Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters obviously do not belong to me. I am writing this purely for non-profit entertainment. Yada, yada! No infringement intended, so don't sue me!

A/N: Thanks for all your reviews; you guys are great! This chapter is slightly shorter than the usual, sorry! Next one should make up for it! Work has been killing me this week, but at the end of the day, I always felt better after reading your reviews!

W1cked angel – Hehe! Yup, just had to add another explosive ingredient to make things even messier! Thanks for reviewing.

Angel of Darkness231 – Glad you liked the long detailed chapters. Sorry this one is a bit shorter. Gosh, do you have something against Max! Not to worry about the antagonism between 494 and Max, they'll grow out of it soon (winks)! Thanks for reviewing.

Mel11 – Thanks for your review. The comm is the least of Fye's problems right now (grins wickedly). Read on to find out who the mystery person is!

Iridescent Twilight – Aw, sweetie, you don't really want to stalk me…do you? DO YOU? (cringes and backs further away from scary reviewer, namely IT). As for Fye…(laughs evilly) Nyah-nyah! You cannot find me! Ahem…anyway…Many thanks for your scary…er…comments.

Kungfuchick – Hey, thanks for reviewing this and reading Deception. Glad you liked it. Read on and tell me if it was who you expected!

Kelzaa – Yup! Yet another cliffhanger, lol! 494 is going to encounter more resistance, you'll see! Thanks for your review.

HoneyX5-452 – Glad to see that you are still here. Was afraid you may abandon the story due to the length! And of course, a bit of jealousy wouldn't harm 494! Thanks for reviewing.

Lotamoxie – Not too hard to guess who it is, it seemed. I must be losing my touch! Argh! Must try to be more vague next time (grins). Thanks for reviewing!

Gamegirl452 – Yup…action for another couple of chapters then moves on to…erm…can't tell you (grins!). Thanks for your review on this and your compliments on Remember. I'll get on to the sequel right after I complete Deception ;p

Toniboo – I know, I know…The MA action WILL be here soon. Give it a few more chapters (winks). Thanks for your review.

Alana84 – Glad you appreciate the action. It is going to be that way the next couple of chapters, so tell me if it's getting too much, lol! It's not too hard to guess who's in 'prison', I suppose! Thanks for reviewing.

NoAngell – Thanks for your review. Oh yes! I know that feeling of getting caught staring as well. Very embarrassing. Hehe! But at least we now know she liked his abs! Identity of mystery prisoner coming up!

BlackytheHelraiser (anon) – Aw, admit it! You like those endings! Keeps you guessing until the next update (grins)! Thanks for reviewing.

L80Bug (anon) – He will start treating her better, you will see. Read on to find out who the other prisoners were. Thanks for your review.

452/494 forever (anon) – Thanks. Glad you liked it.

Angelofdarkness78 – All your bad influence, angel! So you understand why I keep ending it with cliffhangers, lol! Not too hard to guess – someone from her past! You'll find out in a second! Thanks for reviewing.

Cora (anon) – Thanks for your review. Hehe! I'll probably run out of cliffhangers soon, (sigh!). MUST find more ways of ending it!

EnIgMa (anon) – Your first review! Hehe! Thanks! Aw, it's not so bad…The ending of the previous chapter was quite tame, I thought!

Pookie vampires – Thanks for reviewing! Ah, you love them really! Makes me sad to think that you might hate my precious cliffhangers (sobs)! How do I do it? I don't know…otherwise I would have put them at the end of every chapter! Shirtless males…hmmm…let me see where I can write them in (grins!)! What requests? Me? Predictable? Darn!

Amelya - Max and 494 on a mission again? Possibly...I can't tell you much! Spoils the fun! Thanks for your review.

Moving on…

RETRIEVED - Chapter 12 – Lost and Found

(by elle6778)

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide as she realised who the other prisoner resembled.

"Zack?" Max whispered as she stared in shock at the sibling she had not seen in years. It was a wonder she could recognise him after so many years. But there was no mistaking the facial structure and the steely look in his eyes.

She suddenly snapped herself awake as she realized the danger they were in. Zack was still gagged. She could see another still female form lying beside him. She was facing away from Max, so she could not see her face. Stepping closer, Max removed his gag.

"Max!" Her name came out of his mouth, confirming that he was indeed her long-lost sibling. "What in the world are you doing here," he asked in confusion as she shot at his chains to release him.

"We'll talk later. We need to get you out of here," she started to reach for the other person. A girl, she noted, taking in the shoulder length dark hair.

"Let me get Jondy," Zack said, turning to lift the still body.

Max froze. That's Jondy! Okay, this is not the time to over-think!

