Birds flying high... You know how I feel
Sun in the sky... You know how I feel
Breeze drifting on by... You know how I feel
It's a new dawn... It's a new day... It's a new life
For me... And I'm feeling good
-Lyrics to "Feeling Good' performed by Michael Buble
Crimson Bonds Part 69
A new year. A chance to start over and begin anew.
For Angela McAdams, there was no greater meaning to the sentiment than when she woke hours after celebrating New Year's Eve with her family. Having had spent several days mulling over the crossroads that she had come to in her life, she had come to decide which path she was going to take.
Difficult a choice as he was to make, the living had never felt more sure of anything being the right thing in all of her days. It was with that confidence that she calmly walked into the living room to talk with her mother.
Lowering her electronic book onto the coffee table beside her recliner, Nancy smiled, "Ah. Good morning. How are you feeling this morning? Can I make you something for breakfast? You're the first one to rise, so I wanted to wait until there was signs of life after last night's party before I made anything for us."
Angela grinned as she reassured, "I'm fine, Mom. Thank you." Taking up the loveseat across from the Senator, she frowned nervously, "I was hoping that we might be able to talk alone for a little while anyway."
"Oh?" the brunette replied, her head tilting and eyes blinking. Folding her hands atop her crossed knees, she nodded firmly, "Alright. What is on your mind, sweetheart?"
Drawing a deep breath, her daughter fixed their gazes on one another. "I know how hard you fought for the new registration laws. And I couldn't be more proud of you for sticking to what you believe the way that you have... but..."
Instantly, the matriarch's smile fell away at the surprising turn at the end of her child's praise. "But?" she repeated in question, the disbelief clear in her tone. "But what, Angela?" she pressed, the warmth in her posture and timbre melting away in a challenge.
With a rough swallow, the blonde intern announced clearly, "But the laws are wrong. Everything that we thought that we knew about Vampires... it's all wrong." Shaking her head, her eyes began to water as she continued, "I can't stand behind the hate that's been passed on to us generation after generation when no one in our family ever took the time to really understand the Infected."
"Angela!" her mother exclaimed, shock and confusion marring her face. "Where on Earth is this coming from?!"
Without looking back, the intern pushed through her mounting surge of emotions and informed, "I'm a Companion to a Vampire, mother."
Jaw falling open, Nancy made an inarticulate sound that sounded like a moan and a sharp cry at the same time. Paling, she shook her head vehemently and breathed, "That's not true. It's not possible." Gasping, her face turned red with rage as the realization hit her. "John," she growled deeply, her eyes narrowing into a dangerous glare.
As she sat forward in her chair, the politician hissed, "You mean to tell me that... that..." Arms flailing about, she yelled, "...bastard is an Infected and he influenced you into believing that you're somehow mystically connected!? Don't you see that this is some attack against me from his kind to get back at me for what I've done?!"
It was Angela's turn to be taken aback by the turn in the conversation. "You really think that's what this is about?!" she laughed sharply. "Mom, they're not vengeful like that... not the way that livings can be! I don't think that you've been a second thought to them ever since the amendment was passed!"
Hard as it was for the Senator to admit, she didn't know what offended her more- the fact that her daughter was so easily swayed by a monster, or the possibility that her life's work was nothing more than a fleeting memory to any creature.
She had single-handedly changed the course of how mortals and the Infected existed in the world. She had been a hero, a celebrity to the point of being a household name. And she deserved that recognition after her tireless efforts to stand for what was right and good.
Gripping the armrests of the recliner beneath her, Nancy snapped, "How would you know that? Did John say as much? He got you to speak to me like this when you know how important and influential what I've accomplished is?"
"No," Angela answered. Righting herself to display her resolve, she stated, "In fact, he released me to make up my own mind. What I'm telling you is coming from me and no one else. Believe me when I say that I despised his kind every bit as much as you did because I didn't know any better- just like you."
Shoulders shrugging, the intern muttered, "And yet at the same time, we're preached to about not judging others. Until recently, I thought that rule didn't apply to Vampires. All along, we forgot the simple fact that they all started out as livings, the same as us."
