Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel or Twilight

Summary: What if Lydecker realized what was really important? The happiness of his 'kids'. Over the years since the escape of Unit 2 he has changed Manticore's conditions to become more humane while remaining a government facility. X5-481, Bella, is the first to try out a new regiment where soldiers are free to be outside of the facility but they must still perform their duties as a soldier (go on missions). PS None of the bad encounters with Lydecker happened (Prodigy and Cold Comfort did happen).

Chapter 2: Siblings Reunited

Bella's desire… no… need to reunite with Ben cut the travel time from 1 and a half hours to only 1 hour as she exceeded the speed limit extensively. Once at the edge of the woods closest to the factory where Lydecker put Ben last, she parked her bike at the edge of the road covering it with foliage before heading out on foot. She had the necessary equipment to subdue Ben: rope and a couple of daggers, as well as a first aid kit. She didn't bring a gun with her not wanting to incapacitate her friend.

The forest was dense and damp making it hard to make out any sounds but Bella listened well as she ran in case that Ben had decided to leave the factory to kill again. It was a good thing that she did because about 800 meters away from the factory she heard voices. She changed her direction accordingly and upped her pace to a run, fast for normal humans but a suitable pace for transgenics; she wanted to ensure that she had enough energy to fight off Ben if he didn't recognize her or simply was not in the right state of mind to care.

Bella got closer and closer to the voices and soon enough she could make out words.

"We can let him go. We can find someone better," a girl said, trying to reason with the other person, probably Ben. Bella wondered who this girl was.

"No. This is for you Maxie, so you can finally understand what it is I'm doing." That was definitely Ben, but who was Maxie? Could it be possible… was it Max from her previous unit, her sister Max? Then she heard fighting…

Bella pushed herself to the limit wanting desperately to see her loved ones again and also to stop them from hurting each other. When she finally caught sight of her fellow transgenics she saw them in a face off waiting to counter or make the next move. There was no way she could let the fight go any further; she already saw the makings of a bruise on Ben's jaw and Max's arm, so she made her presence known by yelling, "Max! Ben! Stop, please don't fight anymore!"

She saw the two become startled by her voice and saw that Ben was about to use the distraction to punch Max in the jaw but Bella rushed in to stop it. She blurred and twisted his arm and then placed him in a hold before saying, "Ben it's me Bella! Please stop this." She was desperate for him to see reason and it could be heard in her voice.

"Bella? It's really you? This isn't a dream?" Ben stopped struggling when he heard Bella's name. The two were particularly close back when they were kids, always having each other's backs. There was no way that they could intentionally hurt each other, even after not seeing one another for 10 years.

"Yeah, it's me," Bella said softly as she let Ben go. She then turned around and swept away her waist long mahogany hair exposing her barcode to Max and Ben.

"Bella… I thought they killed you when you were taken away…"Max croaked out stepping forward to give Bella a hug. "We would have never left if we knew you were still alive."

"I know… I know," Bella said hugging her elder sister tightly. She let go only to be engulfed in another hug by Ben. Once the reunion was complete the questions came…

"What are you doing here Bella? Not that I'm complaining," Max asked curiously.

"Do you trust me?" Bella asked remembering what Brin and Zack thought about Manticore before they were taken back. She didn't want to lose her family just when she found them again.

"Of course we do Bella," Ben immediately answered, while Max nodded after a few seconds of consideration.

"Ok… I was given a mission to stop Ben from killing again," Bella said slowly. She awaited the suspicion that would immediately follow her words.

"A mission…? From Manticore!" Max exclaimed. She immediately blurred and pushed Bella into a nearby tree and then holding her up against it.

"Yeah, bu...t I'm alone a...nd my orders were n...ot to take him ba...ck to Mantic...ore," Bella rasped out finding it hard to talk with her face pressed against the tree.

"Let Bella go Max," Ben said harshly. At first it seemed like Max didn't listen, but a couple of seconds later Bella was let go from Max's hold.

"Talk now," Max ordered coldly and Bella did just that.

She explained how after Unit 2's escape Lydecker or the board of directors didn't want a repeat of that ever again and how somehow (Bella didn't know how) Lydecker actually gained a heart and changed Manticore's regulations. She talked about how different and much more humane Manticore had become and how the board of directors called of the search for Unit 2's escapees because they were laying low and didn't want to spend any more money on them. Then she continued on to explain her situation and the new program Lydecker was trying out as well as her mission concerning Ben. After she was finished her story, both Max and Ben stared at her incredulously.

"Baby girl, are you sure that we're talking about the same Manticore?" Ben asked. Bella smiled at the use of the term of endearment he used back at Manticore then frowned when he didn't believe her.

