| Category: | Maximum Ride |
| Genre: | Adventure, Romance |
| Language: | English |
| Status: | In-Progress |
| Published: | 2006-07-23 00:46:51 |
| Updated: | 2008-02-15 19:36:04 |
| Packaged: | 2021-05-07 03:25:43 |
| Rating: | K+ |
| Chapters: | 3 |
| Words: | 4,619 |
| Publisher: | www.fanfiction.net |
| Summary: | There's a reason for every lullaby sung. To soothe troubled children or make babies fall asleep. But as always, it's a different case for the Flock. |
1. You are My Sunshine
2. Mockingbird
3. Natsuhiboshi
Lullabies... I grew up knowing them. They're supposed to be cheerful and sometimes help the baby sleep. and the songs, they're all innocent too. But I looked up lyrics to half of them are like really depressing. But I try and use some of the lullabies I know the best.
How many Chapters: Minimum: 7, Maximum amount: 12. I'll let you know
I might not update this one a lot but it's on the top priority list, along with WCS and Slow Down for Danny Phantom. Besides I'm going to be really busy in the coming week so updates to any story will come later and later. (sorry about that)
Max's POV
At Anycase, Enjoy!
Lullabies:
Chapter 1:
You Are My Sunshine
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…"
I whipped my head around at the person singing softly behind me. An old woman petting her cat. Oh. I remember this lullaby. It used to be the way of telling me that everything was fine. Well, that's what it felt like whenever Jeb would sing it to me.
I always thought of sunflowers when I heard that song. It used to make me feel warm inside. Now it's just haunting...
"You make me happy when skies are gray…"
Stop it! I ran away from that woman but the song became haunting in my ears. Stop it! I shook my head in fury. I wanted out! That song brought up so many memories I wish I could forget. It used to be my comfort but now it's my torture.
I wheeled around the corner, heading back to the small flat the flock and I found. They would be waiting for me to come back. I told them I'd scope out the area. Every second my feet pounded against the ground the more that lullaby etched its way into my mind.
GO AWAY!
My mind screamed towards the song. I slowed to a walk when I reached the building. I didn't want the flock to worry.
I walked up the stairs as calmly as I could with that lullaby stuck in my head, opening the door to the flat feeling sick. The flock was playing cards in the middle of the room. I could only smile meekly. "There are a few Mom and Pop grocery stores around, we should be good for a while." I closed the door and sat down in their circle.
They were playing poker, how amusing. I don't even want to know how Iggy knows what cards he has. Iggy gets weirder by the second. I looked around the circle, there's Fang, a perfect poker face. I grinned at that, he always has the same expression, no matter what. Angel was showing her cards to Total and Gazzy looked as if he was planning to rig a bomb soon. Nudge was abnormally quiet though…
I gazed at her in question. She looked depressed. I wonder what happened to make her fall so silent. I shivered slightly; Fang lifted his gaze from his cards to look at me. I gave him a smile telling him I was alright. Don't you ever get those random shivers telling you that something's going to happen? I do, and I seriously hope Erasers aren't going to attack us.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshineI sat beside Fang during his watch. "Did Jeb ever sing a lullaby to you?" I asked. Fang looked at me, surprised at my question. I wouldn't blame him. A stupid question, a childish question, and I had asked it.
"He sung one to me. I never heard him sing it to anyone else." Fang's voice was quieter than normal. "I knew he sung a lullaby to you but I know it wasn't the one he sung to me."
"Can you sing it?" He looked at me as if I were crazy before nodding. I know I'm crazy, in your eyes anyway. I shivered again but this time it was because of the wind. Fang wrapped an arm around me, rubbing one of my arms to warm me up.
"It's pretty stupid though." Fang frowned at the sky. I nodded in acknowledgement. "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mocking bird don't sing, Daddy's going to buy you a diamond ring." I snickered at the song. Fang glared at me. "I told you it was stupid Max." We sat in silence for a few minutes before he sighed. "The only thing I don't understand is that whenever he sung it something bad would happen afterwards."
