TITLE: Genetically Empowered (My Finale & Season 3)
EPISODE: 13 "PAST CATCHING UP" 12/02/02
WRITTEN BY: Heather Ferguson (fergus80)
EMAIL: hferguso@niu.edu
WEBSITE: http://eric_greta.tripod.com (Jensen)
RATING: PG-13 (For now, will post alternate chapters if ratings change)
SUMMARY: How 'Freak Nation' and S3 should have been. M/A
SPOILERS: Everything!
DISCLAIMER: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron, FOX, etc. etc. etc.
FEEDBACK: PLEASE!!! I CRAVE IT!!! It makes me want to write more.
DEDICATION: To all the Nuns at the Church of Alec, and the Blue Lady! And a special thank you to those who read, and corrected my spelling, grammar, tenses, etc. You know who you are, you wonderful nuns you. ;)
GO TO: NWP: http://nunswithpens.hyperboards.com/
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He was sitting there, his whole body tense, adrenaline running through him. His eyes watched Max pace back and forth in front of him, while Joshua stood nearby just looking at him. "Yeah," came the voice from behind him, "thought so. Planted a few myself back in the day. Mind my asking how you ended up with one of these pop guns attached to your brain stem? "
Max stopped in front of him and spoke before he could say anything, "Because he's a cold-blooded, opportunistic showoff who thought he could run his game on a major bad guy who, it turns out, is an even bigger scumbag than he is! That about cover it? "
"Yeah, that's pretty much how it happened," Alec replied.
Max looked at him sarcastically, "Oh, before I forget, thanks so much for not killing me."
"Me too," Joshua chimed in almost cheery.
"I can disarm it. It'll cost you ten grand," said the man behind him again.
Max looked at him in shock, "That the only number you know?"
Alec put up a wad of cash to the guy, "I can get you the rest later."
"Need it up front," the man replied.
Anger fueled through him and he jumped up from the chair, turning and grabbing the man by the neck, shoving him up against the wall. "Where the hell am I gonna get that kind of cash in the next five minutes, huh?" he asked gritting his teeth, his eyes glimmering in rage.
"Wait," Max said holding up some more cash. She looked at Alec, "You're paying me back."
He released the man, and returned back to the chair sitting down once again, "No problem."
"Great. I can leave town tonight," the man said getting the stuff ready to use.
"What?! You haven't finished my job!" Max screamed at him.
"Have I not mentioned that my life is in danger?" the man replied.
"I'll make sure nothing happens to you," she tried to reassure him.
"Not good enough. Look, you can have the work that I've done so far. Take my analysis. You can find some other Manticore geek to help you finish it off."
"Where?"
"Don't know. If they're smart like me, they're probably already on their way out of town. We got a deal? This guy's got like two minutes to live."
She paused, and looked at Alec, then back at the man. "Do it," she told him handing him the money in exchange for the papers.
Alec looked at his watch, seeing the timer count down to zero. He swallowed, feeling the man moving something at his neck. "Time's almost up, pal."
"Don't distract me," the words came from the man again behind him.
He felt like his heart was going to stop, and then he winced as he felt something being pulled from his neck. His whole body jumping at the sound of the micro explosive detonating behind him, his body turning to look at the man as his hand went to his neck.
"Congratulations. You're not dead," the man told him with a smile. Alec rubbed his neck and turned back to Max. She was looking at the papers in her hand, as the man closed his suitcase and headed out the door. "That's it. I'm out of here. Sayonara." And with that he was gone.
Alec's eyes connected with hers, and he swallowed hard, trying to think of what to say for what she had done. "I owe you, Max. I know I screwed things--"
But she wouldn't let him finish, "Shut up! And listen, 'cause I'm only saying this once. That guy was the last chance for me and Logan. He's gone, and it's your fault. Don't think I'm ever getting over that."
He looked at the hate in her eyes, and it stung him to his soul. "I know," he said quietly.
"Just...do me a favor, all right? Go away. I can't even look at you right now," she said venom dripping from her voice as she turned around.