"Yeah, I have trouble believing that Manticore stopped cranking out the perfect soldiers," Max added.

Bella shook her head apparently not getting her message across correctly. "They're still about making the perfect soldiers Max, just more humane about it. They actually care about their soldiers now. They took away the brainwashing in re-indoctrination and stopped using Psy-Ops to get information out of their soldiers forcefully."

"It still sounds like a very farfetched idea to me," Max said still not quite believing what Bella said about Manticore.

"Think about it sis. When's the last time that Manticore TAC teams actually tried to apprehend you, or you Ben?" Bella asked, trying out a different tactic.

"At the base when Brin was captured and was about to be sold and when they took in Zack after they tried getting me," Max said triumphantly.

"Did they actually try to apprehend you, or was it just to secure Brin's safety. I know that she had developed Progeria at the time. As for Zack, well he killed someone, they had no choice; he was risking exposure."

Now that Max thought about it, the TAC team did seem to focus more on getting Brin than getting her or Zack and from Manticore's perspective (and she couldn't believe she was actually thinking this) his capture did make sense. Still, there was one more piece of evidence that she needed in order to even begin to accept that Manticore had changed.

"I want to talk to Brin and Zack, and there's still no way in hell I'm going back to Manticore, even if it has changed."

Bella smiled understandingly and nodded, "Later, they're…" she checked her watch before saying, "…still in the middle of field exercise. During dinner which is in 1 and a half hours I'll let you use my cell to call her. Anything else?" Bella asked looking from Max to Ben.

"Yeah… Will they let me back in?" Ben asked quietly, a bit ashamed of his question.

Max's eyes widened in shock but one look at Ben's eyes and she knew why he had asked the question. "I need… help."

"They'll accept you with open arms. See they kind of changed your status from traitors and deserters to the inspirers of change. Though like every population, there will always be douche bags," Bella said reminiscently, remembering when they're lessons no longer involved looking at the faces of her family with those horrid titles and then Derek, that stupid X5.

"This is all too weird," Max said.

"Tell me about it, you didn't live through it," Bella said jokingly. Max smiled at her sis while Ben's eyes were filled with hope.

This made Bella remember the reason she was here in the first place and probably the reason Max was here too. "Ben… I don't really want to ask you but I need to know, why'd you do it?" The information from the mission folder flashed in Bella's thoughts: teeth pulled out, barcode tattoo on the victims - all the same number, and brutal murders.

"I… I don't really know. I remember doing it all and when I look back I find that I hate myself but I don't really know why I did it. I remember telling Max that I felt lost out here where back at Manticore it all made sense but really that explanation doesn't fit, not now anyways. I just feel like it was almost all a dream. I don't know what's wrong with me…" Ben looked so sad and was filled to the brim with guilt; Bella couldn't help but give him another hug which was joined by Max to form a group hug.

"It's not your fault Ben," Max said equally distraught because of what her brother was feeling.

"We love you either way, we're family, we stick together no matter what," Bella reassured him. A small smile from Ben told them that he appreciated the gesture but that he wasn't quite ready to forgive himself just yet; at least not until he was sure that it wouldn't happen again.

"So what's the plan now?" Bella said, as they began trekking away from the factory and to where Max stashed her bike, which was in the same direction as where Bella stashed hers.

"I need to tell Logan, my friend, that everything's fine. We can head back to his place to catch up and wait until you can call Brin and Zack. You're still a potential enemy after all," Max said with a fake glare.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Yet you're taking me with you to your friend's place. I didn't know that 10 years away would make you forget all your training Max."

"Well you know that hostage situations were always Max's downfall," Ben smirked, joining in on the fun.

Now it was Max's turn to roll her eyes. "You want to say that to my face? I can kick your ass anytime anywhere bro."

"I'll take you on any day sis," Ben replied with the same confident tone that Max had.

"Sorry Ben but I'm betting on Max if you two were ever to fight," Bella laughed at the pout that was displayed on Ben's visage. "She's just the better fighter."

"More like the dirtier fighter," Ben whispered conspiringly which earned up a punch on the shoulder from Max.

"What'd you say Ben?"

"Err… that I bow down to your prowess," Ben said, a bit frightened of the growl that erupted from Max.

"Good boy."

Bella couldn't take it anymore and she burst out laughing. It was like nothing had changed… There was still the family connection that bound them together and nothing could break it.

Still at the same time, they were all grown up now. There were probably lots of things that had changed and Bella didn't know about; what were their hobbies? Did they have significant other?

None of that mattered at the moment though because they were still family and connected no matter what. The rest of the walk to the bikes was taken up by chatter and catching up with each other. All three of them felt like they belonged.

A/N : Another chapter finished =D. Still no Cullens sorry =/. In a few more chapters they'll appear.