he is pulled back into his silent reverie. Syl, Jondy, Zane, Max, and Krit exchange glances, slightly worried about their older brother.
~"Syl, Krit, what do you got?" Zack asks his siblings.
"Packs a punch, but I've only got 40 rounds." Krit answers.
"I'll track some more down. What about you, little sister?" He asks turning to Syl.
"Russian-made RGN-3s, fragmentation pattern explosion." She tells him. Syl tosses one of them over to Zack who catches it.
"Nice." He said. ~
~"With any luck, we'll be in and out before they even know we're there." Zack says.
"Say we can breach the perimeter and get inside the building. How are we going to get in the lab and lay the charges? This thing's a lockbox." Syl asked a little skeptical. She throws a map of Manticore toward Lydecker so he can look at it.
"And I've got to figure when they put out the hit on you, they probably yanked your clearance." Max says.
"Which is why I need to see a friend of mine before we go." Lydecker tells them.
"Like we're just gonna let you walk out of here and drop a dime on us?" Zack tells him, not trusting him in slightest.
"If you don't trust me—"Lydecker begins.
"That's a given." Krit says truthfully. ~
~"Hang on. There's something we need to know." Zack tells Lydecker.
"Who murdered our sister?" Krit asked.
"The new director. Name's Renfro. She's a real piece of work." Lydecker tell them a bit bitterly. ~
Zack looked at his siblings who looked at him worriedly. He tried to smile at them, but could. There were still so many things he needed to know. Zack swallowed hard and ran hand through his blonde hair.
"How did I get amnesias? How did I get here?" He asked them.
Max closed sighed. She knew she would have to answer that question sooner or later, she was hoping for the latter. "Logan-"
"Logan?"
~ Zack stood in the apartment at Foggle (sp?) Towers, while Logan checked his computer for information.
"Our friend Lydecker's a first-rate spook. Whatever operation he's got going here, he's covering it up pretty good." Logan told them.
"Did you look in the Yellow Pages under "black-helicopter operations"?" Zack asked sarcastically.
"Oh, another Manticore wit." Logan said.
"Okay, so we can't find his crew. Maybe we can find his crib, or where he hangs. Maybe he's part of a bowling league or something." Max suggested. ~
~"Good luck." Logan said.
"There's no such thing. Success depends on having a well-thought-out plan that's executed with precision." Zack tells him.
"Right." Logan said simply.
Zack gets out of Logan's car, carrying a backpack and walks away, as Logan turns the car around and waits for him to return. ~
~ Zack listens to the commotion around him, as he prays and wills for Max to be ok. He hears her heartbeat stop again, and sees the monitor flatline.
"What's her condition?" The head director, Renfro, asked.
"The bullet went clean through. Her right ventricle is collapsed. She's gone." The male doctor explained.
"Is there damage to any other organs?" Renfro asked him.
When the male doctor shakes his head no Renfro said, "Prep her for harvesting."
"No!" Zack yelled.
Zack wrenches free of the restraints that held him down and takes out a soldier who had been standing guard. He takes the soldier's gun and grabs Renfro as a hostage.
"Bring her back!" He commands the male doctor.
"Her heart's too badly damaged." He explained.
"Then transplant her." Zack orders.
"There's nothing in the donor bank." The male doctor tells Zack.
"Then you need a donor." Zack stated and points the gun at Renfro's head.
"It won't do her any good. She's an X5. She needs an X5 heart." Renfro explained.
Zack pushes Renfro away, pointing the gun at her and the staff so they won't intervene. He crouches next to Max.
"Fight them, Maxie. Promise me you'll fight them." He whispers to his dead sister.
Zack stands up and points the gun at his own head.
"X5-599, I've got a heart for you." He says determinedly. Zack pulls a trigger and his world fades to black, as he falls on top of Max. ~
"I died." Zack suddenly says.
"But Manticore brought you back and-" He never finished hearing what Max had to say as he was pulled back into another memory.
~"It was him, isn't it? How can you love him and not me? He betrayed us, Max!" Zack yells angrily.
"What are you talking about? Who?" Max asked confused.
"Logan!" He exclaims.
"He's been working against us the whole time! That's the reason the mission went wrong!" Zack exclaims.
"Just undo these handcuffs. We can talk about it." Max tries to reason.
"He's a traitor! Why don't you believe me?" Zack asked frustrated.
