This chapter was originally uploaded to the Sims2 Exchange on March 19, 2007.

Welcome to Chapter Three, Part One of the Pseudo Legacy!

When last we left our story, our three potential heirs - Brody, Micah and Persephone - had all gone off tocollege, and it was still unclear who would return home to carry on the family name. In addition, the family�sarch-nemesis, Kirstial, had been stripped of her vampiric powers. Was she no longer a threat to the family,or would the mysterious stranger from the end of the chapter help return her to power?

Now in the third generation and quickly approaching the fourth, the Pseudo Legacy has been gainingmomentum. This has led to a couple of awkward moments for me, the author.

�Now Ori, can I call you Ori? It would only be to your benefit if you were to include me in the legacy. Imean, I was the father to one of the most famous legacy sims around and grandfather to the mostnotorious romance legacy sim EVER. If I could do that for an Uglacy, just imagine what I could do for yourstory!� Komei was relentless in promoting himself and his friends. �And just look at poor Brandon here. He�sconsidered too ugly for a normal legacy and not ugly enough for an uglacy. No one ever gives him anylegacy love. Can�t you help a brother out, sister?�

Brandon nodded his head enthusiastically, �Yeah, yeah. Gimme a hot legacy chick. Or guy. I�m not picky.�

�Uh...� I said nervously, �I think my lobster is burning. Gotta run.�

Even while dining out, I was accosted by townies trying to find an �in�.

�You don�t mind if I sit here, do you?� Kennedy slid into the seat beside me before I could voice a protest.�So, I heard that you�ve got an eligible legacy girl in your latest generation. Let me just say that she and Iwould make a beautiful couple. We�d look great on film for you.�

�Do you even know what she looks like, Kennedy?� I was starting to get a little annoyed. Somehow, Ieventually got them to leave me alone so I could get on to actually telling the Legacinas� story.

Being a Knowledge sim, Brody was especially excited about going to college. He was determined toexperience everything college life had to offer, including dorm life.

�This is awesome, Voice. A whole institution dedicated to the higher pursuits of education.�

It�s good you think that way, Brody, but not everyone looks at college with quite that same attitude.

This, of course, was something Brody was about to find out on his own.

�Ohmigawd! Check out those arms. And look at that backside. The caliber of hotness in this dorm just wentup several notches on the babe-o-meter.� Celeste Ying was not quiet about her appreciation of Brody�sphysical attributes.

�And that hair.� Cara Scott agreed with Celeste�s assessment. Fanning herself, she called out to Brody, �Heypretty boy, you wanna do some group research? I bet you can help me study anatomy, real good!�

Brody blinked in their direction, �I�m not taking anatomy this semester, but I�d be happy to study with youguys anyway.�

When �subtle� suggestions didn�t seem to work on Brody, at least one dormie decided to be blunt. Tracy Ngcornered Brody one day and said, �Look, you�re hot, okay? Most of the female residents of this dorm aredying to get their hands on you, and I decided I�m going to be the winner, okay? You and me, over on thatcouch, right now.�

Brody just stared at her in shock, �Uh...�

�Tracy, lay off the new kid.� Coming to Brody�s rescue was none other than Tamara Almassizadeh.

Tracy grumbled, but backed off. Something about Tamara made her nervous. Little did she know, Tamarawas the one who nearly destroyed Brody�s parents� marriage, and was working for their enemy, Kirstial.

Tamara gave a big (and I do mean BIG) smile as she interposed herself between Tracy and Brody, �You�reBrody Legacina, aren�t you? I used to be friends with your father when he attended Sim State.�

�Really? That�s pretty cool. I thought you kinda looked familiar.� Brody gave her a friendly grin and thenadded under his breath, �Thanks for saving me there. I wasn�t sure how to get rid of her.�

Seeking to get herself back in Kirstial�s good graces, Tamara leapt at the chance to get to know Brody andhopefully get her hooks into him. For his part, Brody had been very young when Tamara tricked his fatherinto cheating on his mother, so while she seemed familiar, he was unaware of exactly why she was neverallowed back at the Legacina home.

After the first day, Tamara was well on her way to positioning herself into Brody�s life. That was, if she couldkeep her annoyance to herself, �God, all he ever goes on about is research and studying. What a total dork.He is cute, but he�s no Christian.�

There was one other resident of the dorm who was also excited about a Legacina being in residence.Heather Walton had been the victim of a cowplant accident on Zoey Legacina�s first day at the LandgrabbSecret Society. Zoey, being the newbie, had been elected to be the one to call up Death and get Heatherback. Unfortunately, Zoey didn�t have the full $10,000 to offer, so Heather came back a little... different.Heather eventually came to blame Zoey for her zombification and vowed to get back at her.

�Heheh. There�s a Legacina living in the dorm now. Time to cause some pain.�

�Hey there. Yeah, you, Legacina!� Heather zeroed in on Brody with every intention of making his lifemiserable.

�Oh my god! You�re a zombie! A real, honest to goodness zombie! That is completely amazing.� Brodyturned and immediately rushed up to her with all of his geeky enthusiasm.

Heather blinked at him in confusion, �Uh...�

�You�ve got to tell me what it was like when you were brought back. Are the sores permanent, or do theyheal? Maybe slower than normal? What about body parts? Have you ever really lost one? And have you evertried to eat anyone�s brain? I�ve got so many questions for you.�

Heather stared at him with surprise and confusion. Except for her friend Genesis, most people avoidedtalking to her about her zombie-ness. �Uh..�

Brody continued on, oblivious to the obvious confusion Heather was experiencing, �Hey, can I buy youlunch? You do eat normal food too, right? Let me buy you lunch and I can ask you a whole ton ofquestions.�

Throwing her hands up in the air, Heather relented with an unconscious smile, �Okay, okay, you can buy melunch. I�ll answer whatever questions I can, and I�ll try not to eat your brain.� She paused and then added,�That last part was a joke.�

Brody grinned from ear to ear as he and Heather began their fledgling friendship.

