Isaac Vacker

Favorite Song: "Everything Has Changed" by Taylor Swift
(Lyrics underlined)

Ten years ago...From the memory of Isaac Vacker

All I knew this morning when I woke
Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before
And all I've seen since 18 hours ago is green eyes and freckles and your smile
In the back of my mind making me feel like...

I grew up tagging along behind the first waves. Celeste was the tech genius and enforcer of rules; Rosie was the second in command and the one you went to when you wanted your boo boos kissed; and Alex was the leader who called the shots and made sure everyone was on their best behavior.

Alex was my hero. Everyone listened to him, he came up with fun games, he helped settle arguments, and he always made sure we stuck together. That's why we kids, excluding Henry, Jasper, and Amy because they were too little, were all able to have one big sleepover at Hycinthia in the living room. We played board games together and ate finger food, and we all had a lot of fun, but bedtime came too soon.

The first waves were camped out towards the edge of the room on air mattresses, Rosie sandwiched between Alex and Celeste, and me and the second waves were piled up together on the couch. Iris and Theo were practically back to back and Iris's head was on Theo's shoulder while Theo's legs crossed over my legs and I was laying my head on his arm. This wasn't the first time we second waves ended up going to bed in weird piles like this, Mom liked to call us a "puppy pile", but even so, I couldn't sleep. It was really dark, we had all the lights off, and I didn't have my glow stars to keep me safe at night, because the light they gave off protected me from monsters under the bed. Eventually, after laying awake for what felt like hours, I slowly sat up and moved Theo's legs off of me, trying not to disturb him. I then crept over to the First Waves and tapped Alex's shoulder.

"Alex?" I asked quietly, eyes wide with fear of the darkness, "Are you awake?"

Alex yawned a little, "I am now, bud, what's up?"

"I can't sleep, I'm scared."

"You wanna join us?" he offered, and I nodded, crawling next to him as he made room for me on the air mattress. I clutched his arm.

"Hey, it's okay, nothing's gonna happen. When I grow up, I'm going to be a CFRO," Alex whispered quietly, "I'll be able to protect you from all the scary monsters, okay? Just be patient, I'll get there."

This was strange because before this, I'd always thought that Alex would never hurt a fly. He'd always said he was going to be an architect like his Grandpa Forkman.

"What about being an architect?" I asked quietly, and Alex smiled sadly in the glow of the nightlight.

"I saw a girl get robbed yesterday in Mysterium, and I couldn't do anything," admitted Alex, "I wanted to help, but I didn't have anything useful - I didn't know how. I don't want that to happen again. What if that girl was Rosie? What if that happened to you? What if it happened to one of our family and friends and I couldn't do anything to help them then?" He shook his head, "The world isn't a safe place right now, and architecture can wait."

I couldn't help but look up at Alex in wonder. This wasn't who I thought he was. I thought he was just a kid, having fun and looking out for the other kids. He sounded much older, like he was growing up already, and like I didn't know him as well as I thought I did.

I just want to know you better
Know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you better
Know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you better
Know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you, know you, know you

Rosie rolled over in her sleep and bumped into Alex's side, but she didn't wake up. I watched as Alex turned his head to look at her, and I caught the glimpse of a small smile. He shifted, and curled an arm around Rosie, pulling her closer. Then, when I wasn't looking, he moved the arm I was holding away and wrapped it around me snugly. I looked up at him with wonder, because he was just so much bigger all of the sudden, but he was looking at Rosie again, smiling in a way I'd never seen before.

'Cause all I know is we said hello
And your eyes look like coming home
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed
All I know is you held the door
You'll be mine and I'll be yours
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed...

Eight Years Ago...From the memory of Isaac Vacker

I was only going to see Theo, I promise, but when I walked past Rosie's cracked door... I couldn't help myself. She was dancing around the room, Taylor Swift, a singer from the human world that Granny brought Rosie the music of for her birthday one year. The only reason I knew the person singing was because Amy liked Taylor Swift too, probably because Rosie liked her.