"You've got it all wrong! They did something to you back at Manticore!" Max tries to tell him.
"I'd die for you!" Zack yelled
"Zack..." Max almost pleas.
Zack holds up his hands. "He did this to me!" He starts tearing at his face. "He's the reason I look like this!" Zack yelled.
"Zack!" Max screams, hoping he will stop.
He keeps tearing ignoring Max's scream. The skin starts coming off from his face.
"Stop it!" Max yells at him.
Zack pulls away the rest of the skin. The metal plate is now visible, and the ocular implant shows a red light again instead of an iris.
"Now he's gonna pay for what he did...to both of us." He says with conviction and hate.
Zack turns and runs out. Zack continues running down the street, determined to get to Logan Cale. After running past buildings Zack finally reaches his target's building and starts to descend up. Zack drops through the skylight into Logan's apartment. Zack points his gun and starts walking around the apartment, looking for Logan to complete his objective. After finding no one in the apartment Zack walks out of the apartment and looks down toward the elevators, where he see Logan.
When he see the elevator start to descend, Zack runs to the elevator doors and pries them open. He sees the elevator below, and grabs the cable until the elevator comes to a stop. The elevator's floor indicator says P1. Zack quickly slides down the cable, closer to his objective now. When Zack reaches the elevator he punches through the elevator ceiling. When he sees Logan get the doors open and jump the remaining feet and run away, Zack jumps down into the elevator and starts running after him. He run's after him and shoots after him as Logan disappears behind the stairwell door. Zack misses, and hits nothing but glass. He goes through the door and runs downstairs after Logan
When Zack reaches the next level he sees Logan running, and shoots at him, but misses Logan. As Zack shoots, a man who had been washing his car nearby ducks then runs upstairs. He has dropped his bucket of soapy water and it has spilled onto the floor, which Zack blankly ignores. Zack starts to look around for Logan when he ducks behind a car. Zack walks around, still looking, and ready to shoot. The Aztek that belongs to Logan, lights start to flash and the alarm makes a small noise. It draws Zack's attention and he fires at the car. Zack stops shooting at the Aztek, then he sees Logan, and starts to fire at him. He watches as Logan go down, but seems ok. Zack approaches, his gun pointed at Logan.
"Traitor!" Zack screams, his hatred for the man coursing through his veins strongly.
Max suddenly zooms by on her motorcycle, knocking Zack down and knocking the gun out of his hands. The gun lands in a puddle of soapy water, a short distance in front of Logan. Max gets off her bike, swings on a pipe near the ceiling, and kicks Zack down with both feet. Zack jumps up ready to fight, and she grabs him by his jacket to try and stop him.
"Zack, don't do this!" Max short from pleas, hoping he will stop.
"Out of my way, Max!" Zack commands, disbelief that she would chose Logan over him, that person who had betrayed them.
They start to fight. Max and Zack exchange punches and kicks. Max throws Zack into the windshield of a nearby ca. Max immediately starts running toward Logan, but Zack jumps on top of her before she reaches him, picks her up, and throws her at a nearby pole. Zack picks up the gun and advances toward Logan ready to finish his objective. Unknown to Zack, Max detaches some wires from the electrical box and touches them to the soapy water on the ground. Zack, who is standing in the soapy water, gets shocked. Zack collapses in front of Logan soon as the wires leave the water. The red light in his ocular implant fades out, and all around him goes black. ~
All the pieces start to come together in Zack's head. He looks up at his siblings, hatred and betrayal burning clearly in his eyes. He stands up abruptly and crosses the room to the small mirror hanging on the wall. He looks at him self and then presses against one of his eyes hard. When he releases his eyes, everything's confirmed for Zack... Instead of his normal iris Zack red ocular implant is showing. He clenches his fist together in anger and turns to face his now shocked siblings.
"He did this to me... to us... He's going to pay." He said, bringing memories of the day he had tried to kill Logan back. He stared at Max long and hard, until he turns swiftly on his heel and slammed the door closed behind him. He quickly leaves the house and is already in the truck when his siblings fully comprehend what he's getting ready to do.
"Shit!" The exclaimed.
(On the road)
Zack speeded up on the road leading away from the ranch. He was driven by hate, anger, and betrayal. He couldn't believe Max had done that, he couldn't believe that she would choose a traitor like that over her own brother, he loved her more then anything. 'Now anything.' A voice reminded him.
