A job well done to LRW for answering the first question from last chapter correctly! The name of Donald's and Chase's invention will be mentioned later on in this entry.

Also a job well done to Lady Cougar-Trombone, because she got the second question right! Bree did go to Israel. ;)

Thank you to ereader12 and AlienGhostWizard14 for the reviews! I appreciate it!

Please enjoy this chapter!

Episode Tag to: Space Elevator

Chronicle #058

"Tensor"

08/14/15

12:01 AM

Here's a joke for you, one that has been slightly revised from last summer: how much does it cost to become bionic?

An arm and a leg. Literally.

The first time I lost a limb and it had to be replaced with a bionic part, I was okay with it. Douglas had no choice, and he had a really good reason to do what he had done. This second time, I'm not too sure how to feel about it. It's cool and stuff that I have a bionic leg now, and honestly I'm excited to see what this baby will enable me to do, but I feel like this could have been avoided.

I'm not complaining! No, sir, I am not. Like I said, I can't wait to put this to use and discover what I can do with it. It's just that the circumstances that led me into getting these abilities feel off sometimes, especially this one. I was trying to save Big D from getting smashed into pieces because of that dumb space elevator, but apparently he didn't need saving because he's already parachuted out before it came down. I feel a little cheated and maybe even upset that my efforts seem to have been for nothing.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just ticked off because the pain's coming back in. Big D's easing me off the pain meds because he said he needs me to gauge how it really feels, and the new leg's not feeling as dandy as it was earlier. That's why I'm trying to distract myself with writing. It's starting to hurt, and I'm trying not to think about it.

Maybe I'm a teeny tiny bit influenced, too, by how Mom feels about this. Just a tad. I woke up to her and Big D having a conversation outside my room a few hours ago, with her voicing her opinion on this.

Well, actually, I woke up to Mom yelling "What?" outside my room.

Big D tried to hush her down. He closed the door slightly, but I could still see and hear them. "Tasha, please. You're going to wake him up."

"Oh, what, you're concerned about him now?" Mom asked in a quieter tone, but she was still clearly angry.

"Look, Tasha—"

"Don't 'Look, Tasha' me. This is the second time, Donald. Second time. How many times do I have to tell you and your brother that my son is not a guinea pig? You can't just keep experimenting on him like this!"

"I know. I know, okay? And I wasn't experimenting on him. I had to do this. I had to save his leg."

"Why did you have to in the first place? Is this because of a mission?"

"No. He was trying to save me."

"Save you?" she asked in a calmer tone. "From what?"

A pause. "We were testing a project," Big D continued quietly, "and—I don't know. Maybe because Chase and Dr. Ryan had been fighting over who gets to oversee it that they overlooked one of the—"

"Wait, wait. Chase? Why would he be fighting with another one of your employees?"

"I, um… I may have given his project and research to someone else."

"What?!"

"Okay, no, no. I know what it sounds like, but I can explain—"

"No. Donald? Why would you do that to your son? You know how important his projects are to him."

"But he's busy with the Academy! He's distracted. I need someone else to complete it for him and make corrections."

"How would you feel if I take one of your incomplete prototypes to a competing company and give them the blueprint, too? Is that reasonable?"

He scratched his head. "No…"

Mom crossed her arms.

Big D sighed. "Okay, yeah. I messed up."

In a calmer tone, Mom said, "You have to quit doing this to your children, Donald. Our kids trust you. They're even willing to die for you, yet, you keep making it seem to them that money's more important than they are."

"That's not true," Big D said defensively. "That's why I'm working hard. I want them to have the best. That's why I spend a lot for the Academy."

"Yeah, you're spending money, but are you spending time?" Mom asked. "Years from now, what they'll remember is not what you took out from your bank account but what you took out from you, as their father. They'll remember what you did to show them you cared, not just by providing for them but also by caring about what they think and how they feel. I know it's hard dealing with four teenagers, but this is where the real work is at. You can't throw in the towel now. This is not the time for us to slack off."

Big D nodded weakly. "Fine," he said. After a moment, he asked, "So, couch tonight, right?"

Mom's brows rose. "Smart man." Then, she walked past Big D and left.

I don't think Big D even slept. I doubt it, because he barely let me sleep. He kept coming into my room to check on me and to check on the devices he had stuck on my leg to see its progress that at one point, I just gave up the idea of rest altogether. I guess he really was just anxious to make sure that everything would go well. I can't blame him. One hitch in this will make Mom angrier.

I do have to give Big D some credit because he's trying his best to diffuse the situation. He's starting with what he can, and that's by ensuring that I was okay and that I'd be able to go back to the Academy as soon as possible. He probably knows that I'm not the most patient patient, so he's trying to hustle it up.

