Reunited
AN: Jacey and I were talking today and one of the future chapters is really dirty. So I thought I'd warn you we're both pretty dirty minded - me prolly more so than Jacey. But you've been warned and all. We adore reviews and all, so…
Jondy was sitting in the passenger seat of the black Range Rover with Zane, who was driving. While she was happily painting her toe nails a delightful shade of violet, he was getting bored. 'Hey Jon, you excited bout seeing Syl and Krit again?' he asked.
She shrugged, 'I guess. 'It'll be cool to see Zack again though...' Zane scowled.
'Yeah, whatever.' he replied, glaring out the window. He sighed and turned to look at Jondy again, 'He's meeting us in San Fran now, right?'
Jondy nodded. 'Yeah. He called just before we left… how long till we get there?' she asked, for what seemed the hundredth time.
Zane rolled his eyes, 'Just round the corner.' he replied. He pointed, 'Look, see. Syl's waving now.'
Jondy grinned. 'Coolies!' she squealed, and jumped out of the car, before it even pulled to a halt. 'Syl!' she squealed.
'Women.' Zane mumbled, rolling his eyes.
Syl saw the black Range Rover turn the corner, and couldn't stop a huge grin from spreading across her face. She hadn't seen Zane and Jondy in forever, and she was totally psyched for it now, after talking to Jondy on the phone. She'd sent Krit a text message on his phone before, and he hadn't replied yet. 'Probably shacked up with the latest girlfriend,' Syl thought sadly.
Jondy leapt out of the still-moving vehicle and squealed her name.
"Jondy!" Syl flung her arms around her much-taller sister. "Damn, since when did I get so short, girl?"
Syl turned to the more sensitive of her brothers. "Hey Zane. How's life treatin' you?"
Jondy smiled and hugged Syl back, 'Since you were born that way chica!'
Zane grinned at Syl, and reached out to hug her, once Jondy had moved, 'I'm good little sister. How's the world treating you these days?'
Syl hugged Zane back. "The universe has a sense of humour. That's all I'm saying."
Syl pulled away and look at Jondy. "And it's so unfair that I can't just be two inches taller. Just two, that's all I ask. Heard from Krit? I sent him a message, but nothing yet."
Jondy shook her head, 'Nup. No word on him yet. But Brin rang about 10 minutes ago and said she was approximately 10 minutes out, and Zack rang, and he should be here in 20.'
Syl's eyes lit up at the mention of her
biological brother. "I haven't seen Zack... since... months. And
Brinny... I haven't seen her since '17. It's like a reunion."
Jondy
smiled tensely, 'Yeah, under stupid circumstances... maybe once we
get to TC, we can have a proper reunion, with green and purple vodka
shots!' Zane rolled his eyes, and grinned at Syl, 'I'll leave you
ladies to discuss vodka, and I'm gonna head inside and catch the end
of the game on the box.'
Syl nodded. "If you hear my phone ring, answer it. It only rings when something important happens."
Syl turned back to Jondy. "I was watching all the channels, but I can't find any information on what's happening in Seattle. The only thing I saw was Ben. I thought he died."
Jondy frowned, 'I thought he was too... but then, we thought Zack was dead as well.'
Syl nodded. "True. I hope he's better now. Zack tell you he was killing people?"
Jondy sat down on the steps out front of Syl's place. 'Yeah. Not good huh?
"Definitely not. I'm glad Krit was around when he came to see me," Syl said, looking at her feet.
'He came to see you?' Jondy exclaimed
"Yeah. He had all this blood over his clothes and he kept talking about the Blue Lady and how I'm not worthy. I never even believed in the Blue Lady," Syl kicked the ground.
Jondy frowned. 'Whoa. I'm glad he never found me…'
"Yeah. I heard he never made it as far as you; vanished in Seattle," Syl looked up to see a black motorcycle come down the hill. It was far away, and Syl couldn't quite make out the rider.
Jondy rose an eyebrow. 'Weirdness.' She looked up the road, to where Syl had turned to, 'Hey! Isn't that... whoa! No way, it's Brin!'