"Kellie." When he reached the end of the road he swiftly turned and speeded down the road coming to a screeching halt and jumping out. He slammed the car door closed and ran up to Kellie's apartment and pounded on her door.
(Inside Kellie's apartment)
Kellie opened her eyes and looked at the clock on her bandstand. She had fallen asleep right after she had taken a shower fifteen minutes ago. Her brow furrowed as she heard a loud pounding coming from her front door. Kellie quickly got up and threw her robe around her slim body and walked to the door, slightly curious as to who could want in so badly. As the pounding continued, Kellie began to get fed up.
She reached her front door and grabbed the door handle and swung it open. "What the fu-" Her remark was lost as she stared at the person in front of her. Adam, her Adam was standing in front of. His eyes... One of his eyes was missing and... He looked so angry and filled with hate.
Kellie looked at her boyfriend in shock and slight fear. "A-Adam?" She asked.
"My names Zack."
Plz review!!!!!!!! Tell me what you think Plz!!!!!!! This didn't actually go as I had planned, but ya know those things happen... PLZ REVIEW!!!
Rose- Hope this chapter didn't royally suck... Thanks for the review once again!!! Glad you liked the whole Sam thing... well Plz review and tell me what ya think!!! Byebyes!!
ZombieGurl98
Always & Forever
A/N- Thank god the West Test is over... Anyways there's only a few more chapters after this one if my outline correct... but yea... This chapter is going to have quite a bit of flashbacks. (~)= the beginning of a new one and the ending of one. Understand? Good.
Chapter 24 Remembering the Past
"Sam."
Adam began to get a far away look in his eyes as he stared at her. Something in his memory nagging at him as he stared at her. Kellie looked at him and waved her hand in front of his face.
"Adam, come on baby don't do this again." Kellie said and sighed in relief as she saw Adam focus his attention on her.
"That name." He mumbled.
"What's up with the name Adam?" Kellie asked.
Adam looked at her for a moment for shaking his head. "I don't know... But something... I can't remember." He told her and ran a hand through his blonde hair.
Kellie looked at him sympathetically and touched his cheek. "It will come back." She reassured him. "I promise." She kissed him lightly on the lips before turning back. "and until then we'll just keep trying." Adam nodded his head and turned his attention back to the TV, aware of Kellie's concerned stare.
(A couple of hours later)
Kellie and Adam sat on the couch talking and laughing with each other while watching TV. Kellie giggled as Adam started to tickle her. She swatted Adam away while surrendering. Adam grinned victoriously and kissed her. Kellie giggled again and sighed before leaning into his side and turning back to the TV.
"Oh the terminator's on." Kellie exclaimed.
"The Terminator?" Adam asked.
Kellie rolled her eyes playfully. "Pre-Pulse movie... honestly haven't you ever watched TV?" She asked.
"Of course... just never the Terminator." He told her. Kellie rolled her eyes. "Well shut up its on the best part... the end." She said and turned her attention back to the TV.
As Adam watched the Terminator something nagged at the back of his mind. He didn't know what... there was a block there holding him back from whatever it was that was nagging at him. The metal on the side of his face, his red eye... it all seemed so familiar to him. Adam slowly started to loose touch with reality, forgetting about the young woman snuggled against his side, or the light rain that had started to fall, his attention was focused on the red eye... Adam was pulled out of his little reverie when Kellie's phone rang. He watched as Kellie left his side, taking her warmth with her.
"Hello?" She asked. Adam raised an eyebrow when he saw her frown, and toss the phone to him. "It's for you." She said simple and sat back down on the couch as she ran an hand through her loose curls.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Adam." He heard his boss, Buddy say.
He frowned. He was still sour with him and didn't feel like talking to him. Now he knew why Kellie had been frowning. "What do you want Buddy?" He asked, a cold edge to his words.
He heard Buddy sigh on the other end. "Could you come by the ranch, some people are here to talk to you." He told him.
Adam looked confused. Who would want to come by and talk to him. "Who are they and why do they want to talk?" He asked. Kellie raised her eyebrows at that and he shrugged.
"Adam I can't explain it over the phone, but you should come... by yourself." He told him. Adam didn't reply, he just stared at Kellie, who's dark sapphire orbs were looking at him in confusion. "Adam?"