Alec stood up and looked sideways at Joshua who growled at him. He sighed and picked up his coat moving to the door. He turned back looking at her, "I'm sorry, Max...for everything." And he was… he felt horrible. With that he walked through the door, shutting it behind him.
He sighed to himself and shook his head. What was he going to do? He couldn't just leave, could he? He shook his head, *Just because she let the guy leave, get away scot-free with our money, doesn't mean I have too.* He smiled, and hurried out of the building. If he remembered right, he knew where the guy was going.
He made his way out onto the street, and quickly found his way to one of the sector checkpoints. His eyes scanned the crowd, he wasn't there. *Oh course, he has to get around another way.* He moved past the ally ways, his senses on alert, and then he stopped. A large smile coming to his lips. He moved slowly down the alley, towards the van and the man that was putting his suitcase into the back. He crept up behind him, his arm quickly grabbing the man's wrist, turning him around. "Now, don't you know it's not polite to help a lady out?"
The man's eyes grew wide, and then a smile came to his face. "Listen kid. I need to get out of here, I don't have the…"
Alec shook his head, "See I don't care what you want or don't want. I'm going get that cure from you in one way or another. Now we can do it the easy way…. You come with me. I protect you. You make the cure. I help you get away safe. OR the hard way. I knock you out. Take you to a lab. Tie you up and beat you up till you make the cure. Then let you lose on your own. It's really up to you."
The man swallowed in front of him, but then his smile threw Alec off guard. "See… it is up to me no matter what."
Alec looked at him puzzled, and then he heard it, all to late. A whooshing sound heading right for him. He felt the sting in his back, his grip loosened on the man in front of him, the world starting to spin, and then his sight went black.
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She laid there in the dark reading reports. Well it wasn't really dark, there was the moonlight coming in through the window, but she could still see the words on the papers clearly as if the light was on. She had discovered this as the perfect way to get work done about two weeks ago. She didn't need to sleep as much as he did, but she hated not being near him. So while he slept, she read and did work.
Max moved her body back against him, and smiled as she felt Alec's arms tighten around her, his breath moving over her neck as he slept. He gave a slight moan, but the sound wasn't the usual. It wasn't the sound he usually gave when she moved like that. This was different. She turned her head to look at him, and saw the look on his face. It wasn't the normal, peaceful look he had when he was asleep.
She sat her papers down on the side of the bed, and turned in his arms to look at him. Her hand went to the side of his face, and he jumped slightly. *Something's wrong,* she thought as her fingers lightly tailed over his face, trying to sooth him. *He must be dreaming something.*
His grip on her tightened, and she watched his face tense. "Alec…" she said softly, trying to wake him, but not sure if she should. His head moved back and forth, and she could hear his heart rate accelerate. Well only slightly, but it was noticeable. She leaned up and kissed him softly, "Alec… it's okay. I'm here… Come on, wake up."
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They designed her to be the perfect soldier--a human weapon. Then she escaped. In a future not far from now, in a broken world, she is haunted by her past. She cannot run; she must fight to discover her destiny. --- DARK ANGEL
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His head hurt. A throbbing sensation radiating in the side of his head, behind his ear was slowly bringing him out of his unconsciousness. And it… itched. His hand tried to move up to it, but he found it couldn't. The feeling of cold metal around his wrists stopped him from moving. His senses became more aware, and then he knew. He was strapped to a chair. *Strapped to another fuckin' chair!* his mind screamed at him. *Wait… or is it the same one? Am I still in psy-ops? Did I never leave? Was the escape a dream?*
Alec's heart rate accelerated, and he slowly opened his eyes. The bright white room, instantly making him shut them again. Then he tried again, much slower. The light coming to his eyes gradually as he opened them, lessening the pain. His eyes scanned the room, he was alone… yet from the mirror on the wall directly in front of him, he knew he more than likely wasn't. He wasn't back in psy-ops that was for sure. Then his memory slowly returned. *That lab guy…* His wrists tested the metal that wrapped around them, his ankles moving against the ones there as well.
{{It's useless to try to escape,}} came a voice over the rooms intercom.
