Disclaimer: Disclaimer for all of the story can be found before the Prologue.
A/N: Writing has been slow lately. My muse refuses to talk to me.
Many thanks to Infie, Maia and Merlin The Enchanter.
Please let me know what you think.
The shrill sounds of the ringing phone echoed throughout the large room. The man hurried toward the phone with dark eyes, clearly annoyed that someone would interrupt him.
"Hello," he answered. "This is Quentin Travers speaking."
"Hello Mr. Travers," an American voice said through the phone. "I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour but the instructions said to call you immediately."
"Very well, what is it that is so important?"
"My name is Dr. Green and I'm calling from Sunnydale Memorial hospital. I'm calling to let you know that our patient, Faith Williams, has woken up from her coma."
Travers couldn't help but drawing a shocked breath. "I see. Thank you for calling," he said and hung up the phone. So the rogue Slayer was awake and would soon be out where they could get to her. He rubbed his hands in anticipation. Plans needed to be set in motion and calls had to be made.
Buffy looked curiously at the two newcomers. "Some experience, huh?" she asked. "You'll need a little more than *some* experience to knock out four vamps y'know."
"Quite," Giles said. "May I ask what kind of experience you have?"
"Sure," Max said with a shrug. "I've got about nine years of martial arts training and Alec has another twelve." She glanced in Alec's direction and grinned. "But I can still kick his ass any day of the week," she added.
Alec rolled his eyes. "One day I'm gonna go full out on you when we spar and pull you out of your little fantasy world."
Max had narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to verbally destroy him when something made her hesitate. It was the tone with which Alec had said it, she decided. It didn't sound like his normal self, bragging about something. It sounded more like a promise, spoken by someone who knew he could do it and didn't have to prove it. Before she could get any further in her musings the others in the room spoke up and she focused her attention on them.
"Wow!" Xander exclaimed. "Do you give lessons?" he quickly asked. Maybe they would do it, since Buffy and Giles refused. They'd have to see that it was safer for him to know how to fight since there was no way he'd just walk away.
"Wait a minute," Willow said. "How can you have been training for that long when you don't seem to be much older than us? How old *are* you, anyway?"
"Yes," Giles said. "That would seem like a valid question to ask."
"I'm twenty three and Max is twenty one," Alec answered. "We have that much training because we started very early." It became harder and harder to keep things hidden from these guys. They knew how to ask questions and if he and Max were to win their trust, they would have to be honest. At least for the most part.
Buffy's eyes widened and she shared a quick look with Giles. "That would mean you started training when you were *two* years old?" she asked in disbelief.
"Who in God's name would force their children to start training at that age?" Giles added. He saw the faces of the two newcomers close up.
"We never had any parents," Max said. "Not like you at least."
"Don't be disappointed because of that," Xander muttered.
"But how? What?" Willow tried to find the right question to ask.
Max and Alec shared a look and Alec nodded faintly to answer the unspoken question.
"We were born to be soldiers," Max said. "We grew up on a military base and were taught to be soldiers." She closed her eyes and pushed away some of the darker memories that always surfaced when she thought about her childhood. "I was there until I escaped when I was nine years old." She opened her eyes again to look at the stunned group in front of her. "Alec didn't escape until I burned the place down a little more than a year ago."
"Oh dear Lord," Giles breathed. How could anyone do that to something like that to children? The pain he'd seen in Max's face as she told them was something he'd never forget. He found himself searching for other signs, and his gaze finally settled on their eyes. Those eyes looked old. Like they'd seen far too much in the few years they'd lived.
Buffy's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the revelation. Soldiers fought in wars. What if they were like Faith and had killed people? "So you've killed people?" she asked.
The two transgenics turned their heads to look at the small blonde and could clearly see the look of disgust on her face. Alec mentally shook his head sadly. Yet another innocent who thought the world was black and white. Either you were good or you were bad. Good guys never did anything bad and if you did, you were automatically a bad guy.
"We were trained to kill," Max said in an emotionless voice. "Told from the time we were old enough to understand speech that our only purpose in life was to follow orders." She took in the mixed looks on the faces in the room. Buffy was clearly disgusted but some of the others appeared to be more in a state of shock. "When you're seven years old and all you know is that you are supposed to follow orders and kill you don't ask questions. Especially not when the alternative is to be dragged away and dissected to find out why the 'X-5 unit was defective.'" She almost spat out the last part of the sentence.
"Dissected?" Willow asked with a weak voice.
Alec nodded affirmatively. "When a tool doesn't work as it's supposed to, you take it apart to find out why," he said with a shrug. "That's all we were to them, tools." He turned around and bared his neck to the others. He could hear Max's sharp intake of breath at his side and saw her shocked face when he glanced in her direction. "They need to know, Max," he said, reassuringly.
Giles was once again the first one to react. "A barcode?" he asked.
"Why do you have a barcode tattoo on your neck?" Buffy asked a split second later.
Max locked her eyes with the smaller girl. "It's not a tattoo," she said in a tight voice. "It's genetically encoded into our DNA and can't be removed. That's how you label a tool."
The room fell silent, the two transgenics waiting for some kind of reaction and the Scoobies in a state of shock.
"Oh Goddess!" Willow exclaimed as she bounced up from the chair and threw her arms around Max. "That must have been awful for you," she almost sobbed.
Max shot a pleading look at Alec, having no idea how to react in a situation like this. Alec shrugged and smirked at her. "If you want to we can trade places," he said with a grin. "I'm more used to having girls throw themselves at me."
The half panicked expression on Max's face and Alec's joke was enough to make the room erupt in laughter for a second before the Sunnydalians remembered why the mood had been so low in the first place.
"It's water under the bridge," Alec said quietly. "It's not something I'd wish anyone to go through but it's over now. No need to get stuck in the past."
"But you killed people!" Buffy burst out. It wasn't the most sensible thing to say at the moment and the people in the room froze and turned as one to face her.
"Buffy!" Joyce exclaimed.
"The world isn't black and white, little girl," Alec said, locking his eyes with the Slayer. "Maybe when you've seen enough you'll understand that."
Buffy opened her mouth to protest but the look she got from her Watcher stopped her dead in her tracks.
"He is right, Buffy," Giles said. "We should leave this subject for now and proceed to more important matters."
Buffy slumped back on the couch with a sour look on her face. How could it be okay to kill people? She just couldn't understand how anyone could think that.
"Right," Giles continued after a few seconds of silence. "It is getting late and I believe we all need to rest some after all that has happened today." He turned to the two transgenics. "Do you two have anywhere to stay tonight?"
Alec and Max shared a look. "I don't sleep much," Max replied. "But Alec gets grumpy if he doesn't get his eight hours of shut eye."