Syl squinted out, as the motorcycle got closer. "Is it? Damnit, my vision sucks. Psy ops is not worth the trouble." The motorcycle got within her eyesight and Syl could tell it was her sister, Brin. Brin's long black hair trailer behind her. She pulled up behind Zane's Range Rover and pulled off her sunglasses, giving both Syl and Jondy a half-smile.
"Hey Syl. Jondy," she said, rather nervous to be seeing her sisters for the first time face to face since her reindoctrination.
Jondy grinned at her sister. 'Brinny. You can hug me, if you aren't still at soldier-y-ish...'
Brin laughed, relaxing very slightly, walking over to give Jondy a hug. "I've missed you Jondy. Manticore is a lot stricter than it was when you two were last there." Brin turned to Syl. "Good to see you, too, Syl. Glad you made it out alive. I was not sure; Renfro would not tell me if you and Krit made it out after you blew up the labs."
"Yeah, we made it out okay," Syl said, trying not to blush too hard, remembering what had happened after they made it back to Seattle. "Max and Zack weren't so lucky though."
Jondy nodded, 'Yeah. 'Heard bout that. Rough on them, but they survived... after all, we're X5's, we can stand up to anything, right sisters?'
"Hell yeah," Syl grinned.
"Definitely," Brin agreed. "Is Zane around? Is Zack here yet?"
Jondy nodded, 'Zane's already entranced with the TV, inside. And Zack should be here in about 10 minutes or so.'
Jondy shrugged, 'Don't know bout Krit. He's Syl's thing...' she trailed off, winking at Syl, and then turned back to Brin, 'As for Charlie and Case... they're Maxie's domain.'
"Krit is not my 'thing'. He is my best friend slash brother," Syl retorted. "And I know nothing. I saw Tinga once, and I've never seen Case or Charlie."
Jondy scowled, 'Whether you like it or not chica, Krit IS your 'thing'... oh hey!' she said pointing up the road, to a Kawasaki Ninja coming in their direction. 'Zack's here!'
Grinning, Jondy ran in the direction of the bike. Slowly, it pulled to the side of the road, behind Brin's bike, and Zack pulled his helmet off. He let a rare grin cover his face.
'Jondy!' he exclaimed, getting off the bike, and pulling her into a bear hug.
Jondy smiled into his shoulder. 'I missed you Zack.'
He smiled slightly, 'Me too Jay. Me too.'
Syl smirked at Jondy as Zack and Jondy hugged, and then turned to her big brother. "Good to see you again, Zack," Syl said, hugging him tightly. "Gets lonely around here without your nagging."
Zack snorted, 'Surely Krit fills that position?' At which Jondy elbowed Syl, and smiled sweetly at Zack, 'Oh, no Krit's too busy lusting after Syl, to nag her...'
"He doesn't lust!" Syl kicked Jondy in the ankle. "And he doesn't nag. He whines. Does Maxie whine? I swear it has to be genetic."
Brin smothered laughter. It was good to be back with her family. "It's good to see you, Zack."
Zack nodded and pulled Brin into a quick hug, 'You too Brin.' He put an arm around Jondy, and hugged her to his side.
Then turned to Syl. 'Max has the whining gene too... but speaking of lusting, I heard from Jace, who I was visiting last week, and who, by the way is almost in Seattle now, that Krit visited her, and professed his love for Syl...' he said, winking at Jondy.
Syl turned an interesting shade of pale. "He didn't mention any specific incidents involving Seattle, did he?"
Zack rose an eyebrow at her, 'Depends what incident you're talking about little sister. Want to share?'
Jondy grinned at Syl, 'Told ya so!' she said, sticking her tongue out.
Syl realised her mistake. "Well, I was wondering if he was... referring to any specific events in Seattle... that I looked particularly... lust-worth-ful."
Brin rolled her eyes. "Very articulate, Syl."
Zack grinned, 'Well, as a matter of fact, he DID mention one incident that might have happened in Seattle... and there was a mentioning of a San Fran incident too...' he said, trailing off
"There weren't any San Francisco incidents," Syl replied quickly. "What did he say?"
