Notes:This story is set around season 3 of Buffy and before Season 1 of Dark Angel. Faith is good! This is my first fic. up on this site, so please send reviews.

The girl felt relieved as she rolled into town on her Ninja motorbike, she hadn't slept or rested in days. The town was pretty small, and it definitely wasn't LA, that was still about three hours away, she estimated, but it would do. She was knackered, and that was a very rare occurrence.

                Glancing around, she spotted a motel and dismounting, she parked the bike in the car park, and saw to getting a room.

                The live music boomed through the crowded club as couples danced and friends chatted. One girl, in the centre of the dance floor, was surrounded by four or five guys, and she was clearly loving it. A small blonde sitting at a table nearby laughed as the dancer, a striking girl with dark hair and a tattoo across one shoulder, continued her overly sexy moves with these guys she'd never met. The dancer grinned back at her friend and extended a hand,

                "Come on B!" she yelled "Watcha got to lose?" she beckoned to the blonde, a wicked grin on her face. The blonde looked around, her other companions were all dancing, and her boyfriend was a no-show. What did she have to lose? She returned the grin and jumped up. The circle of guys moved back as the two girls danced together wildly, just giving in to the music.

                Around this time, another girl entered, looking around, as if to survey the scene. She briefly took in the wild dancers and the intrigued looking guys, but headed for the bar.

                "Beer!" she answered the bartender when he asked for her order. He nodded. Both were well aware that not all that long ago, she would have had no chance of being served alcohol in public, but the pulse had changed things, petty laws like that were barely remembered, let alone enforced. The girl nodded a thanks and took her drink. She stood leaning against the bar and once again looked round the room. Her lip quirked when she registered the two girls, dancing together, but clearly not "together", looks like fun, the girl thought, if you actually have friends… but her gaze finally fell on a dark figure standing in the corner, also watching the girls. The girls bit her lip softly, oh yeah, she thought, now that's what I call a man!  She was considering approaching the guy when the song finished and the two dancing girls stopped. They were both laughing, and one extended a fist, which the other knocked with her own. Then the girl with the dark hair pointed over the blondes shoulder. The latter turned, to see the guy in the corner. She grinned, and rushed to him. They embraced, and kissed. Damn it! The bar girl thought. And he is sooo hot too! But she shrugged and turned back to the bar.

                "You made it." Smiled the blonde, after coming up for air.

                "Yeah, sorry I'm late. I had a run in with a guy who was… biting off more than he could chew?" the blonde laughed shortly and shook her head.

                "That's lame." They walked together back to the table at which she had been sitting before, where her friends were now assembled. A tall guy with dark floppy hair smiled at the blonde, and indicating her dance partner, said,

                "You guys looked like you were having fun." The grin on his face was very similar to the looks the dancing guys had been giving them earlier. The girl sitting next to him, another stunner, with long, dark, wavy hair gave him a swift, sharp elbow in the ribs. The red head next to her giggled,

                "Serves you right Xand!" she kissed the boy next to her on the cheek and smiled smugly,

                "They did look pretty good." He said, smiling. All the friends laughed, except his girlfriend, who poked him, playfully hurt. The corner guy was next to speak.

                "I didn't want to mention this, but you guys do know that this place is swarming with…" his girlfriend cut him off.

                "I know," she admitted, "I was trying to ignore it."

                "An why the hell not!" interjected the tattooed girl, "this is 'sposed to be our night off!"

                "Sorry, girl, no such thing." The blonde smiled.

                "Don't I know it. Oh crap, Buffy, we need to move." The blonde spun round, immediately seeing the same as her partner. A dark haired girl, someone she'd never seen before, was making her way to the exit, closely followed by a badly dressed guy who looked very pleased with himself.

                "Back in mo." She said, "Right after this guy bites off more than he can chew."

Outside, the girl was approaching her motorbike, when she sensed someone behind her. She spun round, finding herself face to face with the ugliest guy she seen in her life. The look on his face assured her that he was not looking to chat.

                "You really need to see a dentist." She quipped, " 'an maybe a plastic surgeon too, cos you got problems!" He was shocked, but not all too put off.

