Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters do not belong to me. This fan-fiction had been written purely for entertainment purposes. No infringement intended and no profit had been made out of this.
A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. I had just gotten back from holidays not long ago and had been trying my best to write since then. So this chapter is slightly shorter than usual, but I hope you all enjoy it. Promise you I'll make up for it in the next chapter.
Calistra – Thanks for reviewing. Yeah, that was a sarcastic cliffie, lol!
Doza – Thanks for reviewing and reading this. The characters in this story is a bit harder than my usual ones, perhaps because I'm not too confident with Zack. So I'm happy that you like it.
Angelofdarkness78 – Logan? Why would I do that? LOL! As for Zane, I would keep my options open if I were you (winks). I'm glad that you've updated LCBFAEIH. I'll read it after I upload this. Thanks for reviewing.
X5898 – Glad you're enjoying it, hehe! Zack's having the usual X5 case of denial, lol! He couldn't help it. It's written in his genes. Zack's so frustrated that he could not seem to keep his siblings in control anymore, but I guess he would have to live with it because I doubt that any of them will just follow his instructions unquestioningly nowadays (grins). Thanks for reviewing.
HoneyX5-452 – Hehe, yep, Zack's getting jealous of the attention Zane was paying Max. I modeled Zane out of some amateur model who looked like Zack, but feel free to imagine him as your model, lol! Thanks for reviewing.
Roxyroo – Thanks for reviewing. Hehe, sorry, but you're right to be confused. Believe me there's a reason for it. And all will be revealed at the end of the story (winks). Ah, Alec…Once I finish this, I'm hoping to start another Alecky story. I think I'm suffering from Alec-withdrawal.
Wildsky – Glad you liked the twist of the memory loss (grins). Convert? Hmm…I'm a MA shipper too and the rest of my fics are MA, so I don't know if I should encourage you to convert or not, lol! Thanks for your review.
Rules Can Be Broken - Chapter 5
(by elle6778)
Zack stiffened as he heard Max's exclamation. In reflex, his alertness level shot up. Then he only saw a sudden blur which was Max before he heard a loud thump and a groan of pain, confirming the fact that there were enemies present.
Lydecker, he thought in distaste before he yelled at Zane to stay put. He did not look back to check if Zane had listened before he rushed forwards, aiming for one of the two soldiers in front of Max.
Leaping high, he extended a kick which swept the gun out of the soldiers grip. As the gun clattered to the floor, he swivelled around to find Max launching a series of punches and kicks at her opponent's, knocking the wind out of him. Zack grabbed the fallen gun and smashed the butt of the gun against the side of his opponent's head, rendering him unconscious.
When Max turned to face him, he grinned and gave her a mock salute. "Not bad," he said, thinking that she had definitely retained what Manticore had thought them in their childhood years when it came to fighting.
Too bad she forgot the discipline and tactical part of the lessons, he thought wryly.
Max returned his grin, completely oblivious to what he was thinking. "What can I say? Girls kick ass," she said sweetly.
Zack just snorted.
"So, what was that all about?" Zane asked, appearing out of the doorway. He looked shocked at what he had just seen. "Where did you learn to fight that way?"
Zack exchanged a look with Max before he addressed Zane, "We all could fight like that. You just don't remember now. It'll come back to you, I'm sure." It was worrying that Zane had no recollection of his past, Zack thought. The way things were going, with Lydecker on their tracks, it was not safe for Zane to remain that way.
Zane gave him a sceptical look. "Yeah, right." Then shrugging in resignation, he muttered, "Ah well, at least we're safe now. No more of them, right?"
As if in response to his words, four more soldiers came running at them, armed with guns.
Zack cursed as he readied himself for attack.
Throwing a quick glance at Zane, he shouted, "Stay back, Zane."
"But…" Zane started as his eyes darted to the four soldiers advancing towards them.
Zack interrupted impatiently. "That's an order, soldier," he barked out, and then transferred his attention to Max. He held up his hands to Max, relaying a message to her using a series of hand signals.
Max nodded in acknowledgement.
Blurring in a zig-zag pattern, Zack and Max headed for the soldiers. In unison, both of them flipped over, landing behind the surprised soldiers. Launching himself off the ground again, he spun around, delivering a spinning kick which threw two of them to the ground.