Alec glared at her. "I do *not* get… grumpy!"
"They could stay with me tonight," Willow said hopefully. "My parents are out of town so I've got the whole house for myself." Despite everything she'd heard she was intrigued by Max and Alec and wanted to know more about them. Not only were they from another reality but also from the future!
"That is an excellent idea," Giles said and sent a questioning look at the two transgenics.
The two of them shared a glance and nodded. "If it's not too much trouble," Alec said.
"No, no trouble at all," Willow quickly assured them. "But, ummm.. we need Xander to drive us," she added with a questioning look at her oldest friend.
"Sure Wills, no problem," Xander said. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of them staying at Willow's house but she seemed confident. And he had to admit that he didn't get any evil vibes off the two newcomers.
"Very well," Giles said. "I believe Buffy can take the night off from patrolling tonight. We should meet again tomorrow to discuss what Whistler informed us about, but for now I bid you good night."
A chorus of 'good nights' later, the group emptied the Summers' living room and left to go to their own permanent or temporary homes.
"Okay," Xander started. "You two keep out of sight in the backseat while Max rides in the front with me. I could always use the extra credit that would give me if someone saw us."
"Xander!" Willow exclaimed, giving her grinning friend a shocked look.
The ride over to the Rosenberg's home was quiet. Max and Alec took the opportunity to study the town as they drove through it. Willow and Xander were both deep in thought, not paying much attention to what was happening around them. Luckily for Xander the streets were mostly empty and the traffic was light, not causing any problems. He waved goodbye to his old friend and the two newcomers as he dropped them off and then went home.
He sighed as he climbed down the stairs to the basement. It looked like he would have to postpone his road trip. If something big was coming down he wanted to be here and help with it. He'd have to remember to ask Alec if he could help him with some training tomorrow. The gang had gotten two new members and he was still the only 'normal' one of them all.
Willow gave the two soldiers a quick tour of the house and showed them to the guest room. She frowned mentally. Was that how she thought about them now? As soldiers? Oh well…
When they were settled down and had grabbed a quick snack she fired up her computer to spend some quality time on the 'net. She randomly surfed a few Wiccan websites and checked a few message boards to see if there was any news on the hacking front. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when a voice suddenly sounded from behind her.
"Can you get into the records and find out where someone lives?" Max asked.
Willow spun around in her chair, knocking a pile of books to the floor as she did so.
Max reacted instinctively and blurred over to the desk to catch the books before they landed. It wasn't until she saw the redhead's wide eyes staring back at her as she realized what she'd done.
Alec let out a loud sigh from where he stood, casually leaning against the doorframe. "So much for keeping that a secret. Great job Max."
Max attempted a glare but found that she couldn't hold on to it and it soon changed to a slightly guilty expression.
"Wha... what are you?" Willow asked nervously. What was it really she'd let into her house?
Alec sighed again. "The barcode isn't the only thing they did when they messed with our DNA. We're transgenics."
Willow looked at him puzzled.
"Chimeras," Alec clarified.
"Oh," Willow managed to get out, her eyes growing large. "That's, that's… wow!"
"They tried to engineer the perfect soldier," Max said. "We were never treated as humans because in their eyes we weren't. We were just soldiers."
"Oh…"
"We'd appreciate if you wouldn't tell anyone about it," Alec said, noticing that she seemed to take the revelation rather well. "Not everyone can accept what we are," he added, his eyes darkening with memories from their last life.
"Oh…" Willow said again. She paused for a moment before she continued. "I don't think it'll be a problem. Not for us at least," she added. "We're used to much weirder things."
Alec raised his eyebrows. "Like what?"
"Well, I'm a witch and my boyfriend is a werewolf."
Silence.
"Witch?" Alec said.
"Werewolf?" Max added.
"Umm, yeah. I guess you're not used to that either?"
"Nah," Max sighed.
"Okay," Willow said slowly. "But as I said I don't think there will be any problems." A smile spread over her face. "We're pretty good at keeping secrets."
Alec shrugged. "All right, just don't tell them right away. It'll be more fun to surprise them," he finished with a grin.
Willow beamed at them. "So who was it you wanted to find?"
"His name is Logan Cale," Max said. "He should be about ten years old but I have no idea where he lives."
"All right," Willow said, turning to face her computer again. "I recognize that name from somewhere but I can't remember where from."
She worked at her computer in silence for a few minutes with the two transgenics looking over her shoulders. The computer was fairly old compared to the ones they were used to, but not as obsolete as one would probably have thought. Computer manufacturers and software developers had been literally extinguished by the Pulse and the newest computers they'd seen were only ten years into the future in this reality. Or something like that, Alec thought. This alternate reality crap was giving him a headache.
"I knew I'd seen the name before!" Willow exclaimed, drawing the attention to the screen in front of her. "Logan Cale, future heir to the Cale Industries. Born May 16 1983 in Seattle, Washington. Currently serving time in a juvenile prison in Colorado for attempted rape and sexual harassment of a minor."
Max's jaw hit the floor and she followed shortly behind as her legs gave out under her. "What!?" she managed to get out.
Alec took a long look at the screen, turned his gaze to Max and then back to the screen again. Finally he burst out in a roar of laughter. Oh God, this was just too much!
Max's jaw was working frantically but no sounds would pass her lips. What the hell was up with this reality!? And how could Logan be that old?
"Oh man, I always knew he liked young girls but this…" Alec managed to say before giving in to another fit of laughter.
The Wiccan looked puzzled between the two transgenics, having absolutely no idea what was happening.
Finally Max snapped out of her haze and her eyes zeroed in on Alec, who was wiping tears from his own eyes. She flipped to her feet in one smooth motion and kicked out with her right foot, aiming straight for Alec's groin. Alec's hands blurred as he caught her foot only inches away from its target and held it in an iron grip.
"A knee was enough Max," he said in a low voice. "I'm rather attached to that part of my body and I know one day you'd regret crippling me like that." He gave her a gentle push backwards and grinned at her. "Come on Maxie. You'll have to admit that Logan claiming to be twenty eight was a little far-fetched don't ya think?"
"But, but," Max sputtered.
"Maybe he had your obsession with asses?" Alec suggested. "I mean, I could really picture him getting a good look at your behind as you jumped out that window and then…"
"Shut up!"
Alec caught her wrists as they reached for his neck and simply let himself fall backwards with her on top of him as she launched herself at him. A quick roll and a twist later and he was the one on top, pinning her arms above her head with one of his hands. "Now this is new," Alec grinned. "But I'm already enjoying it."
Max found herself unable to move as she was pinned to the floor. She looked up at the man on top of her and swallowed, suddenly unsure if she really wanted to move.