"Take them down and open up the door for you," Rosie sang with her eyes closed, twirling. I didn't know what song she was singing, but even a... a... um... dense... person... (best I could come up with, I'm sorry) could tell that she wasn't really on earth at the moment. "And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies; The beautiful kind, making up for lost time; Taking flight, making me feel like; I just want to know you better; Know you better, know you better now; I just want to know you better; Know you better, know you better now; I just want to know you better..."

As she went into the pre-chorus, I couldn't help but zone out until it was just my eyes following her around the room, smiling wildly, twirling about, her arms moving gracefully, and her cheeks pink from something more than the exercise. 

"Know you better, know you better now; I just want to know you, know you, know you. 'Cause all I know is we said hello; And your eyes look like coming home; All I know is a simple name, everything has changed; All I know is you held the door; You'll be mine and I'll be yours; All I know since yesterday is everything has changed."

Little did I know was that in that moment when I saw her posed perfectly in my view through the door frame, her arms slowly falling as her chin tilted up to the sky as she sang the last two notes in the stanza, was that this was how I would always remember her best. Not when she saved my kite from a tree, or when she cleaned up my scraped knee; not when she graduated Foxfire or when she got her job as a daycare; but when she was fifteen and dancing around her bedroom to human music, and, even though I didn't notice it at the time, radiating love.

Rosie caught me when she opened her eyes, and I stepped back with a quiet gasp, thinking she'd be upset, but she wasn't. Instead she smiled, giggling, "Good song, no?" Not knowing what to say, I shyly nodded, and she laughed again, "Want to join?"

Now, it doesn't take a genius to know that when your pretty cousin asks if you want to dance to her favorite song, you say yes.

I stepped into her room and glanced around at the decor for a moment. The walls were a soft pink and little crystals hung from the ceiling, catching light from the large curved windows and illuminating the room. The carpet was made of soft lambs ear leaves, and a large oval mirror sat in the corner by the window. There was an entrance to a little circular balcony nearby, and on the railing sat decorated pots with little plants inside, some flowering, some herbal. A soft knit cream afghan blanket was neatly spread on her bed and on the other side of her glass-doored night stand was a tall, thin metal tree with Rosie's jewelry hanging from it. 

I just want to know you better
Know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you better
Know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you better
Know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you, know you, know you

'Cause all I know is we said hello
And your eyes look like coming home
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed
All I know is you held the door
You'll be mine and I'll be yours
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed...

She offered me her hand and I took it, laughing as she spun me around. Together we shimmied and shook and whirled and jumped around the room to the smooth chords of Taylor Swift. I wasn't listening to the songs, only moving to the rhythm and listening to Rosie and I's laughter.

We danced to what seemed to be a countless number of songs before Theo found us and asked if I could go play. Before I had to think of an answer, Rosie promised that we could have another dance party soon, so I ended up going to play with Theo. She thanked me for dancing with her and sent Theo and I off with a wave.

After that, it kind of became a tradition for me to come over once a week so we could dance together, and we did it up until she graduated, but even so, those memories are some of my best.

Five years ago...From the memory of Isaac Vacker

One minute, Rose and I were dancing to Taylor Swift, the next, Alex was in the room and engulfing Rosemary in a hug, a big smile on his face as he lifted Rose off her feet. Rose seemed flustered, her cheeks red and smile knotted in confusion, but she wrapped his arms around his neck as the lower half of his face nuzzled against the crest of her shoulder affectionately. "I did it, Rose," he mumbled, "I'm a Council Fire and Rescue Officer."

Rosemary gasped excitedly, pulling back to look at his face, "You passed? You got in?"

When Alex nodded, biting his lips in a smile, she squealed and fervently pulled him into a hug. A laugh rumbled out of Alex's throat as she hugged him so suddenly, her ballet flats fell to the floor. He spun her around, pulling her away from him so he could see her smiling down at him, and I could only watch in surprise.

When Alex set Rose down, he noticed my presence and made his way over to where I was standing. With a big smile he clapped me on the back, "Those monsters won't be able to catch you now, bud."

I couldn't help but smile and hug him tightly, "That's so awesome! You're the biggest and strongest guy ever!"

