Seeing Jondy again had been been good for both Zack and Max. Zack knew that it was something Max had wanted ever since they all lost track of each other the night of the break out of Manticore. She'd searched for any and all of her brothers and sisters just as Zack had done what he could to keep all of them safe for all of those years. And what he was going to continue doing now.

As much as he would have wanted to have his sister stay with the two of them there in Los Angeles, Zack knew that someone needed to be able to look out for everyone back in reality. Zack would have gone back himself, but there was something he couldn't quite put his finger on that kept him there with Max. Something that told him he was needed here and that Jondy would be able to get the word out to their siblings about where he was and help to keep all of them safe.

She stayed while, but all three decided that Jondy going back was for the best even if not one of them liked it. Jondy was sent back to the present while Zack and Max and even Alec stayed behind to handle the past. Whatever it was going to bring for all of them.

One would think that travelling back in time to another year and moving to another city would be the ultimate cover for the x5s who managed to escape Manticore all those years ago. For years they all living in hiding and constantly kept looking over their shoulders for someone to try and carry them back there. For years Zack did all that he could to make sure that that never happened to any of his brothers or sisters. He considered them his responsibility.

Living in 2007, now 2008, does have its advantages, sure. The pre-pulse world has everything one could want at their fingertips. Not only is there convience in that way, but no one is looking for any of them here. But Zack is still looking over his shoulder. He'll never be able to stop looking over his shoulder.

Now that there are more joining them, he's not quite sure how things will work out for their selves in the future. Will they ever go back? Will they be forced back? The pulse is coming, but Zack does know one thing. It doesn't matter if he's living in the past, his mind is still in the future and focused on keeping his brothers and sisters safe. No matter what, they are what are most important and no matter what he'd sacrifice everything all over again just to make sure one of them stays safe.

At Manticore, we were trained for battle. It's what we were created for in the first place. We were soldiers designed for whatever mission they wanted us to complete. Soldiers who didn't question authority because there was no choice in what we did. It was just a matter of fact. Manticore was our commander in chief and we needed to fall in line.

Except for when the group of us decided that it was time to question what they told us. That we weren't just a group of soldiers made for battles and missions, but we were children and we wanted lives of our own instead of the lives they'd drawn out for us in our DNA.

I still have that foundation embedded in me just like I'm sure all the rest of my brothers and sisters do. We're still soldiers at heart, but that's not all of who we are. We'll never stop fighting against Manticore no matter how many times they try to come after us.

We're genetically designed soldiers, but that's not all of who we are. Humanity is still there and not even a place like Manticore can change that.

The entire world celebrates another year ending and another beginning. It's something even Zack had done a few times. But being in 2007 or 2008 is a lot different than the way he'd celebrated any New Year's while in the future. In a post-pulse world. They watch the ball drop on the television, but Zack doesn't say "Happy New Year" to Max. She's the reason he's here in the first place and the reason he hasn't considered going back unless she's at his side. Instead of speaking, he just merely looks at her with two knowing looks staring back at the other. The pulse is coming and there's nothing any of them can do about it. Another year gone and another year closer to the inevitable.

But then after the shared look, he smiles and reaches for a bottle of good liquor that's much easier to come by here than there. They share the bottle until it's gone and Zack knows for a fact that he wouldn't rather be anywhere else. Pre-pulse or post-pulse, he's mostly just thankful he's able to spend his time with his family.

Some things are easier here in the past but eventually he knows that they'll have to go back. But until then, Zack raises his glass to the new year.

My brothers and sisters are all the family I have and are the only ones I care about in this world. There have been a few others who I may care for in some ways, but ultimately, they are the ones I will always protect. We all broke out of Manticore together and I took it upon myself to watch out for every one of them ever since. I might have broken free from the place, but my mission and objective never changed over the years. I was to watch out for all of them, keep them all safe, and make sure they did not fall in the hands of Lydecker again.

Some might have fallen along the way and I take that upon myself. I failed those who I let go down but I still have the others to watch out for now. Manticore may be dead and buried in some respects, but there is still a greater threat out there and they all still need someone to look after them.

When I found out that Max had somehow fell into the past, I didn't think twice about going after her. She needed someone to watch out for her. My brothers and sisters back in Seattle had been doing fine without me for the last few months while my memory was still gone, but Max was and always will be different. I'd never be able to forgive myself if I allowed something to happen to her when I could have stopped or fixed the problem. I did it for her once, but I'd give my life for any of them if they needed me. They're my family.

