Sightless Raven by Forever-Here-Forever-Alone

Note :: This is a story based right after, I would say, Maximum Ride : Schools Out - Forever.

P.O.V. :: Iggy

Pairing :: Fang x Iggy

Rating :: NC-17

~*~*~*~

My head lifted slightly, sensitive ears picking up the sounds of the rest of the Flock swarming around the area. We had once again escaped from Erasers; escaped from the school, and now we were just relaxing in a meadow, picking strawberries and stuff. Or that's what I could hear of them doing. My nose twitched, picking up the smell of flowers and fresh fruits. Well, I guess it wasn't /that/ bad now was it? A small smile moved over my face as the wind blew, rustling my, as I was told, strawberry blond hair around in my face.

Unlike the rest of the Flock, I couldn't see, so I didn't really enjoy picking up random things and popping them into my mouth to check if they were good or not. Instead, I sat idly in the field, listening to the others laughing and enjoying this small moment of peace and feeling the wind rustling through my skin and wings. It was nice to be able to let our wings out without others seeing us.

I heard Fang moving around, silent as ever, before I felt him sit down beside me. Fang was kind of like me. He could see, but he preferred not to do mindless acts like picking strawberries or playing in water or whatever we were doing that day. He was a little older, by a couple months, so I kind of looked up to him. Well, I couldn't see, but you know what I mean.

A tingle ran down my spine as I felt wings brush against mine. My head turned toward the direction of Fang, sightless eyes staring toward him. Fang was so random sometimes. I cocked my head, ready to say some snide or sarcastic comment before I felt the wings retreat. Sometimes, being blind really sucked. I leaned my head back, closing my never-seeing eyes and relaxing quietly. I could still hear everyone having a blast, so I wasn't particularly worried about any Erasers or White Coats sneaking up on us.

"You all right, Iggy?"

His voice was quiet, and dark, but I could hear it as clear as a bell. My head shifted slowly in the direction of Fang once again. Why was he asking me that? Tch. I was perfectly fine! Couldn't enjoy the relaxing day with the others, but I was fine. A small smile moved onto my face. Whether it was fake or not, I wasn't really sure, but I was fine. I knew I was.

"Huh? Course I am, Fang. What would give you the idea that the blind one isn't okay?" I asked, small sarcasm leaking into my voice.

I could feel his eyes on me. Maybe bringing sarcasm onto Fang was a bad idea… Oh well, already done. I let out a small chuckle before lying back, wings splayed out. I stretched my tall lanky body, feeling my shirt raise up and show my lean stomach. Before I realized it, my stomach was growling. I looked down, staring quietly before laughing and shaking my head. Guess it was time to refuel.

"Okay, guys, I think it's time to go get some grub! Come on, gather and get ready for take off!" Max called.

My head lifted before I slowly stood. I felt Fang move silently around me, heading toward the rest of the Flock and I followed quickly. Everyone seemed to be mumbling about having to leave, but I really didn't mind. My head tilted slightly, listening to the sound of footsteps and voices.

"I call Iggy!" Total shouted.

The little black dog was in my arms before I could protest.

"Oh my gosh! We should like, totally go to the mall! We can have whatever food we want and then some and no one will say a thing! We could get Chinese, and then tacos, and fries, and all sorts of things! Oh! Oh! And go shopping! Oh plea~se Max!" Nudge said from somewhere on my left.

"Nudge, sweetheart, we can't. We don't have the money and malls are crowded." Max explained.

"Garbage hunting?" Fang.

"Ew!" Nudge.

"Not that bad, Nudge! We used to do it all the time!" Gazzy.

"How about something fancy?" Angel.

"No." Fang and Max.

"Why don't we just hit up a burger joint?" Me.

"Yeah!" Gazzy.

So it was decided, a few moments later, that we would fly around until we found something that sold hamburgers. I felt two taps on my left hand, indicating that it was my turn to take off and feel where we go. I spread my long silver gray wings and flapped down hard while running. The air quickly caught, and I was up at least fifty feet. I felt wings brush mine, and followed them quietly. This was how I flew. I had to feel, rely on the others. The barest feel of downward air or brush of a wing told me where to go; when to turn.