Her mother gritted through her teeth, "They are nothing like us. Perhaps they were once, but that changed forever once they were turned into the demons that they are now. They prey on humans, poisoning their minds into trusting them... into thinking that they have an unbreakable connection. You have to pull some sense together and not be another one of their victims."
Angela officially had enough at that.
Glowering, she bit out, "If you want to discuss a real victim, you should start with his mother! She's being held captive by Hunters while their family is being stalled in finding her thanks to their being tracked every step they take!"
Physically reeling back as though she had been smacked in the face, the Senator barked out, "His mother?! Vampires don't have mothers! Are you saying that there's proof of an Infected turning humans?! I'll personally see to it that their existence is ended under the strict laws that prohibit it!"
"She had John and his siblings naturally," Angela insisted. "There's enough documented evidence out there that not only can she conceive, but she delivered ten healthy Vampire babies. Now she's missing, expecting another child in the process and undergoing who knows what because of that! Meanwhile, there's no signs of real hope in her search thanks to the amendment that makes every Infected's whereabouts known to anyone."
Irate beyond reason, Nancy rose to her feet hollering, "Then good riddance to her! One last Vampire to worry about!" Those words registering with her, she froze in horror.
Every bit as fortified, her daughter stood up slowly with a new shimmer in her blue eyes. "Do you see what you've become thanks to that hatred?" she managed brokenly. "You think I'm weak-minded? You haven't even considered that maybe I looked into every angle of this before I decided to announce this to you? I'm in love with John. Not because of some falsified power that Vampires have over livings, but because I choose to accept the natural, God-given bond that we share."
Gulping past the thick lump in her throat, Angela murmured, "And his family is my family, too. I may not know them, but I'm sure as hell going to do everything I can to help them. It's up to you if you'll support us or not, but it'd mean the world to me if you would."
Quickly closing the gap between them, she wrapped her arms around the stunned politician and whispered, "I love you, Mom." Pulling back, she reached into the pocket of her jeans and removed a folded paper that she set onto the coffee table. "That's the number to my new secured line where you can reach me whenever you want to talk."
Bowing her head, the intern turned on her heels and headed out of the living room without looking back. Automatically grabbing her coat on her way to the front door, she pulled her arms through and stepped outside to the brightening new dawn.
And standing in wait at the end of the walkway through her home's front garden were her deliverers into the official start of her new beginning.
His face splitting into a brilliant smile, John met her in a few rushed paces to pull her into his arms. Not wanting to waste another second in the moment, Angela leaned up to initiate the deep kiss that let him know exactly how much she had missed him. Just a few feet behind him, Wufei looked on with an elated grin on his scaly face.
When the soul mates finally parted, the living greeted the Mimic with a warm, "Hi, Dad." Only in speaking the words did she really feel the impact of having such a figure back in her life after years following the passing of her birth father. Wiping a stray tear, she walked into his arms as they opened to her.
Chucking deeply as he held her, Chang replied with a sincere, "Welcome to the family." As they pulled away, he noted a certain Senator looking on from the large bay window of the living room. Sobering, he offered a subtle nod of acknowledgement... and sympathy. Nancy blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered to glare and storm away from sight once more.
Saddened as he was for the politician, the Chinese Infected couldn't help the smile that returned to his face as he focused back on his son and bonded daughter-in-law. "How are you holding up?" he asked the mortal.
"That was the hardest thing I ever had to do," Angela admitted. The deep frown of her lips slowly curled back upward as she tightened her arm that was looped around John's. Beaming at her Chosen, she added, "But at the same time... I've never felt better in my life." Moved by her sentiment, her partner's gold-ringed blue eyes filled with tears of relief and unspeakable joy.
Well aware of what she was experiencing, Chang smirked. "Then in that case, ready to go?" he asked. The couple nodded enthusiastically as he held onto their free arms, chuckling, "Good. Hold on." In the next blink, they were gone in a swirl of brilliant hues that faded off into thin air.
Back inside the house, Nancy McAdams was back in her recliner. Hands clenched into tight fists resting on her lap, she stared out into nothingness as her conflicting emotions coursed through every fiber of her being. It was impossible for her to sort out what feeling was winning out over all of the others...
