Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters obviously do not belong to me. I am writing this purely for non-profit entertainment. Yada, yada! No infringement intended, so don't sue me!
A/N: I am still confused about the review thing, actually. I have looked through the rules etc on ffnet and couldn't find anything that forbids responding to reviews. Anyway, I am going to carry on until I see something concrete…
Mel11 - :grins: Of course cliffies are back, I was dying of withdrawal, LOL! Will Zack hit her? You'll soon see! Thanks for reviewing.
AngelKougaeri – Hmm…I'm not sure I want Max to harm Zack's pretty ass! And Zack? Evil? Now why would you think that:grins: Thanks for reviewing.
Calistra – Zack needs to realize a lot of things, and it's probably going to be a painful process for him :sigh, but we'll see! Thanks for reviewing.
Toniboo – It's that obvious, huh! Glad you liked the chapter. Hopefully Max and Alec will have another opportunity to kiss soon :grins:. Thanks for your review.
W1cked angel – Ah, the joys of first love… And yep, you might be right in your assessment of their feelings. But you know what they are like. The whole thing will take forever to resolve. Thanks for reviewing.
Kungfuchick – You really want Max in heat, don't you, LOL! Well, it's coming soon but only in about 2 or 3 chapters time, probably! Max is 16, Alec 17, Gab 17...I lost track of the rest already:sighs! Kelpy is about 5 years older and the X6s about 5 years younger. As for Kelpy, I thought it's a bit of a waste of talent to leave him in the basement! Thanks for your review!
Reivyn – Thanks for your review. Glad you liked it and hope you'll keep on reading.
Darkangelgirl – Ah, I thought it was time for Max to relieve some of the pent up UST, LOL! Gab and Jondy is still at the early stage of their 'courtship', so there'll be some pain involved, hehe! Thanks for reviewing!
Ro – Glad you liked the setting for the kiss! Yeah, I know…I even got irritated writing about Zack in the last couple of chapters. As for Zack and Max? Hmm…you have to read on to find out :grins: Thanks for your review.
Angelofdarkness78 – Thanks for reviewing. Yes, the only way Zack could survive in Manticore was to revert back to his training. ;P Whether or not he's going to hit her…you'll find out soon!
Iridescent Twilight – Grrr! I missed your reviews! How could you do this to me:mutters: Ah well, you are forgiven since you reviewed the last chapter, lol! I was beginning to think that your sister did something to you, hehe! Or maybe those spiders you are so fond of got hold of you!
Lakergirl08 – Zack? You're right, there's no way he could condone Max kissing Alec, LOL! Whether he has feelings for Max or not remains to be seen, hehe! Thanks for reviewing!
Rita – Yep! Max and Alec finally, but of course something else must come in their way:grins: And Zack just happened to be around! Thanks for reviewing! And oh, thanks for reviewing my fic in affnet too. :)
Angel of Darkness231 – Nah, it's not THAT evil, LOL! Zack kisses Max? Erm…you'll see! And how could you think I would even let Alec kick Zack's beautiful ass? That's illegal! Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!
NoAngell – Max harbours feelings for Alec, and having Alec so close when they're not actually fighting just made her lose her control. I mean, if I'm Max, I wouldn't be able to help myself too, LOL! And I have plans for Zack, so keep on reading! Thanks for reviewing!
HoneyX5-452 – MZ? As in romantically involved? Hmm…I'm not sure that's going to happen, but we'll see! And thanks for telling me about the reviews. Have I missed reviewing your stuff:scratches head: I thought I reviewed them…
Pixie Wildfire – Glad to have made your day with that kiss :grins:. And of course Zack, the macho ex-CO, is definitely going all grrr. It's his Max we're talking about here! Thanks for reviewing!
Sarah – Thanks for your review. And are you reading my mind or something? I swear, you seem to know what's going through my head most of the time, LOL! I must TRY harder now!
