The Fallen Angels by Sleepwalker418

Me: Sorry! I took too long to update. Blame me not my story.

Shadow: Yeah.

Me: Don't start with me. Do the disclaimer.

Shadow: Okay! She doesn't own Maximum Ride. She owns me, Hunter, Annabell, Cass, Chris, Ghost, and Lies. Is that all of them?

Me: I think so. On with the story!

Chapter 2: The Deal

Max's POV

"What now, Nudge," I muttered into the microphone. Sam either didn't hear me or ignored me. Both options were good to me.

"We have a problem," she said.

Oh just perfect.

"What's the problem?" I asked. The song was ending, thankfully, so Sam was dragging us off the dance floor. I looked at Shadow. She jerked her head in Fang and Hunter's general direction and pointed to her eyes. Good, she'll keep an eye on them. I can't always do everything at once, no matter how badly Jeb wants me to play Wonder Woman.

"Well, see Chris was in the air vent right, and then Ella was all like 'Hurry up or Jeb will have our asses and Chris was all 'Alright but if I drop down not only will Jeb have our asses but Itex will have them too' and I had to tell them to shut up because Jeb told me to tell them to be quiet or the guards will hear us an-"

"Nudge!" I shouted-whispered. God, that girl can TALK! Sam had left to get drinks and left me at an empty table. Everyone else was still dancing. "Tell me what's wrong, not what happened."

Sam came back, all smiles, and handed me a drink. "Here you go."

"There's no alcohol in this, right?" I asked, half-joking. What? I couldn't be drunk on the job.

Sam chuckled, "Of course not." Yeah better not be bub. Then, he started talking about tennis and how he and Lissa play games all the time. Whatever, I thought rolling my eyes. She can have him. He's a dull boy anyways. The microphone in my ear crackled to life and Nudge started to speak to me.

"Sorry, Max. We hit a no telecommunications zone for a minute there," she said.

I fake smiled at Sam and nodded my head every so often. In between my teeth I said, "Tell me what the problem is in one sentence. And keep out the fluff."

"Well, I accidentally intercepted someone's radio message," she said, then stopped, leaving me on edge.

"Well! What was it?!" I said aloud. My eyes widened a bit and I closed my mouth. Dang! I blew it!

Sam chuckled, "Don't worry. I find this story quite riveting myself. Anyways we were at a deuce and-" I relaxed in my chair. Thankfully, Sam is conceited and not the sharpest tool in the shed. I must be the luckiest girl in the world to have a boy like that. Then, I felt the back of my neck prickle and I turned around to see...

Fang.

Okay, here's the deal with Fang. With everything as a matter of fact. There is an alternate group trying to take down Itex. They're called The Fallen. Our group, the one that Shadow, Nudge, Ella, Chris, Cass, Angel, and I are in is called The Angels, named after our youngest member.

Angel is our special member. Why? She can read and control minds. But she's only six and Jeb, the supervisor and, can't believe I'm saying this but, mentor of our group, says that it's unsafe for her and us to bring her along. I whole-heartedly agree, but Angel gets mad. Oh well. She's like my baby. I don't want anything bad to happen to her.

Cass is a normal human. She takes care of Angel when we're not around. She desperately tries to make Angel's life as normal as possible. I really appreciate it when she does that. She's also the inventor. Makes little things that can get us out of trouble.

Ella is also a normal human. Jeb told us that she's twelve years old, and that's all he said about her. She woke up with us when we first regained consciousness to a world we didn't remember. The others in the group often say that Ella and I have some resemblances, but whatever.

Nudge is an avian hybrid like me and Angel. And she also can't stop talking sometimes. But on the up side, Nudge is a hacker. The best there is. I can't even count how many times she saved The Angels butts from trouble. All this and she's only eleven.

Chris is a human but she had been trained to be a government spy since she was a baby. She broke away from there for reasons unknown with a group when they joined The Fallen. Then the Fallen rejected her and Cass, and that's when they joined up with us. She has the best connections with everyone. The government, the streets, you name it. Pretty good for a fourteen year old right?

Shadow, Avian Hybrid. Shadow's my second in command. Strong and silent, she's the most skilled when it comes to weapons. I don't know how she became such a sharpshooter that she is. She's the same age as me, Chris, and Cass. And she's also my best friend who I spill my guts to when I can't fall asleep.

Me. Max. I'm the leader of the group. On the top of the hit list of snipers working for Itex. The first avian hybrid. The bane of The Fallen etc. All this and I'm only fourteen.

Now, you're probably wondering: If the Fallen and The Angels are both trying to take down Itex, why aren't they working together? And what is Itex doing that's so bad anyways?

Well, one question at a time. Itex does experiments on kids. They take babies from families and transform them into mutants to help them for a "better planet". This "better planet" will only happen when half of the world's population is gone. Yeah, bad right?

The Fallen believes that Itex has to be obliterated at all costs. Even if innocent people have to be killed. The Angels don't kill innocents.

Anyways, back to the party.

"Hello, Miss Maxine," Fang said, a smug smirk on his face. My eyes narrowed. What a bas-. Oh well, two can play at that game.

"Hello, Nicholas," I said. That stupid grin fell off his face. That was his fake name. Nicholas.

"Hello, Nicholas. How's Lissa doing this evening?" Sam said. God! How does everything he talks about end up going to Lissa?! Not that I'm jealous, or care for that matter, but give the topic of Lissa a break for a change!

"Fine, Samuel. And how's fine Maxine doing this evening?" Fang said. I tried not to roll my eyes. Like he cares.

"She's fine, right Max?" Sam said, obviously threatened by Fang. Oh, so now he calls me Max.

"Yes, I'm feeling well this fine evening," I said politely. Hah! How's that for manners? Shadow would be snickering her ass off if she was here.

"Nick!" a shrill voice well...shrilled. I couldn't help but wince. Here comes the red-haired wonder or red-haired bimbo, as Shadow says. Lissa. She came over with Annabell and Hunter in tow. Poor Hunter. He looked like he rather be at the dentist. Annabell was wearing a frilly yellow dress. Dang, I don't care if it was a designer dress, it was ugly. Lissa was wearing the same dress but in green. Then, Omega decided to come, arm and arm with Shadow.

"Oh look," Shadow said with mock cheeriness, "The whole gang is here!" That comment and the way she said it made me want to crack up. Itex, The Fallen, and The Angels all in the same place at the same time. I'm surprised nothing exploded yet.

"Sorry Max another telecommunications error again. The message said 'Fang, we've broken into the facility but Gazzy may have tripped an alarm," she said. I cursed inaudibly under my breath. That alarm could also lead to my guys not only The Fallen.

"Excuse me," I said, "But I'm thirsty," I got up but Sam sat me back down.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," Sam said.

"Thank you Samuel," I said through gritted teeth.

"Do you want a drink Sky?" Omega asked.

"Sure!" Shadow said, sounding very perky. Oh God, we are going to bust our seems laughing at this later.

"C'mon Lissa! Let's go greet other people," Annabell said, naturally perky.

"Sure!" Lissa said, "See you later Nick." He put on a strained smile and waved at them. They bounced off. I rolled my eyes and exchanged a look with Shadow. She looked bored out of her mind.

"You know, your people tripped an alarm. If any of mine get caught because of that you're going to pay, Brian," I said immediately glaring at Hunter once the coast was clear. He was The Fallen's leader, with Fang as his right hand man.

"If your pathetic agents get caught it's their own fault Maxine," he hissed back, keeping on his fake smile.

"Pathetic? Ha! It wasn't mine who tripped the alarm in the first place," I said also keeping on the fake smile and waving to those who waved.

"Listen you two! This is neither the time nor the place to be discussing such matters," Fang said.

"What matters?" Omega said. I turned to look at him quickly. He was staring at us intently, with 2 glasses of punch in his hands. Sam was next to him, looking suspicious. I tensed up and felt The Fallen spies do the same.

"Politics," Shadow said. I looked at her. She looked as cool as cucumber. We were all taught by Jeb on how to lie and look as innocent as Angel while doing it. "And religion. You know how some people are touchy on those subjects." She even threw in a smile. Wow. I saw Omega smile back and I relaxed. That's better. I saw Fang's facial features relax and stiffen. I immediately tensed again and looked around. Nothing wrong.

"Maxine?" Sam said. I locked onto him. He had a friendly smile on his face.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Are you okay?" he asked handing me my drink.

"Yeah, fine," I said.

"We've made it into the motherboard room Max, over," I heard Nudge say. I smiled at Sam and pretended to sip the drink. But instead of drinking, I muttered, "Okay, good work, and be careful. The Fallen is here, over," I put my cup down and plastered a fake smile on my face.

"So Maxine," Shadow said. I looked at her. "How are your cats doing?" I smirked. That was our code for how were the others.

"Fine," I said.

"Where are they now?" Shadow asked. "You know how they can't be left alone."

"Chocolate, Cinderella and Crystal are all at my mother's house," I said to her. That meant that they were at the main computer. Shadow nodded in satisfaction.

"I didn't know you had cats," Sam said across from me. I looked at him.

"Yeah, it's a hobby," I lied.

"Um, Omega," Shadow said, her voice having a trace of worry in it. I looked to my right at her and saw her giving me a sideways glance. Uh-oh.

"What is it Sky?" Omega asked from across the table.

"Is that your mother coming over with Lissa and Annabell?" I looked in the direction she was looking and there they were. The Director in all of her psychopathic glory was approaching.

"Yep," Omega said nonchalantly, oblivious to our horror.

"Shit," I hissed.

"Massive understatement," Shadow muttered back.

Me: And that's how I'm leaving it for now. But if you want more than review :

Me: Alright I'm back with chappie numero tres.

Shadow: Okay then...

Hunter: The author doesn't own Maximum Ride.

Shadow: But she does own...I don't feel like saying all the names...

Me: Fine whatever.

Chapter 3: Trapped

Max's POV

"I think I know how to get us out of this," Shadow hissed quietly.

"Do whatever you need to," I said, since I was screaming in my head.

Calm down and think Maximum, Jeb said. I felt something wet on my leg and leaped up from my seat.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Max! Let me help you clean that in the bathroom!" Shadow exclaimed. I looked down and saw that she purposely spilled water on my dress. I almost sighed in relief. Instead, I allowed her to drag me out of the ballroom and into the bathroom. Once we got there I sighed in relief and Shadow relaxed.

"Thanks Shadow. I panicked. I'm so stupid," I said, putting a hand on my head. Sometimes I felt like the world was closing in on me. Someone put their hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see silver eyes boring into me.

"It's okay. Any sane experiment would panic at the sight of that woman," Shadow said. I smirked.

"So are you saying that you're not sane?" I asked crossing my arms. It was her turn to smirk.

"Maybe," she said, getting napkins and handing them to me. I wiped it and felt my thigh. Yep, my knife was still there. I checked my purse. Everything was there too. Shadow felt her own thigh and pulled out her gun. It was a simple handgun, but she was dangerous with any weapon. She placed it back and turned to the mirror, running her hands through her hair.

"Hey Shadow," I said. She turned around questionably. I went to the sink and picked up a random perfume. "Want to smell like everyone else?" I said jokingly.

"And choke to death by my own smell? I think not," she said smirking. We chuckled and and left the bathroom. We returned to the ballroom and saw that the Director was at the table with Annabell, Omega, Sam, and Lissa. They were missing.

"Oh well, Omega was starting to get too friendly if you ask me," Shadow muttered.

"Yeah, but where are the others," I said. Shadow narrowed her eyes and looked around.

"Right here," a voice said. I jumped and whirled around to see a chuckling Fang. I narrowed my eyes.

"And how did you slither away?" Shadow asked crossing her arms.

"Drinks," Hunter said. Fang looked over me and cursed. I turned around to see Omega heading over with the Director behind him.

"I don't think we'll be able to squirm out of this one," I heard Shadow mutter. And she was right.

"Can I have this dance?" Fang said abruptly.

"What?!" I asked, but he was already dragging me to the dance floor. I saw Shadow being dragged also by Hunter.

"You're light," Fang observed. I felt myself turn red. Avian hybrids were lighter than regular humans. He turned me around to face him and put his arms around my waist. Wha-?

Go with the flow, Max, Jeb said. Oh great. I breathed out in frustration and slipped my arms around Fang's neck. It was a slow song and it had just started. Perfect.

"Aren't you going to say thank you?" Fang asked.

"For what?" I asked innocently. Over my shoulder, Shadow and Hunter were dancing also.

"For saving our butts," he said in all politeness.

"I would Nicholas, if I knew who you were," I said, deciding to play with him.

Fang's eyebrows furrowed. "And what do you mean by that?"

I brought myself to his ear and whispered, "I know your name isn't Nicholas." I went back down and looked at his expression. Unreadable.

"So what's yours," he asked evenly. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "What? You owe me for saving you."

"You either get a thank you or a name," I said. Fang blinked.

Max, that's a bad idea, Jeb said.

Oh God Jeb, just shut it for once, I snapped.

"I rather hear you thank me since you'd make me say your name after you hear mine," Fang said. I smiled. That's why I'm an agent. I trap. I get. He almost fell for the trap. Lucky him he was smart.

We found about most of our stuff about the Fallen from Crystal, since she was so close to becoming one. This boy's name may be Fang, it may not.

"Well?" Fang said with a smug grin on his face.

"I thank thee, oh nameless one," I said dramatically. He frowned and I smirked. Hunter and Shadow swayed near us.

"Personally, I like Evanescence's version of Lacrymosa better than Mozart's," I heard Shadow say and I chuckled. That's when I noticed that we were dancing to just that song.

"She's right you know," Fang said. I looked at him in surprise.

"You like that song too?" I asked dumbly. He smirked and nodded.

"We've nearly extracted all the needed information from the motherboard," Nudge said, her voice crackling to life in my ear. I couldn't help but smile.

"Excuse me," a voice said. I looked and saw Sam.

"Yes," Fang said calmly.

"May I intrude?" He said. I saw the both of them glaring at each other and decided not to make a scene until...

"Nick!" the red haired wonder ran up to him and threw him into a hug. His eyes widened in surprise and he stiffened. I couldn't help but smirk. Shadow always did that when someone hugged her.

"You promised me a dance! Let's go!" she said cheerly. I looked over at Shadow. The poor girl was stuck in between Omega, Hunter, and Annabell. I knew that she was just itching to run out and fly into the distance.

"Are you almost done?" I hissed into the microphone.

"Yea jus-oh no..." Nudge said. My eyes widened.

"What?" I said.

"The Fallen spies just got caught! I see it through the vent. Oh my God Max! What are we going to do?! Wh-" She said.