Adam ran a hand through his blonde hair in frustration. "Why should I?" He asked.
He heard Buddy sigh. "Adam I think you'll find what they have to say is important to you... it has to do with your past." He told him.
Adam looked at Kellie, who had her eyebrow raised in question. "I'll be there." He told him after a couple moments of silence.
"Adam come alone." Buddy added before Adam hung the phone up.
"What is it?" Kellie asked.
Adam stood up and looked at her. "I have to go to Buddy's. Some people are there that want to talk with me... he says they know something about my past." He told her. Kellie just stared at her, her face impassive making it hard for Adam to see what she was feeling or thinking. "He said I had to go alone."
Kellie nodded slowly as she got up and walked toward him. "Then you should go... but you'll come back right?" She asked, uncertainty in her voice.
Adam studied her face before kissing her. "You know I will." He reassured him.
She smiled at him. "See ya when you get back... maybe you'll finely get all the answers to your questions."
"Maybe." Adam said as he walked out the door kissing Kellie on the way out. "See you when I get back." He told her and she nodded as she watched him walk down the hall. She closed the door after a few moments and walked to her bedroom.
(Buddy's place)
"He's here." Buddy said to the group of X5's sitting around the room. "I'll go get him." He told them and left the room.
They looked up at him as he left and then looked around at each other, slightly nervous about the conversation to come. They didn't know how Zack would react to what they was about to tell him, what he would after they told him. Jondy sat on the arm of the car and chewed at her fingernails, waiting for Zack to show up, a nervous habit she was unable to break.
Zane put a hand on her hand and squeezed it. He gave her a reassuring smile and held her hand. Jondy felt a ease as Zane held her hand, she stopped chewing on her nails and leant back against Zane watching the door for when Zack would come in. She briefly glanced at Max who looked a bit pale and she raised an eyebrow before looking at her last two siblings. Krit had and arm wrapped around Syl as they talked to one another about god knows what.
"What if he hates me?" Max asked Jondy, whom she was the nearest too.
Jondy snorted. "Like he could ever hate you." She teased. "Max don't worry, Zack won't hate you... he couldn't even if he tried. Sure he could be royally pissed off at you, but he could never in his entire life hate you." She told her truthfully.
Max sighed. "Thanks... I think." She said and Jondy shrugged. Suddenly all eyes went to the door as it slowly started to open. Jondy gripped Zane's hand and felt him grip her hand back, just as Zack entered the room, looking quite shocked to see them of all people there.
Zack looked at the people in front of him confused. 'It was them. Why didn't they tell me.' He thought a bit angry that they had practically lied to him from the start. "Who are you, seriously?" Was the first words that left Zack's mouth.
They all looked around at each other. "Maybe you should sit down first." Syl was the first one to speak up. He looked at her, but sat down, his body tense and his eyes impassive.
"Sitting, now who are you and what do you know about me?" He asked.
Jondy bit her lip, unsure of how to tell him. "Ok this is going to be a lot to digest so-"
"Who the fuck are you already?" Zack asked losing patience.
They glanced around at each other surprised at how fast Zack had lost his patience. "We're family." Zane came right out and told him.
Zack stared at him for a moment, his face and eyes not giving off anything. "Family?" Zack asked slightly incredulously.
"Yes." Syl answered.
Zack looked at her now. "What's the relation between us then?" He asked unbelievingly.
"We're you younger siblings." Jondy told him.
Zack looked slightly surprised at this, as he looked around at all of them. His eyes rested on Max who wasn't looking at him, and then looked at Jondy. "All of you?" He asked skeptically.
Jondy nodded and wanted to grin. "Yup! And you have more also." Jondy says brightly.
Zack doesn't say anything to that. "So you're my siblings?" He asked them. "Why don't we look anything alike?"
They sat there dumbfounded at his question. They share a look with each other, knowing that now they would have to come out and tell him the plain out truth. "Ok it's a LONG story." Jondy said and they all nodded.
"I'm not going anywhere." Zack says, now interested with what these people had to say.
(A little while later)
"-And then we escaped from Manticore." Zane told him. Each one of them had trouble telling him about Manticore, never before having to retell the tell of their lives and childhood at Manticore. It was something they had never wanted to do, never dreamed of doing.
"All of us escaped?" Zack asked, finding their story a little hard to believe.