"Coincidence?" I asked. Fang shrugged, his hand running up and down my arm continuously. I leaned my head against Fang's shoulder and breathed in his scent quietly.
I felt safe in his arms. I looked up at Fang; his eyes were scanning the area for intruders or attackers. His jaw was set and firm, so serious I could almost laugh. I didn't laugh; it would've been rude.
The lullaby played softly in my mind, a little girl seemed to be singing it. We didn't bother going in when it was Iggy's shift; in fact, we took Iggy's shift. Both of us, we didn't want to leave.
I looked up at Fang once more, just as the first light was coming through the cloudy skies. He looked slightly tired and I could understand that, we've barely got any sleep in the past two weeks. I hate to admit this to you but I love him. I mean he's the best friend anyone can ask for but he's more than a best friend, a brother or anything else. He's more than that. His silence causes me to wonder but he's so helpful when I'm down or out. And really, I wouldn't be anything without Fang.
I began humming the lullaby softly as a tip of yellow flooded the sky. Fang looked at me, slightly surprised I was humming. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…" I began singing softly. Why was I singing anyway? I hate this song to the extreme.
"You make me happy when skies are gray…" A faint crash came from within the flat. I stopped singing and looked at Fang, his eyes were wide, did an Eraser sneak in without our knowing? We jumped to our feet and burst into the flat to see Iggy, Nudge and Angel struggling against five Erasers.
How did we miss it? How did we miss ten Erasers getting into the flat? I hurled myself at an Eraser, making it drop Angel. Two Erasers were stuffing Gazzy and Total into a sack. "Fang!" I yelled, directing his attention to Gazzy as I hit two that were struggling with Nudge.
WHAM!
Insert–cuss–word–here. Ari slammed me against the wall, choking me. I kicked at him but he held firm, his other hand pinned my hands to my stomach, I was unable to move. I was struggling for air while the rest of my flock was losing to a pack of Erasers. No! This can't be happening!
Fang yelled towards me as three Erasers began stuffing him in a bag. No! Don't take them! Don't take Fang! The Erasers tied all the bags and threw them on their backs. You can't just take my flock! One by one Erasers jumped out the window.
Strangely enough as I continued to struggle against Ari's hold and watch my flock get kidnapped, that lullaby popped into my head once more. What a wonderful time to have a flipping lullaby pop into my head. Not.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy, when skies are gray…
Ari threw me across the room and jumped out of the window, following the other Erasers. Great. I'm coughing, I lost a battle against Ari, and I just lost my flock. What else could go wrong!
The clouds rumbled threateningly. I glared at it. The rising sun disappeared in the storm clouds and I was now stuck in darkness. Wind blew hard into the flat, making my hair billow around my face as I continued to glare at the window where my flock was taken.
They took my flock; they took Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, and Total. They stole my Angel again. THEY KIDNAPPED FANG!
I'm more than ticked off. I'm past mad. How would you feel if the love of your life was suddenly taken from you along with your family? Depressed? I don't have time for depressed.
I faintly heard my lullaby being sung as the wind gusted through the room. I glared at the sky thinking of how I would rescue my family.
"You
never know dear, how much I love you,
till
you take my sunshine away."
Preview of Next Chapter:
Chapter 2: Mockingbird
(Fang's POV)
I hear that lullaby again... I haven't heard since Jeb left all those years ago...
Hush little baby don't say a word,
Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
And if that Mockingbird don't sin-
I let out a frustrated cry. Do you have any idea what it's like to be stuffed in a crate too small for you? My crate's a little bigger than Angel's and she's already cramped in hers. I need room and that annoying song out of my head!
Whenever I hear it bad things happen. When Jeb sang it to me, it was before Iggy broke his nose, Max sprained her ankle, Angel came down with some sort of bird flu, and when I sang it, Erasers attacked. I hate that song. "I hate mockingbirds." I muttered, looking out of my crate in search of the rest of the flock.