"You're not going to do anything to help them. Got it? You are going to skedaddle your way out of there before any of you get caught. Direct order and don't you dare disobey," I said. I felt a little bad saying it so harshly but if she doesn't get it now then she never will.

"You're WHAT?!" Fang growled aloud. Sam and I both looked at him. He bit his lip and looked away.

"He's a weird fellow. Bursting out saying things out of nowhere," Sam whispered to me. I nodded half-heartedly. Poor guy. I wanted to help them but-

Maximum, remember what I told you. The Fallen will kill you when they have the chance so don't even think of saving what might kill you, Jeb said. I wished he wasn't right.

"We're almost out of the-" but I didn't get to hear what Nudge said.

Because Fang had tackled me and we both hit the ground.

And then a gigantic explosion deafened me.

BOOM!!!!

My eardrums practically ruptured from the blast. My mouth was instantly covered in dust and carpet fibers. Fang and I rolled around some more and then something collapsed on him. He grunted and went limp. I stood there a few minutes and felt for his pulse. Still alive, just unconscious. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I didn't feel any broken bones and pushed Fang and the debris off me. I looked at Fang and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks Fang," I whispered. I straightened up and looked around. The left wall was blown in and the debris was everywhere.

Shadow, my mind reminded me.

"Report!" I yelled. I inhaled dust and started coughing hysterically. Debris shifted somewhere.

"Shadow?! Report!" Oh God, what if she's dead?! Red fire alarm lights went off and the sprinklers went off. I took my knife off of the strap on my thigh and cut the skin like covering on my back and cut some of my dress. I let my wings out. Risky, yes, but I could always tuck them in and say what are you talking about?

"Here," came Shadow's soft voice. I looked and saw her stand up. Bits of debris fell off her as she made her way over to me. I smiled, grateful that she was alive and passed her the knife. She took it and cut of the skin and back of her dress.

"Let's blow this joint," I said. She smirked and spread her silver wings. We both looked at the-well where there used to be a gigantic window there was a big hole. We ran and took off into the night. We flew for a while and landed in a alley. Shadow took out her gun and hid behind the dumpster and I sat next to her. Soon we heard voices. Male voices. Not good.

"That explosion was awesome!" I heard a young boy say.

"I give it a five. The sonic blast wasn't good enough," an older male said.

"Hunter's going to chew us out," a quiet voice said. My eyes widened and my stomach dropped. The Fallen had picked this spot to meet too. Great.

"Oh lighten up, Ghost," the older male said. "Hunter won't be too mad..."

"Him and Fang combined is-well...you know Iggy," the quiet voice, presumably Ghost, said.

The older male-Iggy-sighed. "Yeah, I know." He quieted and I willed myself to stop breathing. But it was too late. "Who's there?" I almost cursed loudly.

"Come out whoever you are," Ghost said. Someone shuffled their feet.

"Well, well. Look what the gutter coughed up," I almost sighed in relief. That was Chris. They must be here.

"Oh lookie here. If it isn't the Angels," Ghost said. Shadow nudged me. I looked at her and she put a finger over her lips and pointed to the air. Silent takeoff. She stood up silently but one of them caught her, I saw by the way she stiffened.

"Got you," Ghost called out. But she quickly raised her gun and a shot was fired. I heard a loud clatter.

"Point another gun at me," she said quietly, "And the next target will be your head." I smiled and stood next to her. There was three boys. One that I presumed to be Ghost had dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. The other one, Iggy, had strawberry blond hair and light blue eyes that were unfocused.

He's blind, Jeb put in. Wow, I thought.

Then there was the little boy who scared me.

Because he looked like Angel.

I brushed it off. A lot of people have blond hair and blue eyes. But still...

"Oh there's Maxine. Hello there. Had fun at the party?" Ghost said.

"Ghost!" Someone called. I looked up and saw Hunter and Fang on the roof.

"What the hell...?" Shadow said aloud, voicing my thoughts.

"And how did you get here so fast?" Hunter asked. I went for the smoke bomb that was in my purse.

"That's for me to know..." I said and threw the bomb on the floor. Immediately the area was covered in smoke. "...And you to find out." I saw Shadow ditch her high heels and I did the same next to her. We both ran out the alley to see Nudge, Chris, and Ella in front of us.

But then Hunter and Fang landed in front of them. I whirled around to see Ghost, Iggy, and the little boy behind us.

We were trapped.

Magnificent.

Me: I don't know what to say except review:)

Me: Hello there everyone. I'm finally back!

Hunter: Uh-huh...

Shadow: Kim doesn't own Maximum Ride. JP does.

Hunter: But she owns me, Shadow, Chris, Cass, Annabell, Ghost, and Lies.

Me: Yeah so...the story starts now.

Chapter 4: Stalemate?

Max's POV

Okay, so here I was, barefoot, in the middle of the street, covered in dust and surrounded by boys that are out to get me.

You can tell that today, is not my day.

"You're surrounded. There's no where to run," Hunter said,

"Well no freaking duh," Shadow snarled. I smirked, despite the situation.

"I doubt that you'll escape," Ghost said, a cocky grin on his face. Stupid human.

"Well then I guess you don't know us," I said. Shadow was pointing to the sky but I shook my head. The Fallen cannot find out about our wings. They don't know and I would like to keep it that way.

"We want the information," Hunter said.

"Well Brian, we didn't get it since someone blew a hole into the wall," I said.

"I wasn't addressing you, Maxine," Hunter said. He stared at Chris.

"Well Crystal, give it to us or get captured," he said. Chris sent Shadow a look. Shadow pulled out the pill. Yes, the pill. And if you're wondering what pill it's the suicide pill. She passed it to Chris and Chris dangled it over her mouth. Immediately, all of the Fallen tensed except for the blind one.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Chris has a suicide pill out," the little boy said. Iggy sucked in air.

"Easy with that," he muttered. Chris scoffed.

"So what? Let her take it. There's the other two," Ghost said.

"We were lookout. We didn't see anything. We don't know where she put it," Ella said, her eyes narrowed. I smirked. She lies good. The boys hesitated and Chris put closer to her mouth. But then Fang smirked. I swallowed. He probably found a hole...

"Okay. Take it. But if you do, your friends won't have any information either," He said crossing his arms. Chris cursed and threw it on the ground. If she didn't then they would get suspicious. And they would interrogate us. Shadow was now desperately gesturing to the sky. I was even starting to consider it.

No, bad idea Maximum. Don't do it, Jeb said. Ugh, great.

Well, do you have a better idea? Silence.

I thought so. I turned back to the boys and scanned each of them. There was a hole between Fang and Hunter. Hmm...

"You want this?!" Chris asked, pulling a paper out of her backpack. My eyes widened. She wouldn't...

"Glad you see it our way. Now give it to us," Hunter said, a superior smirk on his face. Chris smiled, a really evil one that made my stomach go uneasy. She pulled out her lighter, and burned it.

"No!" Hunter cried out and reached for it. He broke the circle. I shoved him out the way and ran for it. I felt someone right behind me. I looked to see Shadow right behind me with the others and behind them was Fang.

"USELESS!" Hunter shouted. My eyes widened and I looked at Chris. She was smirking and she gave me a thumbs up. I blinked and looked back again. Fang, Hunter and Iggy were in the lead with the little boy behind them and Ghost behind him. Huh? How could Ghost be all the way back there?

Have you ever considered that the Fallen may have some experiments on their side? Jeb put in. That almost made me stop in my tracks. I looked back to see Hunter and Fang gaining on Chris and Ella. Yep, they're either experiments or damn good runners.

"Sha-Sky!" I called. Shadow looked in my direction. "Help the others!" Both of us slowed down and...Shadow screamed.

I looked at her. She was gritting her teeth. I looked down and saw blood on the ground in the shape of a footprint. I heard her curse under her breath. We both slowed down until we were in the same speed as Chris and Ella. I grabbed Chris's arm and Shadow grabbed Ella's. We both sped up. I looked back and saw Hunter and Fang's amazed expressions. I looked back and saw Shadow, her face pale.

"Take this!" Nudge said. I looked at her. She was holding a smoke bomb and she threw it down. White smoke filled the area. I knew just to run forward. Chris was coughing hysterically. Once we were out of the smoke we ran down the block to another alley. I pulled her in and spread my wings. I grabbed her, jumped off and took off.

Let me tell you, humans aren't light. I was exhausted by the time I reached our house. Yes, our home. We dropped down and I pulled out my keys from my purse. I unlocked the door and went in. Almost instantly, I was attacked by a blond haired, blue eyed six year old.

"Oh gosh! Hi Max! How was it? Did you succeed?" Angel asked. She was fascinated with all of our missions.

"I can't tell you now, sweetie. I'm exhausted," I said walking to the living room and flopping on the sofa. Angel looked a bit disappointed.

"Did you bring a souvenir?" Total asked, trotting up to me. Total is special. He's Angel's dog. Her talking dog. One word explanation for him. Itex.

"I'm ho-ome," Nudge called. She came in and flopped next to me on the sofa. Cass came in, wiping her hands on a towel. She was tall and had light blond hair and light gray eyes.

"Rough night?" She asked. I nodded. Then I heard Ella and the door opening.

"What's wrong? Tell me! Are you injured? What happened?" Ella said. Both her and Shadow came in. Well, Shadow limped in.

"Where's the bandages?" She asked Cass.

"Bottom left cabinet," Cass said. "But why-" Shadow had already limped into the kitchen. She came out with the first aid kit in hand. She limped to the bathroom and this time I followed her.

"Okay Shadow spit it out. What's wrong?" No answer from her. I looked back and saw a blood trail. She sat on the tub edge in the bathroom. She started looking closely at her foot. Her bloody foot.

"Tell me what's wrong Shadow. That's an order," I said. She looked at me and looked back at her foot. Was she disobeying an order? I felt the others behind me. Shadow concentrated, pulled on something, and gritted her teeth. She pulled again and I saw blood fall onto the dress.

"What the hell are you doing?" I cried out. She smiled even though I could tell she was in pain and yanked again. Shadow breathed out in relief and held up...

A long piece of clear glass. I looked away. That must've hurt.

"Lovely," Cass said, from behind me. I heard a thump and looked towards it to see that Cass fainted.

"So todays your night off?" I asked Shadow. It had been a few days since the our adventure at the Hilton Hotel. We found out that it was a blank paper that Chris burned up and not any information. Shadow and I were in our room and tonight was her night off. So she didn't have to be on stand-by waiting for Jeb's order. We only get one of those each month.

"Yep," Shadow said. She was wearing combat boots, a short black pleated skirt, a black top and purple corset. I was wearing a plain red shirt with jeans.

"Where are you going?" I asked. She grabbed her purse.

"The club. I may sing there tonight," she said. Yes, Shadow sang. And yes, we went to a club. That's where we get all of our gigs. Sometimes we sing together. Angel "convinced" the club owner that we were 18 and we sing there sometimes for the money. It's good cash.

"Alright be careful," I called. Shadow turned back, smirked, and said:

"What could possibly go wrong?"

Me: Now you know somethings going to happen. But you won't know until next time. But until then...review:)

Me: Hey everybody! Here's Chapter 5...Yay!

Shadow: Okay then...

Me: Now I shall answer Phoenix's questions.

1)They don't know about all of them, only some.

2)Lies is a human who works for the Fallen. He's coming soon.

3)My other story is Completing My Soul. It has all of the characters featured here. I have another one Everybody's Fool that focuses on Omega.

All done:)

Hunter: She ate chocolate so she's hyper...anyways hyper author that is currently filled with chocolate, doesn't own Maximum Ride. Nor Chop Suey! By System of a Down. The lyrics are in italics and if they're wrong...sorry.

Shadow: Our author owns...all of the people that are not in the Maximum Ride series. So if you use us, give her some credit.

Me: Here we go...

Chapter 5: Chop Suey!

Shadow's POV

"So, who's up?" I asked Rachel. I was at the club, patiently waiting for my turn. But it was taking so long.

"Some new guys," she said, fixing her camera. Rachel films the acts then sends them to various music studios. Max and I always tell her not to film us. Ah, the life of a spy. I could be living the golden life, going on tours all over the world. But no. Instead I'm a super spy who has to take down Itex.

"Are they any good?" I couldn't help but ask. Hey, if they take away my fans then there will be less money for me and more for them.

"Not better than you," Rachel assured me with a smile. I smirked. "Now I have to announce them. If you observe them from here, they won't see you." I nodded and she made her way up to the stage. I looked around. There was quite a crowd tonight.

Max and I are sorta famous here. We're like the clubs number one acts. Actually, we're the only ones who stay in the area to preform at this club. The other ones leave after they hit big money. Max and I are the regular singers here. So most of the people here know us and come to our performances.

"Now presenting," Rachel shouted in the microphone. "The Bird Boys!" There was very little applause. I never heard of them. And what's with the name? "With the song," Rachel continued. "Chop Suey!" Rachel jumped off the stage. I know this song. And a lot of other bands attempted this song. None of them actually sounded like the song.

The guitar started and I was immediately brought in. It sounded a lot like the original. I tapped my foot and the bass started. This is good.

Then the drums came on. Nice. I liked this band. No matter how weird the name is. The electric guitar roared to life and the audience went wild. I smirked. So they were good musicians...now lets hear their singing. Then a guy with dirty blond hair and gold eyes jumped on the stage. My heart stopped and all the blood drained from my face. It couldn't be...

Wake up (wake up)

Grab a brush and put a little makeup

Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup (Hide the scars to fade away the shake-)

Why'd you leave the keys up on the table

Here you go creating another fable

You wanted to

Grab a brush and put a little makeup

You wanted to

Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup

You wanted to

Why'd you leave the keys up on the table

You wanted to

Oh, I don't think you trust...

At this point, the olive skinned boy with black hair who was playing the electric guitar joined Hunter in singing.

Self -righteous suicide

cry

when Angels deserve to

DIE!

That made my blood boil. How. Dare. They.

RRRRAAAHHHGGGHHH!

Wake up (wake up)

Grab a brush and put a little makeup

Hide the scars to fade away (Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup)

Why'd you leave the keys up on the table

(Here you go) creating another fable

You wanted to

Grab a brush and put a little makeup

You wanted to

Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup

You wanted to

Why'd you leave the keys up on the table

You wanted to

Oh, I don't think you trust

I needed to call Max.

Self righteous suicide

cry

when Angels deserve to

die...

Like, right now.

self righteous suicide

I cry

when Angels deserve to die

Okay, that's it! I reached for my cell phone to notice...

It wasn't there!

Dammit!

Now I would have to wait until the performance was over to get to the phone in Rachel's office.

