AUTHOR'S NOTE Okay. I know in Before the Dark (DA novel), Max and Seth meet up and she actually watches him die. While I enjoy the book, I think it works better if she finds out from Lorne that he didn't make it after the escape. The song Max sings to find out about Brin is "My City of Ruin" by Bruce Springstein. I feel like Brin probably died in the DNA lab explosion, since you never hear anything about her again.
And Alec finally gets a girl!
DISCLAIMER Not mine. Nope.
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Chapter Twenty-Four: In Which Lorne Learns the Truth
Max's Bedroom
Max lay in Logan's arms. She grinned, for never sleeping had finally come in handy. Manticore had gotten something right.
Logan noticed the amused look on her face and had to smile. "What?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of how useful that shark DNA has turned out to be. I suppose Manticore wasn't all bad after all."
Logan laughed. "No, I suppose not." He kissed her head pillowed on his shoulder. "I love you, you know."
She craned her neck to look up at him. "So you keep telling me," she teased. "I love you too."
They lay in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Max said, "Everything is working out pretty good."
Logan smiled and nodded. "You're right. The virus is gone and you've found some of your siblings."
"Not all of them, though," Max said sadly.
"We'll find the others, Max. Krit and Syl aren't that far away and the others, well I'm sure we could track them down."
"Yeah."
There was something in Max's voice that wasn't very convincing. "Are you okay?" Logan asked.
"Oh yeah. I just wish I could see my other sister again."
"Other sister?"
Max nodded. "Lucy. She wasn't my Manticore sister, but she felt like a sister to me."
"Oh." Logan snuggled closer to his lover. "The girl whose family took you in?"
Max nodded. "She was so good to me and I just left her. I so wished I could have taken her with me."
Logan held Max tight reassuringly. "Maybe one day you'll find her again."
Max sighed and resolved to be happy in the moment she had. Logan was right here, next to her, and she wasn't going to waste any more time. "Maybe," she said before leaning up to kiss Logan again.
Terminal CityIt was two days before Jondy was in any state for the meeting with Lorne and Logan didn't come out of Max's room much during that time either. Willow and Original Cindy seemed blissfully happy. Buffy and Angel had taken to ignoring each other and once Spike had emerged from his tryst with Jondy, the two didn't seem to bother him nearly as much. The most interesting and amusing development, however, was the bizarre relationship that seemed to have sprung up between Alec and Illyria.
Illyria had been given free roam of Terminal City. The transgenics realized that, while she was more powerful than they were, she had no reason to attack unless provoked. Naturally, Alec took any opportunity to do just that.
"Hey Blue, where you going?" he called after her as she walked down the hall.
"You follow me again?"
"Everywhere, sweetie." Alec grinned.
Illyria turned to stare him down. He stared back, unfazed. "Why do you follow me?"
Alec shrugged. "Got nothing better to do."
She looked him up and down. "Your body is warm."
"So it is. Built that way, you know."
She cocked her head at him. "Do you lust after this body I chose? Wesley loved this body." She lowered her eyes. "It is strange that I miss him."
Alec took a hesitant step toward her. "Why?"
"I was Lord over all creatures. Ever since I chose this body, strange things have been playing with my mind."
He took another step. "Like what?"
"Wesley's death caused me grief. I have never felt grief before. And this world here, the pain and sorrow do not bring me joy as they once would have." She fixed her eyes on Alec. "If I had been at full power, I would have ripped your head from your body for jesting so. But now I do not even desire that."
"Lucky for me," he commented. He was standing next to her now. "I like you this way, if it helps."
"You do want this body then."
Alec blushed and shrugged. "Can you blame me?"
Illyria kept a wary eye on the X5 as he slowly put his arms around her. "I should not let you come near me," she murmured softly.
"I won't hurt you," Alec replied. He grinned. "I promise."
"Hey Alec! Where are you?"
Startled, Alec stepped away and sighed. "What do you want, Max?" he called back in annoyance.
Max came around the corner, smiling happily. "Willow and Lorne want all of us in the front room. They want to do the singing thing now."
"Okay, fine." Max grinned at his reply and turned on her heels to go back toward the front room. "I liked her better before Willow cured the virus," he grumbled.
When he arrived, Lorne, Willow, Buffy, Angel, Max, Jondy, Jace, and Zane were assembled waiting for him. "Nice of you to show," Buffy replied. Alec shrugged and fell into line at the far end.
"How do you want to do this?" Max asked.
"I have to do you each individually," Lorne replied. "Just start at the end of the line and sing something."
"Sing?" Zane asked doubtfully.
"That's right, Golden Boy. I can only see into that heart of yours if you sing."
Zane looked distinctly uncomfortable at his place in the middle of the line. Jace was first. When Lorne stopped before her, she asked, "Sing anything?"
"Anything you want, honey."
"Okay." Jace sang a soft lullaby. "La la lu, la la lu, oh my little starsweeper. I'll sweep the stardust for you."