Not everyone was pleased about Heather and Brody�s new friendship. Many of the girls who had originallyset their sights on Brody for romance were a bit put out by the zombie seemingly succeeding where theyfailed, but none were as upset as Tamara.

�Look Dead Head, the Legacina kid is mine, you hear? So you back off and stay out of my way.�

�GRAHGH! You people are driving me nuts. Look, Brody and I are just friends, okay? If you want to romancehim, be my guest.� Heather, not the nicest of zombies, added as a final insult, �Not that you�ll get anywherewith him, Monkey Lips.�

�WHAT did you call me!?� Tamara was livid. Only Kirstial could get away with calling her names like that.�Mark my words, zombie. You�re going to regret this. Keep away from Brody. He�s MINE!� And with that,Tamara shoved her way past Heather out of the bathroom.

The next morning, Heather saw Brody down in the cafeteria. Taking a good look at him for a moment, shedecided that he definitely was attractive. That wasn�t why they were friends, though. �Hey Brody.�

�Morning, Heather. Want some pancakes?� The cafeteria worker was running late, so Brody had taken theinitiative to make some breakfast.

�Sure. Oh hey, I�ve got something to tell you. The funniest thing happened to me last night.�

�Last night, Tamara cornered me in the bathroom and told me to keep away from you.� Heather thoughthe�d get a kick out of this, �She told me that you were �hers�.�

�No she didn�t!� Brody smothered a snicker, �I don�t think she tattooed her name on me anywhere.� Hegrinned impishly and said in a whisper, �Watch this.� Much louder, he said, �Heather, could you please look atmy ass and tell me if it has Tamara�s name tattooed on it?�

Heather broke up laughing as a couple of dormie girls stormed out with indignant expressions on theirfaces. Maybe Brody wasn�t as blind to his charisma as he seemed.

Not long after that, a furious Tamara sought Heather out. In a dangerous voice, she said, �I warned you tostay away from Brody, but you wouldn�t listen.�

Rolling her eyes, Heather looked up from her homework, �Come off it, Monkey Lips. He�s not interested inyou, he�s not interested in the other dormie floozies around here, and he�s certainly not interested in me.�

�You�re darn right he�s not interested in you!� Tamara shoved Heather and then continued in a shrill voice,�If I catch you near Brody again, I�m going to make chili out of you, got it? Brody deserves better than awalking corpse like you, and I intend to be that woman!�

Heather grimaced as Tamara stalked away again, �Okay, I have had it. That girl is up to something morethan just wanting to do the nasty with Brody. Even Tracy hasn�t been this annoying about it, and she�s thecampus slut.� Grabbing her half done homework, she decided, �I need to talk to Brody about this.�

Finding Brody in his dorm room working on the computer, Heather said, �Brody, that Tamara girl came afterme again, telling me to stay away from you.�

�Do you want me to tell her to lay off, Heather?� Brody glanced over his shoulder at her, �I don�t like peopledeciding who I can and can�t be friends with.�

�Nah, I can handle her. I�ve just got a bad feeling that there�s more going on with her than it looks. Did yousay you know her from before college?�

�Yeah, she was a friend of my dad�s from college. I think he lost touch with her, though, because I don�tremember her ever being around the house much.� About that time, Brody�s World of Warcraft account gotlogged in, �Ooh, hey I�m in.�

�Hmm. Wait a sec... your dad was Christian Corsillo, right?�

�Yeah. Sorry Heather, but I�ve got a raid to go on.�

�Oh no problem.� Heather thought a little more on this and mumbled to herself, �She used to have a thingfor Christian. Maybe she�s trying to get back at them for taking him away from her.� Giving a shake of herhead, she waved, �Seeya Brody.�

A day or two later, Heather was eating in the cafeteria when Tamara started in with her again, �It�s all yourfault! He won�t even talk to me now. I told you to stay away from him, Corpse Girl!�

�Oooh, that�s an intelligent insult. �Corpse Girl�. How original.� Heather was very good at being sarcasticwhen she wanted, �Let�s see if I can be as original in response. Monkey Lips? No, already used that one.Oooh, I know. Baboon Cheeks. And I don�t mean the ones near your big mouth.� Looking over her shoulder,Heather smiled innocently, �So... upset that you couldn�t keep Christian and now can�t even get anywherewith his son?�

�THAT�S IT!� With that final taunt, Tamara flung herself at Heather and started a brawl. Brody and thecafeteria worker were the only audience.

Brody cheered Heather on, even though he didn�t have any particular animosity towards Tamara, �Keep yourchin up, Heather! Nice right hook! Heh.. This is fun.�

The cafeteria worker stared at the two fighters for a moment and then stated, �I didn�t realize they wereadmitting gorillas to the student body.�

When the dust cleared, Tamara was picking herself up off the floor and Heather was feeling smug, �Just getyour baboon cheeks out of here, Tamara.�

Brody turned to the cafeteria worker, �So, Micah says guys are supposed to get all hot when two chicksfight. I think he�s just hard up.�

The cafeteria worker looked at Brody and slipped him her phone number on a napkin, �Give me a callsometime, kid.�

�Just... ew.�

Later, when Brody and Heather had a chance to talk, she explained what she had found out. �From what Ican figure, Tamara had a thing for your father, but he was just friends with her. Something happened a fewyears ago and he stopped talking to her. Celeste says she�s been kinda �off� ever since then.�

