FANFIC: Missing Sister, the next generation (15 years after) (Prologue)
TITLE: Missing Sister, the next generation (15 years after)
CHAPTER: Prologue
PAIRINGS/CHARACTERS: Most of main cast feature in this. As for pairings, some you might be able to guess, others will surprise you. A lot has happened in 15 years.
RATING/WARNINGS: I'll go with PG-13, just in case.
SUMMARY/NOTES: A next generation fic. Three years ago Brady was kidnapped by the Chosen, and the Mallrats still don't know where she or the Chosen are. Now things are set in motion, bringing the Mallrats and the Chosen towards their final battle, while the next generation of Mallrats are forced to come to terms with their parents' past.
As a way to make it easier to keep track of timelines in terms of flashbacks, I'll be using Year (insert number) AV in the headings to let you know when it takes place. AV = After Virus, so s1 is year 0. S1-s5 lasted about 3 years in the timeline of this story.
CHARACTER PROFILES
(my advice is to try and read the story before looking at the profiles, they are there mainly to help avoid confusion with the amount of new characters.)
15 YEARS AGO (YEAR 3 AV (After Virus)):
The five women sat there in silence, hidden inside the thick of the trees. All of them staring at the three pregnancy tests placed on the tree trunk in front of them, all far enough apart to not be confused with the others. Three of them waited for their future to be decided, the other two were there for support.
They had been on this island for several weeks now. The pregnancy tests had been acquired from another boat passing by that stopped to trade; all done in secrecy thanks to May’s sly ways. There had turned out to be a large trading market out on the seas, boats from islands and cities meeting in assigned spots to show of and trade their goods. May’s ‘friend’ had made the other boats aware of the group settling on the half-island, and they’d had constant visits even when he had taken the boat to go and trade himself.
The beeper went off on the watch Ellie had borrowed from Jack. Ellie and Salene glanced at each other as the other three stared at their pregnancy tests as if they were giant scary monsters. Finally May picked up hers, swearing loudly as it read positive. Ruby and Trudy picked up theirs at the same time. Trudy broke down in tears, while Ruby stared blankly at it.
“How can I be sure which one is wrong?” She asked in a low voice.
“Wait and see if a baby pops out one day?” May suggested through gritted teeth.
Ellie had moved over to Trudy, stroking her carefully on the back in comfort.
“It’s going to be fine, Trudy. We’re all here to help.”
“How can it be fine?” May snapped. “We’re stuck on an island in the middle of fucking nowhere, and in some months time there will be three screaming babies around!”
“When Jack and the others come back…” Ellie began.
“If they come back,” May shot in.
“May!” Salene gave her a warning look, as Ellie’s eyes filled with tears.
The coming argument was stopped by Amber calling for them. Almost before any of them had the chance to react, she appeared through the trees, her face a beaming smile. The pregnancy tests were quickly dropped out of sight, down on the ground to be hidden by dead leaves and grass.
“What are you all doing hiding away in here?” She stopped for a moment when she saw the looks on everyone’s faces. “I just came to let you know we can see the boat in the horizon. They’re coming back.”
Ellie shrieked with joy, hurrying off as quick as her legs could carry her. Ruby and May followed after her. Salene looked from Amber to Trudy, before doing the same. Trudy stood up, discreetly dragging her feet over the pregnancy tests to cover them in dirt as she walked over them.
“Trudy? What’s wrong?” Amber looked at her friend’s tearstained face with worried eyes.
Trudy shook her head and tried to give her a smile.
“We should go to the others, say hi to Jack and Ram,” she said as she walked past Amber, following the others to the beach. She could feel Amber’s eyes on her back, but thankfully she let the subject go. Trudy just wasn’t ready to tell her yet.
Ram, Jack and the trader had been gone for nearly two weeks. It seemed to take forever as the boat slowly sailed towards them, until Jack and Ram stood there on the beach. Jack was quickly engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by Ellie, the two of them lip-locked for a few moments while Ram had to deal with the questions being thrown at him from all angles. Ruby was the only one stepping forward to give him a hug, while Jack was overwhelmed with slaps on the back from the guys and quick hugs from the girls.
“Just shut up.” Ram held up his hands to silence the group. “There is no virus, he tricked us.”
This information made everyone stop to a halt, before once again Ram, and now also Jack, were bombarded with more questions.
“Basically,” Jack took the word, “we found no trace of virus in the lab or anywhere in the city. People are already moving back and no one is sick.”
“Why would he lie?” Slade looked shell-shocked, his eyes darting between Jack and Ram.
“Wait, does this mean he isn’t dead?” Lex asked angrily.
“No, he’s dead.” Jack grimaced, glancing at Slade and trying very hard not to think of the condition of the body they had found. “We think he was hoping to trick us into believing he had stopped a deadly virus from killing us all, making himself appear as a hero. Let’s face it; we have fallen for it before. The whole Zoot thing was programmed to go the way it did, that much we could figure out from the system.”
“Then what killed him?” Slade asked.
“My guess…” Ram hesitated, an apologetic look sent Slade’s way. “The helmet wasn’t strong enough, short-circuited and electrocuted him when the pressure got too high on the system.”
“You mean those paradise helmets could have electrocuted us all?” Lex stepped forward towards Ram. Jay and Slade managed to pull him back.