Zack smiled, 'Oh, just something about an accidental walking in on a certain someone showering incident...'
The colour suddenly returned to Syl's cheeks. "Oh, I thought you were talking about... the other showering incident..." Syl span on her heal, going inside to hide from the laughter and the mocking that would follow.
Jondy snorted, and hid her face in Zacks jacket, so that Syl hopefully wouldn't hear how loud she was laughing.
Brin managed to control her laughter at Syl's blunder. "I thought Tinga was the worst liar... now I know Syl is."
Zack nodded, 'Yeah well, all you gotta do is make up a little something, and she blurts all sorts of things out...'
"You have tried this before?" Brin asked. "What did she admit to?"
Jondy grinned at that, 'Oh, I was there last time Zack tried this. It was incredibly revealing... lets just say that Syl has NO objections to chocolate syrup or whipped cream... if you know what I mean...'
"SYL?" Brin asked, eyes wide. "Our Syl who has probably never worn a skirt in her life...? While that was something I never needed to know... who was the guy?"
Jondy grinned, 'Oh, I'm pretty sure you can guess.'
"Krit?" Brin gasped, bursting into laughter. "How long ago was this?"
Jondy smiled sweetly, 'That Seattle incident she
mentioned? Then...'
"That was the Seattle incident?"
Brin repeated. "I honestly do not believe this... Syl and
Krit?"
Zack nodded, 'Yup. You should've seen the way they were acting when they arrived to help me and Maxie. It was sickening.' Jondy rolled her eyes, 'I'm sure it was sweet...'
"You know I will never be able to look at Krit the same way now?" Brin replied
Jondy frowned and half smiled at her sister, and headed towards the house, 'Yeah well.' she muttered. 'You should probably start looking at Zack that way too.' she said sarcastically under her breath.
Brin's eyes widened even more, almost popping out of her skull. "You and him.. you didn't..."
Jondy smiled slightly, 'Well, it was fun while it lasted.' she said, shooting a longing glance at Zack, who was checking the oil in his bike.
"What? Are you and Zane together now?" Brin said, looking at her feet.
Jondy shook her head, 'He wants to be... but I dunno. It wouldn't be fair to him, if we were.;'
"Because you want our strict CO?" Brin stifled more laughter. "And I thought 494 slept around."
Jondy frowned, 'Hey! Zack's a lot nicer than everyone gives him credit for!' she grinned, 'And he's damn good in bed...' she paused and rose an eyebrow, '494?' she questioned
"I am sure he is to you," Brin smirked. "I can imagine. 494... he was another X5. Ben's clone. I have met all of our clones."
Jondy gasped, 'Wait! We have CLONES! And Ben's clone? Hang on, that means that Ben IS dead! I mean, we saw... on TV. I thought it was Ben...'
"Yes, we have clones. I don't anymore and Zane's was a nomaly. Maxie's was AWOL. But yes. Ben was brought back two months before you attacked - DOA. 494 is... very different to the Ben I remember."
Jondy rose an eyebrow, 'You said he slept around? He's a player huh?'
"Yes. He had some deal struck up with the guards not to say anything. And the breeding program did not help," Brin sighed. "He got my clone killed. I did not like her much, but still."
Jondy nodded, 'Yeah... so, um, clones, huh? I have one? Are they as original as us, in the whole naming and escape way?'
Brin shook her head. "They go by their designations, they pretty much obey orders and they were happy at Manticore. But then, I was happy at Manticore."
Jondy shook her head, 'Sis, that was them. They reprogrammed you. You weren't happy there. You thought you were, but you weren't... don't you remember why we left in the first place? We weren't happy, and they hadn't had the chance to tell us that we were yet.'
Brin ducked her head, letting some of her long dark hair fall in her eyes. "I know. I remember Jack and Eva. It is hard, though, to come back out here and instantly forget everything... I will be okay."
Jondy smiled at her sister, and pulled her into a hug, 'Yeah. You will be. It'll just take time... in the meantime, lets get you back into the habit of using that wicked Brooklyn slang you used to have going girl!'