He laughed, "Well I don't know about that, but I'll try to be."

"Were your parents just as excited?" asked Rose.

Alex laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, "I haven't exactly gone to see them yet. I came here as soon as I heard I passed."

"You should go tell them!" Rose exclaimed, "Go tell them and bring them back here, Celeste and I'll make a big dinner to celebrate!"

"No I'm not," Celeste called from the other room, "but congrats."

"Thanks Celeste," chuckled Alex, "and that's okay, Rose-"

"I'll help!" I jumped up and down as I raised my hand, "I can help make dinner! Go tell them!" I started to push him out the door, "The faster you tell them the faster you can come back!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm going, I'm going!" promised Alex, smiling. He looked back over his shoulder at Rosemary and gave her a gushy smile, "See you soon."

Rosemary looked like she was about to melt in her shoes, "Oh-okay! See you soon."

Come back and tell me why
I'm feeling like I've missed you all this time
And meet me there tonight
And let me know that it's not all in my mind

As soon as Alex left, Rose sighed dreamily and slid against the edge of her mattress down to the floor, forgetting I was in the room.

"What's that face for?" my brilliant twelve year old self asked.

"What face?" asked Rose, blushing deeply, "I'm not making a face!"

"Yeah you are," I laughed as I realized for the first time, "you liiiiike him!"

"What?- I- Uh- I- Um-" she blushed, "okay, maybe a little. But don't tell anyone, okay? It's a secret."

"Okay," I nodded, grinning at the fact that I now knew such an important secret, "are you gonna get dressed up for dinner? You said it was a celebration."

"That's right. Why don't you go get your dress shirt and vest from home and then we'll start cooking, okay?"

"Okay!" I smiled, and rushed out the door, not looking back.

I ran to the leapmaster and quickly light leaped home. Mom asked me what I was doing as I tore through the house with a smile, but I only shouted, "ALEX! CFRO! DINNER! I'M HELPING!" before grabbing my dress clothes and dashing back to the leapmaster.

When I made it to Hycinthia, I started running down the hall towards Rose's room, but slowly stopped when I saw her looking in the mirror, holding a dress up to herself, and humming the song we were listening to quietly. Even though she wasn't singing, I could still hear the words playing in my head, and I fully realized for the first time that Rose and Alex were in love.

I just want to know you better
Know you better, know you better now
I just want to know you, know you, know you...

Present Day...From the perspective of Isaac Vacker

All I know is we said hello
So dust off your highest hopes
All I know is pouring rain
And everything has changed
All I know is a newfound grace
All my days, I'll know your face
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed.

Those lyrics were all Isaac could think about as he and Theo walked into Alexander's bedroom, and found Alexander and Rosemary laying side by side, Alexander's head in Rose's hands, his hands around her waist, the closet door quickly clicking shut, probably because of the room's air currents.

"Awww they look so cute! I wonder why Rosemary called us over," he thought to himself with a smile before looking closer at the scenario Rosemary's stomach was bandaged, Alexander's face was crisp with wrinkles from a look of pain he knew all too well. Isaac felt all of his muscles tense, "Are you guys okay? What happened?" He almost didn't want to know.

"Isaac, Theo, do either of you know how to look at broken minds?" asked Rosemary fearfully, "He's not broken, but he started to break, and I think he's okay now, but I just want to make sure everything is really alright."

"I've never done it," admitted Theo.

"I have," Isaac said a little too suddenly and Theo gave him a skeptical look.

Isaac pretended to ignore this and he made his way to Alexander's side, gently moving Rosemary's hands away and placing his fingers on Alexander's temples for show.

Theo moved next to him and moved one of Isaac's hands aside, and quoted part of the cognatism mandate, "'If you fall, I fall,' we do this together."