�You know, when I was a kid, something happened between my parents that almost ruined their marriage. Ididn�t really understand it at the time, but I wonder if Tamara was involved.� Brody thought about it, �I thinkI met her at my birthday party and that�s when something bad happened between Mom and Dad. She wasnever invited back to the house again.�

�Either way,� Brody continued with a wry smile, �Sorry you had to go through that with her.� He gave aderisive snort, �Like I would be interested in any girl who I couldn�t be friends with and have an intelligentconversation with. Any girl I get involved with has to have half a brain, y�know?�

Heather grinned and said, �I�ve got half a brain. It�s in the fridge. Want some? It goes great in chili.�

Brody broke out laughing at that one, �See, this is why we�re friends, Heather.�

The next morning, after finishing up her paper on Brody�s computer, Heather glanced over at him sleepingand something wistful and yearning crossed her unbeating heart. Even though she didn�t want to admit it toherself, she was falling for the son of the woman she had vowed to make pay for what happened to her.

To herself, she softly said, �Maybe it could have happened before...� She sighed quietly, �Nah. It�s not worthgoing there. He�s my friend, and that�s all that really matters.�

While Brody enjoyed Heather�s company, life in the dorms was getting to be a bit much. He had wanted toexperience all college life had to offer, so he made sure he spent his first year in the dorms, but by the timehis sophomore year was approaching, he was more than ready to get out of the dorms.

�Cara, stop drooling. I am not going out with you, and that�s that.�

Luckily for Brody, the alternative to dorm life was more than ready for him to join up. �Brody Legacina! PhiDagga Katta needs you!� Genesis Turner had been alone at the Greek house since Brody�s Aunt Victoria hadgraduated. She was more than ready for some company.

Meanwhile, down in Sim City, a wolf howled outside a creepy gothic mansion.

�AWOOOOOOOOO.�

�BAAAAAALLLLIIIIINNNNNNN� Allegra called for her pack leader, �Oh BAAAALLLIIINNNN�

�Oh for Lassie�s sake...� Balin stopped his sneaky inspection of Kirstial�s house and cast an annoyed glance inAllegra�s direction, �Doesn�t she realize we�re supposed to be sneaking? So much for stealth.�

Luckily, he had pretty much seen everything he wanted to by that point.

�So this is the place, boss? Huh huh? Vampire chick that we don�t like, right?� Allegra�s tail wagged in happyanticipation.

�Allegra, the point of a stealth mission is to be sneaky and QUIET. You do not howl for me because you�rebored. That kinda gives us away.� Balin wasn�t sure why he put up with her. Maybe it was the fact that sheknew of all the best pizza joints in town and could get them pie any time they wanted.

�Eep, sorry boss!�

�I was done anyway. Robi�s leech did her job and got this one turned back into a mortal. She�s got a visitorwho smells strange, though, so we�re going to still keep an eye on them.� Balin trotted away, expectingAllegra to follow.

�Smells funny how? Like old gym socks? They�re pretty nasty.�

�No, not like old gym socks. I�m not really sure. His smell reminds me of the old world, but... different. Ican�t quite put my paw on it.� And that uncertainty is what troubled Balin the most.

Inside Kirstial�s home, she was having a rather interesting conversation with that mysterious individual.

�Jon Grimlock, I told you that I never wanted to see your white haired pasty face again!� Kirstial had beenhaving a very bad time of it lately. Her plans were all backfiring on her and she had been tricked into givingup her vampiric immortality.

�Kirsti, baby, don�t be like that.� Grimlock�s silky voice practically purred, as if he were enjoying herfrustration.

Continuing before she could tell him to get out again, Grimlock said, �What about what we once meant toone another, Kirsti? We could make beautiful music together once more.�

�Jon, don�t go there..� Kirstial�s voice grew dangerous with warning.

Giving an amused chuckle, he stopped teasing, �Fine, but I do have it on good authority that you needsome serious help, Kirsti baby. Whether or not you want me (and I�ve got a hunch you do), at the veryleast, you *need* me.�

�I do NOT need you.� Kirstial grew sullen and stubborn as he talked.

�Of course you don�t, baby. You�ve only had every plan you�ve attempted fail, come up on the wrong side ofthe local supernatural groups, and lost the one thing you had going for you - your immortality.� Still cockyand sly, Grimlock said, �Forgive me. Of course you don�t need me or the help I could give you.�

Reluctantly, Kirstial began, �Well, maybe..�

�Kirstial! Kirstial! I had him! I swear I had him, if it hadn�t been for that zombie..� Tamara came rushing inright at that moment to tell Kirstial about the situation with Brody, �Whoa... what happened to your skin..and.. who�s that?�

Grimlock spun around and skewered Tamara with a cold gaze, �Who is this, Kirsti darling?�

Heaving a sigh, Kirstial said, �That�s Tamara. My intern minion. She was supposed to be ingratiating herselfwith the oldest Legacina boy who is in college now.� Voice dropping with irritation, Kirstial finished, �Andfrom what she says, it�s sounding like she failed. AGAIN.�

Bursting out in laughter, Grimlock said, �You�re kidding me! THIS is what you�ve been using to try and woothese men into your dark schemes? Kirstial, the Master taught you better than this.�

Tamara wasn�t sure what was going on, but she knew that whatever the strange man was saying, it wasn�tvery flattering for her, �What�s that supposed to mean and who the heck are you anyway, mister?�

�Who am I?� At first his voice was mild, but it grew more vicious as he continued, �WHO AM I?!?�

Tamara flinched and realized she may be in over her head again.