Alec's eyes instantly found the small speaker over the mirror, "What the hell do you want?"
{{That's easy 494. We want you to carry out your mission.}}
His teeth gritted at the saying of his designation. He struggled against his restraints again. "Like hell!" he yelled. "I'm through with Manticore. I won't go back. You'll just have to kill me." He said, his wrists straining at the metal, digging into his skin, small cuts forming and bleeding. Then pain shot through his head and down his whole body.
"Alec!"
His eyes shot open instantly, his body sitting up. His heart was racing, his body covered in a light sweat. A hand rested on his shoulder, and he turned quickly looking into a pair of concerned brown eyes. His mind raced, as his brain tried to make sense of everything. "Max…"
She looked at him, nodding her head slowly. Her hand moved up to the side of his face. "You were having a bad dream."
*Dream?* He almost wanted to laugh at that, as he felt his heart start to slowly calm. He took a deep breath, leaning into her comforting touch. *I wish it was just a dream.*
Max watched his body start to relax, and she moved closer to him, her arms wrapping around him. She smiled when she felt his arms go around her, pulling her to him, hugging her tightly. His cheek resting at the top of her head, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really," he said softly. *How could he talk about it?* Guilt started to radiate through him again. There was so much he wished he could tell her. But he couldn't. For so many reasons. Not only because he wasn't supposed to tell her. But also because he was afraid of what she would think of him if he did tell her. He kissed the top of her head, and held her tighter to him.
She pulled away a little to look up at him, "Are you sure?"
He nodded, "Just old… unpleasant stuff. Old… memories." He hoped that would be enough to explain it. He knew she didn't like talking about old times, and hoped she would understand, and give him the same space.
She nodded. "Okay, but if you ever want to…"
He gave he a soft smile, "I know." He leaned down and kissed her softly. She leaned into him, pressing herself against him, her arms wrapping around his neck, and he smiled as she slowly pulled him backwards with her to the bed. He broke the kiss and pulled away from her, his eyes staring down into hers. "Max?"
She smiled back up at him, "Well… now that we are both awake…" Her eyes danced, and she moved her hips up against him, making him groan. "Or should I say, since we are both… up." He gave a small laugh. "We should put the time to good use."
Alec looked over at the papers on the side of the bed, "Oh… so what did you have in mind? Talking about medical supplies, food reserves?" His eyes twinkled down at her, and he let out another laugh when she hit his shoulder playfully. Her other hand quickly cleared the papers off the bed, and they feel to the floor. His eyes watched them, and then went back to hers. "Really Max… those reports probably took a long time to…"
She pulled him down quickly silencing him with her lips, her tongue moving into his mouth, as her legs wrapped around him. Stopping quickly, she spoke, "You know Alec… sometimes…"
He smiled down at her, "I just need to shut up, and please my lady." Her grin and the sparkle in her eyes made his smile bigger before he leaned back down, plundering her mouth with his.
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Continue on here for the PG-13 version.
But if you are old enough, and would like to read the NC-17 version of the rest of the chapter.
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He sat in his office, reading the paper, his fingers almost ripping it as he read with rage. More information about the breeding cult was being leaked. The news media was constantly showing images of what the military had done in Terminal City. More and more people were coming forward on the side of the Transgenics. Surprisingly many soldiers and higher military men were coming to their defense, as well as the pro-animal, tree huggers. *We're slowly loosing ground on the left and the right. This isn't good. It's happening too fast.*
White crumpled up the paper and threw it against the wall. He now truly regretted burning down that delivery service to try and quiet Reagan Ronald and that reporter. It only seemed to give the men more time, more ammo, and a greater purpose. Not to mention the fact that they were being guarded by transgenics, twenty-four, seven. Oh yes, White knew. He also knew that if he did take them out, it would only look even worse now.
He sighed again, picking up a dart from his desk and throwing it at the back of his door. The dart hitting the picture of 452 right between the eyes. The picture containing many holes from previous darts. His anger started to bubble over at looking at that image. Her… it always came back to her. The thorn in his side. Her and… 494. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the ringing of his cell phone. He answered it, "White."