...Oh, but there was anger to be sure. Then, finally, there was only emptiness.
Whimpering, she lowered her head as the tears came on.
* * * * * *
Her enlarged eyes taking in her new surroundings, Angela's mouth dropped open. It was evening wherever she was, if the glow of lamps throughout the living room she was standing in served as any indication. In the doorway, a pair of Infected standing by nodded and smiled in greeting to her.
Right away, she recognized them- one from his ties to two of the more famous Vampires in the world and the other through having already made their acquaintance.
"Charles," the mortal grinned widely. Pointing to the Original at her brother's side, she stammered, "Y-you're Heero Yuy. I've read about you in old news clippings in history classes."
Walking towards her, the Japanese immortal smiled, "That would be Uncle Heero, now." He embraced the young woman firmly as she held him back in kind.
The tall, redheaded Vampire just behind him moved in to scoop their new arrival up in a bear hug that lifted her feet from the floor with an elated, "Hey, sis! Great to have you on board!"
Her laughter filling the air while hanging onto him, Angela replied, "Thanks, Charles!" Carefully lowered back to the ground, her splitting grin faded when she took in the room around them. "So... where exactly are we?" she asked.
Smiling encouragingly when she looked to him, John stated, "We're just outside of Beijing." He gestured to the long table fitted with computers and a series of electronic storage devices. "This is where we've set up shop to pick up the search for Mom and Uncle Duo."
"Uncle Duo?" the living frowned in confusion. That was one piece of the puzzle that was wrapped around her new family that had yet to be discussed with her.
To the saddened faces watching her, she inhaled deeply and set herself to the realization that this was part of her existence now. "Okay," she nodded. "Fill me in on everything and tell me what I can do to help the search."
* * * * * *
The following morning in the Australian Outback...
"I really don't know how to thank you all for the hospitality you've shown me," Senator Dobson said to his hosts as he was led to the main elevators that would lift him above the Earth's surface. "This has been a much needed vacation as well as a once in a lifetime experience."
Arms folded behind his back as he kept up the lead, Septum smirked, "Happy to have given you the opportunity, friend."
Pausing by the large doors of the lift, he faced his honored guest to warn, "Now just be sure to keep your head down and guarantee that nothing happens within the Senate to jeopardize our security here. We're only weeks away from closing out on our little investments. I would hate to have everything crumble down on us when we're so close to cashing in."
Firmly squeezing the politician's arm, Lucie smiled, "You've seen my good side. You wouldn't want to know the other if anything were to go wrong and you were to blame for it." Though she had a friendly giggle to her statement, there was a darkness to her grin and the very real warning behind the message that was not missed by any of her present company.
Clearing his throat, Eric nodded, "Oh, nothing to worry about there. For an appeal to the amendment to come in the next couple of months, the Vampire Council would have to present an incredibly strong case to why it would need to be reversed. Time is not on their side for that. But if by some strange turn of events it should unfold, I have more than enough Senators trembling in my pocket with the secrets that I've dug up on them."
Head shaking, he reassured, "Between that and another added card up my sleeve, we should breathe easily from this point out." His associates in crime smirked in complete satisfaction with that.
After handshakes were exchanged, the plump man followed his Hunter escort into the elevator. Once the doors sealed him away, Aisley sighed deeply and faced her lover. "I thought that we would never have a moment alone," she purred as she wrapped her arms around the researcher's neck for a heated kiss that left nothing to the imagination of what she was spurring on.
She had played her part for their company well. Now was the time to solidify her place as Millers' partner.
Of course, their experiences between the sheets left much to be desired compared to what the Hunter had thought she would experience with Broderick... but that was a small price to pay for what was coming her way. As she was gently pulled to their shared quarters, her lips curled in a sly smile.
Life was good. And it was only going to get better from that point forward.
* * * * * *
Trowa's leg bounced up and down rapidly in anticipation as he sat next to his wife. Giggling, Midi told him softly, "My love, you're coming dangerously close to making a divot in the floor. Try and relax."