                "Actually, I'm just fine." He grinned, reaching for her. She grabbed his arm and twisted, throwing him off balance, and delivered a kick to the back of his knee. The guy growled… literally, and jumped back up, attempting to grab her again. Getting pissed off now, the girl clocked him one directly to the nose. He stumbled backwards, blood spurting from his face, but he just tried again. What!? That should have knocked him out cold! The girl thought, outraged.

Buffy and her companion rushed out into the car park, to behold a peculiar scene; the girl they had seen leaving was fighting the vamp off pretty well, but obviously had no idea what she was dealing with. She would knock him down with some wicked blows, but then, due to his enhanced strength and resilience that the girl didn't seem to know about, he would just keep coming.

                "Do you see this Buffy?" said the dark haired one, her voiced laced in amused disbelief.

                "Oh yeah. Damn she must be strong, he's a big one." Her friend laughed,

                "Yeah, but surely she should figure that she needs more fire power that that!" At that moment, both girls saw that the fighter had lost her patience. She punched him, making him step back, then snapped kicked his face with a force that even Buffy had never beheld. The vamps head hit the tarmac hard. His body wobbled, then followed suit, exploding into a thousand grains of dust when it hit. The girl starred open mouthed. Buffy wonder what had shocked her more, the fact that she'd just kicked a guys head off, or the fact that the body just disintegrated. Her friend raised her eyebrows.

                "Damn!" she exclaimed, plainly impressed. Buffy smiled, then made her way towards the girl.

                "You O.K?" She asked. The girl looked up, slightly panicked.

                "Huh? Who, me? Fine, just fine…" she trailed off. "Did you see…?" she pointed to the ground at her feet. Buffy nodded. "I just, I didn't mean to… what the hell was that?" Buffy laughed shortly.

                "You are new in town then. It was a vampire." Her friend looked at her, stunned. "What, Faith? She handled that damn well, and whether you like to admit it or not, we could always use an extra pair of hands." The fighting girl chuckled, which surprised both of the other girls. Faith wasn't even slightly squeamish, but the two of them new what it was like to face a fight like that for the first time. Apart from the initial shock, this girl was barely affected. What must this kid have seen? Hell, I had seen my fair share of shit before I even new about vamps, but I was still scared… Faith thought.

                "Uh huh, right, vampires, that's it! How dumb of me." Buffy gave her a withering look.

                "You saw his face. You saw his teeth. You know that the pounding you gave him would have killed five men his size. You know I'm not jerking you around. Vampires are real, girl. Demons witches, everything you've ever dreamt was under your bed, its real."

                "Floorboards? Yeah I already knew that." She quipped sarcastically and turned to her bike. Faith grabbed the girl's shoulder, spinning her around.

                "What the hell is your problem? We came out here to help you. Granted, you didn't exactly need it, but still! You can't seriously turn your back on this after what you just saw!"

                "The hell I can't! Who the f*ck are you to tell me what I can and can't do? You don't even know me! I got my own problems ai-ight? So get the hell off my back! And take your hand off my arm before I take it off yours!" Faith didn't move a muscle. Starring into the girl's eyes, she saw a look of fury, but interwoven into every stand of anger and violence in those dark, chocolate brown eyes, was a deep-seated pain. Not weakness in any way. But a protectiveness, held rigid by the horrors she already knew; and Faith could have sworn she'd seen that look before. A scene flashed through her mind: a young girl lying dead on the ground, more kids all around her, one looking up to meet Faith's terrified gaze from where she'd collapsed at her sisters side. With the shock of returning to reality, Faith jerked her hand away, breaking eye contact at the same moment, meaning that she missed the look of confused recognition on the girls face, but this two was gone in an instant. The girl nodded, satisfied that she had what she wanted, mounted her bike, and roared out of the car park. Buffy looked sideways at her friend.

                "You OK?" Faith nodded slowly.

                "Five by five. See you later." She made towards her bike close by, but Buffy stopped her,

                "Where are you going?" she demanded. Faith smiled wryly and kept moving, Buffy knew where she was going, and that she was going alone.