I glared at the stage where Hunter, Fang and Ghost on the bass guitar were bouncing around like they owned the place. I think that was the boy, Iggy on the drums, but wasn't sure. And anyways why would the blind boy be on the drums? I was snapped out of thinking when Hunter and Fang started screaming, Hunter first than Fang.

Father!

Mother!

Father!

Brother!

Father!

Fucker!

Father!

Father!

Father into your hands, I commend my spirit

Father into your hands, why have you forsaken me

In your eyes

Forsaken me

in your thoughts

Forsaken me

In your heart

Forsaken me, Oh!

Trust in

self righteous suicide

I cry

when Angels to die

In my

self righteous suicide

Why cry

when Angels deserve to die...

The applause was enormous. I was seething with anger. How dare they come to our spot, preform, and diss us?! Who the hell did they think they are?! Rachel came back, all smiles.

"Wasn't that performance amazing? They sounded a lot like the original band," she said looking at the camera and pressing buttons. I put on an impassive face.

"Um, Rachel?" she turned and looked at me. "Can I go and use your phone?"

"Sure!" she said throwing me the keys to her office. I caught them and walked into the hallway. I opened the door and ran to the phone. I mashed in the buttons and the phone rang a few times.

"Hello?" Max said. In the background I heard Chris singing Big Girls Don't Cry. I winced.

"Um—Max, Shadow here. Er...something's wrong." I heard her sit up.

"What?"

"Well, the Fallen are here."

"WHAT!!!" Um...ouch.

"I said the Fallen are here as in they are at the club, singing and preforming," I said.

"I know what you said. But why are they there?" I could hear her shoving her shoes on.

"And how the heck am I supposed to--" I froze. I heard voices coming closer.

"Shadow?" Max asked.

"Gotta go," I whispered.

"NO! Wait—Shad--!" But I had already hung up the phone. I looked around and saw the closet that usually held Rachel's video equipment. I smiled and ran in there, shutting the door behind me.

For some reason, I hate tight enclosed spaces, don't ask why. I wasn't exactly squished in here but I wasn't comfortable either. My mind was reeling, telling me to run out. But I stayed put.

"--to say, awesome performance. Absolutely fantastic." I heard Rachel say.

"Well, we did our best." I bit my lip. That was Hunter. By the sound of it, there was five people in the room. Four Fallen spies against one of me in a public place equals no good.

"Everyone could tell," Rachel said. And was she...flirting? What the HELL? He was fourteen! She was twenty-five! Well, he was probably signed up as older, like me and Max, but still!

"Yeah, uh-huh, anyways, the video?" Fang broke in. I almost snickered out loud.

"Oh yeah um...I'll delete it, don't worry," she said. Oh, so they're paranoid spies as well?

"Okay good. So what do we do now?" Ghost asked.

"Well, you can go watch the other acts preform. There's a girl, a really good one, her name slips my mind right now, but she's really good!" Rachel said. I rolled my eyes. She was probably too busy staring into Hunter's eyes right now to remember me.

"Let's go," Iggy said. I heard footsteps, the light switch flick and the door close. I breathed out and stepped out the closet. Okay, now what?

Me: Uh-oh. What happens next? Tune in next time to The Fallen Angels to find out. And don't forget to review:)

Me: Okay then...school has started on my side of the world and it sucks. Because my stories are crying UPDATE! And I'm saying SHUT UP! I'M DOING HOMEWORK! Yeah and sorry if I didn't respond to your review.

Shadow: She doesn't own Maximum Ride nor All That I'm Living For by Evanescence but she owns her peoples so if you us just give silvershadow37 over here some credit.

Hunter: Why did you call her by her screen name?

Shadow: (shrug shoulders)

Me: Let's start the story.

Chapter 6: All That I'm Living For

Max's POV

Shadow's gonna drive me nuts one day. With all of her one word answers and calmness when danger is around. I shoved through the people in the club. It was so crowded tonight. Ugh...I hated it.

I went to the main hallway of the club and slipped through the main office. The light was turned off. I crept in silently and turned on the light. Shadow was sitting on the table staring at me. I shrieked in surprise and shut the door.

"What the hell!" I exclaimed, surprised. She shrugged and ran a hand through her hair.

"What am I suppose to do? Rachel won't let me take off tonight and I can't go up there al--" she stopped and stared at me and devious smile on her face.

"What?" I asked a bit uneasy.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," I muttered.

"Well, believe it. You owe me for making me cover you last time," Shadow said fixing her hair a bit. "And anyways, for you I had to do a lead performance. You only have to be the backup."

"Still," I muttered as the stage prepared. "You can actually sing."

Shadow rolled her eyes at me. "Please. You sing way better than Chris. And you can sing."

"Yea right," I said. Rachel came over, all smiles.

"Hey Max! I heard you're singing backup. Good luck!" Rachel disappeared to the stage to announce us. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I hated feeling this nervous.

"Why am I doing backup? I'm a soprano, remember? You're an alto," Now I was begging. Yes, begging. I hated this so much.

"A good backup has all kinds of sounds," Shadow said. "Now stop begging. You're not getting out of this.

"Now presenting," Rachel bellowed from the back of the room. I saw the audience turn to look at her. I reluctantly snuck onto the stage to the place where backup sings. I didn't like people staring at me so I was grateful that Shadow was preforming. "The Dark Rose with the song..." Shadow's voice rang out through the room.

All that I'm living for

All that I'm dying for

All that I can't ignore alone at night

The music slowed and Shadow walked calmly and slowly onto the stage. The crowd went wild. She went to center stage and sung softly:

I can feel the night beginning

Separate me from the living

I joined her in singing.

Understanding me

After all I've seen

I looked through the audience. Where were the Fallen?

Piecing every thought together

Find the words to make me better

If I only knew how to pull myself apart

I saw Rachel and started looking around in her area. Shadow said Hunter was last seen near her...

All that I'm living for

All that I'm dying for

All that I can't ignore alone at night

One part of me wanted to jump off stage and fly home, but I couldn't. Not now. Because I have a stupid responsibility. I can't be caught by the Fallen and I couldn't just leave either.

Ah, the joys of being a hybrid super spy.

Sometimes I just want to be a normal teenage girl.

All that I'm wanted for

Although I wanted more

Lock the last open door

My ghosts are gaining on me

I sang the chorus with her, half concentrating. Where were they? Man, I just wanted to go home and just, at least, dream, that I was normal. Shadow swayed with the music and I self—consciously did the same.

I believe that dreams are sacred

Take my darkest fears and play them

Like a lullaby

Like a reason why

Make me understand the lesson

So I'll find myself

So I won't be lost again

Then I saw him. Hunter was gawking, eyes bulging, mouth wide open. Fang was next to him, his eyes widened. Ghost was rubbing his eyes and Iggy was laughing his ass off at their reactions.

All that I'm living for

All that I'm dying for

All that I can't ignore alone at night

All that I'm wanted for

Although I wanted more

Lock the last open door

My ghosts are gaining on me

Did I mention that I so hated this?

Guess I thought I'd have to change the world

To make you see me

To be the one

I could have run forever

But how far would I have come

Without mourning your love?

Fang and Hunter both started advancing towards the stage. Uh-oh. Shadow was singing into the microphone with so much emotion, it surprised me.

All that I'm living for

All that I'm dying for

All that I can't ignore alone at night

All that I'm wanted for

Although I wanted more

Lock the last open door

My ghosts are gaining on me

Should it hurt to love you?

Should I feel like I do?

Should I lock the last open door

My ghosts are gaining on me

With the last line, Shadow glared at the Fallen spies, who were in the front row. The last chord filled the air and her voice hung hauntingly, in the air. The crowd went wild and she turned around and stared at the side exit. I smirked and nodded.

Immediately, the microphone dropped from her hand, hitting the ground. We raced to the exit. I heard protests as the Fallen spies started pushing through the crowd.

"So long kiddos. This was our last performance. Hope you enjoyed," I yelled, my voice going over everyone else's. Shadow pushed the door open and we both jumped up, spread our wings, and took off. When we were in the air, I looked over and saw Shadow with an angry expression on her face. And I knew why. She loved singing in front of the club. It was the one thing that she did once a month that she enjoyed. It was her hobby.

"I'm sorry Shadow," I said. She looked at me, her eyes clouded than looked away.

"It's okay Max. There was nothing else to do. It was silly anyways, to think that I would be able to do both singing and spying. It was only a matter of time."

I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off. "Spying always comes before everything else." She looked at me, with a very solemn expression on her face. "It's all that we're living for." She started to drop down since the house was right below us. But what she said had me thinking...

Is that really the only thing that we're living for?

I waited outside the school for Angel to come out. Shadow had been dark, negative and brooding all day and today was her turn to pick up Angel. But I decided to do it. I heard the sounds of little kids coming and immediately looked at the doors. The first one out, as always, was Angel. She smiled and ran to me. I picked her up and spun her around.

"Hey sweetie. How was your day?" I asked her, putting her down. She grabbed my hand and we started walking home.

"Great! Me, Susan, and Marianne played hopscotch today, and I won!"she said.

"Without using your gifts?" I asked. Hey, she's done it before.

"Yep! My teacher said I'm really good at hopscotch," she said. I smiled and patted her head. "Max?" I looked down at her and saw an innocent look on her face. Uh-oh.

"What Angel?" I asked.

"Can we go to the park?" she asked. I thought about it.

"Sure Angel," I said. She smiled and we headed to the park. Once we arrived, Angel handed me her backpack and ran to the playground. I sat on the bench and looked through Angel's book bag. It didn't look like she had any homework. Suddenly, I jumped as my cell phone ringer went off. I jumped a bit, took it out and answered it.

"Hello?" I said. I could hear the distant sound of a sink running in the background.

"Where are you?" Shadow said.

"Park. Why?" I said.

"Just needed to know where you were," she said. I could hear voices in the background.

"What's going on?" I asked, feeling a bit paranoid.

"Oh, Nudge and Ella are arguing about which show to watch. I better break it up before it gets ugly..." Shadow trailed off and the voices started to get louder.

"Yeah, okay. Good luck with that," I said.

"MTV!" Nudge shouted.

"NO! YOU JUST SAW MTV YESTERDAY! IT'S MY TURN AND I WANT TO WATCH DRAKE AND JOSH!" Ella shouted back.

"Gotta go," Shadow said quickly, hanging up phone. I smirked and shut my phone.

"Max?" Angel said. I turned and saw Angel, arm and arm with a certain blond haired, blue eyed boy. My eyes widened in surprise. The little boy from a few nights ago jaw dropped.

"This is my new friend Max," Angel said. I looked from one to the other. Damn. Now that they were next to each other I noticed all of the similarities. Same face, same eyes, same hair...

Max, hurry up and skedaddle out of there. Fang is coming your way, Jeb said. I looked up and sure enough say mister tall, dark, and handsome was coming our way.

"How do you know we're from the Angels?" Angel asked the boy. The boy looked at her, surprised. I gulped. Something told me this wasn't going to end well. Adrenaline ran into my veins. I shot up, grabbed Angel, hauled her over my shoulder, and ran.

I wove through people, kids, and pets. I almost crashed into a bicycle and turned into a wooded area.

"There not near us. You can let go, Max," Angel yelled. I winced, stopped and put her down. She stared up at me.

"They were both from the Fallen, right?" she asked. I looked away and nodded. Why couldn't we both just have normal lives?

"Because we were meant to save the world," Angel said. Of course, I thought sourly. We didn't deserve to live normally. God forbid that we can go to the park without having to run for our lives.

Angel looked at me sympathetically and we took of and landed at the house. I walked in and slammed the door into my room. I could hear talking in the living room but ignored it. I closed my eyes and relaxed my muscles.

Max, Jeb said after a few moments of peace. I sighed in impatience.

What is it now, Jeb?

You have a new mission.

Wonderful Jeb. You always know just how to make my day a living hell.

Me: Ooo. A new mission...what will happen?

Shadow: Like you don't know.

Me:(glares at Shadow) Negh to you. And to everyone else, review please:) There will be...hm...maybe I should just surprise you and not tell you what pairings will be presented in the next few chapters. Why? Cause I'm evil. BWA HA HA!!!

Me: I'm back. Yay!

Shadow: Um...sure...yay...

Hunter:No ownie Maximum Ride. Ownie us.

Shadow: (stares at Hunter strangely) Are you drunk?

Me: I am thanking meepisms, Katie-3llen, rainxface, skyflyer81310, maxridefan95, 2crzyforya, Maximum Ride all the way, Nathaniel773, ali-air-head, anonymous, WANNABE-AUTHOR92, twilightluvr, wyvern-song, WFF, mwth06, PeachyKeenRainbowJellyBean, CITCAT826, Jesus-Freak2142, and Egypt-Girl-9. Thanks for the reviews!!! They made me happy:)

Shadow: Walk in a straight line.

Hunter:Why?

Me: On the subject of reviews, DAMN! I've never, ever had 92 reviews for a six chapter story. THANK YOU ALL WHO HAVE EVER REVIEWED!! And no, I'm not ending the story, just wanted to give thanks. Yum, turkey...

Shadow: Say the alphabet backwards.

Hunter: Z, Y, X, W--

Chapter 7: Love Squares

Max's POV

"So you're saying Max," Shadow started. I braced myself. "That we have to go to Omega's birthday party in an Itex hotel, where, a few floors up, there is an actual lab and you have to go and get a code that we don't know anything about, while I play the guitar downstairs to some new version of an 80's song, right now?" That was one of the longest speeches I've ever heard her say. And the anger was apparent in her voice.

"Yes. Jeb said that it's important so..." I said rummaging through my closet. I found a pair of old jeans and showed it to Shadow but she shook her and pushed me gently out the way.

"Hey!" I protested.

"You're going to a rich fifteen year old boy's party. Not to the store...you don't have ANYTHING in here," I glared at her while she started from the beginning of the rack.

"Well, excuse me. Since when did you become the fashion guru?" I asked.

"Since Chris left," she said simply. I stuck my tongue out at her and flopped on my bed, arms crossed.

"Two questions for you," she said from the depths of our closet. I looked in her direction.

"Shoot."

"Are we almost the same size?"

"Yes Shadow, but I'm not wearing any black." I answered.

"Fine. Anyways, second question," her head popped out of the closet and she stared at me in that sort of, tell the truth, way. "Why did you run from the Fallen this afternoon? Angel told me."

I bit my lip, knowing my answer would probably make her explode. "Um...Jeb told me to...mmph!" At that second, Shadow threw a white tunic and capris at me. I took them off my face and glared at her. She was muttering and I heard her say 'blind faith' and 'stupid'. I tried the outfit. Nope. Don't like it.

"What did you say? And this outfit sucks." Again I was bombarded with clothes. I almost fell backwards this time though. Shadow came out the closet, dusting her hands off.