Isaac knew he couldn't say no without giving too much away so he nodded, and hoped that Theo would ignore the details of what he was about to see. They counted to three and went in. It wasn't as bad as Isaac thought. There were no pieces of the vast "room" of Alexander's mind flying around at lightning speed, they just hovered in the air slowly. The "floor" was a spider web of fissures, some filled, some cracked open from the latest guilt-trip, and Isaac suppressed a smile. Usually, it was far more chaotic than this when Alexander's mind started to break, and Isaac knew it was because Rosemary was there in the flesh, holding Alexander. Isaac wished that Rosemary could be there every time, it would sure make his job a lot easier, but he knew that Alexander would never go for it. The number one rule was to never tell Rosemary under any circumstances... so why would Alexander let his mind start to break in her presence? Isaac had two possible explanations:
1 ) Something really terrible happened and Alexander couldn't hold on any longer.
2 ) Alexander's mind broke because of something different than usual.

"You use telekinesis to set the pieces back into place, and I'll glue them in," Isaac instructed, and Theo did as he was told, but Isaac could see him critically analyzing the situation.

Isaac worked quickly to glue the pieces in, using the warm glow of good memories to seal the fissures and cracks shut. When the boys finished, they high fived each other and pulled out of Alexander's head.

"He's fine now," Isaac promised Rosemary, "there were a few cracks but we filled them."

"Few?" Theo started to ask but Isaac subtly kicked his cognate in the shin, "Ow!"

"Yes, a few," nodded Isaac calmly, "so there's no reason to worry. He's alright now."

"Thanks guys," Rosemary smiled with relief, "I know this was short notice. How is everyone? You left Claire in charge, right?"

Theo nodded, "Yeah, they're all playing that Pears to Pears game right now."

"Good, that should keep them distracted for a while," nodded Rosemary, who then creened her head up when she heard the apartment door open. "Hey guys, we're in here!"

Isaac and Theo stood to the side as their parents and Celeste filed in, beat up and dirty from battle, especially Dad, who clutched his side with a small grimace, Mom's hand on his waist to guide him.

Isaac went over to his parents quickly, "Are you guys okay?"

"We've been better," admitted his mom, "what're you two doing here? And what's the important news?"

Alexander slowly propped himself up by his elbows and sat up, "Rose and I called them here to hear this as well, they're old enough, and they could certainly be useful for this situation."

"Wait, Rosemary was already here when the boys got here?" Celeste frowned, "I thought she was watching the kids."

"I went out to get victims from the battlefield," explained Rosemary, who tried to sit up, but Alexander stopped her.

"Rosie, it hasn't healed enough yet," he said quietly.

"You went out to the front?! And you got hurt?!" Celeste demanded, "Who said that was a good idea?!"

"I did," Alexander said in a hard, unmoving voice, "because Rosemary is an adult and can make her own decisions for herself, and no one can protect her from everything. It's not possible"

"But-" Celeste started to protest, but Dad reminded her,

"You went out because you had to help, remember? Your sister did the same thing. Besides, weren't you the one who flew off an exploding building?"

"WHAT?!" Rosemary, Alexander, Auntie Bee, and Uncle Dex demanded in unison.

"You didn't tell us that," Uncle Dex gave Celeste a warning look.

"I didn't want you guys to worry," Celeste shrugged a little as her mother wrapped her in a tight bear hug.

"Yet you can badger me about getting hit with a blaster," Rosemary rolled her eyes, "yeah, that's fair."

"Thanks for saving my butt, Uncle Fitz," Celeste nodded in Isaac's dad's direction, "that could've gone way worse than it did."

"I'm just glad I was there to catch you," Dad smiled in relief. Mom pecked his lips and Uncle Dex hugged him tightly, whispering a quiet "thank you."

"So what's the big surprise?" asked Celeste, who seemed to be tryi8ng to change the subject.

"Okay, but you guys have to wait to act or ask questions until we explain everything, okay?" Rosemary made everyone promise before turning her head to the closet door, "It's okay to come out, now."

Isaac watched in anticipation as a gaunt-faced man slowly opened the closet door and stumbled into the room, hugging himself tightly. He looked up almost shyly, but a wicked grin tugged at the corners of his lips. He quickly scanned over Celeste, Theo, and Isaac before his eyes fell on their parents. The man's dark orbs for eyes seemed to soften and he hissed, "Ffossterr? Biiaaana? Fffiitz? D... D... Ex... Exxx," the man's eyes furrowed as he tried to pronounce Uncle Dex's name, but his smile stayed in place, painfully taut as if he couldn't move, "Dexxx!" he seemed almost delighted when he finally pronounced it right.