                The girl sped along the roads, desperate to get back to her small motel room. She wanted to be off the streets, where that girl couldn't find her. Somehow she knew that Faith was looking for her. Her emotions on this point were mixed. She's a stranger. A weird, screwy stranger, with a very strong grip… that means nothing though. That guy you fought was damn strong, but he was… oh god…  but she just couldn't shake that odd feeling she'd had, for no more than a second when Faith had refused to move her hand and their eyes had met… Reaching her motel, she hid her bike in the very back of the car park and swept inside. She locked the door and sat on the end of the bed, head in hands, trying to ignore the fact that her hand were shaking uncontrollably, and it wasn't from fear.

                Faith crept into the car park. She glanced around, and on seeing the bike, a sly grin spread across her face. Focusing in on the body of the vehicle, she read what was printed there, "Ninja 250" Bingo! Faith moved across the tarmac to the closest window, not making a sound. Peering through the window, she saw a middle-aged man Nope, she thought and moved on. Annoyed that some curtains were close, Faith was starting to think she'd need to climb to the second floor. But then she struck lucky. The curtains were half drawn, as if the drawer had been distracted half way through, and within the room, the girl from the club was rifling through a bag. She eventually came up with a small pot of pills. This gave Faith a jolt, and at once she understood the girls urgency. Shaking violently, the girl bolted a handful of pills, before dropping the pot, spilling pills in every direction. She collapsed, groping for the pills. Faith set off at an incredible speed towards the entrance. Even as she was twisting the doorknob, trying desperately to gain entrance, her mind was racing, Shouldn't you think about this? So she's like you, that doesn't mean she's you sister! Chances are she's one of them! You think it's a coincidence that she came to Sunnydale? Of all places… but what if she's not? That was the clearest thought in her mind. What if this girl was one of the people she'd been looking for, for the last nine years? Even if she was one of them, even if this was the biggest mistake Faith had made in her life, it was one she would happily make a thousand times over, just for that chance. She stood back, and kicked the door down, as the girl let out a wail of anguish at the pain convulsing her body. Faith dropped to her knees beside her and scooped up a handful of pills. Tears trickling down her cheeks, Faith supported the stranger's head and helped her to swallow the pills. When the girl looked up, into her rescuers eyes, Faith no longer needed to look at the bottle, she knew who this girl was.

                "Its ok baby sister, its ok. It's gonna be ok." She reassured her, holding her close and rocking her back and forth.

                Hours later, when Faith had closed the door, holding it shut with a chair as the lock and latch were a bent and tangled mess on the floor, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, smoothing hair away from the other girls face. The girl was sleeping, which worried Faith slightly as she knew that if she really was who Faith thought she was, then she hardly needed any sleep, so the seizure must really have been bad to put her out for this long. Eventually, the girl began to stir. Eyes still closed, she looked a little confused, but moments later, she sat up with a start, obviously remembering what had happened. She looked around, focusing on the girl sitting next to her, with a worried look on her face.

                "You. You helped me. Why? You're the girl from the club… you called me sister…" she trailed off, gazing at Faith as if trying to figure out who she was. "That other girl called you Faith. Faith. Fai… Fay?" Faith smiled. She reached out slowly and smoothed the girl's hair away from her face once more. The girl didn't pull back.

                "You got it lil' sis." A tear escape from the corner of her eye, but she didn't try to hide it, they were already streaming down the other girls face.

                "Fay? Oh my god, Fay. It really is you, huh?" The two girls came together in a tight embrace.

                "I thought we'd lost you baby sister. Jondy said you fell. We didn't know if you'd…" Faiths voice was muffled, as she pressed her face into her sister's hair. "I thought we'd lost you." The other girl pulled back, sobering slightly,

                "You know where the others are? You saw them after the escape?" But Faith shook her head.

                "Once we got outside the wire, we rendezvoused for no more than a minute there were eleven of us there, Jondy said you fell through the ice, and we all saw Seth get pulled back, the others, we had no idea whether they made it or not. Zack made us split up, go our own ways."

                "Zack! He made it then, I saw him get tazered and I thought, oh god I didn't know what to think. When I fell through the ice, I knew they were closing in, and I knew that if I came back up, then Jondy would stay to help me and we'd both get caught, so I stayed under. But she got out, right?"

                "Yeah, she got out. But what did you do? You must've come up sometime! Unless they found you…" Faith moved back slightly, shaking her head.