"Now why would you hate such an innocent animal?" I knew that voice from anywhere. Jeb.
O.o.O.o.O
Adieu
:bow:
Nightwing
A year and some months. That's how long this song has been on hiatus. And finally, the chapter you've all been waiting for (maybe, dunno) So, Enjoy :D
Lullabies:
Chapter 2:
Mockingbird
Iggy was silent but breathing slower than usual. Angel wasn't awake, Gazzy wasn't here otherwise I would have recognized his scent, or even his movements. Nudge was missing too, and Max… Where was Max? Damnit! If they hurt her!
I gritted my teeth, I couldn't hear her. Not the common rustles of her wings, her breathing was absent, her voice –gone –
"Hush little baby don't say a word, Momma's gonna buy you a mocking bird. And if that mockingbird don't sing. Momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring." My eyes widened at her childish voice filled with laughter. That was her voice when she was seven, they were still trapped in the School then… "Did I get it right?" She giggled in her question. I heard Jeb laugh.
"Perfectly." I frowned at that. Perfection was overrated. "You've got to know your lullabies if you're going to be a mother you know."
"A mother?" Curiosity was in her voice. "Can I actually become a mother?"
"Yes." Jeb's voice was gentle. "I'm planning on getting you out after all and you can grow up to be a strong mother."
"And I'll sing lullabies! Especially my sunshine song!" I heard her humming her lullaby.
Do you want to be a mother, Max? I wondered.
And my song repeated.
Mockingbirds are horrible monsters, I glared. "I hate mockingbirds." I muttered as I heard Max giggle again.
"Now why would you hate such an innocent animal?" Jeb had appeared in front of me out of nowhere.
"Because they're annoying brats, tedious really." I snapped at Jeb. Jeb chuckled, what I wouldn't give to give him a punch to the face. "Where's Max?" I demanded.
"I don't know." He mused. "But I think your question is, where isn't she."
"Well?" I grounded out.
"She isn't here, I know that much." I fell silent in relief. "You have always been one of the most interesting experiments I've had to deal with, you know that? You have the most interesting power but you don't know what it is because it's the last thing you want. Gazzy is part mockingbird, you know that." I stiffened at the mention of that bird. "But it is you who sings the loudest." I could sense him smiling.
"I don't sing." I replied through a clenched jaw. "I'm not a mockingbird, check my wings, they're anything but." Jeb laughed full heartedly, it echoed through the room. Iggy and Angel woke up at the sound.
"Fang, you are the ultimate mockingbird. Your powers are so subtle, that's what makes you the most interesting experiment."
"Yeah, and you're as subtle as a flying mallet." I rolled my eyes.
"You've been watching too many cartoons again." Jeb scolded playfully. "Read more often," his voice became serious, "it'll help you in the long run." Silence passed between us and Angel shifted. "Think of a mockingbird, Fang. Innocent, pure, fascinating, and -what was that word you used? Oh yes – annoying." Jeb began tapping on the crate roof. "Think of all those things, are these you?"
"Never." I replied through gritted teeth.
"Liar." Jeb leaned down with a smile. His face was cold even though the crinkles in his eyes showed his happiness. He's a good actor. "Do you not notice it? The way your blood boils?" I clenched my jaw more. "The way it boils when someone uses a power around you. Your body craves to copy because that's what it can do. You're almost like Rouge from X-Men, the girl who takes others powers, only you don't take them. You copy them like a true mockingbird. When you mock their powers it becomes engraved in your skin, your blood. You know this, I know you've felt it. When your blood boiled so hot that you couldn't see straight, you were copying an experiment's ability to control emotions. Later on, you would copy Angel's ability to read minds but you never used it, it frightened you. A fascinating creature you are, Fang. The one who can mock and play faces. The ultimate mockingbird."