I held the tiny dog in my arms as I flew, following the Flocks lead. This totally sucked. I sighed out, closing my eyes as my wings worked hard. I could hear them discussing possible places. It was finally settled that we would hit a McDonalds. I felt a wing brush against my chest and angled myself down, following the flock until I heard their feet touch. It was then that I pulled my feet down, wings folding gracefully as my feet touched.

As we walked, we pulled our wings tight against our bodies. My windbreaker was soon on my body, hiding my wings easily. Total had on a new vest that we had bought a while ago, saying "See and Eye Dog" on it and I had to put on sunglasses; keep up the image and everything. I followed them silently, feeling with my feet and fingers as I felt familiar hands touching my own every so often to tell me what was going on. I listened silently as we walked into the fast food place. My nose tingled with smells, and I relaxed slightly. It was so~ good smelling.

"Oh! I know what I want! I want a large soda, three salads, a fruit yogurt thing, and two orders of large fries." Nudge's order.

"Four hamburgers, two orders of chicken nuggets, two fries, one large soda." Fang's order.

"I want a salad, two kids meals, large fries, strawberry smoothie." Angel's order.

"I want one of all the combos!" Gazzy's order.

"Oh, Max, don't forget an order of chicken nuggets for Total!" Angel piped up.

"I know, Ange. Gazzy, pick something easier." Max said.

"Oh fine. I want a number one, two, three, five, nine, and… four. … And my soda!" Gazzy said grumpily.

"I'll just have four hamburgers, four large fries, a salad, and the twenty nuggets with a large soda." I murmured.

"Okay, I want a hamburger, nuggets, three fries, a salad and a large soda." Max murmured. "So, all together we need five large sodas, six salads, one fruit yogurt thing, twelve fries, nine hamburgers, five orders of nuggets, two kids meals, a strawberry smoothie, a number one, two, three, four, five, and nine… that all?"

"I want ice cream!" Gazzy said quickly.

"Okay…and a cone." Max said, her voice sweet.

If I could see the cashiers face, I know I would have laughed. Instead, I snickered as the other giggled under their breaths. The total was horrid, I won't even go into details, but half an hour later we were munching on about half our meal and talking to each other quietly. I was placed between Fang and Nudge, and opposite us were Angel, Gazzy, and Max.

"I'm telling you! I still think we should go find our families!" Nudge said between bites.

"But Nudge! We know how badly that could turn out! Just look at what happened to Ig-" Max seemed to cut herself off.

I lifted my head from my hamburger and blinked, gulping down the food. "Yeah… Don't want to be a showcase. It kind of hurt, ya know?"

Shockingly, Nudge went silent. I felt a hand on my own. It was small, and soft. So I figured it was Angel's. I let a small smile move onto my face and took another bite of my hamburger before popping a few fries in my mouth. The rest of lunch was quiet. We even left quietly, which was odd. Total let out a small yip and jumped up into my arms. I smiled softly, taking off with the rest of the Flock.

We flew for the rest of the day, and found a nice, quiet forest to land in. With quiet precisian, we landed and found trees we were comfortable in. I reached out, knowing what was coming. They formed the normal bumping fists thing around my hand, so I would know where to go. I smiled and stretched my wings out, closing my eyes and relaxing. I could ear the rest of the flock falling asleep.

"Iggy?"

My head lifted slightly, body tired now. I let out a yawn, wings flopping down and hanging somewhat low. I felt wing tips brush up against my bare arms, got to love T-shirts, and shifted my head to keep my head toward the speaker. Fang… why was he talking to me so much lately? I cocked my head, letting out a small yawn.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

The same question…? "Um…yeah. I'm perfectly fine, Fang… are you?"

There was no response. I frowned and closed my eyes, drifting to sleep quietly, hoping that Fang would be normal when we woke up for morning flight.