I have a memory of Thanksgiving from living with Buddy and Ruth. It was the first holiday I'd spent with them even if they insisted that I'd spent many more before that one. In reality, I hadn't spent even one, but I understand why they told me that I had. I don't always agree with the decision, but I understand why it was done in the first place. At that Thanksgiving, I killed a turkey myself for Mary to cook for our dinner. It wasn't a huge feast, but it was special and we all had more than we needed.

During the meal, we all went around the table and spoke of what we were thankful for. I remember what I said and now that I remember who and what I really am, that would never change. It wouldn't change because it's always been what I'm the most thankful for.

I'm thankful for my family. My brothers and sisters who've lived and died because of a decision I started when I was a boy back at Manticore. I'd sacrifice myself for them all and do anything it would taketo make sure they live on because that's how we take care of each other.

That meal was one I'll never forget either. Buddy and Mary were like family to me at the time and I'm thankful they took me in and gave me a home.

It didn't take long for Zack to realize where he was. One moment he was standing in the middle of 2020, a world and life after the pulse. Now? He was witnessing a world he'd only heard about in stories and was in Los Angeles, California instead of Seattle. Life before the pulse and everyone going about their lives without any idea of what was to come only a few short years from now. Zack didn't understand everything but he still knew what he'd come here for. Back in Seattle, he'd gotten rumors from Logan about Lydecker trying to locate a pair of X5s. Two that sounded much too familiar to Zack and he was determined to find them before anyone from Manticore did.

Things were easier in 2007. No sector passes needed and the X5s hadn't escaped from Manticore yet so no one would be looking for him. He was actually only just a child back at the facility, training to become the best soldier he could be.

Several days passed and Zack was starting to wonder if this guy that Logan sent him to had done nothing but send him on a nice vacation as far away from him as possible. Zack remembered how things had been left between himself and Logan before Zack lost his memory. Logan was the enemy of Manticore as Eyes Only and Zack was trained indoctrinated by the best take out any threat. That had included Logan.

If there was anything Zack was good at, it was keeping track of his fellow X5s. He'd done it for nearly a decade before without some of them knowing and he was determined to find his sister again even in this place. They were the only family he'd ever had and it was his job to protect them. It took several weeks, but soon Zack was able to locate Alec's name around the city. He was apparently living as a bodyguard for some kids therefore making it much easier to locate him over Max. Once finding the local places and part of town he visited more regularly, Zack finally was able to locate Max.

She was working as a bartender and was staying low for the most part. Alec on the other hand associated himself with one of the largest names in the city. He wasn't the one Zack was worried about, though.

Entering the bar one night, Zack looked around curiously, his senses on high alert then laid his eyes on Max back behind the bar serving up a few drinks. She'd know he was there soon enough.

My name is Adam Thompson. Or so it has been for the last several months since the accident. I've lived on a ranch with a couple named Buddy and Mary. It's hard work, but good work. Mary and Buddy are good people and they've treated me well. It's been nearly four years since I started working on the ranch and it feels more like a home than anywhere else I've lived my entire life. Or the parts of my life I remember.

Over the past few weeks, a couple months even, I'd been having flashes of a past life. Images of a person I used to be but don't recognize at all. There are people I see, conversations I know I've had that I can't really explain. Buddy liked to avoid the subject whenever I asked him about it. Finally, one night it all came back with a bang and I knew who I was. I'm a soldier, an X5. I remembered so much, but there was one person's face who I couldn't get out of my head. Max.

Others who've known me, know me as Zack. Like my brothesr and sisters, we all gave ourselves names instead of the number coded on the backs of our necks. When we were nine, a group of us escaped the place we called home. Manticore. They made us soldiers and products of genetic research. When we escaped, we jeopardized the project which made it their objective to capture or terminate us. My objective was to protect my brothers and sisters no matter what.

When I realized I'd been living someone else's life, I left the ranch and came back to Seattle hoping to get in contact with Max again. She was the one person I thought I could count on to tell me what was going on, but she was missing. So, I went to the one person I knew she counted on possibly more than me. I went to see Logan. He told me she'd been gone for months and so had Alec. Lydecker was on the move and I wasn't going to let Max get taken again. After demanding he give me answers, I was able to get an address out of him. Someone he thought would be able to take me to Max.

Turns out he did more than I ever expected. One minute I was standing in post-pulse Seattle and the next I was standing in a crowd of people in a city I didn't recognize at all.

My objective was still the same, though. I needed to find Max.