                "Fay? They didn't find me, I swear, I hi under the ice til they passed, then legged it. I got picked up on the road by this woman, Hannah, I think she worked as a nurse or something, at Manticore, but she was a good guy. She took me to her house, then went to get help, but she didn't come back for ages so I left." The girl was sobbing now, begging her sister to believe her. "Please Fay, please believe me! I would never work for them! Ever! I'd rather die!" Faith stood there, unsure what to do. Ever fibre of her being wanted to believe, but she also knew what she'd been told, she knew the odds of one freezing nine year old getting away from there alone once Lydeckers men had caught up… But if she was from Manticore, would they really tell her to say stuff like she just did? Surely it'd be way too risky, they'd worry about her remembering what she felt as a child… Faith saw flashes of her childhood, the small girl who always stuck with Jondy; the youngest of the group, but by no means the weakest. She was quiet, but determined. She came out near the top on almost everything, and once again Faith saw the eyes that had looked up at her when Eva had fallen to the ground, dead. They were filled with a spirit that Faith had never seen until that day. A steely determination, fuelled by love, a spirit that Manticore would never have allowed to survive for long. Looking into this girls eyes now, nine years later, through the tears she could see that same spirit, that same flame burning bright. If she had been in Manticore for the last nine years, then Lydecker would have extinguished that a long time ago. Faith hugged the other girl.

                "I'm sorry. It's just so hard. I love you Maxie, I love you."

Next day- Sunnydale high-school library

                "I'm worried is all. It just isn't like her." Xander looked disbelievingly at Buffy,

                "To go off without a word, not telling us where or why? Buff, that sounds exactly like her."

                "That's not what I meant. She was… I dunno, different. I've never seen her so shaken. Not even after we dealt with Kakistos. She was terrified then, but this, this was different, deeper." Giles, Buffy's watcher, and the school librarian took off his glasses and began cleaning them.

                "It's possible that this strange girl uncovered something that Faith had suppressed. Maybe she reminded her of herself, or maybe, there is something she didn't tell you." He looked at Buffy. She nodded and smiled at her friends,

                "It's probably nothing though. Faith can look after herself, and like Xander said, she often goes off on her own. She'll be fine." She looked at her watch, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we better get to class."

Later, Faiths apartment

Faith showed her sister in, dumping her bag on the bed and gesturing to the small room.

                "This is it. It's not the Ritz, but hey, it's warm, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than that dump you were shacked up in." Max raised her eyebrows,

                "I was only gonna stay one night. I needed a rest, been driving non-stop for days." Faith sat down heavily on the bed.

                "So what are you doing here sis'? I'm mean, Sunnydale, of all god forsaken places?" Max joined her on the bed.

                "Like I said, just a pit-stop. I'm on my way to LA."

                "You do know that's only about three hours from here, right?" Faith said, looking sideways at her sister.

                "Yeah, that's what I thought, but I got here last night and I couldn't bare to go any further, I was knackered, and I could feel the seizure coming on." Faith smiled sympathetically,

                "You still get them a lot, huh?"

                "Yeah, all the time. I mean, they're mostly not so bad, but now and then… You don't get them?"

                "Not so much now-a-days, but I keep Tryp' with me just in case. You gonna be ok Maxie?" Her sister smiled bravely,

                "Always, sis. 'Specially now I've found you." She seemed to be considering something, "Fay? That guy I fought, you said he was a… how can that be true? I mean I know what I saw, an' I know that no ordinary person could take that kinda punishment, but vampires?" Faith laughed shortly,

                "Screwy, huh? It's true. Vampires, demons, the whole shebang. I didn't believe it at first either." Max was shaking her head in disbelief.

                "Amazing. I mean, hell I thought my life was complicated enough as it is!" Faith laughed,

                "That's exactly what I told 'em when I was called. They didn't know what I meant, of course."

                "When you were called? What's that supposed to mean?" Faith took a deep breath, this was not going to be easy.

                "I'm what's known as a slayer…

That night, The Bronze

                "Buffy, would you relax? Please?" Her friend Willow was sitting with her at a table. Buffy had refused to dance outright. "Faith knows how to take care of herself! You know she does. You have to…" Buffy got up, reaching for her coat, "Buffy? Where are you going?"