"I can't say it now. Maybe later, when you don't have voices in your head," she said. "And hurry up. The party starts in a few minutes." I glared at her for the third time today and put on the cropped green jacket and purple top and a white and green patterned long skirt. Shadow nodded in content and handed me green flip-flops. I put them on.

"Perfect. Go with that," she walked towards her vanity and opened a box that had two feathers in them and pocketed them. I nodded, went to my pillow and pulled out one gold and one black feather. Tell you about this later.

"I hate wearing this outfit, but whatever, let's go," I said walking out of our room.

"You look fine in it. We both look nice," she said as I locked the house door behind us. The others were at a friend's birthday party while we were going to a enemy's birthday party. Lucky us.

"That's because you actually feel good in what you're wearing," I said. Shadow was wearing a black fishnet crop-top and gloves with a short black skirt, thin black stockings and brown boots. She rolled her eyes with a smirk on her face and stared walking.

"Since we can't fly there let's start walking now," she said. I caught up to her and went through my pocket, feeling the feathers for comfort as we entered the city.

Here's the dealio with the feathers. According to Jeb, he found us on the street, with nothing on our backs but our clothes. When I woke up, he was there nursing us back to health. All I could remember was the people around me and nothing else. I looked through my pocket and saw those feathers. Shadow has them too. But there's a argument between us regarding them. It's pretty funny according to the others.

Shadow is hooked on the belief that the black feather is "big brother" and the gold feather is "mate". I told her that to me, the gold feather is "little brother" and the black feather is "mate". We got into an argument about but it subsided and now we don't really talk about it.

Max, you've arrived, Jeb said. I looked towards the building and saw a gigantic fancy smancy hotel. All glass and whatnot. I tugged Shadow's shirt. She turned to me and I pointed to it. She nodded and we entered.

"I bet you Sam, Lissa, and Annabell will all be drunk," Shadow said.

"Five bucks," I said and we bumped fists.

"Aren't you glad you didn't come in jeans?" Shadow yelled over the music. She noticed that every girl here was wearing skirts and short shorts.

"Yeah," I yelled. Hey, it would've made me stick out. Which is bad when you're a spy. The speakers were blasting Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy. Everyone was dancing. I looked around and saw a few people I knew. Then...

"Sky!" Shadow went ram rod straight as the birthday boy himself came over and pulled her into a hug. I chuckled as Shadow reluctantly hugged him back. This was going to get interesting.

"Hey Maxine," Omega said. I inwardly winced.

"Hey Omega," I said.

"My mother told me that your Dad said it was okay that you play up there with us," Omega said pointing to the stage. Shadow nodded and Omega nodded and dragged her off. I looked at my watch. A half hour till show time. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Fancy meeting you here," a husky voice said from behind me. I tried not to jump and turned around to face Fang. He was wearing a black button up shirt and black jeans. Grr...lucky boy.

"Fancy...no. Luck...yes," I answered. He smirked.

"Do you want some punch?" he asked. Hmm...I was a bit thirsty.

"Sure, why not?" I said. He went over to the punch table. I scanned the area again. No sign of Sam. Good.

Fang came back with two glasses of punch. I took one and started to drink some. And immediately regretted it.

Because at that second, I saw Lissa and Sam dry-humping each other.

And for all those who don't know what that is, it's when two people are dancing uberly close to each other and someones butt is rubbing against the...front part and, well, you get the point.

Anyways, all of the juice that had went into my mouth went out and I started choking. 3 words were running through my head because of the whole Sam and Lissa thing.

No it's not SHE'S A WHORE!!!

Or, THAT FUCKING BITCH!!

It's more like THAT'S FREAKING DISTURBING!!!!!

I felt Fang patting my back as I tried to regain my breath. I breathed in and out and straightened up. Fang was staring at me with...concern? Since when was he concerned about me? There must be something in the drinks.

I could almost hear Shadow next to me saying Well Max, it's a fifteen year old boy's party which has no adult supervision. Do you think the drinks are going to be unspiked?

"Are you okay?" Fang asked. I nodded. "What was that about?" I pointed in the direction of the two humpers. Fang looked in the direction and he blinked.

"Wow," he said simply. I looked at him surprised. I thought he actually liked Lissa. He looked at me.

"Lissa was too talkative and I don't know...chipper? Perky? Preppy? Prissy? I don't know the word for it," Fang said. If Shadow were here she would say--

"Bitchy. That's the word," Fang finished. I looked at him in mild shock. That's exactly what Shadow would say. And says quite often. I looked back at the two whores and sub-consciously smiled deviously. Things were definitely going to get interesting.

Shadow's POV

"So Sky," Omega said dragging me towards the stage. I gritted my teeth. This was so not working for me. "Have you ever preformed in front of people?"

"Yeah. Every so often." Not anymore. I shut that thought out. It still itches me that I couldn't go to the club anymore.

"And you play lead guitar, not bass?" he asked dragging me into the instrument room backstage and handing me a guitar. I played the scales and he smiled and sat next to me. I played a simple tune and Omega started humming, tapping his foot. When I finished Omega looked at me solemnly.

"That was beautiful," he said. I shrugged and turned back to the wall. Something stuck in my mind. A shadow near the door...

Immediately, I turned back to the door.

And accidentally, my lips crashed into Omega's.

Hunter's POV

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" I asked Fang. We walked into Omega's party. Everyone was dancing in some way, shape, or form.

"Yeah Hunter. Just go play the bass or keyboard or whatever you're playing," he said. I rolled my eyes at him and went off to the backstage. I entered the hallway which lead to the instrument room, since I was playing bass and doing backup vocals. I heard music...a guitar...but it was being played so softly...a melody...someone was humming, a male. But I feel like I've heard that tune before, but from where?

I walked to the doorway and there sat Sky with the guitar.

My eyes widened in surprise as I watched her. She was full of surprises. She stopped and I felt a longing for more.

"That was beautiful," Omega said. I looked and saw him, sitting next to her. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. I hadn't noticed him there. Sky shrugged and stared off at the wall again. But in the next second, I saw her tense and she looked towards my direction.

And her lips mashed into Omega's. I felt myself step away from the door. What the hell? Why did she...how could she...how dare she...?

Why do I feel this way?

I quietly stepped back and saw them there, still kissing. I shrunk from the door, the blood drained from my face.

I feel so sick.

"Hey Brian," a voice said. I looked and saw Annabell, walking down the hall, stumbling as if she was a bit drunk. Wouldn't surprise me...

Hunter, concentrate on your mission, Jeb or, as I call him, the Voice, said in my head. I rolled my eyes. I so hated him. Even if he was me and Ari's father.

"Brian," Annabell drawled out. "I love you. So much." I inwardly laughed. People say the stupidest things when they're drunk. Annabell staggered and looked into the room.

"OH HELL NO! BITCH! GET OFF OF MY MAN!" Annabell screeched. I winced, looked in and saw Annabell smack Omega, and glare at Sky. Okay, weirdness.

"You dirtied him you slut. Now you can have him," Annabell said, sounding like a six year old. She stumbled off. Sky stared after the drunk, her face slowly contorting with anger. Omega slowly touched his cheek.

"Five minute break now," he said and Sky stomped off. I went after her.

Max's POV

Not thinking (as usual) I went up to Sam and tapped him on the the shoulder. The boy turned around and the smile that he had dropped faster and I think he had shit his pants when he saw me and Fang, arms crossed, glaring.

"Um—uh...it's not what you think," Sam said. The slur was obvious in his voice. Damn. I hope Lissa and Annabell won't be drunk. Or drunker than usual.

"Oh really?" I snarled. Let's play pretend! I pretend that I really cared for him. And I can break up with him here and now. Point for me. "What does it look like?"

"I don't know...do you know Lissa?" he asked. They stopped dancing and looked at us.

"NICK!!!" Lissa shrieked and threw her arm around Fang. He stiffened.

"Get off me," he said. She stepped away hurt written all over her eyes.

"B—but I thought you loved me," she said. Well, she's drunk.

Max, Jeb warned but I immediately shut him out. I didn't want to hear it.

"LISSA! OMG I HAVE THE LATEST!" I heard Annabell scream. She came towards us.

"What is it Annabell?" Lissa asked.

"That bitch and Omega, kissing! He and Brian are MINE! SO SHE BETTER BACK OFF!" Annabell got louder so now everyone around us was staring. And I lost five bucks. Crap.

"Excuse me? Look who's talking, the head bitch herself," I jumped and whirled to see Shadow glaring at Annabell, with Hunter behind her. Wait, if I heard and processed the information correctly...Shadow and Omega kissing?

Whoa. That's beyond freaky. And I should know. I have wings people!

"Okay, what's going on? There's more people here than there was before," Sam said. I rolled my eyes and flicked his head.

"Ow! That hurt! Have you been working out? Or was that a bee?" Sam said.

"A BEE!!! BEE-OTCH! Get it? Bee-otch? Ha ha!" Lissa said, cracking up.

"Way to be the only one laughing at your own joke," Shadow said. Hunter, Fang and I snickered and Lissa went quiet.

"I think you're funny," Sam said.

"Oh really, Sammy? That's so sweet," Lissa said kissing him. Which brought me back to my issue.

"We're over Sam," I said. Sam's eyes widened.

"No baby. That no right. How about you get me Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays while Lissa gets me Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays?" Sam said.

Oh hell no. That did it!

I heard Fang growl but ignored it. I smacked Sam, trying not to use my superhuman strength. He still hit the floor. Now, officially, everyone was staring.

"What are you? High too?" I asked.

"Wouldn't doubt it," Fang muttered. What's with him? Whatever. I have other things to worry about.

"Everyone!" Omega's voice echoed through the room. Everyone quieted. "Will the band members please come to the stage? Thank you." Shadow's eyes met my own before she turned and left. I knew what that meant.

It was super spy time.

Hunter: C, B, A. All done!

Shadow: (snore)

Me: Okay long chapter. And as Max said, the next chapter is super spy time. So yay! And a song in the next chapter. Double yay! And more pairings will become apparent in the the next chapter (cough cough) Shanter and (cough cough) Fax but there is a bit more Shanter than Fax (cough cough) Okay so review:)

Me: Okay peps I have to tell you something. I have two chapters. The songfic with Fax and a chappie with Shanter. The later one (Shanter) is the one I want to consult you, the readers, about.

It's a full, long chapter unintentionally, devoted to Shanter. I'm sorry. I got a wee bit carried away because it's so fun to play with my OC's because I can make them do what ever the hell I want. Like I can make Shadow (laid back chick) to do things that the lovable worrywort(not a diss, don't flame me) Max cannot do. So you, the readers, have a choice (power to the people)

a) Don't post the Shanter chappie at all.

b) Post it as a bonus after the songfic chapter

c)Post it in bits and pieces in the songfic (which would make it long 10 pgs minimum)

Whatever choice you pick will not affect the flow of the story. Now vote people.

Oh and I just added POV's to the last chapter so don't go desperately looking for any changes if you liked the last chapter.

SilverwingedShadow signing out.

Me: It's the moment you've all been waiting for. The winner is (cues Hunter to do the drumroll) Option B with 16 votes! In runner up is C with 8 votes, sorry people who voted C.

Shadow: Yada, yada, yada, don't own Maximum Ride. Owns us.

Me: And now here's what you all voted for. (cues dramatic music)

The Shanter chapter.

Shadow & Hunter: (gasps dramatically)

Me: And here we go.

Bonus Chapter: The Shanter

Shadow's POV

I turned and headed to the stage. But my mind was still reeling. Why did I kiss Omega? Every time I think about it I cringe and quiver inside. I felt...dirty...

Like I cheated on someone.

I shook my head and rubbed at my temples. This was not working. I pushed those feelings aside and concentrated on the other ones.

Why did I feel...familiarity in that kiss...like it's happened before? I mean nothing is familiar. Not since I have no memories of the past and-

At that minute the room started spinning. I blinked and tried to find a wall, something solid to lean on. I heard voices, music, everything too loud. Too many colors even though the lights were off and the only thing lit up was the different colored floodlights dancing around. Purple, blue, green, black...

Black light?

Foggy...only two voices now...mine and someone else's...

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard myself shriek. The other persons response was muffled. Then me again.

"Things between me and him right now are great, no, perfect. Which is amazing considering that we're constantly on the run with no shelter, our clothes hanging on us in rags but lets not dwell beca-" the voice a little clearer, familiar, said something undecipherable.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALM DOWN?! I WILL DO NO SUCH THING!" I heard myself scream. Whatever the other person did must've really shocked and pissed me off to make me explode like that.

"Listen here," I heard myself say softly. "You are like a brother to me, nothing more. I'm sorry if you have that there is something between us because there-WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" I heard loud laughter and it was obviously from a male.

"You thought-" he was chortling with laughter and with a sinking feeling I recognized his voice. Omega. "You thought that I like you in that way?!" he bursted out into laughter.

"Wha-?" I heard the confusion in my tone. I heard Omega catch his breath. I strained my eyes to clear up the fog. All I could catch is two shadows. One, presumably me(I recognize the stance), was standing up with my hands on my hips. The other, Omega, was sitting down, swinging his legs.

"I think that," Omega said calmly. I couldn't pick up the colors or surroundings. "It was a simple mistake. There is nothing between us except a strong friendship. You, Fang, Max, Iggy, and Hunter are my closest friends, and I don't want to mess anything up. You would be a heartbroken mess, Fang would be out for my blood, Hunter would shun me, Max would kick my ass and Iggy will be trying to keep the younger ones from seeing us fight. It would end catastrophically." My head was reeling from all of this information. The younger ones, Max, Iggy, Fang, Hunter...was this a memory from my past?

"So lets forget this happened?" I heard myself ask.

"Yes, Shadow. Lets just put it aside." he said. Silence then-"So how are things between you and Hunter?"

WHAT?

Alright Shadow, calm down, I assured myself. That can mean a couple of things.

"Fine," I heard myself say, shuffling my feet.

"Have you two kissed yet?" he asked teasingly.

"That is none of your concern," I heard myself say. But I knew myself. Cause you know, I'm me. And I could tell...we did.

Me and Hunter have kissed.

Oh. My. Gosh.

All of a sudden, the fog thickened then cleared.

To have a certain dirty-blond haired boy with golden eyes staring deeply into my eyes.

I blinked in surprise and looked at my surroundings. We were still in the party except-

I was pinned to the wall by Hunter.

Oh shiznits.

"Sky?" he asked. I struggled in response. And I realized that I couldn't move. My stomach dropped. Wait a sec...

Even if I went through some weird ass regaining memory thing or something, I still should've been able to move. Still should've been able to throw him ten feet in the air.

Unless he was an experiment.