GuestTypePerson – You realize that you didn't even bother writing your name in the last review? Hehe! But the minute I read of the bookcarts, I realized that it was you! Why are you not working in the library anymore? Transgenic or not, Zack is still a teenage male, so he's not really seeing the picture here, hence the pissiness! LOL! Thanks for reviewing!
Alana84 – Ah, Gab loves being attacked :grins:. Max just had a momentary loss of control when she kissed Alec! Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!
Alec'sAngel494 – Deck Zack? Hmm…you'll see :winks! Glad you liked the kiss. Thanks for reviewing!
Spanishwon2123 – Thanks for your kind words! And I am glad it made you laugh, lol, considering that humour is not my strong point!
Lex2u – Yeah, Zack is behaving rather weird about all the rules, I know. You'll find out soon why. Poor guy:grins: Glad you liked the cliffies and thanks for reviewing!
Eva – Yes! Finally more MA action, as requested by you all! LOL! Glad you approved! Thanks for reviewing!
L80bug – Thanks for your review…and here's the update! Enjoy!
Chapter 22 - Falling
(by elle6778)
Max's eyes widened as Zack moved closer to her. He looked angry enough to hit her.
"What do you think you are doing, Zack?" she asked, trying to keep her apprehension out of her voice. She stood her ground, not backing away as he came closer.
When he was just inches from her, he stopped and bit out, "You have any idea how much I would have done to keep you safe? How far I would go? I guess not, considering all that has happened in the last one year,"
Max could see that he was barely controlling his temper. "Zack, please try to understand. It's not like we are ungrateful or anything. But we cannot keep ourselves stuck in the past. Jace, for example, is the CO of her own unit now. You looked out for her since she was a kid, so aren't you happy at all for her?" Max tried to appeal to his 'brotherly' side, swallowing her own annoyance at his behaviour.
"Happy for her? Happy that she's stuck here in this hellhole?" Zack practically shouted as he clenched his hands into fists.
Her patience wearing thin, Max snapped, "Zack, you're the only one who seems to be stuck in a hellhole of your own making. Just in case you haven't noticed, the rest of us are doing fine in here,"
"I can see that. Especially you and that X5-494," he sneered; his disgust apparent.
Max narrowed her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?" Her temper was beginning to boil. She could not understand why Zack was making such a big fuss about the kiss. Granted, it was not particularly 'professional', but it was not as if they were in the middle of a mission or something.
Angry, Zack slammed his hands on the wall on either side of Max's head, making her flinch. He was so close to her that she could feel his breath on her face. Leaning in to her further, he hissed, "You don't get it, do you? You still don't get how I fe-"
Unwilling to be trapped between his arms, Max shoved Zack roughly away from her, interrupting his words. Max refused to let herself be intimidated but his close proximity and his actions were sending alarms blaring in her head. Zack was behaving strangely and she was not sure how she should deal with it.
In a deceptively soft voice, she ground out, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Zack?"
Zack did not answer her question.
Instead he grabbed her arm roughly, "Listen…"
"No!" Max hissed, shoving him off her again. In reflex, she found herself in a fight stance.
Zack noticed the way she held herself, "So, you think you can take me on?" he taunted softly. He clenched his fists by his side.
"I don't want to, Zack. But I am not standing still while you manhandle me," Max replied evenly, noticing a flash of something akin to remorse in Zack's eyes before his face became as emotionless as a piece of granite.
"Let's see what you are made out of, huh, soldier!" he challenged, circling her.
Max told herself that what they were doing was stupid. She did not want to fight Zack and she's quite sure that if Zack was in his right mind, he would not want to fight her either. But she knew that neither of them felt particularly sane right then. She was angry that Zack seemed to be butting in everywhere; criticising everything. And Zack? She guessed that Zack felt betrayed by her and Jace. And also probably because he had no other way of releasing his frustrations. That was probably why he kept hassling them about everything, whether he meant it or not.
She knew that she could not make herself attack the brother who had protected her fiercely all those times when she was a child in Manticore. She wondered if she could even make herself fight back in self-defence. So Max stood her ground as she waited for Zack to make the first move.