P.O.V. :: Iggy

Pairing :: Fang x Iggy

Rating :: NC-17

Note :: I had a person comment telling me to get the two together. So we all know, this story is very plot based, and is more drama/angst than it is romance. Later in the story, you'll find more romance. Keep reading, my friends.

Note 2.0 :: In later chapters, I will change from Iggy to Fang. Please, pay attention to the P.O.V. up at the top. ^^

WARNING :: This is the last chapter that will seem not as 'gore-ish'. So if you can not handle what some of the experiment I have in mind, I will be putting warnings up from here on out, so that if you are squeamish or unsure of certain things, you do not have to read, and can skip that chapter, and I will work in a overview of what happened into the next chapter.

~*~*~*~

All was quite. But something didn't seem right. I had woken up hours ago, feeling like something was wrong. The hair on the back of my neck was standing up, and my wings were tight, as were the rest of my muscles. My eyes, sightless as they were, were wide open, staring at nothing. Something was definitely wrong, and I didn't like it at all. I sniffed, catching the smell of dog and the morning mists.

Heavy footfall was coming. I turned, pulling myself into a sitting position. Listening quietly, I heard the sound of the Flock snoring. I tried to pick out Max's smell, tilting my head and listening quietly. I couldn't pick her out, ears filled with the sound of footfall and the smell of fresh Erasers growing stronger and stronger. How did they find us here?

"Max…" I was as quiet as possible, hoping she had heard me.

The sound of stopped snoring distracted me. They were awake now. I heard Max say a curse, and Fang was silently moving closer toward me. I could only tell by the feel of space shifting around me, and his body structure was far bigger than the three little ones. I knew that Nudge was holding her tongue; I knew that Angel was keeping little Total quiet as a mouse; that Gazzy was getting highly excited.

And that I was going to be the one that was going to get hurt the most.

"Six little birds, sleeping in a tree, time to see where they could be~" The gravely voice of Ari, singing a nursery rhyme with altered words caught my ears.

Max growled above me, "Hey mutt face, what do you want?"

The insult seemed to make Ari angrier, "Time to die, Max!"

And so the fight began.

I didn't know what I was doing, but I jumped out of the tree and aimed for the closest breath I could hear. My foot came in contact with something hard, and I heard a loud whoosh as air left whomever I kicked. I listened as I felt people coming toward me. Ducking down, I kicked out once again at something that came close to me. The noise of fighting was drowning out my major sense, and it distracted me.

The feel of someone grabbing me made me cry out. I lashed out toward them, but felt my arm grabbed. Someone punched me hard in the ribs, and I gasped, air leaving me. I heard the sound of a crack, and knew my rib was cracked. I continued to struggle, trying to fight. I beat my wings, feeling them crash against objects and Erasers. It wasn't until bother were grabbed did I really howl out, feeling them pulled and bound behind me.

"Iggy! Fang!" Max shouted, breathless and fighting still.

It wasn't until she screamed did I hear Fang scream out in pain. My head whipped in all directions, trying to pinpoint noises as I struggled and growled, fighting the best I could. I heard Angel take off into the air at Max's command, as did Gazzy. Nudge was somewhere to my left. Fang… I couldn't hear him; couldn't feel him. Max was in front of me, fighting with Ari, I guessed.

I lashed out once more, foot coming in contact with an Eraser before I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, where my neck connected. If I had eyes to see, they would be seeing stars. A dizzy spell quickly attacked me, and before I knew it, the world had gone black. And not just my eyes, everything was dark, and I was gone.

~*~*~*~

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…

"Ughnn…" My hand flew to the back of my head, rubbing quietly.

I heard the sound of machines, and voices. The smell of medical cleaning solution and other such things caught my nose, and I choked back a gag. Sitting up, I felt around me, feeling bars. My hand lifted up, tracing the roof of the cage about me. I had to figure out how high it was. If I kept my wings folded, I might have been able to crawl around in the cage, allowing myself to move in some ways.