My mouth went dry and I struggled harder. Lucky for me my back was to the wall so he couldn't feel my wings. I didn't wear that wing covering skin thing because it's itchy and uncomfortable.

And I didn't think I would be in this position.

"Sky? Are you okay?" he asked. What the hell?

"Get off me," I said. His expression hardened.

"Are. You. Okay," he growled, reminding me of Max for some odd reason. Maybe it's because I'm supposed to be setting up on stage right now to get her to the damn room.

"Why would you care?" I growled back, glaring at him. He returned the glare matching it's intensity.

"Because you muttered the name of someone of interest," he said. I snickered amd gave him a devious grin flashing my canines like I always do. A habit. I went to his ear and whispered softly enjoying how he shivered involuntarily because of it. Yes, I know, I'm such a bad ass.

"Who, you Brian? Or should I say-" I paused for dramatic effect. "Hunter?" I moved back to see the expression on his face. Shock mixed with anger. I don't know if he did it on purpose or not but he squeezed my wrists very hard. Ouch. It felt like, at any second they would snap. Which clarified two things.

1. He was an experiment.

2. I was in trouble.

I tried not to scream in pain and said "It's not nice to break anyones wrists for no good reason." His eyes widened in surprise and the grip loosened but didn't release. I started struggling again, a bit more violently though. If he doesn't let go this instant...

"How do you know?" he hissed at me.

"That's for me to know and you to never find out," I said glaring at him. He was getting more pissed and tightened his grip. He lowered his face to my level and our noses were touching-but that didn't matter. It felt like there was only me and him in the room.

"Tell. Me. Now," he hissed. I kept my mouth shut and I knew he was getting frustrated. But we couldn't on like this. Actually, I couldn't. I mean, so what that he was squeezing my wrists to dust? I could deal. But my wings...they were screaming in pain.

A whimper escaped me and I cursed myself. I didn't want to show weakness to him of all people. He immediately locked onto my eyes. I gulped. The mere closeness of those golden eyes made me...

My feelings were so jumbled up, I didn't know what I felt.

I stared at him and soon, automatically, I felt myself close my eyes, lean in...

...and kiss him.

Omega's POV

I saw Max and Fang both head for the hallways. How interesting. If didn't know any better I'd say that they were going to a more private space to snog, not upstairs to steal information from Itex.

Like I said, I'd only say that if I didn't know better.

I sighed as I thought about the past, where the Flock, as they affectionately called themselves, were back together. And it was all his fault. My eyes narrowed as I thought of the Directors' husband. But I call him the Director since he's the head of everything. She's just there for show, for inheritance. She was insignificant, if you really thought about it.

The old Director, she was the nice one. You're probably thinking, 'Are you psychopathic? How could anyone like someone ordered experiments on people?!' Let me tell you, Dr. Valencia Martinez, the old Director, Max's, Hunter's, Ella's and Ari's mother, didn't order any experiments on any one. She gave housing to the experiments that lasted like me.

Then she was murdered by her own husband.

Marian is not my real mother. She just says that I am her son now because according to her I'm an 'awesome experiment'. She's just like her mother. Who died of a wild experiment, good riddance.

I looked around again, a bit impatient. I couldn't find Hunter or Shadow anywhere. I sighed and cringed when I thought about Shadow. She's going to kill me when she gets her memories back.

If she gets them back.

Then I saw them. Hunter and Shadow, I mean. He had her against the wall.

And they were making out like there was no tomorrow.

And there wouldn't be if Jeb caught them like that. But whatever.

It took all my willpower not to jump up and shout in joy on stage. Maybe they were getting their memories back.

Then I saw a scientist with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes burst through the doors, looking PISSED. Oh shit.

Immediately, I jumped off the stage and located Annabell.

"Yes, honey," she slurred. I rolled my eyes. I'm going to chew out whoever brought alcohol to this party...

"You know Brian right?" I asked, remaining casual even though I was panicking.

"My baby? Of course," she said. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Yeah, he's making out with Sha-I mean Sky," I said. She basically exploded and I pointed her the way there.

Shadow's POV

"GET OFF HIM!" a familiar voice said. Which made my brain focus on what was going on.

Oh. My. God.

Hunter's tongue was in my mouth.

Oh God I'm going to-

His hands were gripping my wings.

I panicked and shoved him with much more force than necessary and ran off onto the stage.

"SHADOW!" I froze. How does he know my name? He's not supposed to...I ran backstage where Omega was standing there coolly.

"Instruments there. Plug in and take off," he said. I grabbed the guitar before I could question what he said and ran to stage. I looked around and saw Hunter and Annabell.

Kissing. Well, it looked more like Annabell threw herself at him...

No, I told myself. Don't make excuses for him.

I couldn't fight nor deny the surge of jealousy that hit me. I looked back at the crowd and sighed.

I so hate tonight.

Hunter looked up and say me staring at me. He shook his head vigorously but I ignored him.

Something told me it was going to be a long night.

Review please:)

Me: Sorry people, but my last minute decision is to exclude the song. Sorry. (gets pummeled with tomatoes)

Hunter: She doesn't own Maximum Ride. Or the song that will be mentioned. The version that we speak of is done by Dope.

Me: OW! THAT WAS A CELL PHONE!

Shadow: But she owns us.

Me: OKAY! STOP ATTACKING! THE SONG WILL BE MENTIONED AND THERE WILL BE ONE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT! (tomatoes stop attacking) Stupid evil tomatoes...

Tomato: (growls)

Chapter 8: You Spin Me Round

Max's POV

I waited impatiently for the song to start. What the hell was taking so long? Then...I recognized the rumbles of the floor. Lead guitar. I smirked. That's Shadow alright, amplifying them till it deafened everyone.

"Hello Maxine," a voice said. I jumped and whirled to see...

"Nicholas," I said, rolling my eyes. Not his real name but whatever, I don't really care what it was.

I, don't want to know your name

Okay maybe a bit. I glared at him. He was slowing me down.

"I know you love me but maybe we can reserve our date for a more appropriate time, just give me your number," Fang said. My glare intensified. That cocky son of a gun.

And I, do want your private number, baby

"Now Nicky-poo," I cooed, watching in satisfaction as he cringed. "This is a big girl's job, so let the adults have fun."

"And why can't I have fun with the adults," he said. I went into a fighter's stance. He was going to be a problem. He copied.

All I know is that to me

You look like you're lots of fun

Open up your loving arms

Hear what's up, what's up!

"You're a very interesting person Max," Fang said. I raised my eyebrow and he smirked. "You're just so..."

"Indescribable," I said.

"And unique," he complemented. Well, that covers the wings thing.

"No one else would be as fun as you," he muttered. Hm...getting a bit possessive there?

I set my sights on you(and no one else will do)

"I suggest you leave now Maxine," he said.

"Heh, that's funny coming from you, the person in my way," I said. His eyes narrowed.

And I,I,I,I, I've got to have my way now, baby

"Fine, have it your way," he said and lunged. Well, this should be entertaining. Especially when I snap his bones in half.

Don't underestimate your opponent Maximum, Jeb said.

All I know is that to me

You look like you're lots of fun

Open up your loving arms

Watch out, here I come

He threw a punch and I have to admit, he was pretty dang fast.

But not as fast as me.

You spin me right round baby, right round

I threw a punch to his stomach, which should've had him on the floor, howling in pain if he was a human.

He grunted and stepped back.

That's one mystery solved.

Like a record baby right round, round, round

He suddenly hit me on the back with a roundhouse kick. Ouch. I stumbled forward and looked at him. The confusion was evident on his face.

You spin me right round baby, right round

Like a record baby right round round round

"You're going down now," I hissed going back into my fighter's stance. I couldn't help but remember how a few minutes ago, he was backing me up against Sam. Funny how some things turn out.

I, don't want to be your friend now baby

"I highly doubt that," he said. He sent a roundhouse kick and I dodged and I threw a punch, which he dodged. Damn, this was going no where.

"Who are you really?" he asked.

"None of your beeswax," I snarled.

But I, I want to move in just a little bit closer

All I know is that to me

You look like you're lots of fun

Open up your loving arms

Watch out here I come

"Fine have it your way," he said, and threw another punch. I leaned back, and threw an uppercut. The air rushed out of him and I did a high kick. He ended up sprawled on his back. I grimaced at the feeling in my stomach. Guilt...

I shook my head, and the music was a reminder that I had to go. I ran through the door he was blocking and looked behind me. Fang.

Damn, why couldn't he just stay down.

You spin me right round baby, right round

Like a record baby right round round round

You spin me right round baby, right round

Like a record baby right round round round

Fang noticed me staring at him and shot me a lop-sided grin that made my heart flutter. I shook my head. I was not falling for him.

"You didn't expect me to miss all the fun, right?" he said.

All I know is that to me

You look like you're lots of fun

Open up your loving arms

Watch out, here I come

"You know, you can just sit this one out. I'm all over it," I said, turning right.

"Aw c'mon Maxie. I want a bit of action too," he said catching up to my pace. I glared at him and soon it became a race of who could reach the door first.

You spin me right round baby, right round

Like a record baby right round round round

You spin me right round baby, right round

Like a record baby right round round round

I could hear the guitar fading and rushed. All of the electricity that had been fueling the door was forwarded to the stage. If it wasn't sent there...

Then, the lead guitar ripped out it's own solo. I smirked. This is why Shadow is my right-hand woman. Or should I say left-hand because she's a lefty? Oh well.

"See you later," I said, and sped up. Yep, genetic engineering at work. As Jeb says: You were made for speed and agility. Shadow was made for power(as in strength power not political power) and endurance. You two are special marvels. Blah blah, blah.

It's amazing how you can manage to joke around at a time like this, Jeb put in.

Yeah I know. The scientists made me full of surprises, I thought back. I focused and turned left to see the opening. Electricity was flaring every few seconds. Ugh. Don't they have better things to do then to design death traps?

I braced myself and dove through the opening as the guitar solo came to a close. I rolled on the floor and picked myself up. I looked back to see if Fang was out there, glaring at the electricity guarding the door.

But no.

Instead, Fang was standing up next to me, dusting himself off. That jerk. I slipped into my fighter's stance. Fang held a hand up and I narrowed my eyes.

"Why can't we both," he said. "Get the information together, without fighting?" I blinked. He was suggesting that we get the info together? That's not a bad suggestion. I mean, as long as he doesn't try to kill me the way there. Or anyone else.

No Max. Don't do it, Jeb said. I rolled my eyes.

Why Jeb? Why shouldn't I?

Because you shouldn't trust the Fallen, he answered.

"Max?" Fang asked. The way he said that...

MAX! LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE! Jeb screamed in my head. I winced. That really hurt.

"Max? Are you okay?" Fang asked again. I held up a finger. One moment Fang, just speaking to a demented Voice in my head...

Max, I'm warning you. Listen to me RIGHT now. If you don't you will suffer the consequences, he said.

No Jeb, you listen to ME, I thought. I'm doing this mission the way I want to. I'm here putting my ass on the line so I'm going to do it the way I see fit. Got that?

Fine Maximum. But remember...YOU ASKED FOR IT.

In the next moment my head exploded and I fell into pain and darkness.

Shadow's POV

The whole time that I was on that freaking stage, I was hop/dancing away from Hunter who kept hop/dancing near me. And now was worse. Now I couldn't hop/dance away now and bonus! I can actually hear what he's-

"SHADOW!" There he goes again.

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed back. I pushed threw the various people, who kept patting me on the back for my "excellent performance." Thus proving everyone was drunk.

"C'MON JUST SPEAK TO ME!" he called.

"NO!" I sounded like a child. Oh well. I ran out of the party room and into the ladies bathroom. I turned the cold water onto full blast and splashed it onto my face. It was the harsh smack back to reality I needed. I grabbed a paper towel and wiped my face. I looked back in the mirror.

I sneered at my reflection. Unlike Max, Nudge and Angel, who could hide the fact that they were a freak, I couldn't. I mean, I had silver eyes people, SILVER EYES! Can you pull that off with out looking like a freak? Without people staring at you when you pass by down the street?

Lucky for me, I don't give a shit about what people think.

I stepped out and peeked out to the hallway. Hunter was there looking around desperately. I couldn't help it. I walked behind him, as silent as always, and...

"BOO!" I said, putting my hands and his shoulder. He whirled around, throwing a punch. He was as fast as Max. But I have pretty quick reflexes too. I grabbed his punch and corkscrewed his arm. His eyes widened when he recognized it was me.

"Don't do that!" he scolded. I cackled evilly and released his arm.

"So," he said. I kept my expression impassive. "You're an experiment." It wasn't really a question so I wasn't going to give a straight answer. Instead...

"And you are one?" I asked. He looked at me, his golden eyes, scrutinizing.

"Yes."

"What type?" I asked. He opened his mouth to answer but his expression turned to one of torture. He cried out and and fell to the ground.

"Hunter!" I cried out and reached out and turned him over. His face was contorted with pain but he was unconscious.

Great. Just great.

Why does this shit always happen to me? Why?

Here I was in the middle of enemy headquarters with a boy who may have been something more in some past life of mine, and he's going all psycho on me. And here's a plus. Fang's running towards us with Max screaming in his arms.

Did I mention that I so hated tonight?

Oh, I did? Well, excuse me for my repetition. Let me say a variety.

Tonight sucks. How's that?

Fang and I looked at one another. His olive skin, his black hair...weird, he reminds me of someone.

"Trade and submit for tonight?" I asked. He nodded and I stood up. He helped me support Max and he easily supported Hunter.

"How are you going to get home?" Fang asked. I shrugged.

"Cab."

"Do you want to ride in my car?" he asked. I gave him a suspicious look and he held his hands up sending me and innocent look. At the same time, both Max and Hunter cried out. I blinked.

"As long as I drive," I answered. He thought about it and nodded. We both stumbled out and I followed him to his car. It was a plain black Ford Mustang. Ooo, me likey. Fang opened the door and hauled Hunter into the back. I handed him Max, and he put her gently in. Hmm...

I went to the drivers side, got in, waited for Fangy to get comfy, released the brakes and took off.

"Hey you," he looked at me. "Cover your eyes."

"Your wish is my command, oh great mistress," he muttered.

"Oh shut up," I said, glaring at him.

"Keep your eyes on the road," he said pulling his shirt over his face. I rolled my eyes and looked at the mirror to check on Max and Hunter. They sported identical masks of pain. And by identical I mean identical. I felt my eyes widen.

Same dirty blond hair, same skin tone, same amount of freckles...Good God.

They could pass as brother and sister, better yet twins.

"Do you always daydream while driving? It's not very good you know," Fang commented from beside me. I glared at him and snickered, unable to stay angry at him. He looked ridiculous. His black shirt covering him outlined his face and a tufts of black hair peaked out from the collar of his shirt since it was on his hair.