�I am Jon Grimlock, and I am more important and more powerful than you can comprehend, girl. I am alsohere to show your mistress how things should be done, and *you* will not be part of MY plans.�

�Now that I�ve seen the tools you have to work with Kirstial, please tell me that you�ll accept my help?�Grimlock turned to Kirstial with a demanding tone to his voice.

Kirstial�s shoulders slumped as she looked at Tamara, an individual as ugly on the inside as she was on theoutside. Sighing, she nodded, �Okay, Jon. We�ll do things your way for a while. At.. at least until I�m on myfeet again.�

�Excellent.� A wicked smile spread across Jon�s face as he turned to give Tamara a knowing expression, �I�lldeal with you later.�

Tamara shivered down to her core, �This is so not worth the credit hours she�s giving me.�

Back on campus, Brody woke up to find Heather in his room. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he said,�Heather? Is everything okay?�

Giving him a wry smile, she said, �Yeah. I just...� She hesitated and then continued, �You�re heading to PhiDagga Katta this morning, right? Once you�re there... will you still want to hang out?�

Blinking again, Brody stared at her and gave a nod, �Hell yeah. You�re my best friend here, Heather, and Iknow you�re friends with Genesis. You�re welcome at the Greek house any time you want to come by. Heck,I�ve already asked you to join, but you said no.�

�Yeah..� Heather gave a shrug and stood up, �I should head to class. I�ll catch you later.�

Once in her room, though, Heather let her worries and fears come to the fore. �Brody�s the best thing that�shappened to me since this whole death thing. I just wish...� Growling at herself and wiping away anoffending tear, she said, �Shut it, idiot. He�s your friend and that�s it. Like he�d want a walking corpse likeyou.�

Brody got himself settled into life at the Greek house. Genesis had been alone for a while and was glad tohave companionship again, but did have to adjust to the fact that she was living with a Legacina again.

�Brody! Did you just cheat, AGAIN!? Come on, you�re smarter than that. You don�t *NEED* to cheat!�

Despite Brody�s cheating ways with chess, the two got along really well. With both of them being knowledgesims, you might expect them to be studious and serious, but you would be wrong. While both always gottheir schoolwork done, they were also always goofing around.

�Ha! I got you good!� Brody grinned mischievously after he got a particularly good whack in on Genesis witha pillow.

�Just you wait, mister! I�ll get you back!� Genesis had really blossomed in her time at the Greek house.While she was still inclined to be shy, she�d learned a level of confidence that she didn�t have before Charliehad asked her be the new placeholder.

It wasn�t too long before the next Legacina came to college. Micah was looking forward to college as muchas Brody was but for very different reasons. �Sim State, here I am!� Grinning from ear to ear, Micah added,�It is my destiny to be big man on campus.�

Sure Micah. Sure it is.

�Aw, come on Voice. I know you like me.�

Heh, I do, Micah. But you tend to have an unusual effect on those you try and be friends with.

�So, in your omelet, you�ve got to keep an eye out for baby birds. You never know when one is going toappear. It might be this tiny or it might be huge. Though, if it�s huge, I�m not really sure how it would get inyour omelet.�

Ramin Smith stared at Micah for along moment, then said, �You�re Christian Corsillo�s kid, aren�t you?�

Micah had the best intentions in the world for being an outgoing, well-liked, romantically successfulpopularity sim. Unfortunately, his first impressions were usually sub par.

�So guys, I hear a band is playing down at the student union. Let�s say we head down there and check itout. Even if the band sucks, I hear they have a pool table.�

Adrian Parker actually considered it, �I guess that doesn�t sound too...�

That was until Kenya Jeffress jumped in, �No way! Back off, pervert.�

Micah was startled by her vehemence, �Huh? Pervert?� Even Adrian was startled by Kenya�s reaction.

�You�re the loser who has the teenage girlfriend always coming around here. What are you, some creep whopreys on little girls? Hrmph!� And with that, Kenya walked away, leaving a very confused Micah behind. Well,even more confused than normal.

As it turned out, there was a teenage girl coming around, claiming to be Micah�s girlfriend. Micah had datedMeadow in high school, but it was an odd relationship. Initially, Meadow was very cool towards him, butafter an encounter with a vampire downtown, Meadow suddenly wouldn�t leave Micah alone.

He had hoped that going off to college would end their strange relationship. He was wrong.

After the incident with Kenya, Micah went looking around the dorm and found her sneaking around the sideof the dorm. �Meadow, what are you doing here?�

�Oh Pookie, you�re so silly. I�m here to see you, of course! I could *never* stay away from you for too long.�Meadow just gave a girlish giggle, as if nothing were wrong. �You haven�t called in a while, so I thought youmight need some cuddling, Pookie-bear.�

�Meadow, even I know it�s not cool to �visit� someone by sneaking around their dorm and staring into theirwindow. Meadow, that�s a little creepy.� Micah hesitated a moment then added, �Actually, that�s a lot creepy.You really can�t do this anymore, Meadow. You should go home.�

�Okay, Pookie. I�ll call you later. Kiss kiss!� And she still acted as if nothing were wrong.

Micah gave a frustrated sigh, �I need to talk to Brody about this. He�ll know what to do.�

�She keeps showing up around the dorm no matter how many times I tell her to go away.� Micah sighed ashe explained his situation to Brody. �Most of the kids in the dorm think I�m a pervert now.�

�Why don�t you move in here?� Brody proposed. �You need to join the Greek house anyway, and if shekeeps coming around here like that, we can borrow the cowplant from the Landgrabb House or something.�

�No cowplants, dude. But yeah... moving in here sounds like a good idea.�

When Genesis found out Micah was moving in, she gave him a welcoming hug, �Micah! I�m so glad you�removing in here. Finally, someone I can play chess with who won�t cheat like crazy on me.�

�Heh, I suck at chess, Genesis, but I�ll still play you if you want.� Getting a hug from Genesis made Micahfeel warm inside.