“Technically, yes.” Ram shrugged. “Very unlikely though, it took a lot of power and a much more advanced system than the paradise game.”
Judging by the looks he was getting, Ram knew they weren’t all too sure he was telling the truth.
“Guys, don’t you get what this means?” Salene looked from one to the other. “We can go home!”
As these news dawned on everyone else, cheers erupted and were followed by spontaneous acts of celebration.
Trudy soon disentangled herself from the many group hugs and hurried towards the makeshift tent between the trees that they used to sleep in. Brady was sitting up in her little sleeping area, the loud noises having woken her from her nap.
“What’s going on, mommy?” She asked.
Trudy sat down by her, a smile on her face now.
“Jack and Ram came back to tell us it’s safe to go home again, back to the mall.”
Brady’s face lit up.
“We’re going home?”
Trudy nodded with a beaming smile on her face, and laughed as Brady let out a cheer.
The rest of the day was spent on celebrations, using up a large part of the food stash they had gathered at their camp for a feast. As daylight faded to dark Trudy took a half-asleep Brady over to the tent to put her down next to little Bray. There was no need for a story or a goodnight song, Brady barely managed to return Trudy’s good night wish before she was gone. Trudy remained by her side though, her back against the tree as she looked at the two children sleeping peacefully. Her hand rested on her stomach, and her eyes drifted towards where Amber was sitting with Jay’s arm around her, both their faces nothing but smiles. Her thoughts drifted of, going through various scenarios of how she should tell Amber and what her reaction would be. In Trudy’s head it varied from anger to despair to joy, though she quickly dismissed that last version as ridiculous. She didn’t notice Ellie and Jack approaching until they stood right in front of her. She attempted a smile as Ellie sat down next to her, motioning for Jack to sit down opposite them.
“Jack, the hero of the day,” Trudy tried to sound cheerful, but didn’t quite manage it. Jack smiled back, a little embarrassed but still obviously a little proud.
“Well, I did my best.”
“So modest,” Ellie rolled her eyes, but gave him a beaming smile.
Trudy looked away as the couple gave each other those happy looks. Ellie seemed to notice, and quickly turned her focus back on Trudy.
“I know you said it was a secret, but I had to tell Jack.”
Trudy sighed, but nodded to show she understood.
“We just wanted you to know that we’ll help you out, Trudy; babysitting Brady, moral support, helping out with the baby when it comes, all that stuff.”
Trudy glanced over at Jack doubtfully, fully aware that this was probably Ellie’s idea and Jack just tagged along because that’s how they worked. Yet there was something in the way he looked at the two sleeping children, and a memory flashed through her mind of the day before he and Ram left when Brady had insisted on Jack telling her a goodnight story, and instead of running away horrified he had hesitantly agreed to do it. He wasn’t a kid himself anymore. Maybe he and Ellie were thinking of having kids of their own, she pondered, before realising Ellie was waiting for some kind of response. Trudy smiled to her.
“Thank you, I really appreciate that. I’ll need the help,” she said as genuinely as she could manage. She was grateful. It was just difficult yet to focus on all that.
“I think I’ll try to get some sleep now,” Trudy hoped she wasn’t being rude in dismissing them, but Ellie and Jack both smiled and wished her good night.
As soon as they were gone, Trudy lay down next to her little girl. She soon fell asleep despite the noise still coming from the others, one arm protectively lying over her daughter as she snuggled up next to her.
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Only a few hours boat-trip away, and an hour or two of walking from the harbour into the forest and up a hill, another small group of people were gathered by a stream. The Guardian was pleased. Just like he had expected his loyal followers had found a way to free him from the cages. He hadn’t managed to bring those two mallrats with him in the riot that followed, but that was of very little concern when the important people had been picked up from the Techno camp.
He looked at the woman in front of him with a pleased grin on his face. She was every bit as beautiful as she had been the day he met her, despite all her ordeals. The dress one of the women had found for her was covered in blood stains as she sat by the stream to wash her hands. The lines of red blood from them had long disappeared now, but she was still staring out into nothing. Barely there with them. That did not worry him, she did that from time to time now. It was the Technos’ fault, she would be alright again soon.
“Tai-San?” He asked gently. She didn’t answer or react. He decided to let her be, and stood up. As he walked away he motioned to one of his guards to keep an eye on her. The Supreme Mother. Finally the way he wanted it to be.
The other woman sat outside the makeshift tent they had built. Her messy and dirty hair hiding her face from the world, keeping her usually glaring eyes shielded from him. The little ones were sleeping inside, she sat there almost like a guard, even though there was nothing she could do if anyone else wanted to get in. Her legs drawn as close to her body as she could, elbows resting on her knees, hands fiddling with the loose hems on the tattered robe he had allowed her to wear.
He hated her, with a passion. She always opposed him, fought him, and made things harder. The easy thing would be to kill her, it would save him a lot of trouble. But she was a challenge he liked. How he would enjoy turning her into one of his followers. As she looked up at him now with a tearstained face, the anger and hate was gone. Just defeat was left on her face. Broken. As the sides of his lips turned upwards, she once again hid her face from him.
The Guardian turned away from her, now facing the sunset with all the colours playing on the sky. In a few hours it would rise again, another beginning. Their beginning. The time of the Chosen would begin here, on this hill.