New chapter, thank me by hitting that button there, thanks!

BlueAngel137- Thanks so much for the review. I'm so glad you like it and you think it's plausable, but believe me, I'm a huge sucker for AUs, but I'm quite good at it. I'm sorry I can't offer a little more in this chapter, it's a lead for the next few that will get better. I like writing darker fics in third person just because it brings the reader closer to the character. Sometimes I can hardly connect with fics anymore, I always try to do something fresh for a show on nearly five years ago. But thank you so MUCH for your review. Meant a lot.

angelofdarkness78 - Thank you for your review! I'm glad it's been a while. It seems like the majority of fics now are M/A. It's been a very long time since I wrote DA, I use to a lot, but I'm taking a short break from the Alias fics I'm so well known for just because it's getting a little tiring with all the spying and angst. You might recongize a lot of Alias themes or situations, maybe even slight characterizations in my DA fics...it's hard to shake off when you wrote in that style for so long and you switch to something a little more edgier and science-fiction wise. I REALLY APPERCIATE your review. Made my day!

Chapter Two

You woke up in a hospital bed. You felt better. Sober is the word your were trying to look for. You instantly thought that it was over. Maybe you talked. Either way, you hallucinated; you saw things—people who weren't real. You think they tricked you and you fell for it. But when you heard her footsteps you instantly know that the worst was true. That was your baby sister. She hovered over you, looking at you like the enemy. You thought she wouldn't have broken, but she had. The only question in your mind was: how? Did you talk? Did she come back for you, god forbid? Did she get caught?

"Max?" You asked from the bed. You might have not been drugged to a very high extent, but you were still weak. You still doubted it was really her. "They got to you, Maxie…they got you."

"Nothing that wasn't the inevitable." She answered in a flat tone. You grimace as you see that she's lost. You'll never get her back. Your family was falling apart piece by piece. Your soldiers, the pawns, falling down to the Colonel, the king. "It was for the best. I finally accepted my destiny."

She put a hand on yours and you still feel her warmth. A spark of hope inspired you to call out to her. You think about Jam Pony, her best friend Cindy, her motorcycle, and your even desperate enough to speak of Logan Cale.

"Maxie…that's not true. You didn't want this. That's why you gave me such a hard time." Her face denied it but you kept going trying to remind her of the life she once had, the life she loved too much to sacrifice for you. "You remember your motorcycle, you must have loved that thing more than me if that's possible? Cindy and Sketchy, everyone else in Seattle?"

"Shut up!" She ordered. You didn't even cause a nick in her glass wall Manticore built for her. You closed your mouth, unable to think that your baby sister gave you a deadening glare and harsh order. You wanted to cry.

You failed her.

You failed her.

You failed her.

She raised her eyebrow at you. "You seem to remember me fine. How about we work on the others, shall we?"

You bit you lip. She's not going to waste time on you. She's going to make you hurt and you won't tell her anything. You know Lydecker wanted you to break. Just looking at her, you almost did. But you won't let them win. You won't let them use Max.

"I won't tell you anything, Max! You go run back to your puppet master and tell him he can exploit you all he wants! I won't say a word!"

You see she's frustrated. She might get solitary for this. You figure she might even get worse. You don't want them to hurt her but maybe she'll rebel, maybe she'll see the light the more they beat her down. Like they did ten years ago. You see that she took a turn around the bed, turning her back to the window you knew Lydecker was standing behind. She swallowed and began to think about if she should come out of her forced façade.

"It isn't as bad as you think it is, Zack."

She looked down at you, used your name, and sympathized with you. Her face softened slightly as she smiled at you. She still loved you after all those months being indoctrinated. But they got to her, but her will was strong enough to still love you, not matter what you done against Manticore.

She still loved you.

"It's not like it was when we were kids. It's different."

You don't know what to say. You don't know if it's an act or she really has that soft side still. If it has, it's been tainted and disturbed. How can she tell him that? Does she remember Jack on the autopsy table? Does she remember Lydecker killing Eva, their sister? Obviously, it no longer matters, Manticore won and Max had no concern to fight back anymore.

"You don't know how happy I am that your back home." She smiled down at you when her hand brushed against your forearm. Electric currents began to tickle your skin when her fingers lovingly touched you. You eyed them for a moment before your blue, icy eyes shot up towards hers.

"I missed you, Zack."

Her hand withdrew quickly when the door opened wide. You saw her. Your sister, Brin. But, it wasn't your sister either anymore. She might even have a colder disposition than Max, if it was possible, but she doesn't even look at you. You're the enemy to her, but not to Max. You were still her brother. 'You just had issues to work out.' Brin, on the other hand, would kill you in an instant. Why? You asked, but you'll never get an answer. Instead, your eyes watch as Max's smile vanished and her face went cold. But she didn't turn, she kept looking straight at you.

"The Colonel would like to see you, 452. Now."

"You're not supposed to be here, 734!" You watched Max disapprove. It isn't such a harsh order, more like an exhausting one. You wonder why Brin isn't supposed to be there and you wonder why Max was.

"I understand. He said it was urgent." She told Max.

She blinked. She turned around and approached Brin with a deadly, purposeful glide. "Urgent—what, 734?"

You saw Brin's face turn defiant, but she resisted punching her in the face like she wanted to. You don't know what sort of look she exchanging with her but you're awfully curious, Max was never the one to get in another soldier's face. You just can't imagine her stepping out of her place even if she was never the obedient one.

"Urgent," Brin said before she continued. "Ma'am."

You nearly lost your breath as Bring stepped out of the way and saluted.

Max was her commanding officer.

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