"Iggy…"

I turned my head to the right, hearing the hoarse call. Crawling forward, I reached out to touch the bars and sat by them, head turned toward the noise. I sniffed, coughing and shaking my head. Bad mistake. Closing my sightless eyes, I tried to feel who was around me, but only seemed to feel compressed and trapped. My breath started to escape me in short intervals. I was going to hyperventilate in the worst place possible.

"F-Fang?"

"Iggy, calm down. We can get out of here. You know we can. We're stronger than they are." Fang said, voice even.

I shifted closer to the bars, leaning against them on my side. I brought my knees to my chest, arms winding around my legs. I hated this. Hated feeling so enclosed. Like a rat in a cage.

Exactly, like a rat in a cage.

I let out a small groan, closing my eyes tightly. The smells alone were making me feel sick. The noises, the voices, everything about this place made me feel like I was going to break down and die right there. This was the place that gave me wings; the place that took my eyes from me. The place that had taken everyone in his life and ruined them. I lifted my head, bangs brushing against my face.

Fang was sitting quietly in another cage. I could hear him breathing; hear the shifting of his clothes when he moved around. He let out a sigh, and shifted again. I felt fingers against my hand, and turned my head toward my hand. I moved carefully, feeling over Fang's hand as he moved his own to grip mine. I could feel the slightly scratches along his palm and the top of his hand. Something had bit him, and it only took me one guess to know what it was.

Fang's hand gripped around mine tighter, possibly because I had tensed up. I took that time to count my injuries. I knew one of my ribs was broken, I had heard that. Both my wings were sore. That could have been from the binding. I could feel a gash on my thigh, and possibly a bite on my shoulder. Turning my head once more toward Fang, I sniffed some. I could smell blood past the medical smell. So he had been hurt as well. A small sigh fell from my lips.

"How bad are you hurt, Fang?" I muttered, head lowering some.

Fang was silent for some time before he let out a small grunt, "I'm fine."

"Which means you're not. Such a pain. I swear."

"What do you mean?"

"You always say you're fine when you're bad off. When you're actually okay, you just mumble, and when you're horrible, you groan. You think I don't hear all that, Fang?"

"…"

"See?"

Fang grunted and blew some air from his mouth. I let a slight smirk fall on my features. I knew it. He was as bad as I was. I listened quietly. I didn't hear the others, so I could say that they were safe and coming to get us. Which meant that Fang and me were the only ones here. Unless they had Max and the others in separate areas or something. I let out a slight frustrated sigh. I really was getting tired of all this thinking sometimes.

"They didn't take the others." Fang said, voice quiet now.

"Oh… Okay, thanks." I murmured.

"Aww, look at the little birds. Holding hands."

The gravely voice caused both of us to tense, and I quickly yanked my hand back, glaring at whatever was in front of me. I let out a small snarl and grabbed the bars, leaning forward some. Fang just seemed to look over, but I knew he was tense and angry. He hated to be teased, and the person teasing him was even worse.

"Something wrong, love birds?" Ari teased, a slightly smug tone in his voice.

P.O.V. :: Iggy/Fang

Pairing :: Fang x Iggy

Rating :: NC-17

Note :: This chapter gets into the bad things. Not the good bad things, but the bad bad things. So, just so we all know.

Anger quickly took over my body. My wings tensed, splaying out as far as they could to try and make myself seem more intimidating. I sneered and snarled through the bars, baring my teeth. Despite no sight, I knew my knuckled were white with how tight my hands were gripping the bar. Bangs shifted in front of my eyes, not that it mattered.

My tuned ears picked up the sound of foots approaching us; me. I braced myself, ready for some sort of violent act. I could hear Ari, growling, but he sounded far off, not near the cage. Space shifted near me, someone close. Fang tensed, moving close toward my cage and panting, not in something good, but in anger.

Fingers touched my face, and I quickly backed up, banging my wings back against the opposite side of the cage. Fang roared in anger beside me, but seemed to be distant. I felt my cage moving, someone pulling me away. I struggled in the cage, fear quickly taking over. I almost resulted to begging.

Almost.