Lorne smiled. "Do you sing that to your baby?"
Jace nodded. "I heard it in a Pre-Pulse movie down in Mexico. What did you see?"
"I saw you watching that little one grow up to be a big strong boy. Whatever is coming, my dear, you both make it through."
A smile broke out on the woman's face. "Thank you," she said.
"Anything about Manticore?" Buffy asked.
Lorne shook his head. "This one was a good little soldier. She didn't leave with the others. She never went poking her nose into things that the boss upstairs wouldn't like. Nothing on the demon parts of them."
Buffy sighed in frustration. Lorne moved on to Jondy. "Feel better today, sweetheart?"
Jondy blushed deeply. "Yeah, I'm fine." She immediately started singing a faster song. Lorne took a much longer time before responding.
"This one saw something," he finally said.
Jondy's eyes grew wide and she clapped a hand over her mouth. "I didn't mean to!"
"Shh, there darling." Lorne put a hand on her shoulder. "They can't punish you."
"Jondy," Max asked. "What is he talking about?"
"I don't really remember it clearly," the X5 said softly.
"Ah, but I saw it clearly," Lorne said. "You saw them working didn't you?" Jondy nodded. "Saw them actually making the genetic code that you came from." He turned to Buffy and Willow. "Old Ones. The Manticore technicians had a sarcophagus of an Old One. They used it to bind the foreign DNA together."
"An Old One?" Willow asked. "Like, what Illyria is?"
"Like what Illyria used to be," Lorne corrected. "You see, human and animal DNA will mix if you even out the number of chromosomes. Demon DNA is wholly different. Its inherent supernatural power destroys any other it comes in contact with. That's what happens if possession is left too long or when a human is turned."
"The Old One's DNA tames the demon DNA," Angel said, suddenly understanding. "It makes it malleable. But how do they tame DNA that powerful so that the transgenics didn't become manifestations of the Old Ones?"
"The Nomalies!" Max said abruptly. All heads turned to her. "They were earlier versions of us," Max replied softly. "They didn't come out right. They looked…like demons."
"I don't know how they ultimately fixed the human genetic code to win out, but it sounds like the first few experiments weren't such a success," Lorne finished. "Angelface, these kids are even more powerful than you thought. If they were made from Old Ones, they may have access to some of those powers."
"That's the next step, Lorne," Angel said. "Do you think there's anything else we can learn?"
Lorne shrugged and moved on to Zane, looking at him expectantly. Zane hastily belted out the beginning of Happy Birthday. Max looked at him. "How did you know Happy Birthday? We don't have birthdays, remember?"
Zane's face went red. "I have lived with normal people for over ten years, Maxie."
But Lorne looked at him sadly. "You had a brother called Seth."
Zane, Max, Jace, and Jondy all sobered and nodded slowly. "What about Seth?" Zane asked. "He was my partner in the escape. We got separated. I never found out what happened to him."
With a sigh, Lorne laid a hand on Zane's shoulder. "I hate to be the bearer of sad news, Zane. Seth is dead. I'm sorry."
The room fell silent as the four siblings tried to digest the bad news. Max's thoughts drifted back to a moment long ago in the woods – the death of another brother. "He's in the Good Place," she said miserably.
"With Jack and Eva," Jondy added, sniffling.
Max looked sadly at her sister. "And Tinga and Ben. And Brin…I'm not sure she ever made it out of Manticore." She looked to Lorne. "Can you tell me? If I sing, can you tell me if Brin ever made it out?"
Lorne looked at Max and nodded. "Of course, darling."
"There's a blood red circle on the cold dark ground and the rain is falling down. The church door's blown open – I can hear the organ song, but the congregation's gone." The others listened silently to Max's mournful song.
"She never made it, Max. I'm sorry."
"That's okay." Max blinked back a tear. "I'd rather have that than have her trying to kill me."
"She's the one you had to turn in, isn't she?" Buffy asked. "To save her life?"
But before Max could answer, Lorne cried out. "Oh God!" he yelled. Angel, Max, and Willow rushed to his side.
"Lorne, what is it?" Angel asked.
"They're coming! Angel, they're coming!"
Max's eyes opened wide. "White! The Breeding Cult is on its way!"
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The Answer to the Last Trivia Question
Max dreams about dancing with Logan after she passes out as she's transfusing him in "Blah Blah Woof Woof." LittleDrusilla and Samantha both got it right!
Today's Trivia Question Is:
What "Pre-Pulse" movie is the lullaby that Jace sings from? (Hint: it's a Disney movie).
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Review Responses
Samantha That's right. And I'm glad you like the way the story's going…I know that there are few ML fans out there, but I gave Alec someone, so I figure it's okay, lol.
LittleDrusilla I agree. Ames definitely is a good villain. I've recently become addicted to Smallville and Martin Cummings (White) plays a villain in that too. Hmmm…typecast?