31: Reunion - I’m not alone
“I’m scared of what they’ll think of me.”
Aster, Rin and Megumi stopped to see Max had stopped walking to the meeting point. He was trembling, unsure of himself. He looked up, “I never met Gwendolyn and I haven’t seen my brothers since I was six. Do you think they will be disgusted by me? Not only that, what about Zelda? Do you think she won’t like the current me and will want the old me? What if-?”
“Relax.” Aster said, grabbing Max’s hands, “First, I hear Gwendolyn is a badass assassin with badass companions. You’ll get along swimmingly. Second, your brothers have probably seen worse things than you. Lastly, if Zelda doesn’t want you, Megumi, Rin or I would love you.”
“Nah, I don’t see Maxie like that.”
Aster sighed, “I’d date you.”
“You make it sound like you’re taking one for the team.” Rin mumbled, “Besides, I would be a better boyfriend.”
“Rin, calm down. This is if Zelda doesn’t like this Max, which I doubt.” Aster replied.
“Thanks, Aster.” Max smiled, “I do feel a bit better knowing I’d have two boyfriends if my wife decides to leave me.”
“Let’s stop stalling. We need to let Max have his family reunion with his brothers and wife.” Megumi called to the rest of the boys.
“Right, right.” Aster sighed.
They continued walking, Max fidgeting with his hands every so often. They stopped in the empty patch of forest that was, weirdly enough, occupied with an old swing set. Rin kneeled down, preparing his weapons in case it was a trap.
Cardec wasn’t their only enemy anymore. Those men of the Organization and the men of CIB were out there, and they had the intentions of taking the quintuplets. They had to ensure Max’s safety before anything else.
Megumi leaned next to a tree, looking around while Aster had a hand on his gun. All of them were on guard. Except Max, who looked so nervous and scared despite his years of experience. It was weird to see their de facto leader like this. They’d never seen him look so unsure of himself.
Megumi heard the rustling first. He whistled, making Aster lead Max behind a tree some meters away. He pointed his gun at the direction of the sound only to find a boy with a face that was so identical to Max’s pointing a gun at him. He barely registered the other identical boys and the girl.
Megumi lowered his gun slightly, “You must be one of the five.”
“What’s my brother’s full name?”
Megumi glanced at Aster and Rin before looking back, “Maxiel Astre Garwin but I met him as Max Olson. Seriously though, what kind of name is ‘Maxiel’?”
“Our father was a bit eccentric.”
Max’s brother lowered his gun, “Giancarlo.”
“Nice to meet you. You’re the oldest, right?”
Giancarlo turned to the others, “These are my brothers Halt and Sehel and she can introduce herself.”
“Thanks, Gian,” The girl grinned, “I’m Euphemia.”
“Giancarlo, Halt, Sehel and Euphemia, huh? I’m Megumi and the other two that are ready to attack are Rin and Aster.”
“Where’s Max?” The glasses-wearing quintuplet – Sehel, if he remembered correctly – asked.
Megumi let them approach before answering, “We’re still waiting for Gwendolyn Garwin and her group. For all we know, they are traitors and they turn Maxie in.”
“Oh, but no care for us?” Halt questioned.
Megumi shrugged, “No offense but you don’t look that important.”
Rin chuckled, “Megumi, don’t yank their chains. We’re not taking precautions with you guys simply because we don’t know you all. We know Max and don’t want him to get hurt.”
“That’s rude.” Euphemia muttered.
“Sorry but we’d rather you guys get taken than our friend.” Aster responded.
“Such a rude way for such a cute guy to talk.”
They all turned to see a girl that looked a lot like the boys with the same golden hair and unnatural blue eyes that looked like a cat’s. She grinned, leaning on the wall, “I’m not late, am I?”
“Gwendolyn Garwin.” Giancarlo said loudly.
“Just Gwen.” She said as four girls appeared behind her.
“Nyssa, nice to meet you.”
Aster inclined his head, “I’m Aster. They’re Rin and Megumi. They’re Euphemia, Sehel, Giancarlo and Halt.”
Sehel walked closer to Gwen, “So, you’re our little sister?”
In response, Gwen showed him a golden chain and locket. Sehel placed a hand on his chest, where an identical chain and locket were. He smiled, “Gwen, it’s nice to meet you.”
Halt rushed past his brothers to wrap his arms around Gwen, hugging the girl. She remained motionless, probably shocked at Halt’s actions. Halt tightened his grip on her, “I wish I knew you were alive all this time. I’m sorry we left you alone.”
Gwen slowly returned the hug, leaning on Halt, “You didn’t know. That’s okay.”
Halt detangled himself from Gwen, holding her hand. He turned to Megumi, “So, where’s our brother now?”
