A/N: Thanks for the reviews...here's the new chap...

Chapter Four: Indecipherable Stillness

The sound of the bathroom door slamming shut took his attention away from the TV screen as his gaze flew over to the extremely attractive woman that was clad in nothing but a towel. A wicked smile materialized on his face as he let his eyes wander.

Max shot him a glare. "Twice was enough tiger," she snapped, her cinnamon-brown eyes sparkling with mirth. "And it's already eleven thirty. If you're planning on pulling that heist tonight with Travis, you should get going now. You're meeting with him is at twelve."

"I still have thirty minutes," Alec said in a lazy tone, tilting his head to one side and grinning knowingly at her. "Come on Maxie, you know you can't resist."

Max rolled her eyes, and moved over to the mirror where she started brushing her tousled hair. Alec gazed at her, admiring the way her skin glistened from her previous shower, and the way the droplets of water trickled down the smooth surface of her back, exaggerating the darkness of her tattoos.

Alec stared. "Max, I didn't know you had tattoos."

Max looked at his reflection on the mirror, raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I don't have any save for the damned barcode behind my neck which is anything but a tattoo. It's genetically imprinted on us, remember?"

"Not the barcode," Alec said, moving over to her and scrutinizing the tiny black prints that ran along her shoulders in three straight lines, pyramid style. Tentatively, he traced them with his fingers. "These."

Max twisted her back around facing the mirror. Her face clouded with confusion. "What? Where the hell did these come from?"

"They seem to be letters," Alec observed. "Although none that I can understand."

"Arabic maybe?" Max asked still looking bewildered from this new discovery.

Alec shook his head. "Nope. I studied Arabic back at Manticore, along with Japanese, Italian, French, Chinese..."

"Alright already, you can stop bragging now."

Alec grinned. "It's not my fault that I'm so gifted."

"Or cursed," Max retorted, a hint of sadness tingeing her eyes. They may be gifted with so many talents, but their life was as cursed as the next criminal. Some call it the balance of life. Alec called it injustice.

"We should have these checked out by Dix," Alec said as he started getting dressed. "He's staying in Barracks 3, I think."

"Don't forget you're meeting with Travis," Max reminded, pulling on a pair of jeans.

"I'll head over to him now," Alec said, getting ready to leave. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Yeah, sure." Max said absently, as she took another look at her back, trying to make sense of the inky imprints. She noted that they were clearly made of the same stuff with her barcode. Although, why they were there. She had no idea.

"I have a feeling that it's Egyptian," Dix said, typing furiously on his computer, as he stole quick glances on Max's bare shoulders. The tattoos stood out clearly.

They had been studying the 'Runes', as Dix had dubbed them, for almost an hour, and up to now they were unable to decipher even one of the letters. And it was starting to frustrate her.

"Not Egyptian," a deep voice spoke up behind her. It was X5-788 a.k.a Travis, a lightly-muscled transgenic that was built more for speed and guile akin to Alec. His spiky platinum blonde hair was streaked with blue highlights that went well with his baby blues. "I studied Egyptian back at Manticore and that is definitely not it." Travis stared at the Runes. "Are you sure that those are letters? Dude, they look like squiggles to me."

"I assure you that they are not squiggles," Dix said, pausing. "Alright, they are squiggles. But squiggles that form letters."

"Whatever," Travis shrugged and clapped Alec on the back. "I'll see you at seven?"

Alec nodded and dismissed his former unit mate. "So, nothing at all?"

"Nothing," Dix said with a frown. "Hey Max, mind if I take a picture of it? I could try scanning it into the computer and try finding a match for it on the Net."

"Good idea," Alec said moving over to a large box near the computer desk where most of the equipments were kept. He rummaged around in it until he was able to find what he was looking for. A digital camera.

He took several shots of the pictures and handed the camera over to Dix who attached it to the computer. "This may take a while, you guys."

"That's okay," Max said zipping up her jacket and hiding the tattoos. "I'll go take a break for a while. Call me if you find anything."

"No problem," Dix said.

"What do you say about lunch?" Alec asked as they walked out of Barracks 3.

"Would it be better than our breakfast in bed?" Max asked with a sly grin.

Alec winked. "Much better."

Approximately three hours and thirty minutes had passed, and she was still stumped. She had gone through almost every single book about Slayers that their family owned, and so far, she had found nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

Lucas sighed and returned the last book (Slayers and Demons) back into the antique bookshelf. "I give up," she said aloud, throwing her hands up in the air in aggravation. "I really give up. Let my family reject me, what the hell."

Words cannot express what I truly feel. She thought mockingly. Of course, she didn't want her family to reject her. Of course, she was not going to give up. However the helplessness that overcame her told her that what she had said a few seconds ago will become truth.

It was ironic how a girl like her could feel so vulnerable. She was part of the Phalanx. An ethnic group that had been alive for over a hundred years. A group that was deeply rooted in magic. Black magic, to be precise. In her veins flowed the blood of her ancestors. In her veins flowed a magic so powerful that it could kill dozens of innocent people.

And yet she was Chosen.

And the question was: Why? How could she, a girl entrenched in ancestral evil be Chosen to fight on the good side? To fight in the light? Again with the irony. She was named Lucas. A name derived from the Latin word lux which meant 'light'. She once asked her parents about this, and they had told her that it was because of her eyes that she was named such. Her silvery irises that glowed like the moon. The moon which was the Phalanx's symbol.

But somehow, she suspected that there was something that they were hiding from her. Why they chose such a name for her. Why they didn't allow her to attend the formal Phalanx meetings while other children were allowed to do so.

Maybe they knew that she was a Slayer.

Hope flickered within her.

Maybe they're keeping me away from the other members of the Phalanx to keep them from finding out. She thought fretfully.

Or maybe they're planning on the ways that they're going to kill you.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest.

Her head spun.

There were so many questions, and yet she received so little answers.

"Why?" she screamed out loud.

She was answered by nothing but silence.

A/N: Buffy and Max will be meeting soon...a few chapters from now...just be patient. :-) REVIEW.