Alec caught the change and the grin disappeared. The seconds dragged out and neither of them moved. A polite cough from the other side of the room startled them and they both scrambled to get to their feet.
"Umm," Willow said, the color of her face matching her hair. "Want me to show you to your room?"
"I'm not really tired," Max said. "I don't sleep much."
"Didn't think you would," Willow muttered under her breath, and then turned three shades redder as Alec burst out laughing again. Damn supernatural hearing!
When Giles finally got home he noticed the blinking light on his answering machine, indicating he had a message. Wondering who would call him this late he pressed the button to play the message.
"Good day Mr. Giles, my name is Dr. Green. You wanted to be informed if there were any changes in the condition of a Faith Williams and I'm calling to let you know that she woke up from her coma earlier tonight. She is unconscious at the moment but no longer comatose. If you need to contact me you can do so through the hospital. Good bye."
Giles stared at the answering machine in stunned silence. Whistler had said they'd bring Faith back but somehow it hadn't really registered just what it would take to do that. The doctors had said there was a *very* slim chance that Faith would ever recover, and now she was awake just like that. He shook his head sadly. If only the blasted Powers could use their powers in the good fight and not only to screw up their lives.
Sighing, he walked out to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea before going to bed. He'd just finished making the tea and had every intention to enjoy it fully when the phone rang. Muttering a Ripper'ish curse he got up from the couch to answer the phone.
He lifted the receiver but didn't even have time to answer before the voice on the other end started to speak.
"Rupert, it's me. I don't have time to talk but you should know that Travers has called a full meeting with the High Council as soon as possible. I overheard one of the guards saying that lots of weapons were removed from the store and sent to Heathrow just a few minutes ago. I'm not sure what's going on but I think one of the Wet Work teams just was deployed. You know just as well as I do what that means…"
The phone went dead with a soft 'click' but it took almost a minute before Giles acknowledged it. He knew that voice; there was no way to mistake it for someone else. He still had a few friends in the Council and he thanked his lucky star that at least one of them felt the need to inform him. So the Council was coming for Faith, he thought. That was really not what they needed at the moment. Besides, now that he knew what had really been going on with Faith, he wasn't sure that Buffy's intention to hand her over to the Council was the right thing to do.
The Council's team couldn't be here for another twelve hours and that would give him a little time to work with. First they needed to get Faith out of the hospital.
Marcus looked out over his assembled children. He'd built up a rather impressive family over the years and if they'd wanted to wreck havoc on the world they could have done a lot of damage. However, that was the way of the weak and incompetent. The true Masters would never sink as low as the common trash. The moment he'd been hoping would come for over 500 years, and known would come ever since he'd found out about the ritual, was coming closer and closer.
He'd actually never been to South America himself. Traveling overseas was hard for vampires before the age of passenger flights, and after that invention he just hadn't got around to it. He'd done all the research he needed though, and was confident that everything would work out fine.
It had been a stroke of sheer luck to find the old book in a warehouse in Spain those many years ago. It had been brought back from the new lands by one of the merchants and had been hidden right away because of its content. That the book hadn't been burned on sight was something that had amazed him for centuries.
With the firm grip the Church had on everything back then, a book mentioning vampires should have been destroyed immediately. Thankfully it hadn't, and it had been in his possession ever since he'd found it. The effort to translate it had taken many years and without the unwilling help of several human professors he was sure he would never have succeeded. The feeling of destiny he'd had when he first saw the book had been dead on, and the translated text was more than worth the wait.
The ritual described in one part of the book required blood. Lots and lots of blood. The more powerful the better – and he knew the Slayer had the most powerful blood of them all. Some of the professors that had helped to translate the book had been shocked to learn that many of the human sacrifices the Indian tribes in South America had performed were dedicated to vampires. The rituals they needed required blood, and a willing sacrifice was always better than an unwilling one.
The tribes had worshipped the vampires as gods and the rituals had helped them to live up to their reputation. The blood of a normal human was fairly weak and the vampires had been forced to perform the ritual several times every year to keep the effect, but with the blood from two Slayers the result might very well be permanent. It was a *very* pleasant thought.
After ordering two of his children to find the current master vampire in the town and interrogate him, he dismissed the rest of his family.
With a little luck and a lot of planning he would soon reap the benefits of half a millennia of waiting.
It had been almost two thousand years since the last time, but if everything went well he would feel the sunlight shine on his face before the week was over.
Giles pulled up in front of the Summers house for the second time that night. He half ran to the door and knocked loudly, not sure if the occupants were asleep already. Half a minute later Buffy appeared, dressed in a robe over her pajamas.
"Giles, what's wrong?"
"Buffy, please get dressed. We need to go to the hospital."
"What? Why? Did something happen to Xander or Willow?" Buffy asked worriedly.
"No, as far as I know they are both well. It's Faith."
"Faith?"
"Yes," Giles sighed. "She woke up from her coma and I just found out that the Council sent a team to capture her."
Buffy shrugged indifferently. "So what? Let 'em have her."
Giles' eyes narrowed. "I don't think you understand what we are facing here. We need every bit of help we can get... and Faith would indeed be a big help."
"Yeah, I'm sure she'd help the über-vamp," Buffy muttered.
Giles gave up trying to be polite. "Get dressed and come with me. We're going to get Faith out of the hospital and she's going to stay right here under our protection until we can convince the Council to back off."
Buffy opened her mouth to protest but Giles interrupted her before she could get a word out.
"And you should keep in mind what Whistler said. It could just as well have been you in Faith's position. Would you want us to just abandon you if the situation was the opposite? You resent her for what she did against her will. Try to imagine how she must feel." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. "Now get dressed!" Ripper snarled.
Buffy's mouth worked for a few seconds before she spun around and disappeared into the house. A few minutes later she returned, fully dressed and carrying a bag of weapons. "It's dark outside," she said, answering Giles unspoken question. The weapons weren't for Faith but for whatever they might run into on their way to or from the hospital.
She didn't have to like what they were doing but she had to admit that he had a point. She didn't want to think about how she would feel if the situation had been reversed.
The drive over to the hospital went without incidents and they soon found themselves arguing with a nurse about moving the patient. Giles showed her some well-forged papers, leftovers from his days as a Council employee, and they were allowed into Faith's room.
The dark haired Slayer had regained consciousness a short time earlier and wasn't in the best shape. Her reaction when Giles and Buffy showed up on her doorstep was predictable. She paled and her face showed an expression of absolute horror.
"No."
The whispered word was so faint that even Buffy almost didn't hear it.
Giles took one look at Faith and turned to Buffy. "Please wait outside, Buffy. I must speak with Faith alone."