"What?" he asked, pulling down his shirt and eying me.

"Nu-uh. You can't break the deal," I said taking a hand of the wheel and wagging it in front of his face. He scowled and pulled the shirt over his head.

"Both hands on the wheel, eyes on the road," he said. I rolled my eyes and complied.

"Of course brother," I said. He tensed and turned to me with the shirt still covering him. I shot him a sideways look.

"Just a joke," I said. He nodded and stared (or did the best he could) at the road ahead.

I reached the house and stopped the car.

"We're here," I said. He put on his shirt properly and looked at our house.

"Cozy," he said. I shrugged.

"Shelter." I wouldn't call it home...

He nodded and I left the car, and went back around and Fang handed me Max.

"Thanks...for everything," I said. He nodded and went to the drivers side of the car.

"Wait," I said, a burning question on the tip of my tongue. He looked at me questioning. "Why?" He turned away and bit his lip.

"I...don't know," he said, opening the door and got in. I nodded as he drove away. I understood him. It was weird, to help each other, but it felt right.

I looked at the moaning mess beside me. Best get her inside. I walked back, no problem to the front door, pulled my set of keys out and opened the door. I stepped in and...

Someone's hand covered my mouth. Oh triple shit. Fuck's more like it.

I screamed but it was muffled by the hand. I felt a prick at my side and slowly I let go of Max and I, myself fell to the ground.

The last thing I heard was Angel's scream...

Me: Oh shiznets! What happened? What's with Fang? Does Hunter remember everything? And what about Shadow and Max? Find out in the next chapter. Oh and review while you're at it. The button doesn't bite:)

Me: Okay, eleventh chapter. Yay! I don't own Maximum Ride or the song Origin and Whisper by Evanescence.(sighs) This chapter is important so just keep this in your mind.

Shadow: But she owns her OC's and the plot, so no stealing.

Hunter: (nods) This version of Whisper is the Origin version.

Me: Didn't I just imply that since it's Origin and Whisper?

Hunter: Yeah, but you didn't imply that it was from the album Origin.

Shadow: Thanks to Nathaniel773, midnightshadowwings, disneydork, WANNABE-AUTHOR92, Roast.beef.writer, aznjtgirl, Amethyst-Violet, EdwardAddict, whatever95, skyflyer81310, Green.Winged.Mistress, Weasleygrlz07, meepisms, NorahJones, AuburnAlice, 278219, BOSSYGRL9678, Jesus-Freak2142(hands her Hunter clone version 2.0), Kokari, hxcb, sunybee, golden-clawed-angel, Maximum Ride all the way, lion fell in luv with the lamb, and kunoichiXwitch. Now for the chapter you've been waiting for...

Chapter 9: Origins and Whispers(ha)

Max's POV

Running. Desperation. Why...?

Flock...need to get to Flock...wait. Who were they?

I looked to my right and saw Fang, running next to me, his face set. Hm...maybe I should see how this rides out...

I looked ahead and saw a house. That's where I needed to go. The house.

I pushed through the door and looked around the house. All the lights were off and everything was turned over and broken and some way, shape, or form. Worry and anger washed over me for no apparent reason.Well, maybe there was a reason and I just couldn't remember it. Just like I couldn't remember my past. But what if..

What if this is my past?

Fang and I exchanged a look and we both approached the living room cautiously. There the television was flickering. Odd, random images ran across the screen. Then a man...Jeb...came on the screen. And for some reason, that made extreme hate run through me. Then he spoke:

You hold the answers deep within your own mind

The screen flickered again to white noise, then focused on a lady with brown eyes, which made comfort, love and worry run through me. She was standing at a podium, looking outraged She said:

Death in it's most hideous form

The screen flickered again and this time it read: Surrender and your Flock won't die. If you get here on time.I turned and nodded at Fang. We ran out the house and jumped into the night sky.

I spread my brown and white speckled wings and flew up. I looked at Fang, expecting him to be looking at me from the ground, amazed.

Instead, he was flapping steady next to me, his midnight wings glinting in the moonlight.

My jaw would've dropped, except I had no control over my body.

Fang? With wings?

This couldn't be real. Not a memory. Nope. Not at all.

Fang and I surged off and, a few minutes later, an explosion went off in my head.

Crap.

Why the hell does this stuff happen to me? Why?

I felt myself falling. And I thought you couldn't die in dreams.

Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around me. Even though my head was throbbing, I cracked my eyes open. Fang.

Catch me as I fall

"Don't worry Max, I'm here." He said. "This night has been stressful enough...I'm going to land." I could feel us approaching the ground. I closed my ears, feeling my muscles relax.

Say you're here and it's all over now

I opened my eyes and we were at a camp, like everything was fast-forwarded. It was midnight now. The fire was flickering and I could see Fang sitting next to me, eyes closed, but his body was tense.

"Fang, where are we?" I asked.

"In a forest," he answered.

"But which one?" No answer. I sighed and decided to sort through my jumbled up mind.

Speaking to the atmosphere

No one's here and I fall into myself

Then Fang jumped up, grabbed my arm, and hauled me up.

"Huh?" I said. I didn't...

Suddenly a werewolf thing popped out of the forest. Eraser. My eyes widened. Oh crap...

"Don't worry Fangy. Just leaving a gift," It said. It dropped a portable TV on the ground and disappeared. Fang looked around, his eyes obscured by his bangs and walked forward. I followed. He picked up the machine and held it up for both of us to see.

There was a women with blonde hair and brown eyes, looking absolutely smug. I narrowed my eyes as hate washed over me and this time, I knew why. The Director started to speak.

"Hello Maximum, Fang. I have your...Flock," She spat out the word as if it was poison. Well, she could go su- "You can get them back in one piece, if you cooperate, if you-" Fang threw it across the clearing and into a tree.

"Bu-" I started.

"No. We'll get them on our own, without any side dealing," he said. I nodded but a little part was screaming, We can save them, we can just sacrifice ourselves...

This truth drives me into madness

I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away

It felt like everything was fast-forwarding again. Fang and I took off and landed a few miles away. It felt weird like time was passing by for a reason. Like my mind wanted to show me something. Jeb's line got stuck in my head. You hold the answers deep within your own mind.

Fang looked at me and shot me a smile, which even in a dream, seemed to light up the area around me. Eh, my mind's probably playing tricks on me. No way his smile was that dazzling.

"We'll do this together," he said. I looked ahead and saw a white washed building. The School,my mind registered. He grabbed my hand and we walked straight in together.

I ignored the antiseptic smell and walked ahead. I had to be brave. I couldn't run away. This was for the Flock.

Don't turn away (Don't give into the pain)

I could hear other experiments screaming in pain and it took all of my willpower not to run over and set them free. I had to keep moving.

Don't try to hide(Though they're screaming your name)

"Max, look ahead, don't look at anything. Just concentrate on what's ahead of you," Fang said. I wondered how he was dealing with this...

Don't close your eyes(God knows what lies behind them)

Don't turn off the light(Never sleep never die)

I couldn't help it. I looked to my left. And my stomach revolted.

There was a kid there. Covered, head to toe, with fungi.

Sweet mercy...

I'm frightened by what I see

I didn't bother looking to the sides anymore. It was too risky.

But somehow I know

That there's much more to come

Erasers came into view and started to come in our direction. I felt my body freeze up.

Immobilized by my fear

Fang grabbed my arm and he dragged me into a room. He shut the door and looked at me, anger and concern written on his face.

"What's wrong with you?" he hissed. I was too shaken up to answer. He put a hand on my shoulder, his expression softening.

"Everything will be alright jus-" Fang was cut off when a scream pierced the air followed by the Eraser maniacal laughs.

"The janitor will need to clean that up," one of them said. Oh God, that's so-

I gulped down the cotton in my throat and I could feel my eyes watering. Fang's face was like stone.

And soon to be

Blinded by tears

"What if we're too late?" I whispered to Fang. He looked at me and didn't answer. The Voice said started talking again, If you go and see what the Director wants, then you won't have to take that risk.

I can stop the pain if I will it all away

Fang peaked through the window and gestured for me that it was safe. I got up and went to the door.

"Lets go," I said, my voice strong despite what just happened. He nodded and we stepped into the hallway, the mood sobered.

Don't turn away(Don't give into the pain)

Don't try to hide(Though they're screaming your name)

I looked down the hall. Safe, it seemed. But I knew I was in the middle of hell and I would never be safe as long as I was here.

Don't close your eyes(God knows what lies behind them)

Don't turn of the light(Never sleep, never die)

"They're close," I muttered. I could feel them, the rest of the Flock. Closer...closer...

I turned and opened the door. And screamed in horror.

Seven kids were on the ground, pools of blood around them. They were covered in blood. I felt like my entire being was shattering. The Flock...failed...I failed them...

The walls were splattered with blood and the holes on the wall indicated that the Erasers, or whoever did this was using guns.

"No..." Fang whispered.

Fallen Angels at my feet

If you listened Max, the Voice piqued up. They would be alive.

Whispered voices at my ear

Fang went over, kneeled down and turned one of them over. The girl's silver eyes were unmistakable and my legs went to putty underneath me. I hung onto the door frame. Fang went to her wrist and felt for her pulse. His face turned from pleading, to disbelief, to pure sorrow.

"Sh-She's dead," he whispered.

No-not Shadow...

"I think," Tears were running down Fang's face now. Oh God, Fang never cries. This must be bad, really bad."That they all are."

I cried out and fell to the ground, sobs making me shudder violently. Not my Flock...not my brothers...not my baby...Please NO!

Death before my eyes

A voice fizzled to life on the intercom and she stared to speak.

"Would experiment M10116g25 report to the Director's office. I repeat, would experiment M10116g25 report to the Director's office. Thank you."

My brain started reeling. That was my number...

Lying next to me I fear

She beckons me shall I give in?

Upon my end shall I begin

I stood up slowly, shaking, and looked at Fang. He was staring off, obviously in shock. He had closed Shadow's eyes, and I felt tears welling up again. I'm so sorry...but I have to do this.

That's right Max, the Voice purred in my head. See what happens when you resist the flow? Only pain comes. Now go to the Director's office and see what she wants, and leave Fang here. He only resists the flow, bringing you more pain. Do you want more pain Max?

No, I answered.

Then go.

Forsaking all I've fallen for I rise to meet my end

"Sorry Fang," I whispered. He looked up, surprised. I scanned his face one last time, knowing this might be the last time I would see him.

"I love you," I whispered. WHAT?! I ran out, slamming the door behind me, thus locking it. I could hear him banging against it, screaming my name. Sorry Fang.

I took a bunch of turns and finally it lead the a blue carpeted hallway. With blood splatters painting the walls.

I almost threw up right then and there. Will the nightmare never end?

I held in my meal and stumbled through the big, silver doors. There sitting at the desk, was the Director, a triumphant grin spread on her features. I looked away from her, hating her very image.

Don't turn away(Don't give into the pain)

From the sides of me, Erasers popped out and restrained me. I didn't fight back, there was no point. I tried to curl in a ball, but one of them kicked me. I didn't feel it.

Don't try to hide(Though they're screaming your name)

"Well Max, since you continually disobeyed my orders and warning, you shall be-" I shut her voice out and squeezed my eyes shut. Let this be quick so I can hear their voices again... But all I saw was the blood splattered walls of the room, haunting me.

Don't close your eyes(God knows what lies behind them)

"Benjamin, can you be a dear and shut the light off? I don't want to see the mess this is going to leave behind," she said. I grinned to myself. At least I would leave a mess behind. I'll be splatter on the wall, just like everyone else. Just like Fang would be. Soon, he would join us.

Don't turn off the light

I heard the gun cock and the bang deafened me.

Pain.

Darkness.

Never sleep, never die...

A screeching sound assaulted my ears and I jolted up into sitting position. I opened my eyes and saw I was in a room. Only a shaft of light came through the window and I realized that I was in the basement. Covered in sweat and breathing hard, I wiped my forehead with my arm.

"Max?" I looked towards the source and saw Shadow coming over and putting her hand on my shoulder. I shuddered when I thought of her covered with blood. All that blood...

"Max, it's okay. It was all just a dream," She said. Was it really?

I looked at her again and saw she had a angry look in her eye, which put my danger alert on high.

"Wh-"I was cut off.

"Hello Maximum," I heard Jeb's voice say. I looked over Shadow's shoulder and saw him there, sitting at a long table with the others. "Welcome to your trial."

"My what?" I asked. Hey, I just woke up. Cut me some slack for not being on top of things.

"We're being put on trial," Shadow said, pursing her lips. My eyebrow shot up.

"For what?"

"For treason," Jeb and Shadow said at the same time.

Well crap.

Me: Any questions, comments, concerns? Press the blue button down there and you may get your answer:) Oh and the italics were the song, the bold was Max's thoughts during the dream and the underlined/italiced was Max's thoughts about the dream. The bold/italiced was the Voice. Just clearing that up...

Me: AH! I can wait no longer! Here's the next chapter. Okay I don't own Maximum Ride or Halo 3.

Hunter: But she owns her OC's and her plot. So don't take it.

Shadow: Thanks to meepisms, Nathaniel773, AuburnAlice, Brooke, EdwardAddict, Pyromaniac-Girl, Within My Grasp, Weasleygrlz07, Wings of Water- Skye, XIII Dragon, golden-clawed-angel, Amethyst-Violet, maxridefan95, hxcb, angel unseen, sharp fang (Happy birthday!), whatever95, aznijtgirl, FangWannabe, Kokari, BOSSYGRL9678, Jesus-Freak2142, bibliocrazed, and lilswickey101 for reviewing for the last chapter.

Hunter: Start chapter! (presses start chapter button)

Chapter 10: Treason

Max's POV

"What did we do?" I asked attempting to stand up. Shadow helped balance me. Jeb narrowed his eyes at me. He was usually a nice guy...

"You betrayed the Angels," he said.

"And how is that? We don't even know what we did! How can we do something that we didn't even know what we did?!" Shadow asked. He glared at her.

"I think you know what you did," he said. Shadow glared back.

"I think I don't. And I know because I'm me," she spat out. He rolled his eyes and addressed the table.

"On Saturday night at approximately nine thirty seven, I caught Shadow," He pointed to her. "Being intimate with the enemy." I was shocked. This had to be some kind of joke...

"EXCUSE ME?!" Shadow exploded. I looked at her. It looked like all the blood had drained from her face.

"Here's the evidence," Jeb said smugly, passing a paper around the table. I snatched it before it got to Angel and looked at it. And there it was.

Hunter had Shadow against the wall and they were kissing-how did Jeb say it? Oh yeah-intimately.