"Let's move, now!" she said. She rushed towards the door to run smack into a hard body.

494.

"452," 494 said as he looked at Zack with Jondy in his arms, "I see you got what you came for. Can we go now! 547 is already on his way back to Base," And to Zack he said, "Hand her over to me, you're injured. Otherwise you will just slow us down," Not realizing that Zack was a transgenic and could hear every mumble, 494 said under his breath, "Humans! Just what we needed,"

Zack did not move as he stared at 494 intently, "Ben?"

"Oh, not that again! It's getting old!" 494 groaned, and then it suddenly dawned on him, "What? Who are…?" 494 asked the same time as Max said, "Zack… This is not a good time to explain…"

"Max, what's going on? Is he from Manticore?" Zack asked, throwing 494 a suspicious look.

Max nodded and sighed, "Ben's genetic twin. Come on! We need to go. I'll fill you in on the way out. 494 could carry Jondy". She looked at 494 who shrugged, reaching out his arms for Jondy.

Zack grudging put Jondy in 494's arms, and they took off. 494 and Max could hear some undefined noises from their comms which sounds like Alpha-2 fighting. No wonder there were not many guards here, they must be all over the other side, Max thought. As they ran out of the building, she filled Zack in on the highlights of her capture.

"Bastard!" Zack said as Max told him about 494's part in her capture. He shot a glare at 494's back.

494 smirked. He heard every word they said.

As they approached the fence, they were stopped by another two burly soldiers. 494 lowered the still unconscious Jondy on the paving. The three of them surrounded her still unconscious body while they faced the soldiers. One of the soldiers started shooting. The transgenics ducked, Zack moving to cover Jondy's body with his as Max and 494 rushed at the enemy soldiers.

Max swung the butt of her shotgun at the soldier closest to her as 494 fired at the others in the limbs, forcing them to release their hold on their weapons. The soldiers just advanced, seemingly unaware of their bleeding limbs. Max and 494 exchanged a worried look.

Thinking that Max was an easy mark, one of the soldiers ignored 494 and headed straight for her. As they fought, Max realised that she could be in real trouble. Although she was getting her punches and kicks in, the soldier seemed completely unaffected. No matter what she tried, he just pressed on. She knew that she has to rely on her weapon to get her out of trouble this time. She was about to aim her shotgun at him when he lunged at her, capturing her in his hold.

494 released rounds after rounds of bullets at the soldier who was trying to advance towards him. After what seemed to be the millionth round in 494's mind, the soldier finally went down. His sigh of relief was cut short as he turned around to see Max caught in a choke hold by the other soldier. 494 felt his heart sink at the sight. Throwing his empty shotgun to the side, he blurred towards the remaining soldier.

The soldier, preoccupied with his task of choking the life out of Max, did not notice 494's approach. It was a fatal mistake. 494 reached up, and in one smooth move, twisted his neck. The soldier's neck broke with a sickening crack; his lifeless arms finally released Max from the choke hold.

Max slumped to the ground next to the dead soldier, heaving as she coughed.

494 went down on his knees beside her. Bending his head close to hers, he asked softly, "You okay?" He tentatively put an arm around her. When she did not push his arm away, he felt an odd sense of relief.

Max swallowed painfully; her throat felt crushed. She saw the look of concern he gave her as their eyes locked. Smiling gratefully, she said, "Yeah, thanks," His arms around her felt comforting and she felt a reassuring warmth wash over her. She dismissed the shiver that ran up her spine at his look. She blamed her odd reaction at her near brush with death.

Realising that this was the first time that she bestowed a genuine smile on him, 494 could not help grinning back at her. He still had his arms around her and he felt strangely reluctant to remove it. They looked at each other wordlessly for a moment. Then he decided to break the contact before he did something stupid.

Like kissing her.

Giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, he reluctantly detached his arms from her. He winced as he stood up, realising that a bullet has grazed him in the fleshy part of his upper thigh.

Ignoring the pain, he walked towards the other two '09-ers. He lips twitched as he noticed Zack glaring at him. No doubt the other transgenic noticed that little display with 452. It was the same look that 547 kept giving him. Bending over Zack, he noticed that the other transgenic has caught a bullet when he tried to shield Jondy. 494 took a piece of bandage out of his rucksack and proceeded to tie up his and Zack's wound. Both of them remained silent all the while.

Knowing that they should move before more soldiers arrive, 494 signalled for Max and Zack to start running. Then he hefted Jondy up in his arms and followed close behind them.

As they ran towards the perimeter fence, Max's thoughts went back to the fight. Shooting a sideways glance at 494, she asked, "Did you notice something strange about them?"