It was an odd feeling that he couldn�t place at first, but after a while it sunk into his slightly fuzzy brain thatshe was cute. Really cute. And she had hugged him without it feeling awkward or forced like it did withMeadow. And she hadn�t punched him like the girls at the dorm did.

Still, something made him hesitate at saying anything.

�Hey Brody?�

�Yeah, dork?�

Micah got a hopeful expression on his face, �I�ve been thinking about this since I moved in here. If we�repart of a Greek house, does this mean we can have toga parties now?�

�Oh yeah! TOGA TOGA TOGA!�

Brody was no slouch in social situations, but he didn�t think like a popularity sim. When Micah brought it up,he realized exactly what they had been missing at the house.

Micah began chanting with him, �TOGA TOGA TOGA!�

Rushing into the kitchen to inform Genesis of their plans, Micah was brought to a halt by the sight of herbending over to put the lunch dishes into the dishwasher. �Wow, nice as..�

�Oh hey, Micah. Were you saying something?�

He blushed down to the roots of his partially dyed hair and stammered, �Uh.. n.no. I mean, yeah. We�regonna have a toga party tonight.�

Genesis gave him a warm, clueless smile, �That sounds like fun.�

When the time for the party came, there was one additional attendee that wasn�t on the guest list. MeadowThayer. �Adrian! What a surprise to see you here!� Meadow gushed at Adrian Thompson, Brody and Micah�scousin.

Adrian gave Meadow a withering look, �A surprise? Meadow, you raided my locker and ripped the page outof my notebook that had the time and date of the party on it. I�m the one that was invited, not you.�

�Hee! Your family is so silly, Adrian. Excuse me, but I need to go find my Pookie-bear.�

There was a full house for the party, and everyone was enjoying the food, music and keg. Brody waspresiding over the spaghetti when Meadow showed up, �Brody, have you seen my Pookie-bear? I can�t findhim anywhere.�

Swallowing his mouthful of food, he glared at Meadow, �No, I haven�t seen him.� He paused and then said,�Hey Genesis, remember that early warning system we talked about? You should go tell Micah, this is not atest.�

�Huh?� Genesis looked up, looked at Meadow and then said, �Oh. Okay.�

Genesis went outside to find Micah and warn him that Meadow had shown up. �Micah? You should knowthat...�

�Man, you are so cute, Genesis.� The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Once theywere out, Micah continued on, �I�m probably shooting myself in the foot, but I really really like you, Genesis.I know I�m kinda dumb and you�re really smart, but you�re all I think about lately.�

�M.micah, have you been hitting the b.ubble blower?� Genesis turned several shades of pink.

Since she hadn�t punched him in the gut yet, Micah was spurred on by a new sense of confidence, �No, it�snot the bubble blower. I didn�t want to jinx it, so I haven�t said anything, but I can�t keep quiet any longer,Genesis. I can�t stop thinking about you and I want to see if we can be something.�

In the background, Brody settled down at the bubble blower with a bemused expression on his face. He�dbeen wondering when they would get around to this.

�Oh Micah, I r.really like you too. I just d.didn�t think you would feel the same.�

Micah took her hands and said softly, �Genesis, I...�

Brody interrupted, �Dork, just take her inside already!�

For once, Micah took the dork insult without comment. Following Brody�s advice, he and Genesis went insideto the bedroom where they could be alone and talk. Well, talking was what they did the least of, actually.

Brody, knowing his awkward brother and shy roommate would need a little privacy, saw to it that Meadowwas occupied.

�Dude, isn�t it a little unethical to push the teenager to drink from the keg? I mean, underage drinking andall.� Ricky Cormier raised an eyebrow as Meadow chugged from the keg like a champ.

�Ricky, you want me to tell you that you can�t have any either?�

�Uh.. no. Forget I said anything.�

�Exactly.�

With that out of the way, Brody decided it was time to enjoy himself as well. They had a hot tub after all.

�I�m still not sure what I want to major in. Being the Llama mascot is a pretty good gig, but I don�t know if Ican get away with WHOA! Holy mother Llama, Brody, you�re naked!� Neil Perdersen�s eyes got big as Brodygot into the tub.

He was very much his father�s son in this respect.

Neil muttered, �No wonder the girls are all after you.�

Just when Micah and Genesis decided they should probably be getting back to the party, Meadow decided itwas time to find her �Pookie-bear�. �Micah-pookie, are you in here?�

For a moment, time seemed to stand still, as they stared at her and she stared at them.

Something in Meadow broke with an almost audible snap. �Oh gosh.. I.. Micah...�

Genesis looked to Micah uncertainly while he looked over at the teenager with a pained expression,�Meadow, I tried to tell you..�

Before he could finish, she said, �I have to go!�

Meadow ran from the house as quickly as she could, fleeing past all the guests of the party. The whole way,she was stifling her tears and mumbling to herself, �So stupid, so stupid, so stupid..�

Micah quickly dressed and chased after her.

�Meadow, wait! Stop!� Micah wasn�t sure what he was going to say to the girl when he did catch her, but heknew it couldn�t end like this.