Without giving them time to recover, he knocked them out using his well-placed, booted foot. Satisfied that they would not be moving anytime soon, he turned to Max.
Max's opponent was down, lying on the ground unconscious and her attention was riveted to the last soldier who was approaching Zane. Zack noticed that he was still armed with a gun.
She blurred towards them, placing herself between Zane and the soldier who was trying to aim the gun. All of them knew that the gun was useless as a shooting weapon while it was in such close proximity to its target, but the soldier seemed to have realised a better use for it.
Zack was about to rush to her rescue when he saw the soldier jamming his gun in Max's ribs. The dull thud of metal hitting flesh interspersed with her gasp as she doubled over. But a second later, Max straightened and managed to capture the soldier in a choke hold. The soldier slumped unconscious as she tightened her grip and she released him from her grip. She gave Zack the thumbs up, reassuring him that she was alright.
Zane was standing frozen to his spot, an unreadable expression on his face as he looked at Max.
"What?" Max asked, turning towards him as she rubbed her ribs gingerly.
"I… Nothing." Then sweeping his eyes up and down Max's small form, Zane asked, "Are you okay? You were hit."
Brushing away his concern with a wave of her hands, Max said lightly, "Nothing I couldn't handle."
Zack stepped up to them, also searching Max for signs of injury. He had noticed the way Zane looked at Max with concern and discovered that he did not like the way the other transgenic's eyes lingered. What was Zane doing looking at his own sister like that?
Zane's not doing much more than you are, Zack. You were looking at her that way too. And Max was just as much a sister to you as she was to Zane, a small voice inside told him. Zack frowned. He decided that the voice was being unfair. Max had been half-naked when he had tried valiantly not to look. That had been different from what Zane had just done.
Was it?
Trying to ignore the voice which taunted him, Zack said, "You've just had a seizure last night. You really shouldn't be fighting around like this, Max."
Max scowled. "And how were you guys planning to get out of there in one piece seeing that Zane can't fight in his state? Admit it, Zack. Me being here actually helped."
Zack let out an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, I know. But it could have ended up very differently. You could have been really hurt."
"But I didn't," Max pointed out.
"I would have gotten Zane out of here by myself anyway," Zack insisted heatedly. Max just refused to believe that what he was telling her was for her own safety.
Max raised her eyebrows, a disbelieving look on her face. "Oh, yeah? How? Zane's injured just in case you didn't notice," she challenged.
"Hey, guys!" Zane butted in, obviously tired of being ignored. He waited until he had their attention. "I'm still here, you know. And anyway, I think Max's right. No offence to your skills, but there're too many of them for you to take down by yourself," He moved to stand closer to Max, facing Zack.
Zack's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he took in Zane's protective stance beside Max. Irate thoughts began to race though his mind. What the hell did that mean? Zane standing against me for Max? That ungrateful brat!
Biting back the urge to tell Zane to shove off, he said stiffly, "Time to go. Lydecker will probably be here any second. My bike's over to the west of the hospital. Where's yours?" He looked at Max questioningly.
Max opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then she changed her mind. Gesturing to one of the alleyways off the road they were in, she said, "Stashed it over there under some old boxes."
As Zack digested the information, he felt torn. Logic and tactical sense dictated that Max should take Zane on her bike since it was nearer, but something inside him balked at the idea. That something inside him told him that it would be a mistake to let Zane go with Max. Instincts, maybe. But he did not understand why. He had always liked and trusted Zane, so why should he feel any different now?
Zack did not know why. Maybe it was because of Zane's memory loss. Maybe with the memory loss, he was not the same person and therefore he might harm Max. But judging from Zane's apparent protectiveness of Max, Zack doubted that he would harm her.
Maybe he just did not want Zane anywhere near Max. But why the hell not?
Because Zane poses a threat, that annoying voice in his head piped up.
"Zack?" Max's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
He needed to make a decision, and he knew what he had to say. This was no time to break the rules and listen to some illogical voice in his head. Pinning his eyes on Max, he said, "Take Zane with you. We're heading back to the cabin. I'll be not too far behind. Remember to stay low and don't attract any attention."
Max gave him a droll look.
Ignoring the expression on her face, he picked up a gun from the ground and handed it to Zane. "Do you remember how to use this?" he asked.