Sparing a quick glance at Max, 494 answered, "Yeah, they did not seem to feel any of the shots. It's odd. Maybe the intel that 735 had collected would tell us something,"

Max nodded, a frown marring her face as she thought of the strength and the lack of reaction of the enemy soldiers.

The transgenics continued to cross the fence, squeezing through a newly cut opening in the fence. Presumably cut by Gab earlier to enable the scientists to escape. They were running on the other side of the fence when both 494 and Max stopped in their tracks, flinching as they heard an ear piercing scream of pain through their comms, and then…

"422!" 511 shouted.

"Go 511… Alpha-1, go. LEAVE!" Val's broken voice came through the comms.

Max felt a feeling of dread as she registered the sound of her friend's voice. NO! Something is very wrong! Max thought frantically. "Val, what's going on?" She accidentally let slip Val's name in her fear.

"Base to Alpha-2, you want to tell us what is going on?" 480 asked anxiously.

"Base, we need back-up!" 511 said evenly over the comms, clearly trying to keep his calm.

"No! Go! Or they will get you as well" Val urged desperately, "Max, you gotta leave! Now!"

"Alpha-2, what the hell is going on there?" 494 snapped impatiently, worry evident in his voice.

"Alpha-1, 511 got the Intel. He needs to get out of here before they get him as well. 735 and I are compromised. There's no way to get us out," Val forced out, pain obvious in her voice.

494 deliberated for a moment before asking, "511, can you get them out?" 494 asked, a furrow forming between his brows. This is bad, he thought to himself.

"494, 735 got trapped in a room when the automatic trap mechanism activated suddenly. 422's legs were trapped under the door when the door slammed down," 511 answered softly. His usual boisterous tone was absent from his voice.

Max gasped in horror as 511's word sank in. She shook her head at 494, knowing and dreading what he was going to say next.

494 paused, clearly hating what he was about to say, "511, pull back. Get out of there and head back to base," he said softly but firmly, leaving them in no doubt whatsoever that it was an order. He hated himself for giving the order, but there was no other viable option. He was hurt and they have two additional loads with them. If they did not get out now, all of them may be captured.

"494!" Max urgently, grabbing his arms, "What are you doing? My CO and friend are still in there. Don't do this!"

"You got your orders, 452. Back to base," 494 insisted as he twisted his body, jerking his arm away from her. Hell! That damned vice grip again. He resisted the urge to rub his abused arm. Not that he could anyway; he had his arms full with the other '09-er. They are going to be the death of him, he thought darkly.

"We can't just leave them," Max yelled, although she knew deep inside that they probably could not do much at this stage. However, she was afraid that if they left now, the trail would go cold. She did not want to lose two of her unit mates. She had lost eleven of them once before.

"Keep it down, 452. Have you been listening? They are trapped. There's nothing we could do. We'll get help once we get back to Manticore," 494 was not sure why he felt the need to justify his actions to 452. Maybe he felt compelled because of the pain he could see in her eyes. He tore his eyes from hers, not wanting to subject himself to that look in her eyes any longer.

Max looked at him with troubled eyes as he started walking away rapidly. He was limping slightly but he was obviously disregarding the pain in his thighs. She felt slightly ashamed of her outburst. Jondy still cradled in his arms, he walked through the woods towards their base-camp. She fell into step behind him. Zack moved next to her. He heard what 494 said.

"We are not going back to Manticore," Zack asserted, looking at Max.

Max turned to him, remembering that, yes, there was no way in hell Zack would want to go back to Manticore. There was a slight problem – Jondy was still unconscious and Zack had a gunshot wound to his left shoulder. "Both you and Jondy in no state for Escape and Evade, Zack," Max tried to reason with him as they neared the Base. She could see the two scientists being tended by 480, who was acting as their field med.

Gab noticed their approach and started walking towards them, wanting to make sure that the rest of them were alright. He had heard their conversation on the comms.

"Hey, Max," Gab greeted, his face showing no sign of his usual cheerfulness. Noticing Zack, he asked, "Who's this?"

Still wondering what they could do to prevent Zack and Jondy being dragged back to Manticore, Max answered distractedly, "He's my brother, Zack. Zack, this is Gab,"

Zack nodded at the dark haired transgenic.

Gab raised his eyebrows in surprise and returned Zack's nod. Looking back and forth between Zack and Max, he found himself hard pressed to find the family resemblance there. He opened his mouth to speak but fell silent as Zack spoke.

"We have to leave, Max. We'll take our chances out there. We did not go through so much trouble escaping to willingly walk back into Manticore. Come with us, Max. You know you can't stay here," he coaxed, smiling at Max.

Can I? Max thought, missing Gab's gasp of shock.