                "I can't sit around any longer. I'm gonna patrol. I'll see you at school Will. Tell Angel I'm sorry, if he ever turns up."

The Park

Buffy wandered through the park, not going anywhere in particular, not particularly alert for vampires, just thinking. She did know that Faith could handle herself, of course she did. But the way she'd looked at that girl, the look in her eyes, it was like nothing Buffy had ever seen in Faith. It was… almost childlike.

Not far away, Faith, or Fay, was also walking through the park, accompanied by her sister, Max. They had talked all day, recounting their lives since they'd last been together, and Fay explaining the world of the supernatural to Max. Max found it very ironic that vampires were practically invulnerable except when faced with the most basic of weapons, fire and wood.

                "It'd be a bugger for getting a suntan." She joked as they walked, "The bit I have to say I find the hardest to deal with is the holy water, crosses bit. Y'know, all the religious bull. There has to be more to it, cos no offence to Ben, but I ain't seen any proof of no all-powerful being, ever."

                "Yeah, it's not quite like that though. I think there probably is more to it than people realise. There's the powers that be, and all these Wicca goddesses an' stuff, but I dunno, maybe when it comes down to it, they're all jus' demons."

                "Whatever. But I'd love to have another round with one of those bastards, y'know, when I actually know what's going on!" Fay stuck out her arm, stopping max in her tracks. A grin spread across her face.

                "You may just get your wish, baby sister." She silently pointed across the clearing they were currently in towards a dark corner of the park, where a large group was emerging from the forest. Max didn't know how she knew, but just like Fay, she was certain that they were vampires. It's something in the way they move she thought. Switching to the hand signals they'd learnt as children, the two circled round opposite sides of the clearing, planning a double sided-attack. Fay felt a rush of adrenaline building inside her, slaying always excited her, as anyone that knew her was well aware, but this was different. This was working as a unit with her sister, someone who understood her completely, this was, although she hated to admit it, what she'd been built for.

                Approaching the group, Max felt a similar rush. She made no noise as she crept across the grass into position, and although she couldn't see her, she knew that Fay was doing the same on the other side. She began to hear what the vamps were saying, it sickened her, and hardened her resolve to dust them.

                "Damn that kid was sweet!" one cooed "like strawberries!" they all laughed. Finally in position, Max could see her sister now, and as the CO, Fay gave the orders, but let Max have some fun, she was to distract them, while Faith began the attack. Max grinned, and stepped out of her hiding place.

                "Hey there." She purred, "I think I'm lost. Could you help me?" one vamp, a huge guy, smiled broadly. His small mind didn't even consider where this girl had come from.

                "Sure I can help you honey." He advanced on her, "Why don't you just come with me, an' we'll help you find your way." He offered her a hand. Through the corner of her eye, Max saw Fay emerge, and strike. As the already disintegrating vamp yelled out, Max thrust her hand forward, grabbing the leaders outstretched wrist and twisting, hard. He hit the ground hard, and before he could even think about getting back up, Max staked him. Then she turned to his startled companions.

Rounding a corner, Buffy heard the familiar sound of a fight in full fling. She started running, but when the fight came into view, she stopped dead. What she saw was Faith and the girl from the bronze fighting with a large group of vampires. The two were moving at an incredible speed, working in perfect harmony. When one needed the other, they were there in a split second. Buffy was an expert fighter, but this she had never seen. In mere moments, the fight was over. The two girls stood, about a metre apart, smiling. Neither was even breathless. Faith extended a fist, which the stranger bumped with her own. Buffy jogged up to them, finally getting Faith attention.

                "B! Hey girl, whatcha doing here?" Buffy raised her eyebrows,

                "What am I doing here? I come here practically every night Faith. You know that. The question is, what's she doing here." Buffy gestured to Max. Max nearly let rip, but bit her tongue for her sister's sake. Faith sensed this, and grinned.

                "Cool it Buffy. She's cool. What are you so huffed about?"

                "I was worried! You ran off last night after her, in a seriously weird mood, and didn't come back, or call or…" Max now couldn't help herself,

                "What are you two, married?" Faith laughed shortly. Buffy didn't look impressed.

                "Buff, look, it's ok, really, I'm ok. This is Max. We go way back. She actually kinda my sister."