{{The time has come my brother. The time has finally come.}}
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"Well… well… well… Look who's late… AGAIN for the morning meeting."
Alec gave Vin an evil glare, but it really didn't do any good because of the smile on his face. Nor was the one Max was giving Vin either, because her face just matched Alec's as she followed him up the stairs, his hand pulling her up behind him. "Hey! I'm the leader, I can be late if I want too!" She grinned at him.
Mel laughed from her seat on the couch next to Vin, her legs draped over his lap as she leaned back against the arm. "Oh, so let me guess. What was it this time?" The sparkle in the blond's eye made Alec grin, just waiting for what she was going to say, as he turned away, looking at the papers on the table. "The two of you were 'planning' a raid," she said putting her fingers up in a quoting gesture.
Vin shook his head with a grin, "Yeah… maybe a panty raid on Alec's part."
Alec's head spun around to his friends in shock, and then both men started laughing. "Ouch!" he cried in slight pain from Max hitting his shoulder. He turned towards her, his eyes giving her his best-hurt puppy dog look.
She rolled her eyes at him, "Would the three of you cut it out. We do have work to do."
Mel sighed and moved her legs and stood up, Vin followed her to the table. "We managed to make it here this morning," she said quietly.
Alec looked over at her, and smiled as he watched Mel lace her fingers with Vin's, her head resting on his shoulder. Vin's arm came around her, pulling her closer to him, and further away from Alec. Max began to talk about a couple of B&E jobs she had in mind, and who she wanted to get to do them. But Alec's mind wasn't paying attention. His mind was focused on his two friends, something nagging at him, as he studied their body language.
"Alec, I need you to organize the X6's to help out…" Max trailed off, as she realized he wasn't paying attention to her at all. She turned her attention to what he was focused on, then turned back to him. "Alec?"
He turned quickly to her, "Uh… yeah?" He swallowed hard, at seeing the not-so-happy look on her face.
"What was I talking about?"
He was caught, "Uhhh…" he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, standing up. He saw the fire starting to fuel in her eyes, her temper starting to flare, and not the temper or the fire he liked to see. He took a step back, his arm brushing against Mel, and then he heard it. A small… purr? His head turned quickly, staring into deep blue eyes, the twinkle so vibrant. He took another step back, this time away from the blond.
Max watched him, he looked… strange. What the heck was going on with him? "Alec… I was talking about the B&E's we need to do. The one's I want to send Vin and Mel on…"
He looked at Max, and then back at his two friends, then it all hit him. He closed his eyes, and against part of his better judgment, he moved closer to angry Max. "No Max. Vin and Mel aren't going on any jobs tonight, maybe not tomorrow either."
"Excuse me?" she asked in outrage. How dare he tell her what was going to happen, when he hadn't even been paying attention to her. Especially with him acting this strangely.
"Yeah, what the hell Alec? What do you mean me and Mel can't do these jobs?"
He watched Vin's hand tighten on her waist, and he backed up even more. This time, his hands moved to Max's arms, and he moved her between him and the others. "Alec, what the hell do you think you are doing?" Max screamed at him.
Alec finally somehow found his voice and his brain. "Vin… get her out of here. Now. You still have a little time."
Vin's eyes widen at what Alec was telling him. His head turned quickly towards Mel looking at her. He took a deep breath, and then it hit him, "Mel… what the heck are you doing? Why didn't you tell me?"
Mel's eyes closed, and her head slumped forward, "Ugh… I thought I still had at least a few hours before the effects would start showing." She looked up at Alec and a deep blush washed over her, and she swallowed. "Forgive me?"
Alec pulled Max backwards towards him more, "If the two of you get out of here. The quicker, the better."
The two X's smiled at him, and Vin grabbed her hand. He quickly pulled Mel down the stairs behind him, his voice calling up to the other two as they headed for the door. "See ya… uhhh… tomorrow or so…" And with that the two X5's were out the door. Alec let out the breath he was holding, and closed his eyes.
Max pulled her arms from his grasp and turned towards him quickly, her fist hitting his shoulder hard.
