A/N: Yes I know for all of everyone who has been following this fic that it been a LONG time! But I'm back I've finally got a hold of my muse. As a result I've found a re-enforced pair of handcuffs and cuffed my ever wandering muse. For all of you who have read and reviewed thank-you.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always read...enjoy...and review.

And have a nice day.

Warning: This chapter deals with issues of child abuse please don't falme me. This fic is rated M meaning 'mature' for a reason.

Breaking Dawn

Chapter 4:

Memories...Friends...Hope...

Max tried to ignore the stares of the transgencis but she couldn't help but feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was about to leave when Statis garbed a hold of her arm,

"You know 85 percent of the transgenics here trust you with their lives." Her eyes wide with symapty

"Yeah, but they don't trust me to lead them." Maz bit out bitterly, having thought she had proven herself to her fellow transgenics.

"Well, simple put 90 percent believe that would high tail and run when it came down to make hard choices. Max you know and everyone else knows you never lead a unit. You wouldn't make the choice to leave someone behind. You also wouldn't plan a possible deadly mission. You are too afraid to make hard choices. Alec on the other hand has made those choices before. He can and will make those same choice now that we need them. What was your plan after we declared war on the ordinary's? You didn't have one, Alec took control. Would you have done the same thing? No, you wouldn't have.In fact I can tell you it would have taken you." The woman looked down at her watch.

"2.5 hours, and during the that time Alec already reformed all the units present, and ordered a comprehensive list to be complied. Believe it or not but we need order, we lived all our lives under milatry rule, and right now we need it. He's willing to give it... you're not. You should go and think about what I said; and Max remember none of us hate you. We just don't want you to lead us into certain death, that's all." Statis finished giving Max a teasing smile her tone held a kindness and warmth that shocked Max surprised with the ease the female transgenic showed affection.

Max normally would have gone to the Seattle Needle to clear her thoughts, but now with Homeland Security, SPD, and the media parked at their front door, she knew they couldn't risk the exposure. So she opted for the roof they had raised the flag that same day. When she got there what she saw had her blood boiling.

There stood Alec in the arms of the same transgenic that had chewed her out, she tried to stifle the small voice that was screaming,

'He's mine! She has no right to hold him, to touch him, to be with in five feet of him. He's mine. MINE. MINE. MINE.'

Max moved closer hoping to here what they were saying.

"God! Len this is so fucked up. How the hell am I going to lead everyone? A unit fine I can do that I was taught to do that. But this!" His agitations was clear in his jerky movements.

The beautiful transgenic cupped his head between his hands and in a firm voice said, "Alec, look at me. You can do this. You aren't just a unit leader. You are a leader. Do you remember what it was like after '09? You held us together, when the rest of us had no idea what to do, you held us together. You, not Max, not Mr. Eyes-Only. You. You helped build up moral, after they did all their freak tests on us. After what they did to all of us. Trust me dude, I know you, you can do this."

Max tried to suppress the twinge of guilt as she did everytime when she heard how life after her units breakout effected the ones left behind.

"Thanks Len." Alec gave her a crocked smile as he her hugged again. They pulled apart and gave each other the same half smile.

"Well I've got to find my breeding partner, if I know Dean. And I know Dean he's probable already gotten himself into trouble, plus I have orders to follow don't I, sir?" she said giving him a smirk that rivaled his own, as she gave him a mock salute and walked away.

Alec looked out at circus that had surrounded their current home, and felt his stomach clench, he had a dry feeling in his throat and was sure that he just might end up pucking on the roof. He hated feeling this way it was a feeling he remembered well after Max and her unit escaped. He remembered praying that he never felt that way again, it seemed that God or whatever hadn't listened. He knew he shouldn't be shocked, he remembered praying in vain all those years ago.

Flashback:

He was strampped down. His necked flesh burned against the metal slab, he felt the various needles that were currently embedded in his skin. Everything around him was dark he couldn't see anything, even his hightened vision failed him. All he could hear was a constant humming of voice he didn't understand it but they kept on asking him the same questions over and over again.

All he could do was answer no. He didn't know how long he had been in the darkness, time had no meaning he was only darkness and constant pain. Every now and then they would come back in and ask him more questions.

In the darkness he heard the others screams he could hear as they asked their questions and punished them. He could smell it on their skin, the smell of blood and torn flesh of the others. And in the darkness he prayed, he prayed that his unit was safe and that he was the only one who smelled of blood, burnt flesh and many other bodily fluids.

He prayed when they came back and his bones broke and his skin tore that his sister was safe. But mostly he prayed that his unit did not suffer at the hands of the sadistic Major J. Butler. Everytime the mjor left him he was in a worse state his body sore and brusied. But most of the time he was greatful for the beatings, the constant abuse of metal to skin and bone was bareable, he prayed that the Major would stick to the beatings everytime the man touched him he would feel the bile rise to the back of his throat. It was times like that he was greatful for the darkness, with the darkness came protection. Protection from the humilation, from the violation. And the stench of his abuser's breath on his neck.

Alec was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of someone calling his name.

"Alec." Max said again for the fifth time, this time her tone had an edge of annoyance.

He turned around and let out a deep breath, "Oh hey Maxie." He said giving her one of his checky smiles, in an attempt to mask the pain his memories brought forth.

"I...um...whowasthegirl?" She asked in a ruch not wanting him to know why she really wanted to know.

"Who?" He frowned but then smirked remembering that he and Helen had been standing together not too long ago.

"Oh...her...any reason as to why you want to know." He asked his tone teasing and his smirk bigger than it had been before.

"N-no. I just. I...oh okay I saw you guys hugging and I know Mandicore wasn't big on emotion so I wanted to know who she was." She said giving up trying to pretend she wasn't interested in knowing.

Alec smiled punched Max in the arm, "I knew you liked me. The girl you saw me with was Len...Helen, my sister."

Max scowled at him, "I thought you said that our units weren't our brothers and sisters."

He just smirked in return, "It's because they're not. Len and I are biological siblings. They used the same spurm donar with the same egg donar and the same woman to carry the embreo to term. So I can say we are defintly brother and sister."

Max decided she should let the first thought that came to her mind after learning the extent Manticore went to form the siblings slide, she looked at the handsom male next to her and she could easily see the tension coild muscles and the twinching of his jaw.

She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a freindly squeeze, she gave him a warm smile. Or as Alec secretly called them her Max smile, the smile that got him to do pretty much everything she asked him to.

"I think you'll make a good leader Alec, they already trust and like you." She said her tone as uncouraging as she knew.

Alec just shock his head, "It should be you. You know how to deal with this..." he said making sweeping geastures to the chaos outside of the gates. "I'm a secert ops guy. You need covert military missions I'm your guy. This I don't think I can do this."

Max just smiled again, "That's why you'll make a good leader Alec, you're already thinking about the battel ahead of us." Max found that the words came easier to her than she thought they would.

"Only if you promise to beside me every step of the way." Alec teasingly bumped her shoulder to lessen the serious nature of the conversation.

"Only if I'm alound to kick you ass." She retored her own smirk frimly in place.

To which Alec grinned, "Kinky."

"Shut up." She answered giving him a mock punch to his arm, he just chuckled and threw his arm across her shoulders holding her closer to his side.

"We're going to make it." He said it quitely but with conviction his jaw set in determination, Max looked up at him and for the first time in a long time allowed herself to hope.

TBC...