Buffy cast a last glance at the terrified Slayer and nodded shortly before disappearing out the door.
Giles pulled up a chair beside Faith's bed and sat down. The dark Slayer refused to meet his eyes and looked straight up at the roof with a distant gaze.
"Faith," Giles said softly. "Faith, please look at me."
"No." Once again the whispered word was barely audible.
"Please Faith, just listen to me. We know what happened wasn't your fault. We know you had no choice and I can't even begin to express how sorry I am for what you had to go through. The others understand as well and so will Buffy when she has had some time to calm down and think it through. She is trying to deal with the implications of what we were told and the fact that it could very well have been her in your position."
Faith turned her head slowly to look at the Watcher with a questioning look.
"The balance demon Whistler came to us earlier today and explained what had happened," Giles explained. "From what I understand your efforts were exemplary, almost resisting the powers of the most powerful beings in existence."
The questioning look disappeared and gave room for an expression of sheer shock.
"The Powers That Be were forced to let it happen," Giles sighed. "Two Slayers disrupted the balance between Good and Evil and the only solution was to have one Slayer switch sides for a time. We are now facing an unexpected threat and The Powers recognized the need to have two Slayers on their side again." Giles took a deep breath. "Faith, we want you to come home with us. We need your help and we believe you should be given a second chance."
Faith stared at him silently for several long seconds. "Really?" she asked in the same faint voice, only this time there were traces of hope in it.
"Yes, Faith," Giles confirmed. "The Council, however, doesn't care about anything but controlling the Slayer," he added, his eyes darkening. "Which is why we need you to come with us before they can capture you. They have already sent a team."
Giles got up and walked over to the door, motioning for Buffy to come in.
The two Slayers looked at each other, the tension thick in the room. Finally Buffy broke the silence. "I don't think I can ever forget what you did, but I'm willing to try to accept it."
Faith looked down before nodding faintly.
Giles returned shortly with a nurse and a wheelchair. With the right papers to show, the trio left the hospital a few minutes later. Giles helped the still weak Slayer into the back seat of the car and then drove away.
Faith sat silently, still not sure what to make of everything. She'd woken up with memories of doing horrible things, and she couldn't understand how she could have done anything like that. All the blood and death. When she'd first regained consciousness she'd been overwhelmed by what she'd remembered doing and her body had just shut down again. Now she'd regained some of her strength and she'd heard what Jeeves had said. The same higher power that had given her the best gift in her life had also done this to her. It was almost too much to comprehend. She'd killed people! And all that she'd done to Buffy and the others. Threatening Willow and… Oh God!
"Xander," she whispered, horrified.
"He is quite all right," Giles assured her. "I believe he will be happy to see you again," he added with a faint smile.
"I can't see him," Faith almost panicked. "How could I face him after what I did to him?" Her voice broke down as she finally gave in to the tears.
Buffy looked intently at the dark Slayer. Her mind was a turmoil of different thoughts and feelings. She wanted to be angry at Faith but at the same time she felt sorry for her. She wanted to hate her for what she'd done but the other Slayer was also the closest thing she'd ever had to a sister.
When they got home she was still moving on some kind of autopilot, barely registering what was happening around her. They got Faith settled in one of the guest rooms and Giles left to get some much needed sleep.
Faith fell asleep almost immediately and Buffy sat for almost half an hour, just staring at her sister Slayer, trying to understand what she felt.
Bloody stupid civilian morons! Damn Travers and his stupid friends.
Stuart MacIntyre was almost shaking in frustration as he gripped the armrests of the chair tightly. They were on their way to America, currently somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.
It was happening too fast for his liking. Travers had barely got the call informing him that the Slayer had woke up before he'd ordered MacIntyre's team sent. He looked out over the nine soldiers sitting in the passenger area of the Council's transport plane. They looked calm and composed; some of them appeared to be sleeping. He wished he could share their confidence and get some rest himself but he had a sinking feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.
Their information was sparse at best and completely lacking on some points. The timeframe they were working within was so tight it made sure they wouldn't be able to take their time to do the job the way he wanted. Travers had no idea how to run an operation like this and he was so obsessed with capturing the Slayer that he refused to listen to reason. Thus the deadline was 24 hours after they had landed in Sunnydale, and that was only a third of the time Stuart would have preferred.
His men were among the best, though, and they had pulled off seemingly impossible missions before. Both before and after they'd begun working for the Council.
Stuart had been a Sergeant in the Royal Marines before his eyes had been opened to the real under-world. He had been contacted by representatives of the Council and it hadn't taken him long to decide to take them up on their offer. Since he was the oldest member on the team and the one with most experience leading a small unit of soldiers, he'd been given command over the team. He was also the soldier with the least specialized training. The nine members were mostly recruited from various Special Forces, including for example the British SAS and German GSG9.
His men were among the best trained soldiers in the world and he still couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom.
"Mind if I join you?" Alec asked as he sat down beside Max on the top of the roof of the Rosenberg's house.
Max glanced quickly in his direction and shrugged. "Sure."
They sat in silence for several minutes, both lost in thought.
"It's hard to understand," Max broke the silence. "Everything and everyone we knew is gone."
"Yeah," Alec agreed with a sigh. "Though I think it's easier for me. You had more friends and more of a family than I had." And the only thing I really wanted in my life is still with me, he added mentally.
"Maybe, but you still had people who cared about you." And you still have, she finished silently.
"I'm used to losing friends and moving on."
Max turned her head slowly and found Alec looking out over the dark town. "You shouldn't have to be," she said, trying to push away the pain the memories caused. "No one should."
"Life is pain, get used to it," Alec quoted.
"Shouldn't that be my line?" Max mock-glared at him. Her expression changed to a sober one. "Besides I don't like that option. Maybe we could get something else but pain out of our lives now."
"Yeah, right."
"Come on Alec, why're you so negative all of a sudden. What happened to the 'I'm always all right' guy I knew?"
Alec turned to face her with a twinkle in his eyes. "Brought you out of the negative thinking you were caught up in at least," he said with a grin. "Let's go in again. I need some sleep... and if you're really nice I'll let you share my bed."
"In your dreams, pretty boy!" And too often in mine as well.
They climbed down from the roof an in through the window. As they were about to part ways and head to their respective beds Max stopped Alec with a hand on his shoulder.
"What are we going to tell the others? About us, I mean."
Alec shrugged. "Guess we'll tell them the truth. We're not forced to stay here and if they can't accept it we can just move on." Even as he said it they both knew it wasn't true. They wouldn't be able to leave and let the humans face the threats of Sunnydale alone.
"Yeah," Max reluctantly agreed. "Shall we spring it to them during a sparring session or something?" she asked with a twinkle in her eyes. "Could be fun to watch their reaction."