                "Your what? Last night you had no idea who she was." Faiths smile had faded.

                "It's complicated B. We haven't seen each other in nine years. That's why I didn't recognise her at first. That's why I was in a weird mood, cos I wasn't sure if I knew her or not." Max surprised both of them when she spoke,

                "I'm sorry." She offered, "I didn't mean to freak you out. I was just in a bit of a screwy headspace last night. I'd been driving for days, I wasn't feelin' great, and, to top it off, I'd just kicked a guys head off and watched him explode. I was kinda on the edge. You guys just tipped me over. I didn't recognise Fay either." Buffy seemed to cool down a bit.

                "I shouldn't have freaked so much. I guess it was just seeing what you'd done an' that. You must be pretty flippin' strong. But nine years, that's long before Faith knew about vamps. How come you can fight like that?" Faith took a deep breath,

                "Long story."

                "A Buffy styley long story, or actually a long story?" Buffy asked. She and Faith smiled, but Max didn't get it. Faith shook her head to say it didn't matter.

                "Actually a long story. A very long story." Buffy raised her eyebrows again. But didn't pursue the subject.

                "So you're sisters, huh? You never told me Faith." It was Max who answered,

                "Not technically. But it's always been like that. We grew up together." Buffy nodded.

                "Well, you could be, any way. You've got similar eyes. And hair." They were walking again and all three were comfortable with the silence. Buffy was considering what she'd just discovered. There was a whole lot that she didn't know about Faith; A lot more than she'd thought. This girl Max seemed to have the same permanent defence system as Faith. She was secretive, tough, but Buffy had the feeling that Max had had her fair share of pain over the years. At the same time, Buffy was hurt. She and Faith had been through a lot together, and at times, it felt as if they were sisters, she told Faith almost everything, but Faith had never told Buffy that she had a sister, or someone as close as a sister; and she sensed that there was a lot more that Faith was holding back.

On entering the Bronze, the three girls scanned the room in search of the same group Buffy and Faith had been with last night. The red-head was dancing with her boyfriend, Xander, the other girl and the guy Max had seen in the corner were sitting together at a table. The latter jumped up when he saw Buffy. They all smiled, seeming pleased to see faith too, until they saw Max. As they all greeted the two slayers, Max stood back, feeling very out of place. But Faith soon dragged her into the middle of the group. Five curious pairs of eyes watched her (The dancing couple had joined them) as Faith proudly began,

                "This is Max. We go waaaay back. Max , this is Xander, Cordy, Angel,  Willow, Oz and you already no B." They all nodded and smiled, and Max tried very hard not to laugh. She could tell that they were all still thinking, so who the hell is she!? Great, she's your friend, but how come she beat the crap out of vampires? etc. faith sensed it too, and continued, "She's like a sister. We grew up together…" but she still didn't know how to explain the fighting skills. Max intervened, saying simply,

                "We had a bit of a rough childhood." They all laughed at that, easily catching on that it was a major understatement. But it lightened the mood, and the suspicion was as good as forgotten.

That night, Fay's apartment

The two sisters lay sleeping on the bed, hands clasped together. Both were dreaming.

                It was hard to see much, but vague figures roamed their minds, and voices floated to them as if on the wind. "You have nothing to be sorry for, or ashamed of, because I know who you are…" then the voice changed, "there's something I have to tell you, I should have said something a long time ago…" just catches of sentences, void of emotion, but touching all the same. There was a pause, and then one voice, all alone, softly, "I love you Max."

 Both girls snapped awake. Max was slightly confused. She rarely slept at all, but in the last two days she'd slept for hours, and she remembered a dream, a strange dream. Fay remembered the dream in perfect clarity. She'd had ones like it before. Not with the same subject, but of the same type, it was another side-effect of being a slayer, but this was slightly different. She looked sideways at her sister, and registered the confusion on her face. All at once the dream made sense, and the difference.

"You saw it, didn't you?" She smiled at Max, who turned to her, startled,

"Huh? Saw what?"