I glared at Jeb, wanting to punch his face in. This man was just as annoying as a mockingbird.
I leaned back in my crate, frowning. At least Max was safe. Iggy and Angel were nearby but Nudge and Gazzy weren't. I trust they'll be okay. I glanced at Jeb for a moment, stating clear I wanted to be left alone in my thoughts.
A mockingbird? Jeb's footsteps faded. Now that I thought of it, it made sense. The voices in the back of my mind that I determined to be the Flock's. I've attempted to keep their voices at bay but it's never worked. I guess that would make me an ultimate weapon then. Mocking a person's powers, their ability to survive. I could one up everyone, defeat them if I relied on my powers -if they truly were like a mockingbirds- and I could be the lone survivor who could live forever with powers unimaginable.
But I don't want that.
I want to be Fang. Not the mockingbird-kid. Fang is normal, sharp, and strong. Fang doesn't need powers nor will he ever.
Jeb will be pissed. I thought with a vague smile. He'll be so mad that I don't want these so called 'mockingbird powers'. But you know, that's his problem.
The song repeated for the billionth time.
My jaw tightened out of habit. Mockingbirds are annoying and have always been on my 'things to hate' list but I've never really known why. I suppose I do now. I feel bad for them. They lack their own identity, what makes them, well, them. Yes, they're called mockingbirds. But they mock, they copy, like the latest fashion trend, and they become something they were never supposed to be.
Preview:
Chapter 3:
Natsuhiboshi
(Nudge POV) now that's something I don't do everyday.
"Natsuhiboshi naze Akai," I whispered the tune in an attempt of comfort. Jeb had told me it was a Japanese lullaby, it was comforting and sad. I trembled in the cold room, this was no place to be talking, sharp instruments all around, ready to slice me open.
Gazzy was here. His feathers were all over the place and he looked so pale. His moans troubled me, did they kind of open him up and fiddle with his insides? Or what? Clipped his wings? That would be horrible!
Adieu
Nightwing
I met an Edward, for those Twilight fans out there, his personality fits him perfectly. There are times I see Edward in him but this boy... he isn't beautiful, he is somewhat above average but his full lips make one shy away. He is my dear friend and I've slowly realized he is an Edward. His eyes are carefully guarded, he makes an effort not to be too close as if being to close would bring out something he didn't want out. He is so careful, as am I around him, like Renee would put it "When he moves, even a little bit, you adjust your position at the same time. Like magnets... or gravity. You're like a... satellite, or something." We share the same careful smiles and we observe as I put on a less caring face than his own. He puts on a human charade to the public but when he talks to me we are so formal I wonder if we've been sent back in time just for our conversation. My replies are often cruel in the most subtle manner and his words to me are often worded so lyrically but the way they are worded, they cry out to offend me. He is not my Edward... but he will be someone's...
Lullabies
Chapter 3:
Natsuhiboshi
Gazzy was here. His feathers were all over the place and he looked so pale. His moans troubled me, did they kind of open him up and fiddle with his insides? Or what? Clipped his wings? That would be horrible!
I curled in my crate at an unfamiliar pain. I pulsed through me, fading away for only a few moments to come back with vengence. I sang my lullaby weakly, resisting to moan, and trying to remember what the lullaby meant.
Natsuhiboshi is the summer star, I remember that. I curled into a smaller ball, had the White Coats done something to hurt me?
"Summer star why are you lost?" Jeb's voice rang through my ears, a moan of pain finally escaping my lips. I flinched as someone opened my crate and sat me on top of it. "Nudge?" asked Jeb soothingly, I curled tighter. "I need you to do something for me." I gazed at him with wary eyes. "Have you ever been told about a period?" A period? I raised a brow. Yeah but they're not supposed to come till you're like thirteen not freaking eleven going on twelve. Everyone makes fun of Max when she's on hers 'cause she's overly pissed and all. I winced as another wave of pain went through me.