It did not come.
Slowly, he lowered his fists, keeping them clenched by his side. He did not look at her. Instead, his eyes were fixed to some unseen distant point.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "Look, Max… I just don't understand what happened to you. You are so different from before…"
Max swallowed as she heard the pain in his voice, "Zack, I told you. I think I got used to it here, and things are not that bad now,"
"I can't believe you are still defending Manticore," Zack said, his anger barely contained.
Pacing her breath to keep her calm, she said softly, "Zack, please think about what you are doing. You are not just hurting yourself but others around you. Others, who once upon a time, you claim to care about,"
Not waiting for him to answer, she turned around and continued her journey back to her dorm, leaving Zack to glare at her retreating back.
Zack stood in line with the rest of Unit 3 as they went through their morning drills, going through the motion with only half his mind on the drills. He was feeling particularly edgy today, probably because he stayed up all night thinking about what happened between him and Max.
He shot a discreet glance towards the end of the training grounds. Max was leading the X6s in their drills. She got half of them in a group of four, with one X6s blindfolded. The blindfolded X6s was meant to block any blows which came his way from the other three. Zack figured that she must be training them to improve their senses; using everything apart from the visual one. The other half of the X6s division was undergoing reflex training. They were divided into two lines; the transgenic in one of the lines throwing what appeared to be a blunt knife at their counterpart standing in the other line. Their counterpart then was meant to catch the knife at its handle and throw it back.
As Zack watched Max, he could not help but admire the way she handled the X6s. Zack noted that the X6s were following her orders not because they were expected to or that they were intimidated, but they did it because they liked and respected her.
Once, he was respected. Now he was shunned because he led his unit to what he considered as safety at that time. He did not regret his decision to escape. Because he knew that if he did not, Manticore would probably end up killing Max like what they did to Jack.
She accused him of being stuck in a hellhole of his own making. He could not admit it then, but when he thought about it, he realised that she was right. He knew that he had not reacted well under the Jace's command, and that resulted in the entire Unit 3 basically ignoring him. And that hurt, especially considering that everyone had always looked up to him, even when he was out of Manticore. He guessed that it some ways, it was the reason why he tried even harder to regain control.
His mind went back to Max. He still could not get over how different she was.
At one time, Max was all his. Yes, he shared her with the rest of Unit 2, but she had always come to him when she was in trouble. She needed him then, and now she no longer needed him. She has her own friends, own responsibilities and even her own guy.
Zack's mood blackened further as the image of Alec kissing Max crossed his mind.
He sat in the cafe where they last met.
White was late again, he fumed, glancing at his watch. He decided that he was going to wait just another fifteen minutes, and then he would leave.
Five minutes later, White, complete with his trademark black suit, stepped into the café as if he owned it. White walked to his table and sat down opposite him.
"It's about time," he said shortly.
White sneered, "Some of us have more important things to do,"
"Are you saying that you are not interested in hearing what I've got for you?"
White's expression was unreadable when he said, "All I want to know is when are you going to find me Sandeman,"
"I am getting closer. The disk you gave me was hard to crack; it was well protected,"
"So?" White said, sounding disinterested.
"I may have some clue as to where he might be," he smiled, extracting a sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, "I have extrapolated the data from the disk and found some interesting things. Manticore own several buildings under different names,"
White raised his eyebrows, "Are you saying that Sandeman may be located in one of them?"
He nodded, "Many of them appear to be unoccupied, but we'll never know for sure until we investigate. How about if you… "
Seeing where Cale was heading to with this line of conversation, White interrupted, "I do not want my involvement made public. So you have to deal with it in your own way. I gave you the means to do it. Now do it,"
"But…"
White interrupted again, "I am confident that as the ever resourceful Logan Cale, you would be able to come up with something. If all fails, you could ask for help from your friend Eyes Only," White gave him a smile which reminded him of a hissing cobra.
