All of Us -- Chapter 39

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for “Pollo Loco,” “Hit A Sista Back,” and “Meow.”

“Wakie-wakie, Maxie,” an annoyingly familiar voice said to Max.

Max groaned and buried her head under the pillow. “Alec, I have no idea how you got into the apartment but if you do not leave in the next few seconds, I will kill you.”

“Our Maxie here isn’t a morning person,” Alec said cheerfully.

“No shit I’m not a morning person! I barely get any kind of sleep as it is so I’m not happy when I’m interrupted when I do actually get sleep! Now get the hell out!”

“Okay. I think I’ll see what you’ve got for breakfast.”

“Damnit, Alec,” Max snapped. She pulled the pillow off of her head and turned around and sat up, ready to verbally blast Alec but blinked. Where did he go? She turned and didn’t see Zack lying next to her in bed. Where’s Zack? He always waits for me to get up when I actually sleep before he gets out of bed. Maybe Becky’s having a really hard time dealing… Everything from the night before hit Max hard. Of course it would hit her hard! She’s in love with Jeff and because of me, he could be dead.

She wiped her eyes and looked around and frowned. Why is it this quiet? I don’t hear Alec in the kitchen, I don’t hear those X3s in the apartment next door, I don’t even hear any noise from outside! It’s way too quiet. She turned around and looked at the alarm clock and didn’t see anything on it. Did the power go out?

Max shrugged it off and got out of bed and got dressed. This is too damn weird. I wish I knew what was going on here. She walked out of her bedroom and into the living room and finally heard noises coming from the kitchen. Oh goody, Alec invited some friends here. Most of them sound so familiar, but I don’t recognize them.

“That is so weak. Do I look like an idiot?”

“You kind of do, short stuff.”

“Will you please try to behave yourselves? This is somebody else’s apartment.”

Max froze. That was Tinga’s voice. She walked towards the kitchen and looked inside. She saw Alec sitting on the counter drinking a cup of coffee and Tinga and five other young men and three other young women, all of them about their age. They all looked incredibly familiar to her. Who are they? “Tinga, you’re dead.”

“Yeah, we all kinda are,” Alec remarked. “Except you, of course.”

We all…it’s not Alec? “Ben?” Max whispered in disbelief.

“You see his twin on a daily basis so you should be able to recognize him,” one of the other young men said.

Max’s jaw dropped. “Kenny!”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Kenny commented. He gave his youngest sister a big smile and opened his arms for a hug. “Would I have grown up handsome or what?”

“Not bad,” Max said. She grinned and went over and hugged him.

“Not bad if you prefer idiots,” the shortest person commented, though she also had a smile on her face.

“Elle,” Max said. She leaned down and hugged her. “I guess so much for that late growth spurt you were always swearing that you’d get, huh?”

“Yeah, Jace was the lucky one who got the growth spurt,” Elle agreed.

“Quit complaining, big sister,” one of the men said.

“Jack!” Max squealed. She hugged him and then hugged Eva, Gale, Parker, Tinga, Ben, Dash, and Reese. “I can’t believe it’s you guys! I’ve missed you all so much.”

“We’ve missed you too, Maxie,” Reese said. “We’re worried about you.”

“I can hardly imagine why,” Max deadpanned.

“Maxie, sit down,” Tinga said gently. Max sat down next to her at the kitchen table. “Max, you shouldn’t take this so hard. What’s happening to Jeff is not your fault.”

“I know, that’s what Zack said,” Max said.

“He’s right,” Parker pointed out.

“Max, you might be the one who is going to save the world, but there are some things that you don’t have any control over,” Tinga said. “White is the most sadistic person I’ve ever seen. He’s holding Jeff because of his own nature and of his own will, not because of you. You know how bad of a loser he is.”

“I thought I was bad when my side lost that game of Capture the Flag a few months before I died, but this guy is ridiculous,” Dash commented.

“You said that White’s holding Jeff. He’s still alive?” Max said hopefully.

“He is,” Tinga confirmed. “We can’t tell you more than that, but Jeff’s alive.”

“Yeah, these heavenly cosmic rules on telling people stuff suck,” Gale remarked.

“You can’t control White’s personality or his behavior,” Tinga said. “What you can control are what you do about his actions. He has Jeff and maybe you don’t know where he is or what his condition is and most everybody doesn’t know if he’s even alive, but you need to take charge and find him and get him back.”

“I know,” Max said. “I will, I just…”

Tinga smiled sympathetically. “I know how much stress you’ve been under lately. I’m both impressed and proud that you haven’t broken until now. I don’t know how you managed to deal with it. If I found out that I would be the one to save the world, I would have lost it from the minute that I was told.”

“You are one of the strongest people I’ve ever known while I was alive or observed since I’ve died,” Eva said. “You can do this, Maxie. I know that you can.”

“You always liked a challenge before. Why stop now?” Jack said.

“You’re right,” Max agreed. “Why should I stop facing a challenge?” She snorted. “Some would argue that being an ‘09er would mean the opposite.”

“But you could also argue that we had the balls to break free,” Kenny said.

“You’ve always given it your best,” Tinga encouraged.

“I haven’t always succeeded,” Max countered. “Tinga, I promised Case I would get you back and I didn’t.”

“You kept him safe, though,” Tinga said. “You couldn’t help what Renfro did to me. What matters most to me is that you kept Case safe and I can’t thank you enough for that. I’m still with him and Charlie. Not physically, but I am still with them everyday.”

Ben smiled at her. “You did the right thing with me, Max. I was past the point of no return. If I lived, I would have continued hunting people down and killing them or if Manticore had gotten a hold of me, God only knows what they would have done. I’m at peace with myself now. I am myself again.”

Max felt a huge weight lift off of her shoulders. “Thanks, you guys.”

“You will always be our baby sister,” Elle promised. “No matter what, we will always be looking out for you and we’ll be there with you.”

“Except maybe when you and Zack finally do the deed when you’re in heat,” Ben said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh great, they really are twins,” Max groaned.

“I had to put up with that moron by myself for five years after we escaped!” Reese exclaimed. “The year between when Zack found us and split us up and when I died was heaven on Earth. Peace and quiet.”

“If you weren’t dead, I’d kill you for that,” Ben said.

“Behave, please?” Tinga said pointedly.

“Yes, Mommy,” Ben and Reese replied in unison.

Max and the others laughed. “Some things never change. I’m glad this hasn’t.”

“So are we,” Jack said.

Max blinked and looked around the bedroom. Zack was sleeping next to her and there was no sign of Tinga or Ben or any of the others. That was a dream…I think. It was them. I know that it was really them. I know that was really Tinga, Ben, Parker, Kenny, Elle, Reese, Jack, Eva, Dash, and Gale. They’re right.

Zack stirred and looked at Max and smiled when he saw the depressed look gone from her eyes. “Did you have a good night’s sleep, Maxie?”

“I did,” Max said. “It was exactly what I needed.” She looked over at their alarm clock. “Five a.m. It sounds like a perfect time to get ready and start planning, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely,” Zack agreed. “I’ll call Becky.”

“Gotcha,” Max said. She reached for the nightstand for her cell phone and dialed Krit.

“Yeah, what is it?” Krit muttered.

“Get your ass and Syl’s out of bed and meet us in the control room,” Max told him. “It’s time to try to get Jeff back.”

TBC