I crumpled it up in my hand and looked at Shadow. She was glaring at Jeb her arms crossed.

I couldn't believe it. Shadow was my right hand woman. She wouldn't...couldn't-

"You said you caught me as if you saw me doing that up close and-MMPH!" Suddenly a claw like, arm things conveniently popped out the wall and grabbed Shadow's arms, legs, and mouth, and pinned her against the wall.

"HEY!" I screamed. I ran over and tried to get those things off of her.

"Get off of the things before you get another punishment Maximum," Jeb said. Wait...what punishment? I tried to remember and there was...

I shuddered. All that pain...

Shadow's eyes flashed with anger, then looked pleadingly at me. To back up, to let her take her punishment.

That's when I knew that something was wrong.

It didn't add up. Jeb gave me that brain attack, yes, but he was letting me off way too easily.

"Max, your judgment was already served and executed. Cass, can you remove Angel, and Nudge from the premises, please?" he said. "Max, sit where Cass was sitting." I went over and sat down. Cass grabbed Nudge's and Angel's hand. Then...

"NO! DON'T LET HIM MAX! DON'T!" Angel screamed. I looked over and saw my baby being dragged out by Cass and Nudge looking over, worried. Just what was going to happen?

Shadow's POV

The metal around my fists was getting uncomfortable. They just dragged Angel out and I was getting nervous. Just what was my punishment?

"Your sentence is electric shock," Jeb said. My jaw would've dropped if it could. What the hell was he smoking? "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" The metal around my mouth went away.

"Yeah, what are you on? It was a freaking mistake! Humans do that sometimes!" I shouted, the nervousness making me loose my calm demeanor.

"But you're not human," Jeb said and pulled out a remote.

"Exactly, not fully human. Giving me more excuse to make mistakes," I said.

"So you're excuse for being intimate with the enemy is that you're not fully human? Please Shadow," I shuddered, hating the way he said my name. "Don't make pathetic excuses."

"Jeb, you're blowing this way out of proportion-" Max started, but Jeb held his hand up.

"Nothing you say can stop what I'm going to do," he said simply. He put on his voice scrambler.

"This is for betraying the Angels," He pressed and held a button. At first it was a minor, a small tingling.

Then, he started to turn the dial.

I bit my lip to prevent myself from screaming. Show no weakness...

My lip started to bleed. The pain was becoming intense, traveling up my spine. Then I couldn't take it anymore. I whimpered. I thought I saw Jeb smirk. Bastard...

And he turned the dial up more.

I'll admit, I screamed. Max shouted something, ran over and he immediately let go of the button. She tugged at the shackles. I growled at her. The last thing we needed was the Leader to get hurt again.

"Chris, Ella, please escort Maximum out of the room," I saw Max start to struggle.

"Go," I whispered. She looked at me confused. "Just go they need you more than they need me. Go." She bit her lip and left. I looked back at Jeb, glaring at him.

"You asked for it," he said through the voice scrambler. Wait, why was he using that? Before I could answer the pain started, screaming...

Pain.

So much pain...

I was barely conscious when it finally stopped. My throat, stomach, well, all of my organs felt like they were in different places then they were before.

"So what are you now that you've betrayed us?" Jeb hissed. "A Fallen Angel?" I laughed, a throaty, hoarse sound. For some reason, that was utterly hilarious.

"Just maybe I am Jeb. Maybe I am," I said. His face turned into a mask of fury. Then...

Darkness.

Peace.

Max's POV

I covered Angel's ears as tears leaked down her face. Nudge was silent by the window. The others, Cass, Chris, and Ella were sitting at the sofa, as if nothing was happening. I gritted my teeth. I'll talk to them about this later...

Another round of screaming went in the air. Angel buried her head in my shirt. I recognized it to be the one from last night. From that stupid party.

Then it stopped. I could hear the electricity stop flowing to the area. Then Jeb came up, looking tired. I glared at him.

"Was that necessary? Was that really fucking necessary?" I screeched.

"Watch your language. Angel is right in front of you," Jeb said. That set me off especially since he went straight to computer, like nothing happened.

"Oh, she heard her older sister figure screaming to the heavens in freaking pain downstairs, but that shouldn't scar her for life. The fact that I slipped and cursed should have her on the floor bawling!" I hissed.

"Please Maximum, it's the life of a spy. She either gets used to it now or never," I wasn't sure who he was talking about. I breathed out a massaged the bridge of my nose.

"Where's Shadow?"

"Downstairs. She won't be going anywhere for a while," he said. That made my eyes snap open.

"What. Did. You. Do?" I growled. Jeb looked at me.

"What I had to," I whirled around and went out the door and down to the basement.

It smelled like burned flesh down there. I wrinkled my nose. I went forward and saw her. She was hanging limply from the wall. Oh fuck...

"JEB!" I screamed and ran up the stairs. But his car was already gone. That son of a fucking bitch.

I went back downstairs and looked at the remote. I unlocked the straps and caught Shadow before she hit the ground. Where the shackles had been, there were angry looking scars. I shuddered and brought her upstairs, my mind jumbled.

Fang's POV

I watched Hunter's gold eyes flutter open. He sat up slowly and rubbed his head.

"Where-" He started to ask.

"We're home," I said. He straightened up.

"What? Why? Didn't we-weren't we on a mission?" he asked. I rolled my eyes at his disorientation. He could be so slow sometimes.

"Yes Hunter," I said slowly. "We were until you...did whatever you did," I said. He looked at me, something dawning on him, I could tell because his eyes lit up.

"Wonder boy finally gets a clue," I said. He glared at me and ran a hand through his hair.

"So...what happened with Shadow?" he said. I blinked. Who the heck was Shadow?

"I mean Sky," he clarified.

"She should be fine. Why? And why'd you just call her Shadow?" I asked.

"No-um...if I told you, you would kill me," he said looking away.

"Really?" He nodded.

"So you guys are secretly going out and she told you her secret name, and you told her everything about us?" I said. What? I really couldn't resist the look on his face.

"NO! I mean, something happened but..." he trailed off, irritating me.

"Then tell me already. I'm not a freaking mind reader!"

"Well-" he was cut off by someone's hollering.

"JEB'S HERE!" someone called. I looked at Hunter, who was standing up, unbalanced. We walked out the room and I helped him down the stairs. I couldn't risk him tripping and falling down the stairs. I wasn't in the mood for blood.

Jeb was on the computer in the living room, looking tired. I didn't like him or trust him. He was just too sneaky sometimes.

"I have footage from the Angel's headquarters," he said. I tuned into what he was saying.

"I advise you get Ari and the Gasman out of here," Jeb said. I looked at Lies, their caretaker, and he took them out, saying something about Halo 3.

"Come here," he said. He pressed the play button on the video player, and it showed an image of Sky-or Shadow...whatever, hanging on a wall. Without getting into the oh so riveting details, lets just say she looked like crap. Hunter tensed next to me.

"This is for betraying the Angels," a voice said. It was obviously put through a voice scrambler.

"That was the leader of the Angels," Jeb said.

"Maxine?" Ghost asked. I immediately knew the answer. No.

"No, the higher honcho than Maxine," Iggy said. Something was happening with Sky. She was shaking a bit, then more violently.

"Wh-" Ghost asked. Blood started falling from her lip. Most of her face was concealed with her hair. I heard a soft sound. She looked straight at the camera, glaring, and I could swear she mouthed the word basterd.

Then her eyes widened. And she started screaming in pain.

"WHAT THE HELL'S HAPPENING TO HER?!" Hunter yelled standing up. I looked at him. He had a wild look on his face, as if he was going to punch something.

"Shock treatment," Jeb said simply. I blinked. I thought that was out dated.

"SHADOW!" I heard a familiar voice scream. I locked onto the screen. Maxine had ran over, tugging at the shackles. Shadow, I guess, growled at her and two of the Angels went up to Max and pulled her away. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Max was alive.

"What did they say?" Ghost asked.

"Sky-er Shadow-insisted that Maxine leave, that they, she doesn't specify who, need Maxine more than they need her," Iggy said. I blinked. Sky obviously wasn't talking about Chris and that other girl, they were old enough to take care of themselves.

"You asked for it," their head honcho said. The screaming began again.

"Shit," Ghost muttered from next to me. I looked at Hunter. He was clutching a pillow from the couch so tightly, his knuckles were white. I raised my eyebrow and looked at him. He refused to meet my gaze.

"What's the point of us hearing this?" Iggy asked. I looked at Jeb.

"This is why we are against the Angels. They think that they are good, but look at how they punish their employees," he answered.

"But what did she do?" Ghost asked. Jeb stared pointedly at Hunter. Uh-oh...

"Shadow and Hunter were caught by the Head of the Angels kissing very...intimately," Jeb said. I looked at Hunter, who was concentrating on the ground. "Since it was her who made the first move, she was punished." Hunter looked up, his eyes wide.

"But I was the one who had her against the wall in the first place. And I kissed her back. They should've punished me no-" Abruptly, the screaming stopped.

"So what are you now that you've betrayed us?" the Head said. "A Fallen Angel?" For some odd reason that stood in my head. Fallen Angel. Fallen Angel. A hoarse, throaty sound emerged and I realized she had been laughing.

"Just maybe I am-" the sound cut off. "Maybe I am." Then the video cut off with her last, agonized scream.

Silence.

"Did the Head kill her?" Hunter whispered.

"Better for us," Ghost snorted. Hunter glared at him and I shot him a look. That really wasn't necessary.

"Aw. Why the looks? You don't want your girlfriends to be dead?" Ghost mocked. I growled, and Hunter lunged at him. The landed on the ground with a thud and Hunter drew a fist back to punch him. I dragged Hunter off of Ghost. Ghost was just a human, after all. No matter how much I want him beaten to a pulp for his little comment.

"SHE'S JUST LIKE US! JUST LIKE ME!" Hunter roared. I dragged him out the room and into the kitchen and pushed him into a chair.

"Calm down," I hissed. He breathed out and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Now, what the hell were you shouting about?"

"When I was-you know- my hands were in her shirt-" I grimaced.

"I didn't want to know that piece of information," I said. He glared at me, and I went silent. This must've been really serious.

"Hear me out, okay!" he exclaimed. "She's just like us! I felt the wings on her back!" I felt my eyes widen.

"Are you sure?" he glared at me.

"Now why the heck would I lie about that?"

"More bird kids?" I asked. Hunter nodded. I swallowed.

"Maxine could be one." That suggestion had joy and dread run through me at the same time.

Hunter met my eyes and we nodded at the same time. "Plan it is."

Max's POV

"Shadow?" I whispered. It had been a few hours since Jeb's great escape. Shadow's eyes fluttered open and she looked around.

"Where am I?" she croaked, her voice hoarse. I handed her a drink of water. She eyed it suspiciously.

"You're home. With me and Nudge, and Angel an-" she cut me off.

"Where's he? Where's the angel with gold wings?" she asked looking at me seriously.

"The only angel here is...Angel. And none of us have gold wings," I said slowly. Her eyes were confused.

"Wha...But he's real! I think..." Shadow sounded like Angel for a second. She started to sip her water.

"Shadow, the only people here with wings is me, you, Nudge, and Angel. Everyone else here is human with the exception of Total. Jeb may also be part mon-" I stopped when Shadow spewed her drink across the room. Her facial expression turned deadly. Well, there's the Shadow we all know and love.

"Where is he?" she growled.

"Calm down, he's not here," I said. She settled down. I noticed her hand was shaking violently, spilling water all over the place. I tried not to stare. That wasn't her fault and she would be like that for a few days.

"Shadow," I started. She tensed and the water spillage stopped. "What were you thinking?"

She glared at me. "That really wasn't my fault."

"So who's fault was it? If I saw the picture right, you two were both going at it," I said, standing up, the tensions of the day, boiling over.

"Oh, so I DESERVED THAT?!" She said, shooting up also. "I DESERVED to be ELECTROCUTED?! I DESERVED to be-" she winced and rubbed her temples.

"Shadow?" I said immediatly feeling guilty. Ireached for her. She smacked my hand away, stood up, and went to our room and slammed the door so hard, it felt like the whole house trembled.

Great. My stressful day was complete.

TFA

"Ma-ax," Nudge sung. I looked at her.

"I'm hun-gry," she continued. I blinked.

"And you're telling Max this because you have a death wish?" Chris teased.

"And? So what I can't cook? I can still kick your butt from here to next week," I said glaring at her. She laughed and flipped the channel.

"Max, there's nothing in the fridge," Cass said. I sighed and stood up.

"Everyone in the car. We're going to the supermarket," I said. Angel and Nudge ran outside with Cass trailing close behind. Chris and Cass were talking about something and walked out. I went up to my room and rapped softly on the door.

Shadow was still angry at me. It had been a few days since our arguement and she hasn't spoken one word to me. Because she's a stubborn butt.

"Shadow," I called. "We're going to the supermarket." The door opened and out came Shadow. She handed me the keys for the car and walked out.

"What about me?" Total said at my feet. I kneeled down and patted his head.

"You can guard the house," I said. He grumbled something about not being a St. Bernard and trotted off. I rolled my eyes and left the house, locking the door behind me.

The van was big. And silver. And it held all of us comfortably. So it was good enough for me.

"I wanna drive," Nudge whined.

"No, I want to," Ella argued.

"I'm driving," I said. The blood drained from both of their faces and they went into the car.

"C'mon guys, I'm not that bad of a driver," I said.

"That's why Shadow's taking the motorcycle. She thinks you're such a wonderful driver but she needs a break," Chris said. I glared at her as Shadow walked out, bringing my baby-er our baby...I mean motorcycle-out in the open. It was black and sky blue, and was Nudge's gift to us for Christmas.

"It's okay that I ride it, right?" Shadow asked. I nodded, staring at the bike.

"Don't worry, she won't crash it anywhere," Angel called.

"She's as possessive over it as you are," Chris muttered. I glared at her as I got in the car.

"You got jokes today, don't you?" I said, putting the keys in the ignition. She shrugged.

"Let's go already!" Ella whined. I rolled my eyes and hit the gas, heading off to the supermarket.

Me: He he...I'm making Jeb such a basterd. Supermarket...how interesting...Review please!:)

Me: Okay people, I'm breaking my whole updating schedule by updating this first but I CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE!

Shadow: She doesn't own Maximum Ride. But she owns her OC's so no stealing.