Surprised, Logan asked, "How did you know…"
"I, too, have my own resources," White smirked, pushing his chair back as he stepped away from the table, "Now, contact me only when you have something definite to tell me,"
White walked out without waiting for Logan's answer.
Sighing in resignation, Logan picked up his cellphone and dialled.
"Hi, Asha…It's Logan …"
As he made his way to the basement, Alec grumbled under his breath, wondering why of all the COs, Lydecker must choose him to train the anomalies. When Lydecker told him, he had agreed reluctantly. Not that he could actually refuse anyway. But it meant the loss of his recreation time, which he was still feeling sore about.
At least the anomalies, Kelpy and Cammy, were fun to be around. For the last couple of days, he had been passing on what he thought were the relevant skills for being a bodyguard, having being assigned similar missions countless times previously.
Initially, he was surprised at the speed Kelpy and Cammy managed to digest all the information. Then he realised that however strange their 'skills' were, they were still transgenics and like the X-series, were also pumped full off all sorts of good stuff.
That was not the only thing which surprised him. When Lydecker had told them that Kelpy and Cammy were anomalies, Alec had fully expected to be faced with some odd looking creature. But then he found that Kelpy and Cammy look just like any regular human being, except when they decided to blend into their surroundings.
When he reached the basement, he went to the cells which he knew housed Kelpy and Cammy. He indicated to the guards to open the two cell doors and waited for them to emerge.
He wondered if Lydecker knew that the locks on the cell doors were ineffective on these basement dwellers. He suspected Lydecker knew, but he could not be sure. Lydecker was not like Renfro. On occasions, Alec could have sworn that Lydecker actually possessed a sense of humour. Alec was still reeling from the changes that happened within Manticore in the last one year since they found out Renfro was assassinated. The transgenics now had more independence than they had before and were treated marginally better since Lydecker took command.
"Okay, guys, let's go meet the kids," he said with a grin.
Alec pushed the door to the gym open and walked in with Kelpy and Cammy. Max was already there with the two X6s she named Dani and Tom. He smiled, thinking that at least the two kids received relatively normal names. Could have been worse; like Trumpet or something.
He knew why he felt so cheerful these few days.
It was because of Max.
He suspected some time ago that he had some feelings for her, but he never truly admitted it to himself. He just always felt that he had to tease her to get closer to her every time they met. He recalled the last time he made a move to kiss her and received a slap in return for his efforts. That was when he realised for sure that he has a problem, namely Max. Considering how she treated him and how she's always surrounded by other males, he did not think that she was interested. He was not sure that Max felt the same way until a few days ago, when she kissed him out of her own volition. Alec smiled inwardly as he recalled the feelings she brought up in him with the kiss.
"Hey, Maxie," he greeted cheerfully. She would kill him if she knew what he was thinking of, he mused. Or maybe not.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Max, who was in the middle of trying to teach Dani and Tom how to play basketball, turned around at Alec's voice. Their kiss in the mess hall was still fresh in her mind. Schooling her face carefully to hide her embarrassment, she smiled at him, Kelpy and Cammy.
"Hi, guys!" She gave Alec a fleeting glance before shifting her attention to Kelpy and Cammy, "So how's the training going?" she asked them.
Kelpy grinned, "Anything is better than being stuck in the basement without anything to do,"
Cammy nodded in agreement. Then, smiling slyly, she said, "Your boy here is not too bad a teacher, either,"
Face reddening, Max sputtered, "He's not my boy!" she protested. Max swore she's going to kill her unit for this. Who else could have told Kelpy and Cammy about Alec? Max scowled as she realised what must have happened. Gab saw them…then Gab told Unit 4…and then Unit 4 told Kelpy and Cammy. Gossip mongers!
Cammy clucked and looked at Kelpy, "I think she protest too much, don't you think?"
Kelpy laughed.
The two X6s, Dani and Tom, observed their exchange with undisguised interest.
Max groaned as she realised that Dani and Tom were also there in the mess hall when she kissed Alec. She had hoped that they would forget about it. Fat chance! It was embarrassing enough to face Alec without having everyone teasing them about.