Isaac looked over at the parents' faces. They were all stunned, frozen in place, but Auntie Bee looked as if she was about to faint, Uncle Dex looked like he was about to be sick, and Isaac's parents clutched each other's hands tightly, no doubt frantically transmitting to one another.

"Why is he here?!" Celeste demanded, cocking her rifle, "He's a Neverseen! He needs to be taken out!"

"NO!" Rosemary, Alexander, and the parents cried out.

"That's Keefe," Alexander pointed to the strange man's arm, "and he's starting to become sentient again."

"What?" Mom frowned, "How is that possible? We've tried to find a cure for the 'blasts' before with no luck. It was declared impossible."

"But did you try it on an empath?" challenged Rosemary, "Keefe can still feel our emotions, even if he lost his when he got brainwashed. Alexander and I think he taught himself how to feel again through other people's emotions."

Auntie Bee went up to Keefe first, her eyes full of wonder. Keefe only watched her as she got closer, and he didn't move a muscle, even though Uncle Dex's eyes were practically boring lasers into his head. Gently, Auntie Bee picked up Keefe's arm, examining it with a frown for a moment before declaring, "It's pretty much his handwriting. He wrote his name all over his arm."

"Ssso Iii doon'ts fffoorgett," nodded Keefe robotically, his eyes fixed on Auntie Bee, "hhhhellooo, ffrieend."

Auntie Bee smiled up at him with tears in her eyes, "And hello to you too."

Slowly, the rest of the adults went up to Keefe, and he just stood there like a mannequin, watching them intently as black liquid streamed from his eyes.

"He could be dangerous," Celeste warned, "What are we going to do with him?"

"We can bring him to the Black Swan for some testing, then we can make a team to research his condition and find a cure," suggested Fitz, and Alexander nodded.

"That sounds good."

"Cuurre?" Keefe asked hopefully.

"Yeah, man," Uncle Dex patted Keefe's back reassuringly, "we'll get you fixed up in no time.

"Eeeven aaafterr everrythhinng?"

Mom nodded, resting her hand on his shoulder with a smile, "Of course, that's what friends are for."

The adults then started to talk specifics, and Isaac felt Theo open up their mental link. "Hey Isaac, now that the whole Keefe thing is sorted out, mind if I talk to you for a second?" Theo asked telepathically as he pulled Isaac into the hall before the Vacker boy could answer.

"What's up?" Isaac tried to play it cool, knowing what Theo was going to say.

"How do you know how to heal broken minds so quickly?" demanded Theo, "I didn't know you could do that. We never did that in training."

"Mom wanted me to practice since I have a little bit of her inflicting ability," shrugged Isaac, who wasn't totally lying. He did always seem to have a touch of his mom's inflicting, but it wasn't nearly enough to be a special ability, even when his mom had him practice in order to be able to heal minds. It wasn't much practice, Isaac would admit, but it was enough to keep him from totally lying. "Remember? I started practicing two years ago. I know I told you."

Theo narrowed his eyes at him, "I remember, but you were really fast. Scary fast. So fast, I think you're faster than you mom... and there were a lot of fissures in Alexander's mind..."

"What are you implying?"

"I'm implying that you've been hiding something from me, that for some reason, Alexander's mind has been breaking and you've been healing it."

Wow, did Isaac's cognate know him well. Their intuitiveness to one another still scared him a little.

Isaac used his words carefully as he spilled his guts, "I can't tell you everything, not because I don't trust you, but because I honestly don't know much either. What I do know is that I need you to pretend like you don't know a thing, I need him to trust me so he'll keep calling me when it happens, because he called me before Mom, meaning he wouldn't call her even though she's more experienced. Why? I think because she'd try to get something out of him that he doesn't want to give up yet. She has a hero's complex, she can't help it, but I don't press hard when he feeds me a story, so he keeps calling me to help. He won't tell me much, and what he tells me doesn't usually sound right. The only thing I know for sure is that he tells me not to tell anyone about it, especially Rosemary. There's something breaking him that he doesn't want the rest of us to know, and if he knows that someone other than me knows about his mind breaking... he might not trust me anymore and he might not call me again."