Gwen looked behind her, “Oh, somewhere a bit behind. She said this could be a trap.”
“Why do you all assume that?” Halt said, exasperated.
“Better to assume the worse.” A woman said, appearing from the trees. She raised her voice, “Maxie, what did you want to be when you were a kid?!”
“Scientist and you wanted to be an actress!” Max said, as he stepped out from behind the tree. He was holding his head, meaning he had been struggling to remember that piece of information.
Max would never regain all of his memories but at least he remembered snippets of his old self.
Max smiled, “You’re prettier than the you from my memories.”
Zelda rushed ahead, throwing herself at Max. Max caught her and the two laughed as they were finally reunited. Max twirled her in the air, Zelda having her arms around Max’s neck.Max set her down, still holding onto Zelda.
“I can never fully regain my memories. Sorry.”
Zelda leaned closer, “I know. I’ll fill in the gaps. I’ll help you know.”
“Oi, love birds!” Megumi yelled, “How about you say hello to your brothers and sister?”
Max slowly left Zelda’s embrace, holding her hand. Zelda looked into Max’s expressive eyes and grinned. He was still her Max after all. She tightened her hand, “Don’t worry. They’ll love you regardless of how you’ve changed. They’re your family, after all.”
Max stepped forward, avoiding looking at his brothers and sister in the eyes. He cleared his throat, “Hey.”
“Maxie.” Sehel said and Max hated that he couldn’t remember why his brother looked at him with so much fondness.
Max sighed, “I lost my memories a while back. I don’t think I’ll ever get back those memories. Not like it happens in the movies. I have remembered some things but nothing big. I’m sorry.”
Max jumped before one of his brothers – Giancarlo– hugged him, causing him to let go of Zelda’s hand. Giancarlo squeezed him, “You don’t need to apologize for losing memories. It wasn’t your fault. It’s for the best that you forgot your childhood.”
“Is it? Even if that means not remembering our childhood?”
Gwen patted Max’s head, “You didn’t even know me. Also, bad things happened that wouldn’t be good for you to remember. Not when you look so sweet.”
“I’ve killed a lot of people.”
Gwen looked at him sadly, “So have I.”
Gwen’s face changed and Max saw her shocked face. Even his brother’s hug seemed to lessen. He slowly detached himself, “Men, women and children. I don’t remember everything but I know what I’ve done. I betrayed my organization by killing an innocent operative. I don’t feel anything from that-.”
Gwen sighed, “You’re either actively trying to get us to hate you or you’re scared of what we think.”
Max looked away. Sehel came forward, “Maxie, I’m your older brother and your favorite.”
“Don’t you dare play dirty just because he has amnesia.” Halt hissed, still holding onto Gwen.
Sehel hushed Halt before grabbing Max’s hands, “What I’m trying to say is that I love you and nothing you say or do will stop that love. Not murder. Giancarlo and Gwen commit enough of that. Besides, I heard you left that life prior to the amnesia. Speaking of, I’m a doctor now.”
Sehel laughed, “Maxie, your type of amnesia is either traumatic amnesia or dissociative amnesia. I know there are ways to recover the majority of your memories, if you’d like them back.”
Max’s eyes widened, “It’s not all gone?”
Sehel shook his head, “No. We’ll just have to work hard for it. With Zelda, Halt, Giancarlo and I, we can do it.”
“You were worried over nothing, Max!” Aster said, wrapping his arm around Max. Megumi and Rin stood on either side of Max, silently watching. Aster grinned at Zelda, “You do need your husband right?”
“Yeah. You can’t keep him.” Zelda replied.
“Nothing to worry about indeed.” Euphemia said, leaning on Sehel.
“So, Max,” Gwen grinned, “since you can’t remember, can I tell you that you once saved Nyssa and she developed a crush on you?”
“Gwen!” Nyssa cried out, “That was a secret!”
“Not really.” Saru mumbled.
“Shut up! Besides, who wouldn’t have a crush on the Black King?”
“You don’t count, Mika, you’re a lesbian.”
They all laughed at Mika’s affronted look. Mika and Nyssa began to argue over the good looks of the Garwins – notably Halt, Gwen and Max – while Euphemia, Megumi and Aster occasionally chimed in. Giancarlo looked a bit offended he wasn’t considered as handsome as his youngest siblings while Sehel found it hilarious.
Max felt a warm feeling on his chest. He placed his hand on his chest and smiled.
Things were looking up now. When he woke up from his coma with no memories, he had nothing. He was just Max, nobody special with nothing. Things had changed. He had a name that was attached to a family, friends and allies. The world wasn’t his enemy anymore.
For Day 31 of OCtober prompts by @oc-growth-and-development