Brin laughed. "You are irrepressible, Jondy. Where is Zane, I have not seen him yet."
Jondy smiled at her, 'Damn girl, it's like talking to a robot. Loosen up sis, we've gotta long trip ahead of us, and if you talk like that the whole way, someone's gonna smack you chica.' Jondy turned and pulled Brin up the stairs, 'Come on, you have GOT to see the wicked boots Syl bought a few months back, in Santa Fe. She stopped by and showed them to me, on the way home, and girl, I tell you, when she dies, I'm taking them!'
Brin shook her head. "Was it you who took my red combat boots? I went looking for them, and they are not... they're not around anymore."
Jondy blushed, 'Um, possibly?'
"Could I have them back?" Brin asked, grinning.
'If I said no, would you be TOO pissed off?' Jondy asked
"I wouldn't be too pissed off, maybe just a little bit," Brin agreed. "I'll get them back when you die."
Jondy rose an eyebrow at her, 'And what makes you think that you won't die before me, and I won't get your whole boot collection?'
"More training," Brin retorted.
'So?' You might get hit by a bus tomorrow. Training won't stop that happening...'
As Brin and Jondy and Zack walked into Syl's apartment, they saw that Zane and Syl were having probably the biggest pillow fight known to man
'OMG!' Jondy exclaimed, 'Wicked! A pillow fight!' she grinned at Zack, 'You up for it Zackie?' Zack scowled, 'Don't call me Zackie.' he said, as he hit her over the head with a pillow.
Brin grabbed a pillow and hit Jondy over the head with it. "That's for taking my best boots," she replied.
Syl was getting the better of Zane (having known where the secret pillow stash was) when her mobile phone burst into song. "Krit!" she said, dropping her pillows and running into the kitchen.
Jondy grinned, 'And she says they aren't involved.'
"We're not!" Syl called. "He's calling before he gets here."
'Sure sure.' Jondy yelled, as she hit Brin with a pillow.
"Hey," Syl said into her phone, ignoring Jondy.
"Hey kitten," Krit said. "I'm about ten minutes away."
"Great. Everyone is here. Even Brinny. And WHEN did you tell Zack about what... we.. happened in Seattle?" Syl demanded.
"I swear I didn't say anything," Krit replied. "You said to me you didn't want to 'be like that.' So I figured the whole 'incident' was over and done with."
Syl winced at the hurt tone in Krit's voice. "We'll talk when you get here."
Jondy stuck her head into the kitchen, to see Syl sitting miserably on the kitchen counter, 'You ok chica?'
Syl looked at the phone in her hand; Krit had hung up. "Yeah. Just Syl stuff. Whatcha guys doing in there? Who won the pillow fight?"
Jondy grinned, 'Me.' Brin was tough to beat, but she's always been weak when it comes to tickling...'
"Damn, I thought Zane would've," Syl shrugged. "Anyone hungry?" she called. "I have food... sort of... cold take out... that counts as food, right?"
Jondy grinned, 'Hey gimme anything that isn't over a week old, and you've got food!'
"Well, then I have food. Except that white container in the back. We just don't touch that," Syl said, pulling a pizza box out of her fridge.
'Ahhhhh' said Jondy wisely, taking the pizza box from Syl, and popping the top. 'We have one of those to. 'Cept it comes in the form of a bottle of pickles... no one touches them.' she scrunched her nose. 'Come to think of it, I think they were there when we moved it... eww.'
She picked up a piece of pizza and waved it in Zack's general direction. 'Food Zackie?' she asked.
He shrugged, but took it off her anyway. Zane wandered in and grabbed and carton of chicken Chow mien off the counter. 'Cool.' he muttered, digging into it. Meanwhile, Zack was frowning at his slice of pizza. 'Is this...' he pointed at something on it. 'It's kind... funky looking.'
Jondy grinned, 'You said funky!' she said, laughing, and then turned to Syl, 'Sis, you got any Tabasco?'