Meadow finally stopped and turned to face Micah, her face blotchy from the tears she was refusing to cry,�It�s okay. Y.you tried to tell me. I j.just wouldn�t listen.�

Micah took a deep breath and said, �Meadow, you were my high school sweetheart, and that means a lot tome, but.. we�re just not right together anymore. There... there are plenty of boys out there for you, and..and I�ve got Genesis now.�

Taking a deep breath, Micah finished, �Let me get you a cab home and we can talk about this later, okay?�

Sniffling, she nodded and gave a meek response, �Okay.�

Eventually it was time for the last of the current Legacina children to head to college. Persephone was a bityounger than the boys, but she was able to gain early admission. Before she left home, she had a nightmareabout Brody that she was sure was a premonition that something bad was going to happen to him.

Despite that warning, Persephone was excited to be in college. �I think this is the dorm that Grandpa Taylorlived in when he met Grandma Professor Kelly.�

�Taylor Legacina?� the Cafeteria worker overheard Persephone talking to herself, �Yep, I remember when hewas here.�

With Persephone�s arrival in the dorm, there was the occasional visitor as she settled in. One was familyfriend and campus streaker, Parker Parker. He apparently came right from work.

�Woo! Let it all hang out!� Parker loved his job.

The cafeteria worker gave a bored sigh, �Yup. There�s a playable sim living here again.�

�You look really familiar for some reason.� Cherry Cox tapped her chin as she considered Persephone.

Even though she was a family sim, Persephone had full outgoing points and was eager to make new friendsat the dorm. With a friendly smile, she offered helpfully, �Hi, I�m Persephone Legacina. You might haveknown my mom, Zoey, or my grandfather, Taylor, when they attended.�

�Oh my god! Yeah! Taylor Legacina. Long blond hair, cute elf ears, nice tush.� Cherry grinned brightly whenshe had the connection made for her, �I banged your grandfather!�

�Uh...� Persephone blinked at the girl, �I.. should go.�

Like her brothers before her, Persephone wanted to experience dorm life for a little while before moving intothe Greek house. This meant she had to make use of the campus facilities for a variety of things, includingworking out.

Also working out on that day was Matthew Hourvitz, the man Persephone had fallen for while she was inhigh school.

�Man that girl looks familiar.� Matthew paused in his own workout as he looked over towards the treadmill.�She�s pretty cute.� With a grin, he added, �I should probably introduce myself.�

Half way over to the treadmill, Matthew stopped and stared as he recognized the girl on the treadmill.�Wow! Persey? Is that you?�

�Matthew!� Persephone blinked as she got off the treadmill and turned to see who had called her name.Instantly her heart started fluttering like it had when she was a teenager.

�Wow, you grew up.� Matthew gave a hesitant smile, unsure where their friendship stood, �It�s really greatto see you again, Persey. How long have you been here at Sim State?�

�Oh, just a couple of days.� Persephone didn�t want to get hurt again, so had decided to play it cool anddistant. She tried to make herself sound bored. �I should probably be heading back to the dorm.�

�We should hang out again sometime.� Matthew ventured, �There are some really cool spots aroundcampus, and I could show you around.�

�I guess.� Persephone covered a fake yawn and gave a shrug, �I�ll call you sometime, maybe.� With that, sheturned and walked away. Inside, she was screaming at herself.

Matthew frowned after her and decided they needed to deal with this, right here and now. Catching up toher, he said, �Persey, stop. Look, I know things didn�t end very well between us the last time we hung out,but I hope you understand that I never wanted that to hurt our friendship.�

Persephone winced and turned to face him. Letting down the facade, she hesitated and responded with anod, �I know. I just... didn�t want it to be awkward between us, which it is.�

�Well, yeah. But it�s not going to get any better if you avoid me. Can we still be friends?�

A little smile formed on Persephone�s face as replied, �Well, we can try.�

It was a start, at least.

Persephone stayed in the dorms for one semester and then made the move into the Greek house. �Heysquirt. Welcome to Phi Dagga Katta!� Brody pulled his baby sister into a hug.

Grinning, she hugged back, �Stop calling me that, Brody. It was cute when I was a toddler, but I�m all grownup now. Hey, is Micah here? We need to talk.�

Persephone got right down to business with her brothers, �Now that we�re all here at college, we need todecide who is going to be heir. This is really important for the family and we can�t keep letting it hang out inlimbo. One of us has to go home to carry on the family line.�

�I think it�s always been between you two.� Micah really didn�t want the responsibility, �I�d be perfectlyhappy being a spare like Aunt Victoria. I mean, she�s pretty happy with Uncle Charlie, and since me andGenesis are dating, it kinda follows that I should be a spare, right?� He sounded hopeful.

�I think Brody should be heir.� Persephone pointed at Brody and then made her case, �He�s the first bornson of the family. Most things like this are passed down to the boys, and the only reason Mom got it wasthat Grandpa and Grandma didn�t have any boys.�

�I don�t know if I�d go that far, Persey.� Brody held up a hand, �Grandma was a pretty strong woman, and Idon�t think she�d have agreed to handing it all to a boy, �just because�. This whole thing is pretty new for thisfamily still, and I think it could still go to any of us.� Pausing, he considered a moment, then finished, �But, ifyou would prefer I take it, I�ll do it.�

�It�s settled then!� Persephone smiled happily as things worked out just as she�d hoped they would. �Now,when Mom tells you whatever secret she�s supposed to tell you because you�re heir, you need to share itwith us, okay?�

Micah blinked at Persephone, �Secret? Huh?�

�Never mind, Micah.�

Despite being named heir and being busy with schoolwork, Brody made it a point to spend most of his freetime with Heather. Usually they hung around the campus, but once in a while, they decided to headdowntown.