Alec cleared his throat, "I'm still here, you know," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. He wanted to join in with the teasing but he suspected that it would not earn him any points with Max. So he decided to keep quite; at least until they found themselves alone.
Max glared at him, "Yes! We noticed. Now can we get on with training? Haven't got much time, you know," she said, desperately trying to change the subject. She gritted her teeth, telling herself not to blush.
Sensing that Max would not tolerate any more teasing, Kelpy and Cammy nodded.
"So what are we doing today?" Kelpy asked, quite excited.
Alec turned to Max, his expression thoughtful, "I was thinking sparring. Kelpy and Cammy need to practice. What do you think?"
Relieved that the focus was no longer on her and Alec, Max nodded in agreement, "Okay, Kelpy, you pair up with Tom and Cammy with Dani. Alec and I will just observe and give pointers,"
Kelpy and Cammy went towards their pairs and started their sparring with basic moves.
Max eyed the X6s who were sparring against Kelpy and Cammy. It was quite an amusing sight, considering that the X6s were about eleven years old hence about ten years younger than Kelpy and Cammy. But what they lacked in size, they made up in skill.
"Have you told Jondy and Biggs about the mission yet?" Max asked suddenly remembering their meeting that morning. Jondy, Biggs and Gab were chosen to go on the infiltration mission. Matt was away on another short mission, so she would have to tell Gab. She grinned inwardly as she envisaged the look on his face when he finds out that he's going on a mission with Jondy.
Alec shook his head, "I'll do it after this, during dinner," he paused and mumbled under his breath, "If there's any food left, that is,"
Hearing what he said, Max laughed, "Only two days of missing dinner and you are already complaining? I've been doing this almost two weeks now,"
Alec studied her carefully before grinning, "Yeah, you seem to have lost some weight,"
Gasping, Max smacked his shoulders, sending the X6s into giggles. The X6s quickly sobered up and went back to their training when Max shot them a look.
Lips twitching in amusement, Alec remarked, "You know, I never would have guessed that you'll be so good with the kids. You have a very effective glare,"
Max snorted, "That glare doesn't seem to work on some people," She looked at him pointedly.
Alec made a surprised face, "Me? Nah, of course it doesn't work on me. You want to know why?" he dangled the question with a cheeky grin. He knew she would be curious to see what was on his mind.
Max knew she was going to regret asking but she did it anyway, "Why?" she asked warily.
His grin grew as he moved his lips closer to her ears, "Because you're cute when you glare, and I like it," he replied in a whisper.
Reddening, Max wanted to shriek in annoyance, "Ugh! You…you're just unbelievable!" she yelled, exasperated. She pushed him away from her and backed away, determined to keep a large distance between them. She told herself that she did not want a repeat of what happened yesterday.
"Is that good or bad?" he asked, chuckling as he took note of her flustered look. He's getting more and more convinced that she shared his feelings. She would not be so bothered if she did not feel anything for him.
Max refused to answer. Instead, she pointedly ignored him and turned to face the two pairs of sparring transgenics.
"Max?" he prompted, his eyes gleaming with mirth.
"Shut up!" Max hissed irritably. She did not know if she was more irritated at him for teasing her or irritated at herself for wanting to smile stupidly up at him for complimenting her.
Alec grinned, then relented, "Okay, I guess we better get to work, huh?" he said, frowning when he noticed that Kelpy had Tom in an unfamiliar lock-hold. Where has he learn that from? Gesturing towards Kelpy, he looked at Max and asked, "I'm guessing that you taught him…that?"
Sheepishly, Max nodded, "Yeah, Kelpy sometimes joins in when Gab and I when we train,"
Alec's shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Then do you mind telling me why Lydecker thought it's necessary for me to train them? And to deprive me of my recreational time?"
Max rolled her eyes, "Because he does not know that Kelpy has been training with us!"
"Ah!" Alec nodded in understanding.