They looked away from Zack. "Not all of us... just twelve." Krit told him. "Were, including you, part of the twelve that escaped."
"What happened too the other eight then? Where are they?" He asked. "And they still alive?"
They looked around, not knowing what to say to that question. "We don't know... you spilt us up so it would be harder for Lydecker and his men to find us." Jondy told him. "But I saw Ben once, a few years back... he seemed ok for the most part. And I also so Tinga, she seemed really happy."
Max froze at the name of her brother and sister. 'They still don't know about Ben or Tinga... or Brin I bet.' She thought. "No... Two of the other eight are dead." She spoke up quietly. "And one was taken to Manticore... I don't know what happened to her."
All eyes flew to her. Jondy, Zane, Syl, and Krit look at Max shocked and confused, while Zack didn't know how to take it. "What?" Syl asked.
"That can't be." Krit protested, while Zane and Jondy stared at Max in disbelief.
Max looked at her siblings sadly. "It is."
"Which ones?" Jondy asked.
Max looked at her sister and then at Zack and then at her hands. "Ben and Tinga are dead... while Brin was... she was taken back."
A tear escaped Jondy's eyes. "No... h-how?" Jondy asked. "Why didn't you tell us? How long ago?"
"Over a year and a half ago." She whispered.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Syl exclaimed. "You knew all this time and you didn't think to tell us that are sister and brother were dead, and that one of our sisters was taken back to Manticore?!"
"I'm sorry... I didn't know how to tell you... it was the right time..." Max said.
Syl stared at Max in disbelief, but couldn't bring her self to be mad a Max. "So I guess this is the right time... Everything coming out in the open..." Syl mumbled.
"How'd they die and why was Brin taken back?" Zack asked.
"Brin would've died if she wouldn't have gone back... she choose to go back." Max explained. "You was there... do you remember?" She asked Zack.
Zack shook his head no. It all seemed to familiar to him, but he didn't remember anything. Once again there was something blocking his way to remembering. He shook his head and looked at the others once again, who looked at if they were going to start question Max again.
"What happened after the escape?" Zack asked.
"We went our separate ways, and then you found us and checked in on us every now and then to make sure we were ok..." Jondy explained. "You made sure Manticore didn't get to us... you were our big brother Zack." Jondy said.
"Zack?" Zack asked. "My names Adam." He argued.
Jondy cursed herself for forgetting to tell him his name. 'Of all things to forget to tell him.' She scolded herself. "No its not. That's the name you were given... that's your alias." She explained. "Your name's Zack." She said with conviction. Zack shakes his head as he begins to zone out getting further and further away...
~ A young blonde haired teenage boy around the age of sixteen slips in the unlocked window of the two story house. He looks around, scanning his surroundings for anything that could mean danger. His sensitive hearing picks up footsteps and voices downstairs, yelling at someone. He hears the sound of flesh hitting flesh and more yelling and shouting. Anger boils up inside of him as he listens to more of the commotions down stairs.
"Go to your fucking room!" He hears a male voice shout. He suspects from his voice that the man is husky and large. He hears the footsteps of someone light scramble of the steps, eager to get away from the man down stairs. The teenager steps in the shadows by the door as it's thrown open and a small thirteen year old brunette stumbles in, with multiple bruises forming and already on her face and body. Small sobs come out of her body as her knees hit the floor and the tears run down her cheeks. The blonde watches her try and scrub them away fiercely, but the more she does the more she cries.
The blonde steps out of the shadows and steps toward her, bending soundlessly and touching her shoulder lightly. The thirteen year old spins around her blue eyes wide as she looks at him in shock and slight fear.
"W-who are you?" She asks him.
"Jondy its ok." He gentle whispers to her.
"Zack?" The thirteen year old asks before throwing her arms around him, holding on to him as if he was her lifeline.~
~ "Zack? God its good too see you again big brother." A dark haired, dark eyes boy tells Zack as he hugs him.
"Same to you two Krit." Zack tells his little brother when they part from their brotherly hug. Zack studies Krit for a moment or two. He had been on Krit's trail for the lat two weeks and had finally caught up to him.