�I heard this place has some good wings, and there�s always a good poker...� Brody paused and looked up atthe sky. A confused look settled on his face and he held out his hands. Dumbfounded, he stated, �It�sraining.�

Heather blinked at him, �It can�t be raining. It never rains.� A droplet landed on her nose, causing her tolook up at the sky, �What the...� This of course caused her to get one right in the eye, �Ahg!�

Brody looked at her wiping the raindrop out of her eye and started laughing, �It�s RAINING!�

His laughter was infectious and soon Heather was laughing too, �It�s actually raining!�

The rain was coming down harder and getting both of them soaked. Heather�s hair took on a sparkle as theraindrops caught in it and her pallid skin started to take on a translucent quality that made Brody blink andstare at her.

Heather grinned at him, �What? Why are you staring at me like that?�

Impulsively, Brody reached out and pulled her into an embrace, �Man you�re beautiful.�

Startled, Heather responded, �But.. but I�m dead.�

Brody just grinned and leaned in for a kiss, �I�m a knowledge sim, Heather. That just makes you evensexier.�

They stood there, in the middle of the street, holding one another in the rain until a taxi cab nearly hitthem. Laughing, they finally ran into the bar and got out of the rain.

Suddenly their outing turned into a date. Heather couldn�t stop grinning, and even consented to singing aduet at the karaoke machine. It was some sappy ballad, but that just made it all that much funnier to thetwo of them.

Over at the bar, Joe Graham was making time with Mrs. Crumplebottom, �Yeah, I�m the co-chair of the newGarden Club. I could get you a special admission, if you know what I mean.� He waggled his bushyeyebrows and grinned at her.

�I beg your pardon?� It had probably been many years since anyone living or dead had hit on Mrs.Crumplebottom. She honestly didn�t know what to do, so she fled, �You�ll have to excuse me, young man.�

�You shameful young man! Shameful!� Mrs. Crumplebottom left the bar and went over to start beatingBrody with her handbag. �What happened to the morals of today�s youth!�

�Come on, Lady! You�ve got a brick in there, and that hurts!� It was obviously the sign of a successful date ifCrumplebottom was picking on him, but it wasn�t conducive to the date going any further, �Come onHeather, let�s get out of here.�

They went back to the Greek house where they were able to have some alone time in the hot tub.

As Heather got in, she paused and looked down at the bubbling water, �Uhm... Brody?�

�Yeah?�

�You�re not wearing any clothes, are you?�

�It�s a hot tub. Why would I be wearing clothes?� He asked this as if it were a rather silly question to beasking.

�I�m sorry it�s taken me this long to do something about us, Heather.� Once she settled into the water, Brodypulled her close.

Heather still wasn�t sure if she was dreaming or not, but decided if there was a time to be honest, this wasit, �I�ve wanted this for a long time, Brody. I just didn�t think you would be interested in me. I mean, if youweren�t interested in those other girls, why would you be interested in me?�

�Fah. They�re all bubbleheads. You�re a knowledge sim. You�re smart, witty, and you�re willing to experienceeverything life has to offer. On top of that, you�re the sexiest zombie I�ve ever met.�

If she could, Heather would have blushed. Instead she smiled, �I�m the ONLY zombie you�ve ever met.�

One person was not particularly pleased about Brody�s new relationship. Persephone fumed in the kitchenafter having caught sight of the two lovebirds together. �A zombie. He�s involved with a zombie.�

Frowning, she said, �This has to be what my dream was about. This was the bad thing that was going tohappen to Brody. If he gets involved with a zombie, they won�t be able to have kids and that�ll hurt thefamily line. I have to do something about this.�

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Kirstial was struggling with life as a mortal. Ever since Melissa hadtricked her into taking the potion that cured her vampirism, she had been a bit lost.

�How hard can this be. Some eggs, some sausage, some peppers, put it all in a pan and voila, instantomelet.� This was the first time in years that her bat pajamas had seen daylight. It�s a little hard to beintimidating when you have smiling bats on your PJ�s.

�Breakfast is easypeasy as pie.�

Of course, breakfast isn�t as easy as it looks when you haven�t actually cooked it in years. Kirstial forgot thatyou couldn�t actually walk away from cooking food. She came back from working out to find the kitchen inflames.

This just served to further degrade her instable mental health.

At this particular moment in time, it was hard to believe she had ever really been a serious threat to theLegacina family.

Fortunately for her, she had recently gained a partner who was a serious threat.

�Thank you so much for coming.� Grimlock greeted his guest with a charming smile.

�You know you�ve got a naked chick in your kitchen, bathing out of the sink?� She could see Kirstial in thekitchen from the front foyer.

�Never mind her. Let�s discuss the deal, shall we?�

�I find the target and I make him fall in love with me. After that, I await further instructions. Seems simpleenough to me. Even if he�s gay, I can make his pants jump for me.� She was nothing if not a cocky romancesim.

�Excellent.� Grimlock smiled at her, �You and I shall show my �partner� how the �Hot Babe� tactic is supposedto work.�

Meanwhile, Brody and Heather�s relationship continued to grow as they spent even more time together. Still,there were times when they had to part.

�I�ve got to head to class, Brody. I�ll see you later, okay?� Heather was still as giddy as an undead zombieschool girl could be, but also feared that something would happen to ruin it all.

Brody reached out to caress her clammy cheek, �Hey, can you meet me back at the park tonight? There�ssomething I want to ask you.�

If Heather�s heart were still beating, it would have skipped a beat, �Uhm. Okay.� She smiled at him andshuffled off to class. The park was the most romantic spot on campus, could it be possible... No. Heatherwasn�t going to let her mind go there. Whatever happened happened, and that�s that.

Back at the house, Persephone was still intent on �dealing� with Brody�s relationship with Heather. Knowinghe had something big planned for that night, she made sure to get him alone to talk.