"The dream, dumb ass." Max shook her head,

"Fay, what dream, why would I see your dream?" Fay sensed the curiosity in Max's voice, confirming that she had seen the dream, but didn't understand. She laughed,

"It's ok Maxie. It's a slayer thing, I think, well not the you seeing it bit, I think that's 'cos we were holding hands, but the screwy dream, that's me." Max still wasn't sure,

"So what was it then? It made no sense." Fay smiled softly, which was rare, she was more often, loud, rowdy, but this had obviously touched her.

"Yeh it did, if you have experience in those kinda dreams. It was you Maxie. Or at least your future. Some day, you're gonna be happy. Some day you're gonna find someone who loves you, understands you, and you're gonna love them back." Fay tried to push to the back of her mind the other feelings that had flooded to her during the experience. She desperately tried to convince herself that it was really that simple, Max was going to be happy. But no matter how hard she tried, she could still feel the pain attached to those words. She still knew that before Max was ever truly happy, she would feel more pain than anyone should feel in a lifetime. She knew that in time, the mysterious voice would mean more to Max than life itself, and that this fact would cause her to hurt him. With a jolt, Fay realised that that would probably be the hardest thing Max ever had to do, and that she could never tell Max this, as it would make her avoid that which came before the pain, and prevent Max ever knowing things that would keep her alive in years to come. She smiled at her sister, expertly consealing her thoughts. In Max's confused state, she missed the anxiety in her sisters eyes. A moment later, uncomfortable with this silence, Max laughed shortly,

"yeah right, like that's ever gonna happen. Even if I did, Zack would probably court martial me for dabbling with 'meaningless sentimentality'." Both girls laughed, imagining their always-serious big brother as he might be now.

Sunnydale High school gym

Buffy and Faith had scheduled a training session that afternoon, so Fay invited max to join them. Buffy was apprehensive, as she did not know if max would be able to keep up, or whether she might be on the other end of the scale. The gym was set up for a full out training session, punch bag, fighting dummies, vault horses, and Giles had ensured that they'd have it all to themselves. Buffy was sitting on one of the horses when the sisters arrived.

                "Hey B." called Faith across the room "Y' ready?" she grinned

                "Always." Came the answer. Max kept her distance, and watched as the two began to spar. Buffy was strong, for a full human, but not as fast as Faith. However, this didn't hinder her much. She clearly had wicked reflex's, as she dodged most of faith's blows even without the extra speed, and the fight ended when Faith found her back against a wall and Buffy's foot stopped mm's from her face. Faith laughed shortly.

                "Good one B. Round one to you." She looked over to her sister, who was smiling slightly. She caught Buffy's eyes and they both nodded. "Maxie! Come on, your turn." Buffy stepped back to the side, and Max joined her sister in the centre of the room. About two metres apart, they both dropped into fighting stance and locked eyes, both knowing that this would be a good fight. Buffy watched intently as neither girl moved. They each seemed to be waiting for the other to make the first move. A moment later, Faith struck, with a left swing aimed at the face, Max danced out of the way, knocking the hand to the side at the same time. She grinned,

                "Sloppy, sis, I saw that comin' a mile away!"

                "Oh yeah?" Faith feigned another, then swung from the other side, expecting Max to have dodged in anticipation of the fake. She hadn't. She rolled with the second swing, grabbing Faiths arm and throwing her of balance. From then on, the fight moved at an incredible speed, it was dance like as both dodged, attacked dodged again, anticipating close to every move, and counteracting. Faith seemed stronger, Buffy thought, and was just waiting for Faith to come in for the kill. She grinned as Max's back hit the wall, and Faith made the same move that had ended her fight with Buffy. The difference came, when at the last possible moment, Max twisted sideways. Faiths foot impacted the wall with a painful thud, but she immediately turned again to face Max. Still mid-twist, Max's back was to Faith. Faith grabbed her from behind, intending to knock her down via the back on her knees, but again max avaded, using Faiths grip to flip herself backwards, over Faith's head in a dizzying arch and to land cat like on the other side. Buffy's breath caught in her throat as she beheld it. Now faith had never done that!  The fight continued, but it was now clear that even though Faith was stronger, maybe faster too, Max had the advantage of class. She kept her cool throughout, instead of getting worked up like Faith. She seemed to enjoy every movement, and used the full extend of her capability rather than just lashing out. Still, seeing Faith's moves during the fight, Buffy realised that Faith had been holding back. Not just in their fight, but the whole time she'd known her. What was this secret that the sisters guarded so closely? Because Max was not a slayer and she and Faith haven't seen each other for nine years, but still seemed to have the same the same style, as if they were trained side by side. Buffy was getting the sneaking suspicion that Faith would have been a formidable opponent long before she was called. Buffy snapped back to reality when she realised that the fight was over. Faith wasflat on the ground, face up. Max was straddling her, hand to her sister's throat, grinning broadly. Faith wriggled, but realised that she wasn't getting out of this one.