Theo frowned, "So what you're saying is that Alexander's mind keeps breaking for a reason he won't tell you, and he trusts no one else to fix it, and if he feels like his trust is compromised, he won't get help anymore and he'll break for good. That reason why I have to pretend to not know doesn't make any sense."

"Please," begged Isaac, "If I can get him to trust me over time, I might get a real answer. I might be the best shot we have at learning the truth. I think it has something to do with Rosemary since he really doesn't want her to know, and every time he trusts me a little more. That's why I didn't tell you."

"But we're cognates, we're supposed to tell each other everything," argued Theo.

"Unless it somehow compromises someone's safety," Isaac reminded him. "The only reason I didn't feel guilty from keeping the secret was because I knew you'd understand."

Theo sighed aloud and transmitted, "Yeah, you're right, but dude, that's a pretty tough truth to bear. How long has it been going on?"

Isaac didn't meet his eyes, "Two years."

"Two years?! TWO YEARS?!" demanded Theo, "Isaac, how could you keep a secret like that to yourself for so long?"

Isaac shrugged, tears pricking in his eyes, "You do what you have to do."

Isaac glanced up at Theo for a moment, trying to judge his expression: completely emotionless except for his eyebrows, which were pinched with worry. Without having to say anything, Theo wrapped Isaac in a hug, and Isaac held onto his cognate tightly, his chin resting on Theo's shoulder.

"Every time it happens, it's worse than before, and I think I'm going to lose him," admitted Isaac. "I'm scared that I'll be the one to take him over the edge. Something is going on, something big, and if I fail, even just once..."

"Don't think like that," Theo scolded, "if he breaks for good, then he just needs to be put together again."

"I wouldn't be able to do it myself... I can barely do it myself as it is. All the fissures I fill come undone everytime and I have to race to be able to keep it all under control. Everything just starts spiralling and pieces of his mind start flying everywhere so fast. Besides, if I fail, I could mess up, I've never healed a fully broken mind before. The only reason I can heal his now is because I know where the fragments go since I'm the one who's healed them from the start."

"But it was pretty slow when I went in with you," Theo asked, confused.

"That's because Rosemary was there," explained Isaac, "whenever he thinks about Rosemary, or if I talk about her, everything slows down. That's how I've been able to heal his mind recently, I just start projecting thoughts and memories of Rosemary so everything will slow down. It sort of numbs him, he feels less pain, and sometimes some of the fissures start to close on their own and some of the smaller pieces go back to where they came from. That's why you saw so many sealed fissures."

"So what I saw today..."

"Was child's play," Isaac finished.

Theo stayed silent for a moment, hugging him tighter before transmitting, "You know, it's not fair of him to ask this of you."

"I know," Isaac replied quietly, "but I trust him. He wouldn't do this unless he absolutely had to."

"How can you be so sure? He's a CFRO, they can get involved in some pretty shady business. What if that puts you or my sister in danger?"

Isaac thought back to all the times Alexander cried into his shoulder, apologizing that he had to put the poor kid through healing his mind again, swearing he'll try to do better next time, and Isaac sent Theo the memories in a quick photoreel-style, "He hates himself for it. Sometimes, I think it's part of what breaks him. Besides, he became a CFRO to protect us, and he loves Rosemary more than anything."

After absorbing it all in, Theo said telepathically, "Don't worry, you aren't alone anymore, brother."

Before Isaac could reply to his cognate, Auntie Bee stepped out into the hall and the two cognates slowly pulled apart, "Awww you guys used to hug each other like that all the time when you guys were little. It's nice to see that some things never change."

Theo and Isaac looked at one another, fully well knowing that Auntie Bee was wrong. Everything has changed.