"Are the others ok? Is Syl ok?" Krit asked him. Zack looked at him and-~
~Zack returns home late that night and walks toward his door. All his senses go off, as he gets nearer. Zack knows something isn't right as he slips inside soundlessly. Inside he sees a dark haired woman going through his things. He approaches her as she flips through his things; the newspaper with Max's barcode circled on it, pictures of Max meeting with Vogelsang, a Jam Pony flier, his bike, and his bottle of tryptophan. He quickly grabs her from behind and holds her tightly.
"Zack! It's me, Max!" She exclaims to him.
Zack lets her go and watches as she turns around to face him.
"You? You're Zack? Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, surprised that the man she thought was Sam was actually her brother. Then they hug, but separate as they hear-~
"Zack! Zack are you ok?" Syl calls out to him.
Zack blinks and starts to focus on the blonde calling his name. He stared at her for a second unsure of what to say or do. Different emotions course through his body, all concealed behind the mask he has put up. His head begins to hurt as he slips back into state of memories, his memories. He feels the emotion; the rage, the love, the happiness, protectiveness, hate, all of it as he remembers, his old life clashing with his present one.
He cradled his head in his hands as memory after memory, flashback after flashback flashed through his head. He didn't feel the person kneeling before him checking to see if he's ok. He didn't here his name being called by those that love him. All he sees, hears, and feels is his memories of is old life.
~A little girl with dark shaven hair and dark eyes sat on the end of her older brother 'bed', worry etched on her face. She hugged her knees to her chest and felt safe when her brother put a comforting arm around her.
"Jondy's going to be ok right, Zack?" She asked in a soft whisper.
Zack looked down at the little girl beside of him and gave her a small reassuring smile. "She'll be ok... Jondy's strong." He told her. The little girl nodded, but was still worried none the less.
"What if she isn't?" She asked.
"She will be." He told her with sincerity. "Now go to sleep Maxie."~
~Zack walked into the church, his eyes scanning the rows for the one person he was looking for. When he had checked for him at his house he had found no one and had come straight here. His assumption had been correct, because there standing in front of her was his little brother. Zack walked toward him and stopped when he was beside of him, standing in front the one thing his brother was obsessed with.
"Hello big brother." The teenager said.
"Ben." Zack said. Zack knew he was losing the little boy he once knew and he was being replaced by someone far from the Ben he grew up with. He had tried many times to get Ben to stop obsessing about his wonderful 'Blue Lady', but to no avail he had failed. "Come on we have to go."
"I don't want to go. I'm not in danger yet."
"Ben." Zack warned. He never had a problem with getting Ben to leave one city for another before, his sisters usually gave him the most trouble with that. Zack turned-~
"Zack." Jondy kneels on her knees in front of Zack, her siblings behind her, watching Zack closely.
"Zack can you hear us?" Syl asks from beside of Jondy.
"Zack are you ok?" Max asks a little behind Jondy.
After a couple of seconds past, Zack nods his head. "I..." He stops not knowing what to say.
"What Zack?" Syl questioned.
Zack looks up at his siblings, confusion written in his eyes slightly. "I remember some of it..." He trails off as he closes his eyes. More memories bombarding his mind, as he is pulled back into his silent reverie. Syl, Jondy, Zane, Max, and Krit exchange glances, slightly worried about their older brother.
~"Syl, Krit, what do you got?" Zack asks his siblings.
"Packs a punch, but I've only got 40 rounds." Krit answers.
"I'll track some more down. What about you, little sister?" He asks turning to Syl.
"Russian-made RGN-3s, fragmentation pattern explosion." She tells him. Syl tosses one of them over to Zack who catches it.
"Nice." He said. ~
~"With any luck, we'll be in and out before they even know we're there." Zack says.
"Say we can breach the perimeter and get inside the building. How are we going to get in the lab and lay the charges? This thing's a lockbox." Syl asked a little skeptical. She throws a map of Manticore toward Lydecker so he can look at it.
"And I've got to figure when they put out the hit on you, they probably yanked your clearance." Max says.
"Which is why I need to see a friend of mine before we go." Lydecker tells them.
"Like we're just gonna let you walk out of here and drop a dime on us?" Zack tells him, not trusting him in slightest.
"If you don't trust me—"Lydecker begins.
"That's a given." Krit says truthfully. ~
~"Hang on. There's something we need to know." Zack tells Lydecker.
"Who murdered our sister?" Krit asked.