                "Damn it!" she yelled, but smiled, "You're good, baby sister." Max released her hold on faith, cocking her head to the side to say,

                "I know." With a short laugh. Then Faith grimaced,

                "But you're still heavy! Get the hell off, girl!" Max poked her in mock insult, and stood up, stepping across to one side, looking down at her sister. She smiled, think of a come back,

                "I said you were sloppy." Faith swung one leg round, catching max's ankles and bringing her to the ground with a yelp.

                "I'm sorry, you were saying?"

The three retired to the bronze about half an hour later. Max and Buffy had fought, and Max had won, Buffy and Faith went again, with Buffy insisting that Faith didn't hold back, and following that, Buffy suggested that they called it a night, as her pride had been severely dented. So they sat together in the Bronze, chatting and laughing, more at ease than they had been since Max's arrival, nothing like a good fight to break the ice, max thought ironically. But she sensed there was something Buffy was dying to ask. Eventually she couldn't take it anymore, but didn't want Fay to think she didn't trust her friend, so when Fay went to get another round of drinks, Max was very direct,

                "Is there something you gotta say?" she asked. Buffy looked surprised. "Cos if there is, just say it. But don't hurt my sister." Buffy raised her eyebrows,

                "I had no intention of hurting anyone. I just want to know the truth. About you, about Faith, about why you call her Fay, about how come you're both so strong and know all the same moves even though you're not sposed to have seen Faith since she's been the slayer, and therefore since, to my knowledge, she started seriously fighting. She knows everything about me. Before you turned up, I thought I knew everything about her." Buffy found that once she'd started, it was easiest to keep going. "There's times when I feel like Faith is my sister. We've always got each others backs, it hurts that there is so much that she's kept from me." Max felt very tired suddenly. She knew exactly what Buffy felt like, and she sympathised.

                "I know." Again she surprised the slayer. "She thinks of you as sister too. That's been obvious since the first time I saw you together, right here. The stuff you want to know is complicated, and frankly I have no right to tell you. This is Fay… Faith's life and its for her to tell. But it's a lot more complicated than you could possibly know. One thing I can tell you is that Fay hasn't kept it from you in spite. It's… complicated, very complicated. An' if you want to know, then you have to ask Faith. But like I said, don't you dare hurt her. If she confides in you, then believe her, however unbelievable it is. Here she comes. I'm gonna dance." Max had no idea who she'd dance with, but she wanted to leave Buffy and Faith alone. Buffy sensed this and gave her a grateful smile. From the dance floor, where Max soon picked up a willing partner, she watched the others. Fay looked worried, but when she made eye contact with Max, seeming to ask permission, max turned away, this is your fight big sister she told her, although Faith couldn't hear. Almost half an hour later, seriously bored, Max saw something that gave her a jolt. Not a bad feeling, just one that said, this is it, there's no going back now. Faith was twisted round so that she was facing away from Buffy, and one hand held her hair up, exposing the back of her neck, and the black mark that lay there. Buffy touched it gently, smiling. Max smiled too. She softly patted her partner on the cheek and abandoned him. His face said that he'd known all along it was too good to be true. Max approached the table cautiously, and soon heard the conversation.

                "Shit." Buffy said, "it's really true then. So you, and Max, and all your 'brothers' and 'sisters'…" she trailed off, but still smiled, "Cool." She said when Faith nodded. Max joined them,

                "Everything ai-aight?" she asked carefully, both girls smiled up at her,

                "S'all good baby sis', but I don't much care for you abandoning me like that!"  

                "It was your call, hun." She answered. Faith began to pour the drinks, and Max stole a glance at Buffy. She was waiting for it, and nodded slightly, it's all good.