"Yeah, what of it?" My words came out harsher than I meant. I was biting back the urge to scream, a bubbling anger that came with this, what's the word, cramp.
"Would you like us to take the pain away? So that will never happen again." The cool serene look on Jeb's face comforted me like old times. I nodded and it was only when Jeb left did I realize what they were going to do.
What if they did trigger my period early for me? And what if, more than anything, they needed a certain part of me for their experiments? What if they wanted to make me barren? I shook my head. I shouldn't think about that, the fact that if I wanted kids later on I couldn't have them. It was frightening to think about but what are the chances of me actual me having a kid? I mean c'mon, I'm a freak with wings, who would want to have kids with that? But at the same token, what if someone did… later down in the road…
My eyes widened, bringing me into consciousness. I vaguely became aware of the tears in my eyes, wincing against the bright light above me. White coats were all around me. from the sound of it, they were about to begin. I launched myself from the table, wrapping a cloth around me at the same time, IV's and monitoring devices yanked out and off at my sudden movement. The White Coats cried out but I was out the door.
Summer star, are you searching for me? For Gazzy, Fang, Angel, Iggy, and Max? Will you find us and help us escape? Can you guide me? Can you save me?
I hear myself breathing hard in my ears and my heartbeat pulsing a killer headache. My legs are threatening to crumple from the pain and my tears won't stop falling. I glance back, once, twice, three times, making sure I wasn't being chased but all I saw was a trail of red following me, staining the pure white halls.
Where was Gazzy? Was he still in that room? Was he dead? Were the others dead?
The world spun at the thought.
I saw amber-red eyes and in a panic I saw comfort in them. "You've come!" I could hear Erasers coming around the corner, I stumbled and my knees fell out from beneath me. "You've got to save Gazzy!" I sobbed to the eyes, the gentle eyes that reminded me of a beautiful sunset. "You've gotta save my family!" Cringing in pain I curled into myself and I wept into my knees.
I ran through the darkness looking for the star, for my family, for my everything. Where was everything? Why did everything and everyone have to hide in the darkness? Why did… Why did they have to leave me alone? Why do I have to search in a place where there's nothing to see? It's so scary here, the place that only plays a sad song.
I spun around hearing Max's voice, the thought of a warm yellow filled my mind. Sunflowers… I ran towards it but stopped when I heard another sound, low and kind, Fang's. All around me I heard their songs, one by one, Gazzy's, Angel's, and Iggy's too. And at that moment I wondered, where had my song gone?
Looking around in the deafening darkness I searched, where was the summer star? Where was my Natsuhiboshi?
"Are you searching for them?" I called out over their songs. "Are you lost?" I saw a faint glow of red and I ran blindly towards it. "Have you-?" I couldn't finish, the words caught it my throat. Me, Nudge, unable to say a word, how could this happen?
Have you found them? I wanted to ask but I realized something as I stood still and waited as Natsuhiboshi came to greet me, illuminating my darkness. It came to find me, so I won't be waiting alone in the darkness. The summer star doesn't know what to look for, it only knows me, so it came to find me because I am the one trapped in the darkness. The summer star's warmth enveloped me and I felt its sadness and spark of determination. We have to get out this dark dream so we won't be sad… We have to get out to see my family and for the summer star to go home to its own.
"Welcome back." In the distance I heard a gentle voice greeting me, Natsuhiboshi and I were warmed.
Chapter 4:
Golden Slumber
(Gazzy POV)
Golden slumber kiss your eyes,
Smiles await you when you rise.
Sleep,
pretty baby,
Do not cry,
And I'll sing you a lullaby.
Care you know not,
Therefore sleep,
While I o'er you watch do keep.
Sleep,
pretty darling,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.
I've never felt so useless... I wanted... I wanted to keep her safe and look what happened... I was the one needing rescuing. This song is painful, like a stab through the heart... and at the same time... what would happen if I went to sleep and never woke up?
Adieu