"The new director. Name's Renfro. She's a real piece of work." Lydecker tell them a bit bitterly. ~
Zack looked at his siblings who looked at him worriedly. He tried to smile at them, but could. There were still so many things he needed to know. Zack swallowed hard and ran hand through his blonde hair.
"How did I get amnesias? How did I get here?" He asked them.
Max closed sighed. She knew she would have to answer that question sooner or later, she was hoping for the latter. "Logan-"
"Logan?"
~ Zack stood in the apartment at Foggle (sp?) Towers, while Logan checked his computer for information.
"Our friend Lydecker's a first-rate spook. Whatever operation he's got going here, he's covering it up pretty good." Logan told them.
"Did you look in the Yellow Pages under "black-helicopter operations"?" Zack asked sarcastically.
"Oh, another Manticore wit." Logan said.
"Okay, so we can't find his crew. Maybe we can find his crib, or where he hangs. Maybe he's part of a bowling league or something." Max suggested. ~
~"Good luck." Logan said.
"There's no such thing. Success depends on having a well-thought-out plan that's executed with precision." Zack tells him.
"Right." Logan said simply.
Zack gets out of Logan's car, carrying a backpack and walks away, as Logan turns the car around and waits for him to return. ~
~ Zack listens to the commotion around him, as he prays and wills for Max to be ok. He hears her heartbeat stop again, and sees the monitor flatline.
"What's her condition?" The head director, Renfro, asked.
"The bullet went clean through. Her right ventricle is collapsed. She's gone." The male doctor explained.
"Is there damage to any other organs?" Renfro asked him.
When the male doctor shakes his head no Renfro said, "Prep her for harvesting."
"No!" Zack yelled.
Zack wrenches free of the restraints that held him down and takes out a soldier who had been standing guard. He takes the soldier's gun and grabs Renfro as a hostage.
"Bring her back!" He commands the male doctor.
"Her heart's too badly damaged." He explained.
"Then transplant her." Zack orders.
"There's nothing in the donor bank." The male doctor tells Zack.
"Then you need a donor." Zack stated and points the gun at Renfro's head.
"It won't do her any good. She's an X5. She needs an X5 heart." Renfro explained.
Zack pushes Renfro away, pointing the gun at her and the staff so they won't intervene. He crouches next to Max.
"Fight them, Maxie. Promise me you'll fight them." He whispers to his dead sister.
Zack stands up and points the gun at his own head.
"X5-599, I've got a heart for you." He says determinedly. Zack pulls a trigger and his world fades to black, as he falls on top of Max. ~
"I died." Zack suddenly says.
"But Manticore brought you back and-" He never finished hearing what Max had to say as he was pulled back into another memory.
~"It was him, isn't it? How can you love him and not me? He betrayed us, Max!" Zack yells angrily.
"What are you talking about? Who?" Max asked confused.
"Logan!" He exclaims.
"He's been working against us the whole time! That's the reason the mission went wrong!" Zack exclaims.
"Just undo these handcuffs. We can talk about it." Max tries to reason.
"He's a traitor! Why don't you believe me?" Zack asked frustrated.
"You've got it all wrong! They did something to you back at Manticore!" Max tries to tell him.
"I'd die for you!" Zack yelled
"Zack..." Max almost pleas.
Zack holds up his hands. "He did this to me!" He starts tearing at his face. "He's the reason I look like this!" Zack yelled.
"Zack!" Max screams, hoping he will stop.
He keeps tearing ignoring Max's scream. The skin starts coming off from his face.
"Stop it!" Max yells at him.
Zack pulls away the rest of the skin. The metal plate is now visible, and the ocular implant shows a red light again instead of an iris.
"Now he's gonna pay for what he did...to both of us." He says with conviction and hate.
Zack turns and runs out. Zack continues running down the street, determined to get to Logan Cale. After running past buildings Zack finally reaches his target's building and starts to descend up. Zack drops through the skylight into Logan's apartment. Zack points his gun and starts walking around the apartment, looking for Logan to complete his objective. After finding no one in the apartment Zack walks out of the apartment and looks down toward the elevators, where he see Logan.