Alec's eyes flew open, his hand moving to his shoulder rubbing the muscle, knowing that a bruise was going to start forming. "What the hell was that for?"
"For getting all hot and bothered by Mel with me right here!"
His eyes widened, "What? You're mad at me for being affected by Mel's pheromones?"
"I was right here!"
"So it would have been okay, if you weren't here then?"
"No!"
He smiled at her, "Awh… Maxie… nice to see you so possessive of me."
Her mouth opened to say something, but she closed it, and ground her teeth together instead, her arms crossing in front of her.
Alec's arms moved around her, and she tied to move out of them, but he just pulled her closer. "Max… you can't possibly be mad at me, can you? I mean… really?" He looked down at her, saw the pout on her face. "It's not like I acted on what her pheromones were signaling to me. If I remember right, I moved closer to YOU."
She sighed, she did know. But she still didn't like the idea that it had in some small way affected him. His hand tilted her face up to look at him, and she pouted up at him. She knew that she was now milking it for all it was worth, but… so?
"If that doesn't tell you how I feel…" His fingers trailed over her cheek, cupping the side of her face. "I guess I'll just have to show you again, like I did this morning," he said as he leaned in to kiss her. His lips lightly moving against hers. Soon he felt her arms uncross, and move around him. Her hands moving up his neck, over his barcode, and into his hair.
He groaned pulling away from her, looking around the room. Luckily no one was looking up at them, or they had adverted their gaze when he had pulled away. His mind wondering briefly just what all the other transgenics thought about all the pairings that were quickly happening around them. But his mind quickly returned to the female before him, as her body leaned up against his.
"Okay, since we are down two X5's due to Heat. Who are we going to get for a little breaking and entering?"
He smiled down at her, "When was the last time we had some fun in a closet?" She gave a groan of disgust, but the smile on her face and the twinkle in her eyes gave away her true thoughts on the idea.
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Tap. His hand went to his earpiece holding it more securely. Tap. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Tap. Otto spun around in his chair looking at the surprised Operative. "Steve! I'm trying to listen." The man put his pen down on his desk, and just nodded. Otto took another breath, and leaned back in his chair, listening once again. The cord ran from his ear down to a receiver on the desk.
His hand ran over his face as he listened to conversation that was taking place. He looked over at the other man, "This is not good. Not good at all." The other man just sighed and looked down at the desk.
Otto bit his lip, as the he heard the click of the phone hanging up. He pulled the piece from his ear and threw it at the desk. "Fon'os tol, my ass!" He stood up quickly, and pulled his cell phone from his coat.
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"Now where exactly is a closet supposed to come into play?"
He laughed as he crawled through the air duct on his stomach, looking through the vents as they went. "Well…" he started with a smile that she couldn't see, since she was behind him. "When I said that… I hadn't actually been paying attention… Omph… Hey!" He yelled back with a whisper, from the hard swat to his butt. "What was that for?" he asked stopping and looking back at her.
Max smile towards him, "You deserved it."
"For?"
"Not listening to me."
Alec gave her a dirty look, and then his mouth turned into a cocky smile, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You just wanted an excuse to touch my ass." He turned back around and started crawling again.
She smiled to herself. So what if he was right? She watched the aforementioned object move back and forth in front of her as he moved, and she bit her lip. "I thought I didn't need an excuse."
He stopped and turned back to her again, his eyes sparkling. "I knew it." The grin in her eyes confirmed it for him and he moved over to the side of the vent, his finger curling at her, telling her to come up next to him.
She sighed and made her way up next to him, "What?" She waited for his next comment, but was shocked instead. He pointed to the grating between them. She looked down, and found that it was the room that they wanted. She then looked back up, and caught the amused look in his eyes. "Oh… stop." His grin grew bigger. She shook her head, and pushed her body up against his, her arms wrapping around him, her hands moving to grip his ass.
Her mouth took his quickly, her tongue snaking inside, as she pressed up against him. Then she pulled away quickly. Her eyes looking at the shocked, and now desire filled hazel pools. Her grin got bigger, "Yep… don't need an excuse." With that she pulled the grate out of the way, looked inside. Saw the coast was clear and dropped through.