Max narrowed her eyes. Was he teasing her? She forced herself to ignore him.
Yawning, Alec said, "Okay, I'm just going to sit right here. Wake me up when you are done, okay?"
"Huh?" Max turned around to see Alec lying on the table, eyes closed. She shook her head in resignation.
Why must it be him she's falling for?
Max groaned and mentally slapped herself when she realised what she was thinking about.
Max waited until Unit 4 were all present in the Recreational Room before she decided to inform Gab of his mission. She knew that Gab would not be too happy about it, but she did not anticipate the strength of his reaction.
"WHAT?" Gab yelled; his eyes wide, "You are pulling my leg, right? You're just trying to get back at me for teasing you about that kiss with Alec, right? RIGHT?" he asked in horror. This could not be true. Max did not just tell him that he was going away on a long term mission with Jondy!
Biting her lips to stop herself from laughing at Gab's horrified expression, Max shook her head.
"Why? There are so many other X5s around. Blade could do it. He has he same skills as I do," Gab offered quickly, pointing at Blade.
"No thanks, man! I don't like long term missions, and besides, I've just got back from one," Blade said, barely looking up from the game of pool he had going with Zip.
Looking around frantically, Gab spotted Treve and said, "How about Treve? Treve's good at this sort of things,"
"No!" Treve insisted firmly from the couch he was sitting on.
"What about Val?"
"Val's not into explosive and weapons," Max stated calmly.
"How about you, Max?" he turned towards her with a pleading look.
Max sighed in exasperation, "Gab, live with it already, okay? It's too late to go back to Lydecker now and change things. You are going and that's it," she said firmly.
"But it's a long term mission! And Jondy will be there! I can't believe you did this to me!" he complained mournfully. He really did not want to go on the mission. Not after what happened between last night.
"Don't worry. Biggs will be there to protect you from the big, bad, scary Jondy," Max said with a grin as the rest of the transgenics laughed at her words.
"You know, Max. It's not funny," Gab bit out, sounding angry.
Muttering under his breath, Gab shot her a glare before storming out of the room. The door to the room slammed shut with a resounding bang.
Now silent, the rest of the transgenics gaped at his departure. It was unlike Gab to exhibit such a large reaction to a mission, or to anything.
"Wow…" Cass said softly, breaking the silence.
"What's eating him?"
"What does he have against Jondy?"
"Is Gab alright?"
"Should someone go after him?"
The room began to buzz with questions on Gab's uncharacteristic behaviour.
Max looked at them and shrugged. She wondered if his behaviour was really because Jondy was assigned to that mission as well. Max frowned. She knew that Jondy had been teasing him, but that was no reason to be so pissed off.
Maybe I ought to go talk to Jondy, she thought.
Deciding that she should get it over with while the entire thing was fresh in her mind, Max walked towards the hallway which led to Unit 6's dorms. She had not spoken to Jondy since that night in the mess hall and she really wanted to talk to Jondy. Not just about Gab, but also about Zack.
Zack's behaviour worried her. She did not know what to make of it. It was strange that of all people, he was the one who was still so uptight about rules and regulations. Max suspected that it was a front; Zack's defence system. He was used to being in control for so long that he just could not accept his position now. And Max did not know how to deal with him anymore, considering that the first time she met him after the escape was when she rescued him during a mission she went on.
Maybe Jondy would know what to do, Max thought. After all, Jondy had been in contact with him longer than she had.
As she approached her destination, she noticed that someone else was walking stealthily ahead of her in the same direction.
Max was about to turn around a corner when she realised who it was.
What was Gab doing skulking around here?
t.b.c. (Hehe! What's up with Gab!)
A/N: So, I was sitting around thinking one day, then I realised that I should tell you something. All the reviews you sent me had played a huge part in helping to shape the story…so THANK YOU so much! The story wouldn't have lasted so long without you. Now, I think I had better stop my sappy sentimental ramblings before I embarrass myself! What do you think of this chapter, please review and make my day! Thanks!