Alec grinned. "Sounds like a plan. See you tomorrow."
"'night."
Willow woke up around 9.30, feeling refreshed and not the least guilty for sleeping in. After a quick shower she dressed and headed for the kitchen.
And stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Max sitting on a chair, staring at the open refrigerator with a slightly vacant look in her eyes.
"Where did ya get all the food from?" the transgenic asked with a frown.
The redheaded Wiccan gave her a puzzled look. "We bought it at the supermarket of course."
"Supermarket?"
Willow paused, trying to figure out how to explain a supermarket when it suddenly struck her how weird the conversation was. Surely they must have had something like supermarkets where the two transgenics came from. "How did you get food in Seattle?"
Max shrugged. "Bought it at the market mostly or from farmers who came in to the town to sell their stuff." A smile spread over her face. "I even got my hands on a chicken once!"
"A chicken?"
"Yeah. One of those birds y'know?" Max looked strangely at the witch.
Willow frowned. "Of course I know what a chicken is. I'm trying to figure out what's so special about you getting one?"
"Oh, it was the first one I managed to get in about 4 years. Food wasn't easy to come by," she added with another shrug.
Willow just stared at the dark haired girl. After almost a minute she nearly jumped out of her socks when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey Willow, are you all right?" Alec asked.
The Wiccan shook herself out of her daze and assured the transgenics that she was ok. "Max just explained the food situation where you're from. I think I'll have to make you a huge breakfast to make up for it."
"I could eat," Max said.
"Sounds great," Alec agreed. "But we'll have to find a way to pay you back for it later."
"Great!" Willow exclaimed and bounced over to the stove. "And don't worry about paying me back. My parents pay for everything anyway."
The two transgenics shared a glance. "Right," Alec said.
"If you say so," Max added.
No way were they were going to live on charity, whatever Willow said.
Faith woke up with a scream from her latest nightmare. She'd had her hands clenched around Xander's throat and was slowly choking the life out of him. Only this time Angel hadn't shown up and stopped her before she could kill him. She had been staring down on his dead body when she woke up.
A few seconds later there was a soft knock on the door and Buffy entered.
"You all right?" the blonde Slayer asked.
"Five by five."
Buffy sighed. "If you don't want to talk about it I won't stress it."
"Good."
"But you really should talk with someone," Buffy added.
Faith closed her eyes. "Maybe later."
Realizing she wouldn't get any more out of the dark Slayer, Buffy decided to talk to Giles about it later instead. "So, up for some breakfast?"
Faith looked in surprise at the blonde. She couldn't remember when someone had last offered her a meal and hadn't immediately set some conditions for giving it to her. Her eyes narrowed. Maybe those would come later, when she'd been lured into a false sense of security.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you and neither is anyone else. I did some thinking last night and I want to try to work with you." She wasn't entirely sure she wanted anything more than that, but she was leaning in that direction. She didn't have many friends and she had a feeling that Faith had even less.
Faith nodded slowly and started to get out of the bed. Buffy waved in the direction of a chair where she'd laid out some clothes. "I'm not sure if they'll fit you but if you want to you can borrow them for now. I'll be in the kitchen. Just come down when you're ready."
Breakfast was awkward, with Buffy and Joyce trying to talk to Faith who mostly replied with single words or small grunts. The three of them were just finishing their breakfasts when the doorbell rang.
After an enormous breakfast Max and Alec helped Willow to clean up. Max was still in shock, used to never having enough to eat and definitely not having food of this quality.
Alec had grown up at Manticore and had always had enough food, but the scientifically perfect meals at Manticore had never tasted like something you wanted to eat. The past year he'd been out in the world he had faced the same problems as Max, though his frequent black-market deals assured that he at least had money to buy food with.
"Thanks, Willow," Max said for the umpteenth time.
"Max, it's ok," Willow assured her with a smile. She still couldn't believe how anyone could have a reaction like this to normal food. It was like they'd never seen a proper meal before, which, she reluctantly admitted, seemed to be the case. The reality they'd left behind seemed to be anything but a nice place. Maybe she could get them to tell her more later.
"Any plans for today?" Alec asked.
"Well, I guess we'll talk more to Giles and Buffy," Willow said. "And Xander of course," she added.
"What's their deal by the way?" Max asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Buffy is a… Slayer? You're a witch. What are Giles and Xander?"
"Xander is my oldest bestest friend," Willow beamed. "He's just a normal guy and he can't fight very well, but he helps us anyway."
"Hasn't Buffy taught him how to fight?" Alec asked, surprised.
"Umm, no," Willow said hesitantly. "He'd just put himself in more danger if he knew how to fight."
The two transgenics shared a look. That was some very warped reasoning there. If Xander helped them even if he didn't know how to fight, wouldn't he be in more danger than if he could fight? In silent agreement they decided to correct that mistake as soon as they could.
"And Giles?"
"Oh! Giles is Buffy's Watcher. He's a representative for the Watcher's Council," she frowned. "Or at least he was until they fired him for caring about Buffy."
The two transgenics stilled. "What's the Watcher's Council and why would they fire someone for caring?" Alec asked slowly.
"The Council is an organization that watches the Slayer. The Watcher trains the Slayer and helps her with research and to prepare her for what she'll fight. The Council appoints a Watcher to the Slayer."
"And why would they fire him?" Max repeated the question.
Willow felt a familiar surge of anger when she thought back on what had led to Giles being fired. "They want to control the Slayer and Buffy was too independent for their taste. She even had friends," she added with a sarcastic tone. "They wanted Buffy to go through the Cruciamentum which is an old test of sorts. They magically remove all her Slayer powers and lock her up with a nasty vampire." She drew a deep breath. "That is one of the reasons why only a handful of Slayers have ever lived past their eighteenth birthday. That's when the test takes place."
The two transgenics hadn't moved an inch, both lost in memories from their past.
"Giles got fired because he told Buffy about the test," Willow finished the story.
Alec slowly turned his head to look at Max, who mirrored his movements. There were no words needed as they both shared the same thoughts. The Council might not be as bad as Manticore had been, but it looked like they tried their best. No matter what happened they wouldn't let those bastards get their hands on the Slayer.
"Faith!" Willow suddenly gasped.
"Faith?"
"The other Slayer. Whistler said she would be called back to help with this and that means she have to wake up from her coma and the Council will try to capture her to have her stand trial," the witch babbled.
"Other Slayer?" Max asked with a frown. "I thought Giles said there could only be one."
"There can be only one, Max. And it was Connor MacLeod who said that. You really need to watch more TV," Alec smirked.
"Shut up!"
"Make me."
Willow looked from one transgenic to the next and finally just shook her head.