Alec swallowed hard, and watched her disappear from view. He took a deep breath. Then a huge smile spread over his face. He shook his head, and followed her into the room.
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The sounds of laughter echoed through the door even before the two X5's could be seen walking through it. Dix and Luke exchanged smiles. Mole puffed at his cigar and just shook his head as he cleaned another gun from his corner. "Hey, Rod… can you take this to 'safe keeping'?" Alec said holding up a couple bags towards one of the X6's who was organizing some of the weapons. The teen nodded quickly taking the bags and headed into the back.
Max walked towards the computer her grin still apparent. Alec followed her, his arms wrapping around her, making it difficult to move. But she wasn't complaining, and actually seemed to like it. Their playful manner catching on to the room. A feeling of happiness seeming to come across headquarters.
Luke smiled, "So I take it the B&E went well."
She nodded, "Yeah. It went… well." She laughed, "Oh Luke… you should have seen the look on the guards face."
"You ran into guards?" Mole asked from the corner.
"Well... they actually stumbled upon us." Alec said, and then looked down at Max. "Yeah… great impromptu reason for us being there by the way."
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him, "Well what was I supposed to say? You were laying on top of me!" The other transgenics all looked at each other. Max saw the looks, and her face started to turn a light shade of pink.
Alec let the color wash over her for a few minutes before he decided to help her out, "Well, if you wouldn't have tripped me."
Her mouth opened, a raged yet playful look in her eye. "I heard someone coming! And I was right!"
He shook his head at her, and leaned down to her, speaking more softly, "Any excuse you want to tell yourself so that you can touch me." She swatted his arm. "I rest my case," he said with a grin.
Her eyes narrowed, her lips turning at the corners. "But I remember saying… I don't need an excuse." Her hand went around him and pinched his butt, he jumped a little, and she just laughed.
Mole shook his head in the corner at the two. *Yep… they finally lost it,* he thought.
"Uhhh… I hate to uhhh…" Dix started. He didn't want to stop their good humor, it was nice seeing the two like this. It was great for everyone to see their leader and second in command in such good moods. Especially together. But… "Unfortunately I do have some business to discuss."
The two X5's instantly sobered up and moved closer to the computer. "What is it?" Alec asked seriously.
Dix moved his mouse and keyed up some windows. The images were nothing new to any of them. "You've deciphered more of my runes?" Max asked him.
The transgenic nodded in confirmation. "There are still a couple that I'm having trouble with. I don't think they photographed right, or came through your skin exactly right. So it will take some more time. But I finally got a little bit more of it done." He looked at her, "Have you had any more?"
Alec and Max both shook their heads. She smiled when she caught him doing that, *Yeah, he would know more than I would.* Then she added, "Actually, they have all disappeared now."
Dix nodded, "Okay. Just wanted to make sure." He moved some of the screens, and then showed one of the pictures more prominently. "We already know what the others say. Shroud of death, deliver the helpless, the messenger, the protector, etc. etc." The two nodded at him, they didn't need a repeat, and it was firmly engrained into their memory.
The transgenic pointed towards the screen, "This talks more about the role of the protector and the messenger." He saw them moving closer to the screen, and his shoulders straightened at how close they were. The two saw it, and moved back a little with apologetic looks.
He gave an understanding smile to them. He knew they were anxious to figure out what it all meant. "Okay, so far this is what I am getting from the runes… a rough translation." He took a breath, and opened another screen with words. "Some plague is going to start and try and wipe out the human population."
Max's hand instinctively reached out for Alec's and he took it, pulling her closer to him, and wrapping his arms around her. They both knew that it didn't sound good at all, as Dix continued. "Probably something to do with the snake blood, since Max is immune to it, and she is the messenger."
"That makes sense," Alec said looking at the screen then back to Max. She nodded in agreement up at him.
The man pointed at a few more symbols, "This is new… basically… 'the army' or something to that effect. "
"Army?" Max asked questioning.