Zane reached out and took the weapon, handling it as if he had been born with a gun in his hand. "Yeah," he said, checking the gun for ammunition. Then he strapped it over his shoulders. "It's all set to go."
Zack was surprised that Zane actually remembered how to use a gun and yet have no recollection that he could fight. But outwardly Zack just nodded and said, "Good. Now, let's move out."
"Later, Zack," Max threw over her shoulders as she headed towards the alley, Zane following close behind.
Zack watched them for a moment before he went in the opposite direction, heading for his bike.
As he walked, the question in his head before Max interrupted his thoughts came back to haunt him.
If he did not think that Zane would hurt Max, then why was he feeling threatened?
Max wondered what Zack had been thinking about when she interrupted him. She had noticed that he had looked worried. But considering the situation they were in, she supposed that it was natural for him to be that way. Zack had always felt responsible for them, whether or not there had been a need for it. She supposed that was one of the things which made them look up to him so much.
All these years she had been searching for them and now, in just two days, she had found two of them. She thought that it was a shame that Zane had his memories knocked out of him. It would be nice to be able to talk to him about what he had been doing all these years. She guessed that she could ask Zack but she was not too sure that he would answer. He seemed hell-bent of keeping them apart and knowing as little as possible about each other.
As they approached her bike, Zane whistled. "That's what I call sleek," he said, eyeing her bike greedily as she uncovered it from under the cardboard boxes.
Max turned to him. When she saw the look in his eyes, she placed her hand on her hips and said levelly, "Let's get one thing straight, okay? I'm driving. Me. Not you," There was no way she would allow him handle her baby. Long lost brother or not.
Zane raised his eyebrows as he looked down at the exposed expanse of her legs in the nurse's uniform. Grinning, he said, "Max, I'm not sure it would be a good idea for you to ride in front like that."
Rolling her eyes, she said, "Oh come on, Zane. I'm sure you've seen chicks with less clothes than me." The way he looked, he must have had plenty of them flocking around him.
"I'm not talking about me being distracted by you. Although I truly admire your…er…legs, I'm more concerned about what Zack said about not attracting attention. So you should let me sit at the front," he reasoned.
She just stared at him incredulously, speechless. Did he really think that that was enough of a reason for her to give up her baby to him? He had to be kidding. Then she smiled sweetly at him. "Then I guess it's really, really lucky that I had thought to leave my clothes with the bike, huh?" she said as she pulled out the clothes which she had hidden in one of the cardboard boxes.
Zane could not keep the disappointment from showing in his eyes.
"Turn around," she ordered as she shook her clothes out.
Zane frowned. "What?"
"I need to get changed, so turn around," she repeated. How was she supposed to change with him looking at her like that?
"Oh, okay," he said amiably, turning his back to her.
Keeping her eyes on his back, Max shed the nurse outfit and donned her clothes. A minute later, she said, "All done. Let's go."
But Zane did not move. He was still standing facing away from her.
"Zane?" she asked tentatively, her brows creasing.
When he did not respond, she laid a hand on his shoulders.
With an X5 lighting reflex, he spun around and grabbed her. Max suddenly found her arms held behind her back in his right hand with his left elbow jammed against her throat. Her eyes widened as she saw the blank, emotionless orbs of blue staring at her. What was Zane doing? Did he remember something?
"Zane?" she choked out. "What the hell?"
He blinked at her words, his confusion evident. Then as realisation dawned, his eyes widened in horror and he released her.
Max took a step back, eyeing him warily. "What was that for?"
Still staring at her, he said, "Sorry, Max. Didn't know what came over me."
"Did you remember something?" she asked, hoping that it was a sign that his memory was coming back.
Zane shook his head. "No, nothing. You just shocked me, that's all."
Max gave him a sceptical look. She did not believe what he had just said. Something had made him react the way he had done when she had tapped his shoulders.
"You sure?" she asked. Then carefully, she continued, "You can tell me, you know."
Sighing heavily, Zane said impatiently, "Really, it's nothing. So are we going somewhere or not?"
Max regarded him silently for a moment before she nodded. "Alright, let's go."
As they mounted the bike, Max promised herself that she would get to the bottom of what had happened just now. What if Zane decided to do the same when they were on the bike?
What if Zane's memory was so gone that he would snap at any time?
t.b.c.
A/N: Review? Please? Oh, come on…I'm practically begging here (grins)