"If I have it, it's in those cupboards," Syl motioned, while eating a slice of pizza. "Zack, nothing here is a week old. Thus meaning, it is edible. I'm broke - got fired again - which means either you eat the pizza or you pay for your own. And because it was my suggestion , if you order your own, you get to share." Syl smiled angelically.
Brin swallowed a mouthful of noodles. "I think that's
pretty fair, Zack."
The smug expression on Syl's face faded
when someone knocked - or thumped - on the door to her
apartment.
"Krit's here," Brin said, grinning.
Zack grimaced, but took the bottle of Tabasco that Jondy was offering him, and tipped half of it onto his slice of pizza. Jondy grinned, and headed towards the apartment door, with Syl trailing behind.
Krit grinned at the sight of his two sisters, two brothers and Syl. Well, his smile faltered when he saw the blank, expressionless look on Syl's face.
"Hey," he said.
Jondy grinned, 'hey little brother. You ready to kick some human ass?'
Krit grinned. "As long as I get some ass at the same time. Been months since Candy... Cathy?" He looked at Jondy for help.
Jondy rolled her eyes, and glared at him, gesturing in Syl's direction, 'Candy.' she said, through her teeth
"Yeah. Hey Zane," Krit said, walking into the kitchen. "Date a stripper. Worth every whiny-blonde moment. Unless you and Brin are kickin' it again."
Jondy gasped, 'Whoa! WHAT! Brin! Zane! OMG! Is EVERYONE here hooking up!'
Zane glared at Krit, 'Thanks man.'
Krit shrugged, opening the fridge. "Ben told me. I thought once Ben knew something, it was common knowledge."
Syl, looking exceptionally tense. "I'm not hooking up."
Krit straightened, towering over Syl. "I'm not either. At least, not with anyone in this room."
Jondy glared at Krit again, and pulled Syl off to the side. 'Hon, ignore him. He'll get over being a selfish little prick.' she said, raising her voice, with the insult.
Syl's face was blank; an expression she'd gotten down to a fine art. "It's fine, really, Jondy. I mean, you and Brin are obviously taken. And I'm his sister. That would be icky."
Jondy smiled at her, 'Hon, if it ain't icky for me and Zack, or Brin and Zane, then, it ain't icky for you and Krit.'
Syl gave her a distant look. "No, it'll always be icky for Krit and me. I mean, we've never had anything like that before, why should we start now?"
Jondy rolled her eyes, 'OK, hon. Whatever you say...'
"Yes," Syl nodded her head. "If he wants to screw round with a stripper, he can."
'Good attitude chica.,' Jondy stated. 'Whereas, I'll KILL Zack if he fools around with a stripper.' she said glaring in his direction.
"This is a circular argument Jondy. You and Zack are together. Krit and I are not," and with that statement, Syl rejoined the others in the kitchen, losing some of her happiness from earlier.
Jondy sighed, rolled her eyes, and went back to the piece of pizza she'd been ignoring.
Krit was giving Zack and Zane a rather detailed description of his antics with Candy when Jondy and Syl rejoined then. Brin was looking slightly green and Zane and Zack's eyes were very wide.
Zane turned to Zack and muttered, 'Dude, do you even WANT to hear this?' Zack shrugged - something Jondy noticed he'd been doing an awful lot of - and shook his head, 'Not really.'
Syl looked Krit directly in the eyes. "Shut up and stop showing off. You're embarrassing yourself and besides, we need to get going." Krit glared back at Syl, preparing a scathing retort when Brin broke it.
"Yes, we really need to leave San Francisco soon."
Jondy nodded, 'Well, Let's go then. Syl, you wanna catch a ride with me and Zack?' she turned and looked at Zane, 'You're gonna use Zack's bike, right?'
Zane nodded, 'As long as it's still cool with Zack.' Zack shrugged, 'Sure man.'
"Syl can come with me," Krit interrupted, glaring at his older 'sister', daggers in his eyes.
Syl shrugged. "Whatever. Yeah, I'll go with Krit. I need to pick up some of the guns anyway. The jeep has a compartment we can stash them in."
Jondy nodded, 'Kay. Well then, We heading out?'