"Stand trial for what?" Alec questioned, turning back to Willow.
Willow quickly explained the situation, including what they'd learned from Whistler and the events leading up to Faith ending up in a coma. "I need to talk to Giles," she finished as she darted over to the phone.
"Hey Giles, it's Willow. Listen, Whistler said that Faith would be called back so she…"
"Faith woke up last night, so Buffy and I collected her from the hospital. She is currently staying with Buffy and Joyce. I suggest we all meet there later today," Giles interrupted.
"Okay," Willow agreed. "When?"
"I'll be heading there shortly. Could you ask Xander to pick you and our new friends up or should I come by?"
"We can go with Xander," Willow decided. "We'll meet you at Buffy's."
"Very well. Good bye Willow."
"Bye." Willow hung up the phone and turned to the transgenics.
"We can run over to Buffy's house and you can come after with Xander. I could use the workout and I know Max is getting slow," Alec said with a wink in Max's direction. "Sorry we listened in on the conversation," he added with a grin, managing to look anything but sorry.
"Oh," Willow said. "You got some kind of Slayer hearing too?"
Max shrugged. "Dunno about Slayer hearing but we have enhanced senses... among other things."
"Oh," Willow said again. She was so going to have to make them tell her everything later. This was way cool! "Do you know the way?"
"It's cool," Max assured her. "We remember it from yesterday. Besides, we took a look at a map before we got to Buffy's place the first time."
Willow just nodded, accepting the fact that they'd remembered a way they'd only traveled once before in the dark.
"See ya at Buffy's," Alec tossed over his shoulder as they left the house.
Willow went to phone Xander, hoping her friend would be awake.
Buffy opened the front door to find Max and Alec standing there chatting. She frowned and took a look around, trying to spot Willow or Xander. When she couldn't find anyone she turned back to the two transgenics with a questioning look.
"We ran over," Alec explained. "Needed to burn off some energy."
"'kay," Buffy said and stepped aside to let them in. They certainly didn't look like they'd been running all the way from Willow's house. In fact they looked about as winded as if they'd walked about twenty yards. "Oh, the new girl in here is Faith. She's a Slayer like me," Buffy explained. "She'd had a rough time so go easy on her will ya?"
"Willow explained for us," Max said. The transgenics might not have been around for what had happened but they could identify with it for sure. Being forced to do things against their will and without any options was something they were familiar with.
Joyce and Faith were sitting in the living room. The conversation was very one-sided, with Faith mostly staring absently out the window. When the two newcomers and Buffy entered Joyce got up to greet Max and Alec. Faith gave them a curious glance before she resumed staring out the window.
Joyce frowned as she looked the transgenics over. "You two need to get some new clothes," she announced. Being dressed in military camouflage and combat boots was probably great when patrolling but it wasn't exactly your everyday wear. Dressed like that they would draw attention.
Alec stuffed his hands down his pockets and shrugged. "I guess so." His eyebrows rose as he withdrew his right hand from his pocket, holding his wallet. He was so used to having it in his back pocket that he hadn't given it a second thought since they got here. Quickly looking through it he whistled softly. "Woah, looks like The Powers swapped our money for some that works here."
Max quickly checked her own pockets and came up with the same result. She took a look at the ID and handed it to Alec. "This is not my Sector Pass."
Alec took a quick look and checked his own, finding the same thing. He handed the two ID's to Buffy. "Is this how your ID's look like?"
The Slayer took a quick look and nodded. "Looks like they would work fine." Her lips twisted into a smile. "Looks like they thought you were a bit younger too." She handed back the ID's and threw herself down on the couch.
"They made me eighteen!" Alec whined. He snatched Max's ID from her and took a look, making sure they hadn't made her older. "You're eighteen too. This is so not fair."
"What's wrong with that?" Buffy asked.
"They kept our old birthdays," Alec grumbled.
"Huh?"
Max eyes lit up with an evil glint. "So what are you planning to do about that, young man?"
"See what I mean," Alec whined. "She'll be impossible to live with now."
Joyce was the first one to add two and two together and get four. "I see, your birthday is earlier in the year than Alec's."
Max just smirked at Alec's pained groan.
"At least they made them with our made up names," the male transgenic muttered.
"Who the hell are you two?"
Everyone in the room turned to face the dark Slayer, Buffy and Joyce almost relieved that she finally showed some signs of her old self.
Max sighed. "Now that's a long story."
It turned out to be exactly long enough to last until both Willow, Xander and Giles had arrived.
Faith refused to meet Xander's eyes and stubbornly stared into the wall or anywhere but at him. Xander did his best to make sense of his mixed up feelings and decided to give her some space for the time being. It was obvious she was uncomfortable being around him and he could understand why. He just had to figure out how to let her know they were ok. Somehow he didn't think just telling her would be enough.
Giles cleared his throat and requested everybody's attention. "I received a phone call from one of my old friends in the Council yesterday. He informed me that Travers has sent a team to Sunnydale, most likely to try to capture Faith. They should be landing soon and if I know Travers right they will try to capture Faith tonight. Travers has never been known for his patience."
Faith paled and seemed to shrink back into her chair. She didn't need to be told what the Council would do with her if they captured her. She had killed people, admittedly without any choice but she still killed them, and she was out of the Council's control. They would kill her to call a new Slayer.
The two transgenics went very still and their faces hardened. "They're not going to get her," Max said quietly.
"I agree with you Max," Giles said. "We can not let them capture Faith and take her back to England."
"If Buffy needs to patrol like usual we could keep an eye on Faith and take care of those Council guys when they show up," Alec suggested.
"I'm staying too," Xander said.
"You need to go with Buffy if that's what you usually do," Alec said. "We need to show the retrieval team what they're expecting to see."
"We appreciate the offer Alec, believe me," Giles said hesitantly. "But we are talking about ten heavily armed soldiers. And Alec is right, Xander," he added.
The two transgenics looked at each other and shrugged. "So?"
"You mean you could take out ten soldiers alone?" Xander asked with disbelief. He had some of the memories from when he'd been possessed by the soldier spirit and knew how difficult that would be. If they could, then he would so have them teach him to do it.
"We used to practice against Delta Force Teams for fun," Alec grinned. "Do you have some place we can spar a little?"
Xander nodded approvingly. There were no way he was going to risk Faith's safety on something they claimed to be capable of doing. He wanted proof.
Giles looked carefully at the two new youths. He wasn't familiar with the American army but he knew enough to know that Delta Force was some sort of special forces. "I believe we could use the basement in this house if that is all right with you Mrs. Summers," Giles said, turning to Joyce.
"Of course Mr. Giles."