When he see the elevator start to descend, Zack runs to the elevator doors and pries them open. He sees the elevator below, and grabs the cable until the elevator comes to a stop. The elevator's floor indicator says P1. Zack quickly slides down the cable, closer to his objective now. When Zack reaches the elevator he punches through the elevator ceiling. When he sees Logan get the doors open and jump the remaining feet and run away, Zack jumps down into the elevator and starts running after him. He run's after him and shoots after him as Logan disappears behind the stairwell door. Zack misses, and hits nothing but glass. He goes through the door and runs downstairs after Logan
When Zack reaches the next level he sees Logan running, and shoots at him, but misses Logan. As Zack shoots, a man who had been washing his car nearby ducks then runs upstairs. He has dropped his bucket of soapy water and it has spilled onto the floor, which Zack blankly ignores. Zack starts to look around for Logan when he ducks behind a car. Zack walks around, still looking, and ready to shoot. The Aztek that belongs to Logan, lights start to flash and the alarm makes a small noise. It draws Zack's attention and he fires at the car. Zack stops shooting at the Aztek, then he sees Logan, and starts to fire at him. He watches as Logan go down, but seems ok. Zack approaches, his gun pointed at Logan.
"Traitor!" Zack screams, his hatred for the man coursing through his veins strongly.
Max suddenly zooms by on her motorcycle, knocking Zack down and knocking the gun out of his hands. The gun lands in a puddle of soapy water, a short distance in front of Logan. Max gets off her bike, swings on a pipe near the ceiling, and kicks Zack down with both feet. Zack jumps up ready to fight, and she grabs him by his jacket to try and stop him.
"Zack, don't do this!" Max short from pleas, hoping he will stop.
"Out of my way, Max!" Zack commands, disbelief that she would chose Logan over him, that person who had betrayed them.
They start to fight. Max and Zack exchange punches and kicks. Max throws Zack into the windshield of a nearby ca. Max immediately starts running toward Logan, but Zack jumps on top of her before she reaches him, picks her up, and throws her at a nearby pole. Zack picks up the gun and advances toward Logan ready to finish his objective. Unknown to Zack, Max detaches some wires from the electrical box and touches them to the soapy water on the ground. Zack, who is standing in the soapy water, gets shocked. Zack collapses in front of Logan soon as the wires leave the water. The red light in his ocular implant fades out, and all around him goes black. ~
All the pieces start to come together in Zack's head. He looks up at his siblings, hatred and betrayal burning clearly in his eyes. He stands up abruptly and crosses the room to the small mirror hanging on the wall. He looks at him self and then presses against one of his eyes hard. When he releases his eyes, everything's confirmed for Zack... Instead of his normal iris Zack red ocular implant is showing. He clenches his fist together in anger and turns to face his now shocked siblings.
"He did this to me... to us... He's going to pay." He said, bringing memories of the day he had tried to kill Logan back. He stared at Max long and hard, until he turns swiftly on his heel and slammed the door closed behind him. He quickly leaves the house and is already in the truck when his siblings fully comprehend what he's getting ready to do.
"Shit!" The exclaimed.
(On the road)
Zack speeded up on the road leading away from the ranch. He was driven by hate, anger, and betrayal. He couldn't believe Max had done that, he couldn't believe that she would choose a traitor like that over her own brother, he loved her more then anything. 'Now anything.' A voice reminded him.
"Kellie." When he reached the end of the road he swiftly turned and speeded down the road coming to a screeching halt and jumping out. He slammed the car door closed and ran up to Kellie's apartment and pounded on her door.
(Inside Kellie's apartment)
Kellie opened her eyes and looked at the clock on her bandstand. She had fallen asleep right after she had taken a shower fifteen minutes ago. Her brow furrowed as she heard a loud pounding coming from her front door. Kellie quickly got up and threw her robe around her slim body and walked to the door, slightly curious as to who could want in so badly. As the pounding continued, Kellie began to get fed up.
She reached her front door and grabbed the door handle and swung it open. "What the fu-" Her remark was lost as she stared at the person in front of her. Adam, her Adam was standing in front of. His eyes... One of his eyes was missing and... He looked so angry and filled with hate.
Kellie looked at her boyfriend in shock and slight fear. "A-Adam?" She asked.
"My names Zack."
Plz review!!!!!!!! Tell me what you think Plz!!!!!!! This didn't actually go as I had planned, but ya know those things happen... PLZ REVIEW!!!
Rose- Hope this chapter didn't royally suck... Thanks for the review once again!!! Glad you liked the whole Sam thing... well Plz review and tell me what ya think!!! Byebyes!!
ZombieGurl98
Always & Forever