To be honest, though, I wouldn't mind a mini-vacation. We're in the middle of summer, and we've yet to take a break.

I did tell Big D about that when he came in earlier, after he told me he understood that the whole process was taking a while but he was just making sure that he had covered all of the bases before letting me go back to the island. "Don't worry," I told him. "I'm in no hurry to go back just yet. I could actually use the break."

"Oh, yeah?" he asked as he checked something on his tablet.

"Yeah," I said. "Actually, aren't we all kind of due for a summer break? Other kids had been out of school for almost two months now, and they'll be going back soon. Meanwhile, we're still in."

He chuckled. "Well, the other kids don't have to master the abilities that you guys have," he said. "Plus, the Academy's only been up for six months. You're getting tired already?"

"Well, see, it's only been six months for the other students, but me? I haven't taken a break," I said. "Remember? After summer last year, I came back to Mission Creek High. After the Academy was built, I pretty much just transferred. I've been going to school for one whole year, Big D. This is kind of driving me crazy."

Big D thought about it. "Hm. I forgot about that."

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll see if we can work out some sort of compromise," he said. "I can't guarantee two months, but I'll see if we can squeeze in a two-week break."

Two weeks wouldn't be enough, really, but at this point, I'll take what I can get.

After he went back to checking on some things, a question I've been thinking about came to mind. Seeing that it may be a good time to bring it up since it was just the two of us there, I asked it. "Hey, uh, Big D? The academic curriculum at the Academy, is that – is that something that I could get credit for?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Like, will I get the credits I need from that?" I asked. When he looked up at me, I explained, "It's just that, um… I was a senior when I left Mission Creek High. Along with a break, I'm also due a graduation."

He stared at me for a long time, like he was trying to process what I just said. Then, he sighed, and it was the kind of sigh that let me know that he's disappointed with himself. "Oh, man, Leo. I forgot. I didn't realize—"

"No, no, it's – don't worry about it, Big D," I said, dismissing it because I didn't want him to feel like he had messed up again. "It's okay. I probably shouldn't've asked."

"No, you… You should've." He shook his head. "I will check, okay? The curriculum at the Academy is geared towards the students getting a diploma once they finished a four-year term, but I haven't really worked that out yet with the government. I'm sure we can ask them to make a concession of some kind for you so that you don't have to go back another year. If not, I'm sure we can find a way to get you your diploma."

I nodded. "Thanks."

He looked at me apologetically. "I'm really sorry you didn't get to walk with your classmates," he said.

I smiled. I didn't tell him that it made me kind of sad when I saw graduation pictures of people I went to school with a few months back online.

Nothing was said after that. Big D tried to make it seem like he was busy with what he was working on, but I knew our conversation, and even the one he had with Mom before that, weighed on his mind. Since he wasn't going to talk to me or to anyone about it, I drew it out of him. "I overheard you and Mom talking earlier," I said.

He stopped and looked at me.

I held my hands up weakly. "I wasn't eavesdropping or anything," I said. "I just heard it because…it kind of…woke me up."

For what has to be the third time, he sighed. "I'm so sorry, Leo."

"You don't have to apologize, Big D. You won't believe how many times I've woken up to a conversation between Adam, Bree, and/or Chase." I grinned. "Especially when Adam's involved. He gets too hype sometimes."

"No, that's not what I meant." Big D pulled up the computer chair then sat down wearily. "I'm saying sorry because your mother was right. I haven't been doing such a great job as a dad. I used to be better at knowing things about you four. I used to make better decisions. Now I don't. I took something from Chase and gave it to somebody else without even apologizing for it. I don't even know what Adam and Bree are up to nowadays. Bree used to want to spend time with me. Now she doesn't, and I know that's my fault. Then you, I… I just completely forgot about you. I even managed to get you in a stupid accident with that project."

He hunched forward on his seat, his head hanging low. "Your Mom's right. I threw in the towel too quick."

I clicked my tongue then nudged him gently to lighten the situation. "Oh, come on, Big D. You have to lay off on yourself a bit here," I said. "Like you said, you're a busy man."

"Yeah, but I'm thinking that's probably not such a good thing to be," he said quietly. "I'm missing everything there is to know about the four of you, missing every moment I shouldn't, and I know in the end that I'm going to regret it." He withdraws to his own thoughts for a moment, but not for very long. A small smile came to his face when he remembered something. "Chase has always loved inventing things, ever since he was little. I think it came from him just watching me when I would make stuff. I remember when he was three and he used to sit by me just looking on while I'm tinkering with a prototype. He watched like he was seeing something that will change the world. It was nice. When he was old enough, I let him help me, and soon he's off creating blueprints of his own inventions."