"Very well. Buffy, could you please change for a workout and meet us in the basement?"
"Sure Giles," Buffy said and bounced up the stairs to change.
The rest of the group, minus Faith, followed Giles and Joyce down in the basement. The dark Slayer had fallen asleep on the couch again and they decided to let her rest for the moment. She needed to regain her strength after her time at the hospital.
The room wasn't ideal for what they were going to use it as but it would work. It didn't matter to Alec and Max as they'd been trained to fight in just abut every environment that existed. As long as they could move either their arms or their legs they could fight.
Alec pulled off his socks and walked out in the open area to start some stretches. The Scoobies watched with interest as he stretched, showing a limberness they'd previously only seen in Buffy and Faith. A few minutes later Buffy came bouncing down the stairs and out in the room. She spotted Alec on the floor and went over to him.
"So, how d'ya want to do this?"
Alec gave her an once-over and grinned cockily. "Show me what you got."
Buffy looked quickly in Giles direction to see what he would say. She didn't want to hurt Alec and it wasn't the first time someone had thought themselves able to beat her.
Giles just nodded a 'go ahead' to her.
"Oh-kay," she drawled. "Ready to get your ass kicked?"
Alec rolled his eyes. "If you're nice I might let you hit me once or twice."
Buffy's eyes narrowed. "Right! I was gonna go easy on you but now I'll have to kick your ass."
"What is it with you girls and your obsession with my ass?" Alec grinned and winked at Max.
"That's it!" Buffy announced and aimed a spin-kick at Alec.
The grin on the transgenics face vanished without a trace as his body reacted on instinct. He dodged easily under the kick and stepped back to let Buffy have another shot.
Buffy launched herself at Alec and attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks, all of which the transgenic smoothly avoided. The Slayer stopped momentarily and gave him a surprised look. Oh well, looks like I'll have to strain myself a bit, she thought.
Giles stood leaning against one wall in the room with his eyes locked on the display in front of him. Buffy had started out slowly, trying to find out how good Alec was without hurting him by mistake. That soon changed and she began using some of her Slayer speed. The Watcher's eyes grew wider and wider and his chin dropped as Buffy moved faster and faster and still hardly managed to hit Alec.
Alec was having the time of his life and had to make a conscious effort to stop his face from splitting into a huge grin. This was just way too much fun. He knew they were both moving faster than any human could possibly hope to, and he could see the Slayer grow more and more desperate. He moved smoothly around the kicks and used his forearms and hands to deflect and divert the punches. She was damn good, he had to give her that. The speed of a Slayer was obviously almost up to X5 standard and from the punches he'd blocked instead of averted he guessed their strength was just about equal. What made it possible for him to control the fight and make it seem effortless was his additional sixteen years of training against qualified opponents. It didn't look like Buffy had fought many opponents who really knew how to fight before this. It made it fairly easy for him to predict her next moves and combined with his slight speed advantage it was more than enough.
Buffy was breathing hard as she redoubled her efforts to take down her opponent. She used a combination of punches and kicks she'd learned from Giles and was pleased to see that Alec's blocks came later and later. She was wearing him down! Her fist narrowly missed his face when he deflected her arm right before it would have hit and she quickly followed up with another punch with her other arm. This one was going to hit!
Alec was getting bored and consciously made his blocks a little sloppy, setting her up for the finishing moves. He avoided a punch to the face at the latest possible time and Buffy's next hit came just as he'd expected, straight for his nose. Moving at full speed his left arm shot up and grabbed the Slayer's wrist at the same time as he bent his knees and dodged below the punch. When the punch she'd been sure would hit missed and she overextended herself a bit he took advantage. His right arm shot out and shoved her in the shoulder at the same time as he hooked one of his legs behind her supporting leg.
Willow was giggling and Xander just stared wide-eyed as Buffy ended up on her back with Alec on top of her, effectively pinning her to the ground. Buffy looked like she didn't believe what had just happened and Giles was still just staring.
"Now this position feels familiar," Alec grinned.
That was enough to bring Max out of the dream-like state she'd entered while watching Alec, and she glared at him. "Do you have to always be such a show-off?" she snapped.
Alec smoothly got up from the ground and managed to take Buffy with him before she knew what happened. He raised his eyebrows at Max. "Is that jealousy I hear?"
Max redoubled her efforts to make the glare seem genuine. "You wish!"
Alec shrugged. "True, but that's beside the point."
He walked over to take one of the bottles of water they'd brought down and looked up only to see Max frozen in the same spot. "You all right Maxie?"
"What in God's name are you?" Giles demanded, finally managing to find his voice again.
That only served to double Willow's giggle-attacks and she was soon gripping her stomach while laughing. "Oh God Giles. The look on your face," she managed to get out between giggles.
"Umm.. are you guys related to the Flash?" Xander asked.
Alec looked at Max and raised his eyebrows. "You or me? Or should we give Willow the honors?"
The two transgenics turned to the Wiccan who had managed to stop laughing.
"They're transgenics," she said matter-of-factly.
"Transgenics?" Xander summed up everybody's thoughts pretty well with one word.
"Chimeras, Genetically engineered, humans designed to be the ultimate soldiers," Alec clarified.
"Hey! I saw that movie once!" Xander quipped.
The room was silent for a few long seconds before everybody started asking questions all at once.
The explanation and a few small demonstrations took most of the day with a break for lunch early in the afternoon. Alec took some time to explain to Buffy how he'd beaten her and why the fight had ended like it did. No matter how good a fighter you are, if you're up against someone who's better and also has a slight advantage in speed you will lose. The male X5 felt better than he'd done in weeks. Not only had he been given a good and fun workout, he'd also managed to score a few verbal points against Max and best of all, he couldn't wait until Max went up against one of the Slayers. He was fairly certain she'd expect to beat them as 'easily' as he'd done. After all she regularly 'kicked his ass.' He'd pay money to see her taken down on the ground and back into the real world again.
The now extended Scooby gang moved up into the living room to relax a little before the night's patrol and possible confrontation with the Council's team.
The plane had landed in Sunnydale on schedule and thanks to the right papers they'd had no problem getting their gear through security. MacIntyre supervised his men as they loaded the gear into two large vans and it wasn't long before they could leave the airport.
He'd gone through the mission details with his men on the plane and presented all available intel they had. The Slayer Faith was most likely staying either at Slayer Summers or former Watcher Rupert Giles' home. They could expect to encounter somewhere between two and five persons, including Slayer Summers and Giles.
Alexander Harris and Willow Rosenberg were two friends of Summers' who were most likely around. If the object was staying with Summers they could expect to find the elder Mrs. Summers there as well. Faith was most likely still weak from her time in the hospital and if they could hit the target when Slayer Summers was out on patrol they should be able to get away before anyone noticed they'd even been there.