"I was curious about that too, it could mean a lot of things. But in the context and where it is used. I think it refers to the rest of the transgenic population." They gave him a curious look, and he explained. "The transgenics are also immune to the snake blood. Yeah, we get sick, but we don't die from it like humans do." They nodded again, waiting for him to continue. "Basically, the 'army' follows the 'messenger' until the 'protector'…" he paused.
"Until the protector what?" Alec asked him a bit too loudly. Max looked up at him, and his voice softened, "Sorry…" he said looking back at Dix.
"That's where it gets a little fuzzy. I don't have all of it translated yet. But they are supposed to do something, what I'm not sure. It could mean so many things."
"Like?" Max asked.
"These symbols," he said pointing, "Just slight changes in what they look like, could completely change the meaning. And they didn't appear completely right." The two looked at him expectantly. He sighed. "Create. Deliver. Sacrifice. A dozen different things." He moved his finger to other symbols on the screen, "I'm going to try and get these done, and see if it will help figure the others out."
Alec nodded and moved away from them, his arms dropping from around Max as he moved towards his office, his mind deep in thought. She watched the troubled look come over his face, and watched him walk away. She turned back to Dix, and they looked at each other, both trying to figure out what happened. She patted the man on the shoulder. "Thanks Dix. Great job. Keep working on it?" She asked with a smile.
"Of course," he said ginning back.
She nodded and quickly made her way to Alec's office. She looked in the door, and saw him leaning over his desk. She walked inside and shut the door behind her. Max walked up behind him, and wrapped her arms around him, laying her cheek against his back. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
He stiffened at her words, and sighed. What could he tell her? Heck she thought Zack was her protector. But deep down he somehow knew that he was. And the thing that bothered him was that Dix couldn't tell him what it was he was supposed to do. And he had no idea either. *Sacrifice?* That possibility made him shiver. Max was supposed to help the human race… what if in some weird, demented way, it was by sacrificing her? Was that what he was supposed to do? Protect her until the time came that he would then have to kill her? He closed his eyes tightly, trying to clear his thoughts.
Alec turned in her arms, and she looked up at him… well… at the mask of him. "Nothing," he responded.
She shook her head up at him, "Don't give me that bull shit." He sighed, but that was all that was forthcoming from him. "What Dix said is bothering you."
He sighed, "Well… isn't bothering you?"
She nodded, "Of course." She tilted her head, and then understanding went through her and she nodded again. "Oh I understand." He gave her a confused look. "I know I said Zack was my protector, and you don't like that idea, do you?" He stiffened again in her arms, and she smiled at him. "Well, I said that before I knew that the protector had a greater role than they did. Now granted… I'm sure the runes couldn't foresee Zack getting hurt and not being around…."
She stopped, and looked back up into his eyes, her hand moving to the side of his face. "But with the way everything has been turning out…"
His hand came to her wrist, stilling it, "Max… I'm not so sure I want to be that… what it says…"
Max nodded, she knew what it said, knew what it could say. "I highly doubt that it would have you protecting me this whole time just to knock me off in the end."
Alec couldn't help the small smile that came to his lips at that, or the soaring feeling of his heart. His hand reached up to caress the side of her face. "God I hope you're right," was all he said as his lips came down to hers.
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**Authors Note** I know, another two weeks. But it's exams and the holidays, and everything. If someone wants to take my 6 law school exams and get at least decent grades on them, then I'll gladly write every day. ;) What no takers? lol
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Scenes from an All New DA on 12/16/02:
*IN TWO WEEKS ON AN ALL NEW DARK ANGEL*
*THIS WOULD BE THE START OF FEBURARY SWEEPS*
"Little Fella's finally happy," Joshua commented. Max blushed slightly, but nodded in confirmation.
ROSES ARE RED
{{494, your mission has now changed.}}
VIOLENCE IS SO BLUE
"It has to be done," Alec sighed, his head lowered, and his eyes closed as he made his final decision.
WHAT IS 494 TO DO?
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Alec said into her dark hair, as a tear slipped down his cheek.