�What�s up, lil� sis.� Brody had a suspicion what she wanted to talk about, but hoped he was wrong.

�You and that zombie have been spending a lot of time together, Brody. I hope you realize it can�t beanything serious between you two.� Persephone got right to the point. Nice as she was, sometimes shecould be as blunt as her mother.

�That zombie has a name, Persey. It�s Heather.�

�Look, Brody, I know she�s interesting to you, but you can�t get too involved with her.� Knowing she wouldhave to make a good argument to Brody, Persephone chose her words carefully, �You and I both know thatthere�s something else going on with this family, and that we have to be careful about certain things. You�rethe heir to the Legacina name, and you can�t marry a zombie. It�s up to you to carry on the family line, andyou and I both know that zombies cannot get pregnant.�

Giving an exasperated sigh, Brody responded, �I love Heather and that�s that. I know she can�t have kids,but that doesn�t matter. We�re both knowledge sims, we�ll be able to find a way around that problem. Look,Grandpa married the woman he loved and Mom married the man she loved. You and Micah decided that Ishould be heir, and I don�t see why I can�t marry the woman I love, even if she doesn�t have a pulseanymore.�

Brody adored his baby sister, but he also had the same mean streak his mother did, so he wasn�t going toput up with being told what to do, �It�s my choice, Persey. You can�t tell me what to do.�

�It�s a mistake, Brody. She�s bad news.� Persephone started to get up, but as she rose played her last card,�Just think about it, Brody. I talked to Uncle Charlie about it, and he told me that Heather vowed to getMom back if it was the last thing she did. What better way than to prevent her son from ever having kids?�

That night, Brody grumbled to himself as he waited in the park for Heather. �Dammit, I know Persey iswrong. Heather didn�t want to be friends with me at first, and I was the one who pursued her, not the otherway around. Heck, she still thinks I�m going to ditch her at any moment.� Biting his lip, he felt nervous for asecond, �I really hope she likes the ring.�

Come what may, Brody had decided that the girl for him was Heather Walton, and together they could finda way around the fact that she couldn�t bear children. He�d even heard a rumor that there was a Zombiethat gave birth off in some desert town in the west.

Lurking in the bushes, though, a young woman in tight clothing peered across the pond to where Brodystood, �Good. He�s just where I was told he would be. This should be a piece of cake.�

�Still, no reason to be cocky. A little swig of this and my success is guaranteed. No matter what the guy�sinterested in, he�ll be all over me.� The eerie pink potion smelled of sweet roses and was intoxicatinglyattractive. With a deep swig, the young woman downed the entire vial.

Crossing the foot bridge with a sultry walk, the young woman approached Brody as he waited, �Hey there,handsome. You�re Brody Legacina, aren�t you?�

Giving a frustrated sigh, Brody turned around, �Yes I am, and I�m not.. buh...� One look at the girl as sheapproached and Brody�s eyes glazed over as he stared helplessly at her.

�I�m Deena, sweetie, and we are going to be oh so good for each other.� Deena Smith smiled as she lookedBrody over. This job was going to be more fun than she�d originally thought. �You�ve been waiting yourentire life for me, haven�t you, honey?�

�I... I... wow...� Brody was completely enraptured by the love potion that bound him to Deena quitethoroughly.

�Come here and show me how much you want me, Brody.� Deena pulled Brody into an embrace andproceeded to cement their �relationship�.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, Heather was crossing the bridge to meet up with Brody, �Sorry I�mlate...� She stopped and stared as Brody and the sultry red head were locked in an embrace, apparentlyoblivious to the rest of the world.

�Oh no..� Inside, Heather�s unbeating heart twisted and broke into shattered little pieces. She stared foranother moment, �Brody...� But he did not hear her. She turned and fled as fast as her legs would carry her.

�With the love potion, Deena can keep the boy wrapped around her finger indefinitely, unlike that ape girland his father.� Grimlock was quite smug about his plan. �Deena is quite good at what she does and willhave no reservations when I ask her to carry out the next phase of the plan.� His lips twisted into a cockylittle smile, �And that, Kirstial, is how you do things.�

�I suppose.� Kirstial was still not quite herself as she stared at the chess board considering her next move.�Tamara was cheap at least. This Deena girl sounds expensive.�

�Money is no object here, Kirstial.�

�Hmmm.� Distracted, Kirstial suddenly looked up, �When are we going to fix my problems, Jon? Your plan isall well and good, but what about *me*? I need to get back at those stupid vampires too.�

Grimlock rubbed his forehead, �One thing at a time, Kirstial, one thing at a time.� She was giving him aheadache in her current state, but he also wasn�t sure he could afford to restore her to her former powerjust yet. Even if she was annoying this way, at least she was more pliable.

�Okay sweetcheeks. The zombie saw us together, so we can go now.� A satisfied Deena watched Heatherflee the park. Turning the sultry back on in her voice, she said in a louder voice, �Can we go back to yourplace, Brody?�

Uncharacteristically submissive, Brody nodded and said eagerly, �Anything you want, Deena. Anything foryou.�

-=-=-=-=-

And that, dear readers, is where I leave you!

What will happen to Brody now that Deena�s got her hooks in him? Will Kirstial ever regain her vampiricpowers? What is Jon Grimlock�s agenda? Will Persephone stop worrying about her family long enough tothink about herself? Will Micah and Genesis� relationship last? Who will be the new placeholder for the Greekhouse? These questions and more will be answered in the next installment of the Pseudo Legacy!

As always, I love feedback and constructive criticism on the story of the legacy. I hope you enjoyed thisinstallment and will come back for the next! Until next time...