The problem would be if Summers decided not to patrol and instead stay at home to watch over the rogue Slayer.
Quick surveillance of Giles' apartment made them certain the apartment was empty. The target most likely was at the Summers residence.
MacIntyre and his second in command made final adjustments to the plans. Then it was only a matter of waiting for dark. Whether the other Slayer went out on patrol or not, they had to move in tonight.
Anthony had been a minor player while the Mayor and Trick had been in town, but as soon as they were gone he'd made his move. He'd quickly taken control of the situation at the Hellmouth and installed himself as the current Master vampire in town.
Naturally he was more than a little surprised when the two vampires on guard at his door suddenly flew through it – without opening it first. The minions, both relative fledglings, groaned in pain as they slowly got up from the floor.
Anthony rose from his chair and drew himself up to his full height, intent on intimidating the intruders with a show of power. That plan lasted all of seven seconds before he felt the force of the two vampires entering the room. Suddenly the thoughts of controlling the Hellmouth were replaced with fear for his life.
"Who are you?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice steady.
The two unfamiliar vampires stopped a few steps into the room and took a slow look around. As one they turned to stare at Anthony with piercing eyes.
"I am Marcel and this is Stephan," the vampire to the left said. "We've come here to offer you a deal."
"What deal?"
"Tell us about the Slayers and we'll let you live," Stephan said.
Anthony wasn't really as stupid as most vampires tended to be and it didn't take him long to calculate the odds. He came to the conclusion that if he wanted to live he'd better do as they said. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
"Uh, right. Want me to start with something specific?"
"Where are they? Who are their friends? Do they have any help other than the Watcher?"
In the darkness of the chamber deep in the sewers, the former Master of Sunnydale started to talk.
Max looked out the window at the half-dark garden at the backside of the house. She could see Faith's seated silhouette, leaned back against a tree. She silently opened the door and slipped out. Faith's eyes were closed and Max could see the traces of old tears on her cheeks. Max slowly made her way over to the dark-haired Slayer and sat down on the ground beside her. "Hey," she greeted.
Faith opened her eyes and glanced in Max's direction. "Hey," she responded quietly.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Faith turned to Max again. "What're you doing here?"
Max shrugged. "Saw you sittin' out here. Thought I'd see if you were all right."
"Well, I am. So, you can go now."
Max glanced in Faith's direction. "Doesn't look like it from my point of view."
"It's none of your business anyway," Faith snapped. "I'll deal with it alone." She turned away from Max again and stared off into the distance. "I always do," she added in a whisper.
"It doesn't work," Max replied, just as quietly.
Faith felt her anger build up again. "What the hell would you know about it?" she snapped. "I *killed* people. They made me kill people," she finished with a weak voice as she fought back more tears.
"I grew up on a military base," Max said.
Faith frowned. "So what? Does that make you qualified to be my shrink?"
Max turned her head and looked at the Slayer. "I grew up there and was trained to be a soldier," she said. "From when I was born until I escaped when I was nine."
Faith looked bewildered at the girl beside her. "No offence... but you don't look like a soldier to me."
Max's lips curved into a small smile. "Looks can be deceiving." She let out a small sigh. "I haven't been a soldier for many years but it'll always be a part of me. I can still feel her inside me."
Faith frowned. "Feel who?"
"The soldier," Max said quietly. "Want to meet her?"
Faith shrugged. "Sure." She had no idea what Max was going on about but figured she might just as well play along.
Max closed her eyes and sealed off her emotions and everything that made her human. 452 still lived within her, and it wasn't hard to go back to what had once been everything she was. She opened her eyes again and watched without reaction as Faith flinched back from the sight.
Faith watched curiously as Max closed her eyes and nothing happened. She blinked and focused on the face of the slim girl besides her. Max opened her eyes and Faith couldn't help but drawing back a little at the sight.
The face that had been a mixture of pain, wariness and worry was now completely blank, not showing any trace of emotion. The dark eyes that had held a haunted look were now empty, icy pools of black.
The friendly but guarded girl she'd met earlier was completely gone.
Max closed her eyes again and when she opened them a second later she was back to normal.
"I learned to present that face before I was two years old," she said quietly. "It was the only acceptable face for a soldier."
Faith swallowed and nodded faintly.
"I was seven when I killed my first human being. It was a part of the training and the few who didn't follow orders were terminated as failures." She looked up at Faith's slightly stunned face. "You can learn to live with it," she said softly. "You can't forget it. That just doesn't work, but you can learn to accept it and move on."
Faith didn't reply and Max hadn't expected her to. She laid a comforting hand on the Slayer's shoulder and rose to her feet in a fluid motion.
"Talk to him. It'll help."
Faith looked up, only to see Max's back as she walked back toward the house.
"Buffy, I believe it is time for you to start your patrol," Giles interrupted the gang, who were watching a movie.
Buffy got up from the couch with a sigh. "Right, I'll be right back." She took off up the stairs to change and grab her weapons.
Xander and Willow would be going with her, while Giles was going to stay with Faith. The Watcher normally didn't join the patrols and the two Scoobies did. It would be better to show the Council's team what they were expecting to see.
A few minutes later the three teenagers vanished out into the night to keep the streets of Sunnydale safe.
Faith was sitting at the end of the couch with her legs pulled up against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She tried to study the two new people without being too obvious about it.
The two transgenics – genetically engineered soldiers were definitely something new – didn't seem to notice; or if they did they didn't mind. She couldn't figure out why they would do something like this for her and after discarding one reason after another she finally decided to ask them.
"Because we know how it feels to be forced to do something against your will and then get punished for it," Max answered quietly. She looked quickly at Alec and saw him nod his permission faintly. "Alec was forced to plant a bomb that killed the girl he loved. He was tortured for almost six months because he couldn't make himself press the detonator." Max felt her hands close to shaking fists as she thought about what he'd been forced to go through.
"We need to get out so we can take care of them when they come," Alec said expressionlessly.
"Do you think they are here already?" Giles wondered.
Alec nodded. "The same van has passed by the house at least four times in the past two hours. The last one was just after Buffy and the others left so they know she's gone."
The two transgenics pulled on their boots and silently slipped out the back door. They exchanged a few quick hand signals and split up, Max going to the front of the house and Alec covering the back.
MacIntyre was crouched down below the hedge of a house in the neighborhood. His men were spread out in pairs of two around the Summers' residence. The Slayer had left a short while ago together with two of her friends and the only ones left in the house should be Faith, Mrs. Summers and Giles.
Clicking on his radio, he ordered his men to advance.
A/N: If you've read this far, please take a minute and let me know what you think.