:: WARNING! ::
: Things will be gore-ish for the rest of the chapter. :

: You have been warned. :

The smell was making me sick. My head spun. I wanted to be out of here, flying high in the air, feeling the cold wind. But instead, I was in a small room, strapped to a small table with my limbs strapped down, wings chained to a wall so I couldn't move them. The restraints, mainly my fault, were cutting deep into my wrists and ankles.

I heard footfall, smelt drugs, felt pain. I kept my teeth clenched, knowing that if I dare utter a syllable that would make me seem weak, they would take advantage of it. I laid silent, still, feeling them moving easily about me. I heard them talking, listening with all my energy.

"What do you mean?"

"Well apparently he's been blind since we got him…"

"You mean recently or…"

"When we stole him. I guess the graphing of the DNA really messed up his eyes…"

"And we're going to try and fix it? What if we ruin him more?"

"Does it really matter? They're all failed experiments. They will be terminated at some point or another. Might as well get what we can from them now."

"Yeah, I guess…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just unsure about what we're doing. But the Director said, right? So let's get to it!"

They laughed.

I hissed lightly under my breath, trying to hide my fear. Noises started to surround me, causing me to start to go into a panic. I tossed my head lightly to the side before feeling a cuff go around my neck. I heard a snap, and suddenly I couldn't move my head. I opened my mouth to speak, but a gag entered, blocking my vocals. Ear plugs were placed in my highly sensitive ears, blocking sound.

Leaving me with only touch as a means of knowing what was going on.

Needless to say, panic quickly took over, with fear right behind it.

I thrashed, tossing my body as best I could in the restraints. My head, wrists, ankles, and wings bound so tight I felt the braces slit into my skin, felt blood running down my limbs. My eyes were closed, tight. They would have to force me to keep them open if they wanted to experiment on my eyes. I didn't care if they were never seeing; no one was going to touch me like I was a test.

Something cold touched my face, pinched my eyelids. I hissed, trying to scream at them from behind the gag. My eyes were forced open. Staring at nothing, yet staring at pain. I trashed once more, growling as best I could, cussing and screaming incoherently. Suddenly all the touch faded. And then, like rain drops, they hit me all at once.

A needle stabbed into the flesh on my arm, something cold injected into my system.

Someone pressed something burning hot against my calf, causing me to jerk in pain.

Another needle found its way slowly into my eye. I screamed.

Something prodded my other eye, trying to make it see.

Feathers were being plucked from different parts of both wings.

The needles were withdrawn, and replaced with new ones.

Electricity was sent into my system from the metal objects on my eyes, making my vision turn white instead of black, but fading back to the normal state.

Something slit into my flesh on my side, replaced with a freezing injection. I screamed again.

Pain.

Torture.

The screaming didn't stop.

P.O.V. ~ Fang

I watched as they took him away, his body thrashing in the cage. Rage over took my form, causing me to thrash as well until a metal prong was shoved into my cage, sending an electric shock through my system. I hissed and backed away, glaring daggers at the fool who dared test me. My wings beat in the cage, causing the novice White Coat to back away slowly.

Ari laughed, shaking his head. "Don't worry you pathetic fly. He won't be hurt… Much."

I growled and threw myself at the side of the cage, causing it to rock. Ari arched a furry brow and laughed, before leaving. His chuckles tormented me down the hall, and I cursed slowly, staring at the left open door.

Seconds… Minutes past in utter silence except my breathing. I stared at the open doors, wishing Iggy would come back; wishing they would return him. My ears picked up the faint sound of talking, but I couldn't pick up what they were discussing. Once more, it was quiet. And then…

The screams caught my ears, as muffled as they were. My head lifted, violet black eyes staring toward the open doors.

They had been left open for a reason.

Pain struck my heart, causing me to fall heavily against the bars. I listened, hearing every pain wretched scream coming from Iggy's throat. My mind reeled, imagining what they were doing to one of my closest friends; one of the Flock. My stomach churned, and I turned to empty what I did have onto the tiled floor. I saw stars, and stared at the bottom of my cage as a weakness I had never experienced took over my body.

For the first time in my life, I felt tears coarse down my cheeks.