"Sorry," the Original grinned sheepishly, slapping a hand over his jumping knee to still it. The nerves were an impossible thing for him to fight off. Ever since that morning, he had his first ghost sensation of what would have been butterflies in his stomach were he living. It was beyond him how his wife could be so at ease in light of their situation.
Biting his lip, the tall Infected leaned against his bride and inquired, "So... what do you think? I mean your blood did taste different when I bit you earlier."
The Clan matriarch chewed on the inside of her cheek in careful consideration. "I don't know," she replied, their gold-ringed eyes meeting. "There are some strange things going on, but I honestly don't know if it's my head making me imagine them or..."
...or if those signs were, in fact, real.
Letting out a long rush of air that had filled his lungs, Trowa reached over to squeeze his Chosen's hand. "I know the timing pressure we're under to get pregnant," he muttered. "But whatever happens, we'll find another way to fight the registration amendment. We'll have a baby... hell, a lot of babies one day."
"Fortunately, you won't have to wait long for that," Sally's voice announced. Gasping, the Vampires' wide eyes snapped to the patient room doorway to find the doctor standing there with a brilliant smile on her face. Tapping the clipboard she was hugging to her chest, she offered a warm, "Congratulations."
The Infected shot to their feet, cheering and embracing each other tightly. "Really?!" Midi managed through her tears as she looked over to the Companion. Nodding, Po stepped up to give each of her friends a firm hug.
Pulling himself together once the incredible news set in, Barton pulled his wife close against him again and kissed her soundly. His emerald-and-gold eye shimmering when he pulled away, he rested their foreheads together and grinned, "We have to call Treize."
With a wink, Sally giggled, "Already on it. You two enjoy this moment. The rest of us will take it from here." Turning away at their grateful smiles, she slipped from the room as the door slid closed behind her.
Alone out in the hallway, the braided doctor threw her free arm into the air as she whispered an excited, "Yes!" Practically dancing to her office, she knew that the legislative fight was far from over... but this was a hell of a good blow against the new law.
* * * * * *
Broderick was on edge beneath his calm surface. Hands stuffed into his pockets, he ran his fingers over the small remote that controlled the prisoners' collars to steel himself for what he needed to do. Smirking to the Hunters that he passed along the catwalks, he came to a halt before the sealed off destination.
Shortly after his three quick knocks to the door, it slid open to reveal Emma. The girl smiled widely up at him, hands folded behind her back and wearing a simple green sundress with purple flower details and sneakers on her feet. It fit the bill of what Dawson had asked her to wear- something light and sporty to make it easy to run.
A smirk tugging the corner of his mouth, the Hunter greeted, "Hello, Miss Emma."
"Hi, Broderick," the brunette replied as she stepped. Well prepared for her part, she asked for any possible ears listening in, "Am I going to the lab again?"
Like so many other times in the past when he served as her escort, Dawson nodded, "Yea. We need to make sure that Vampire stays quiet for a while."
Such was the protocol whenever there was to be a massive changing of the guards throughout the base. They were few and far between, but this shift following Senator Dobson's departure was a particularly large endeavor due to the heightened security for his appearance.
Feigning a frown, Emma sighed, "Alright." She stepped out to join him in the corridor, the pigtails at either side of her head bouncing with her movement until she was standing just behind him.
"Ready to go?" the tall young man asked cryptically as he peered over his shoulder to the bright eyes gazing up at him. To anyone else who may have overheard, they would have assumed that he was referring to the prison... but the co-conspirators knew he meant they were 'going' much further away than that.
Nodding vehemently, the child wasn't about to risk betraying her overwhelming excitement. "Okay," Broderick grinned and took the lead along the catwalks to the laboratory with Emma close behind.
* * * * * *
Solo had been on pins and needles all morning, knowing what was about to transpire. The burden on him as to what he was going to bestow onto the little Companion falling squarely on him had weighed heavily on the Hybrid.
Only until he thought out every possibility of how the escape could potentially work out did he finally come to one clear conclusion.
And he knew, when the doors to the holding cell opened to Broderick and Emma, exactly what he had to do.
TBC...
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