She was torn. On one hand, she wanted to leave, to be free and to catch up with Dani and the rest of her siblings. On the other hand, in the last few years she had formed new bonds with her own kind and had gotten used to the regime and structure of Manticore. And considering what just happened, she would not be able to live with herself if she went with Zack without knowing if Fye and Val were alright. If she escaped, then where would she be? Back to scrounging for food, breaking and entering to subsidise her existence, looking over her shoulders, being on guard and fearing tactical exposure all the time. If she stayed, then she would be at Manticore's disposal all the time, doing whatever they want her to do whenever required. She would have no say in her own life. But now that she thought about it, in the last couple of years, the thought of escape did not even cross her mind. Could it possibly be that she actually was content to remain in Manticore?

494's voice broke Max out of the reverie, "I'm afraid I cannot let Max leave with you," 494 said in a hard tone, turning his head around, reminding them of his presence. He gave Zack a hard stare. Who does he think he is, trying to drag her into trouble again after all she has been through?

Zack clenched his jaws in irritation. What business of his is this? He shot 494 a furious glare as he strode over to face the other transgenic who had just deposited Jondy with 480; his primal territorial instincts kicking in. 494 returned his glare with one of his own, his body tensed in readiness to pounce at a moments notice.

Seeing the familiar warning signs of a pending fight, Max intervened, forcing a lightness into her voice, "Hey, chill, both of you. Leave this for later. We have more important things to worry about now. We need to come up with a plan to get them out,"

Neither Zack nor 494 paid Max any attention.

Max stared at the two transgenics. They did not seem to hear her. Either that or they were just ignoring her. She shot a worried glance at Gab who stood silently by her side.

Gab just shrugged. As far as he was concerned, this had nothing to do with him. As long as Max remained with them, he added, tensing at the thought of Max leaving. Gab would gladly pound Zack into a pulp if he decided to play on Max's feelings to get her to go with him. Gab would not care at that point if he was her brother or not.

"What is it to you? And why should I care what you want?" Zack spat into 494's face. He glared in an unconscious attempt to assert his dominance. 494's attitude was grating on his nerves.

Unflinchingly, although he could feel Zack's commanding presence, 494 answered "I am now her CO and she is part of this strike team. You, howeverare not part of it. I personally don't give a shit what you decide to do with yourself. So what do we say you go your own way and let us finish our job, huh?" 494 has no intention of backing down. As far as he can tell, the '09-er was not more dominant than he was. And even if he was, there was no chance that he was walking away with 452 in tow.

"I say she could decide for herself. And she doesn't belong to Manticore," Zack said as he gestured towards Max, "Right, Max?" He turned his expectant gaze at her.

Avoiding his eyes, Max released an exasperated sigh, "It has been a long day, and right now I am more concerned about 735 and 422 to think about anything else," she said, dismissively waving her arms in refusal to say anything else. She did not want to be caught in one of the infamous alpha brawls. They got these fights far too often nowadays back in Manticore. Must be the hormones that came with their age. Testosterone to be specific. Males! Max thought in disgust.

"There you go… she wants to stay," 494 said with a smug look on his face, conveniently interpreting Max's words to his liking.

"Really? When did she actually say that, huh? Anyway, why do any of you want to remain in Manticore? They are treating you that well, is that it?" Zack mocked.

"Maybe it's just because we do not possess the same sort of traitorous tendency which is second nature to you," 494 taunted. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. He sneaked a subtle glance at 452.

"Enough!" Max finally snapped, tired of the squabbling between the two males. She turned to 494 and said "Look, we had our reasons for what we did. You weren't there, so it's probably a bit hard to explain,"

"Try me, 452," 494 said, hands held out in invitation for an answer. He really wanted to know what possessed 12 genetically engineered soldiers, bred since birth to follow orders, to throw everything to the winds and escape. And spend their entire life after that being hunted by their creators.

Before Max could reply, Zack retorted, "They made one of us stay in the tank too long; he drowned. They cut up one of our unit when he had seizures; he's dead. Later they shot our 2IC right in front of us; she's dead too. Are those good enough reasons to leave? Not to mention all the others who were just dragged away, never to return. No one bothered to tell us what happened to them," His face twisted in suppressed anger. Zack never understood why the rest of the transgenic willingly stayed and continued to obey Manticore blindly. Like the cocky transgenic in front of him right now.

"You should have asked," a familiar voice suddenly said behind him.

t.b.c.

A/N: Okay…okay… I know that I should seek help for my addiction to cliffhangers. But you guys know me so well by now that you probably could guess who this is (grins)! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I don't need to tell you how much I love you reviews!

A/N: For those who are interested in knowing what the characters look like, please check out my homepage. There is a link in there for the cast.