"I remember him helping you with introducing your newest gadgets to interested buyers, too, on the first year Mom and I were here," I said.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Who could have forgotten Exo destroying a part of the house? With your grandmother being here, no less? You and Chase really fought for that assistant position."

I shrugged. "I wanted it."

"Yeah. You did," he said with a smile. He sat up. "Chase and I used to be partners in things like that. We worked well together."

I nodded. "So…what changed?"

"Hm?"

"What changed?" I repeated. "You and Chase didn't just work well together, Big D, you worked great together. Now, things are different. What changed?"

A sad look came to Big D's face after he thought about it. He shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe I'm just afraid to find out that he also doesn't need me anymore, just like how Adam and Bree make it clear to me that they don't. Maybe, instinctively, I'm trying to beat Chase to it. I'm separating myself from him before he could do it. It's easier. It's gonna come down to that anyways. He's going to not need me soon. The little boy that I used to feed, and play with, and tell bedtime stories to, and color pictures with…he's not going to need me anymore. Just like how the boy and the little girl who used to love singing and dancing to nursery rhymes with me every Saturday mornings don't need me anymore."

Before Big D said those things, I wouldn't have thought that, like Mom, he, too, was scared of his children leaving him. I guess I just always thought that he was okay with it. I honestly even thought that he was happy that we're out of the house. It never really clicked with me that maybe he was just pretending that it was okay. At least it never did until now.

I wanted to assure him that Adam and Bree actually still need him, and I know they do, but I can't speak for them because we don't talk about things like this anymore. It's sad to realize, but my oldest brother and my older sister don't talk to me about things like they used to. Well, Adam did, a few weeks back, but the gaps between those conversations are too far apart now.

The only person I can count on not changing in things like these is Chase. Honestly, he's the only one remaining of my siblings who I could talk to and who would talk to me. He was the only one who I could speak for, so I did. "That's not true, Big D," I said. "Chase isn't like that. He's not going to just kick you out of his life because he's older. That he enjoys the space and the responsibilities he now have doesn't mean that he doesn't need you. Like Mom said, we still trust you. We still care about you. You can't just dismiss us because it seems to you that we don't. You really won't know until you ask us. Until you ask Chase."

"So, you're saying that I need to talk to him."

I shrugged. "He's due some one-on-one time anyways," I said.

He nodded. He looked up at me. "What about you? Do you like the space better?"

I frowned. "Space? What space? There are four of us in the quarters. I don't have any space."

He chuckled. "I mean being on your own," he said. "Do you prefer that?"

I thought about it. "No. I was on my own for many months on the island. I don't like being alone. Alone sucks," I said.

"So, you miss me and your mother from time to time?"

"I missed you and Mom the first night we were on the island," I said matter-of-factly. "And of course I think about the two of you often. You're my parents. It's just something that I'm bound to do."

He looked down to the ground and smiled. He stood up a few seconds later then said, "I'm going to gradually lower the dosage of the pain medication, alright? I need you to give me a good assessment of your new leg without it. It'll hurt really bad, and you're gonna hate me for it, but it's just necessary, okay? After that, it'll go away, and you'll be okay. We should be able to go back to the Academy in a few hours."

"Alright," I said, thinking that he was exaggerating about the effects of the analgesic being taken off my system.

Welp, he wasn't. This thing is still bothering me.

I'm hopeful that as he said, this won't hurt for too long. Maybe it'd be back to normal in a few hours. Maybe it wouldn't. I'm not really sure what would happen. As far as I know, I'm the first kid Big D had installed bionics on. I'm familiar with the results that come from when Douglas does it, but I'm not familiar with Big D's.

I'm confident that it'll turn out fine. Maybe. If not, well, I'm sure it will eventually. It has to.

Honestly, I'm a bit more concerned about Big D getting that chance to talk to Chase. After the transponder some weeks back and then the space elevator this week, they have quite a few things they need to sort out. I just hope Big D doesn't chicken out of it. He tends to be a little awkward when it comes to expressing what he thinks and what he feels about us, which is weird, since he doesn't seem to mind talking about himself and other things concerning him all the time.

Anyways, I think I'm going to turn in now. I haven't heard any movements outside, so maybe Big D's asleep. It's probably best that I sneak in some sleep, too. I'm really tired, and yeah.

Signed,

Leo Francis Dooley

08/14/15

2:00 AM

The Adam Chronicles

How did Adam and Bree get Bob to move up a color level? Reviews and answers are appreciated!

Also, side question: any guesses on what new bionics Leo may have with the new bionic part that he now has? I'd love to hear theories, or even what you'd like to see him have!