Hunter: Yeah, so thanks to AuburnAlice, cat-head21, twilightluvr, BOSSYGRL9678, sweet potato, FangWannabe, bibliocrazed, midnightshadowwings, XIII Dragon, Green.Winged.Mistress, WANNABE-AUTHOR92, Nathaniel773, BiggestMRfan, angel unseen, Amethyst-Violet, meepisms, Pyromaniac-Girl, disneydork, ilovetwilight99, lilswickey101, whatever95, Jesus-Freak2142, kunoichiXwitch, golden-clawed-angel, ANGELinDISGUISE, Kokari and Ilovecookies15.

Shadow: Now on with the chapter.

Chapter 13: Supermarket Sweep

Max's POV

I entered the supermarket with the others trailing behind me. It was big, the supermarket I mean. Big, full of people, and full of food. Which was good, the food part anyways.

"Okay everyone, grab a cart and split up and grab good healthy food. And don't attract attention," I said. They all groaned and split up. Angel and Nudge ran to the candy aisle, despite what I just said. Cass, Chris and Ella went to the fresh produce section. I sighed and went to the dairy section with Shadow trailing soundlessly behind me.

We weren't big on the whole wordy apologies thing so we just started looking at milk, seeing which ones haven't expired yet.

"Does your wrist hurt?" I asked. She shook her head, still looking through the milks.

"Can I see?" I asked again. She sighed and took off the long glove that concealed her wrist and revealed an inch long burn. My eyes widened and she smirked weakly.

"Isn't it nice?" she whispered. I felt like hugging her but I was frozen in place.

"I'm sorry," I managed to get out. She looked at the floor, then back at me.

"It's okay," Shadow said. "I'll go to the frozen foods aisle." She said whirling around and leaving me just like that.

Shadow's POV

I'm such an idiot. As if Max didn't feel bad enough! I went to the freezers and looked for some TV dinners. Wait...chocolate ice cream...oh lucky me, last one.

"Sky," I turned around. Angel was there with tears in her eyes and a boy in tow. I looked at him. He had dirty blond hair, like Max, and had hazel eyes, like Jeb. I shuddered as I thought of that bastard.

"SKY!" Angel snapped. Oops...sorry Angel...don't repeat the last word I thought, okay?

"Sure," she answered. The boy looked at her, confused.

"Who are you kid?" I asked him. He looked at me.

"I'm Ari," he said, sticking out a hand. I smiled and took his hand. How cute...

"He's my boyfriend," Angel said sweetly. That made me freeze. Angel...boyfriend? I gave the kid a good look now. He was about the same height as Angel, who, thanks to her avian genes, was pretty dang tall. So this kid could be 10 or 11 at most.

"How old are you k-I mean-Ari?" I said, not calling him kid by the look Angel was giving me.

"Seven," he said. Well, that's a little hard to believe...

"Sky," Angel moaned. I turned to her and saw she was holding her arm. I blinked.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I-my arm scraped against the wood and now it's bleeding," she said, removing her hand to reveal dark crimson blood. I bit my lip.

"You have to be more careful," I scolded, taking off my fabric glove and wrapping it on her arm.

"M'kay," she said and grabbed Ari's hand. His face flushed. I barely suppressed the urge to say Aww... "Let's go Ari!"

"Sure Ange," he mumbled and she dragged him off. I raised my eyebrow. They knew each other for at most, 5 minutes, and their already boyfriend and girlfriend, not to mention the fact that he called her Ange.

That girl works fast.

Max's POV

Shadow came back over, with a big smirk on her face. I was already wary.

"What?" She dumped chocolate ice cream into the cart. What part of healthy doesn't she understand?

"I know something you don't know," she teased. I glared at her. She knew how much I hated being out of the loop.

"What is it?"

"Angel..." she trailed off. I almost strangled her. This is my baby that we're talking about.

"What about Angel?" Shadow looked at me, her face impassive, but her eyes were dancing.

"She has a-"

"A what?! A what?! For goodness sakes, spill it!"

"Angel has a boyfriend."

That was when my jaw met the floor.

"WHAT?!" Shadow winced.

"Yeah, she brought this boy to him and she said it was her boyfriend." I relaxed. They were just kids, just kids...

"Okay, just kids he's how old...?"

"Seven,"

"And she's six," I continued. "No big deal." Shadow snickered and nodded.

"Oh yeah," I looked at her. "She had a cut on her arm but I patched it up. No big deal." I fought the urge to tear down the store looking for her and Shadow took the eggs from me, putting it down.

"Sheesh, you act like she can get pregnant." My stomach flipped as I thought of my six year old Angel with a big stomach.

"I bet she doesn't even know what sex is," Shadow continued, flipping her hair back and looking through the egg boxes. I felt the blood drain from my face. Angel...doing that.

"JEEZ MAX!" Shadow said grabbing my arm. "You have such an overactive imagination and a faint heart. I didn't tell you to imagine it. Goodness."

Meanwhile...

"So what should we play next?" Angel asked, skipping next to Ari. The boy had his hands shoved in his pockets.

"I dunno, should we go to the produce aisle and throw tomatoes at people? It's fun," he suggested. Angel shook her head.

"No, Max will get mad..." Angel said, trailing off. Max wouldn't mind too much...right?

"Hey, um Angel," Ari said. Angel stared at the boy and resisted the urge to read his mind.

"Why did that girl-um, Sky I think you called her-had her wrist burned like that? It looked...painful..."Ari trailed off, embarrassed that he even asked the question.

"Oh," Angel said and looked away. Guilt crushed Ari and he was immediate to apologize.

"Sorry, for bringing up! You don't have to tell me," he said. Angel looked at him, her big blue eyes filled with forgiveness.

"It's okay, you were just curious," she asked. Ari breathed out in relief and idea struck him.

"Hey, you know, your cousin Sky reminds me of my cousin, and he's in the supermarket now. You want to meet him?" Ari said.

"Sure!" Angel said, already bouncing back into hopefulness. Ari grabbed Angel's hand and they ran through the store.

Fang's POV

Frozen foods, frozen foods...where is that damn aisle?!

"Look for the one with the big, obvious, freezers Fang. That might be the frozen foods, not sure." Ghost said. I growled and he laughed, going to the fresh produce.

I found to freezers and went to one that looked recently opened. Damn, someone took the last tub of chocolate ice cream...

"This is Nick," I heard Ari say. I turned and looked. Ari was hand and hand with a blonde girl with blue eyes.

Wait a sec...she looks familiar...

The park! She was with Max at the park!

Oh crap...that means...

The Angels are here.

"Sorry Ari. Got to run!" the little girl said, once she laid her eyes on me. Oh crap...the others are here. The girl ripped her hand from Ari's and ran off. Ari looked bewildered and confused.

"Wait...ANGEL!" he ran after her.

"ARI!" I called, going after him.

Max's POV

"MAX!" I heard Angel scream. I dropped my basket and Shadow caught it before it hit the ground. I ran down the corridor to see Angel heading in my direction. I swept her up and spun her around. She clung to me.

"Max! The Fallen are here!" she said. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. "And Ari's in the Fallen!"

"Who's Ari?" I asked. There were tears in her eyes.

"He's in the Fallen," she said. "He's my boyfriend Max and-"

"ARI!" I saw the boy heading this way. Looking a lot like Hunter. And Jeb.

Then I recognized who was streaking this way, grabbing the boy's arm before he could come any closer.

"Hello Nick," I spat.

"Maxine," he said evenly. I heard Shadow yelp in surprise. I looked back and saw...she wasn't behind me.

"NONE OF YOUR-..." Shadow went quiet. I gulped. Uh-oh...

I stepped back and saw Shadow and Hunter at a stalemate, both of them glaring at each other, with Shadow hiding her injured hand behind her back. I heard screaming coming from the produce section and saw Nudge running up to me.

"THE FALLEN!"

At the same time, the boy version of Angel came running up to Hunter.

"THE ANGELS!"

"Why can't I come to the supermarket in peace?!" Shadow muttered.

"MAX!" I heard from the produce section. Why me...

I ran past Fang to the fresh produce.

And a lettuce head almost hit me.

I ducked and Angel jumped from my arms and went to where Chris was hiding, which was a overturned wheelbarrow. What part of don't attract attention don't they understand?! Maybe the don't, because they attract attention just fine.

"COOL!" I heard the boy, Ari, say from next to me. I looked at him and saw him run next to the blind boy, Iggy.

"Oh Jesus, why me?" I heard Hunter groan from next to me.

"Thus proving that Total's not the only one who needs a leash," Shadow muttered from next to me. I would've laughed if this wasn't so bad. But it is. Because we're in a public place, hurling food at one another.

"HEY!" Hunter roared. All of the Fallen froze in place. The Fallen consisted of 7 boys. There was Hunter, Fang, Iggy, Ghost, a green haired kid, the male version of Angel, and Ari. I looked at my own group. Me, Shadow, Chris, Cass, Ella, Nudge, and Angel. And my group was still throwing crap.

"GUYS ENOUGH!" I roared. They ceased fire.

"Why? We have to get the Fallen before they get us," Chris said. And that's when I lost it.

"Oh, so THAT'S you're excuse for starting a food fight in a freaking SUPERMARKET?! 'The Fallen is here, lets throw pumpkins at them' THIS IS RIDIC-" Shadow put a hand on my shoulder and I shut my mouth before I started screaming like a crazy person.

"Crystal, get the others and get to the car right now. We're leaving," Shadow said, in her cold, deadly, 'you better listen to me' tone.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" a store clerk shrieked. I groaned. This was the moment me and my credit card were dreading. I turned to the store clerk, who looked at who I would guess to be the manager. The manager was tall, and had thick black hair with brown eyes.

"Listen, I'll pay for all this-" I started.

"Me too," Hunter put in, digging in his pocket.

"But you can't pay like that," the manager said, his voice silky smooth. Some people were crowding around us, making me nervous. I went up to him, and poked his chest hard. Shadow came next to me grabbing my wrist so I wouldn't poke him again.

"Listen mister. We're going to pay, not work in your crummy market, so deal. And we do have the money so don't even try to shove us in those stiff vests just because you're short of workers," I snarled. The manager grinned making my stomach sink. This isn't going to end well...

"That's not how you're going to pay either," he said.

"MAX! DUCK!" Angel screamed. The worker looked at Angel and before he could do anything else, Shadow swept his feet from under him. He hit the ground.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

Hunter lunged at Shadow and they skidded across the floor. Just as one of the workers pulled out a gun and shot the area where she had been, just seconds before. I jumped back.

"THEY'RE FROM ITEX!" Angel screamed.

"Cass, cover Angel!" I started hurling out orders. "Chris, flank my left! Ella, my right! Nudge stay behind me! Shadow? SHADOW!?"

"She's fine!" Hunter called. The other shoppers were coming over now, grins marring their faces.

One of them stopped in front of me. "The pipsqueak is right. Itex wants you out of their hair. So I hope you made funeral arrangements, though I doubt that they'll be necessary since you'll be cremated."

"Excuse me?" I snarled.

"Yeah, this place will go boom in...eleven-no ten minutes now." The worker said.

"Yep," Chris said from next to me. "We're so totally fucked."

Me: Cookies! Review if you want more:)

Shadow: Um, you guys know why our author is writing about us on fanfiction? It's because she doesn't own Maximum Ride. But she the characters that you don't recognize from the Maximum Ride series and this plot.

Hunter: Yeah, so no stealing. If you use me or any of the author's OCs then give the author here credit. Now, thanks to all that reviewed for the last chapter. There was a record breaking 40 reviews for the last chapter.

Me: I LOVE YOU ALL! Now, on with the chapter...

Chapter 14: Shop till you Drop

Max's POV

"TEN MINUTES?!" Ella shrieked from beside me. I narrowed my eyes and lunged at the guy.

Now, let me tell you a bit about genetic engineering. The scientists, or whoever made us, made us to be fast and strong. Not to brag or anything, but I can run faster then a grown man without breaking a sweat. And I can crack his ribs with a punch that I would usually send Shadow when we're playing around. And she wouldn't even flinch.

As I said before, genetic engineering at work.

But then this is when you know there's something wrong.

The worker ducked and threw a punch at my stomach. And when it landed, the air escaped with a whoosh.

Then Angel screamed.

I quickly sent a high kick at the workers' head. The guy's jaw snapped and he ended up sprawled onto the floor.

I whirled around to see Cass pushing back Angel and Nudge. Both of whom had identical masks of terror. I looked to see what was coming at them.

And almost screamed.

The workers were...transforming. Their noses lengthening to snouts, their canines elongating to fangs. Hair was sprouting all over their bodies.

They were the wolf men from my dream.

"MAX!" I hit the ground just as a claw whistled right past my ear. Then I rolled a few times until my back hit a stand. It caused the entire display of toilet paper tissue to come falling down. On us.

Note to self: Never get into a brawl in a supermarket.

"Well," a male voice grumbled from beside me. I pushed the rolls of paper away from me and stood up. Fang's head popped up from the sea of tissue. "At least it wasn't a can display."

Can't argue with that.

"WHAT ON EARTH ARE THESE THINGS?!" I heard Shadow yell. Fang and I whirled around to the fray.

Where all of the workers were wolf men. Oh crap.

"Erasers," the word slipped out before I could stop it. The scenes from that dream rushed at me. Jeb's cocky face, Fang's caring look, the Flock...bloody and broken.

"Maxine?" Fang asked. I winced, shook my head, and lunged at the nearest Eraser. It swiped at my face. I grabbed and corkscrewed the big, hairy arm.

"So," Fang went on conversationally. He kicked an Eraser in its thigh. "If you're not Maxine, what do you liked to be called." I could see the mocking smirk on his face. I narrowed my eyes and brought the Eraser's arm behind it's back. It was howling in pain.

"Just call me Max," I said and dislocated the Eraser's arm. He looked thoughtful as he punched the lights out of the wolf man.

"Max...I like the sound of that," he said. I felt my face turn hot and lunged at another Eraser. That's when I noticed...

Well, when it became apparent who were the experiments recruited into The Fallen.

Since these Erasers were obviously genetically enhanced wolf hybrids, they obviously were like us. Able to break the average human without even trying.

Cass was already out cold on the ground. Chris and Ella were faltering. While Nudge and Angel were doing just fine. Angel...

Angel and Nudge were allying with the male version of Angel and Ari. I thought about Jeb and almost threw up. Would he punish them like he punished Shadow?

I sent an uppercut at an Eraser and followed up with a roundhouse kick. It hit the ground, phasing back into a human. I looked at The Fallen's side, just to make sure that I was correct.

Ghost and the green-haired kid were on the ground, also out cold. So that meant Hunter, Fang, Iggy, boy Angel, and Ari were experiments. The question was, what kind of hybrids were they?

I ducked as a fist sailed by. I kicked the Eraser's feet from under them. It fell heavily onto the floor.

"7 MINUTES!" the head Eraser called, making me break into a cold sweat. 7 minutes. 7 minutes. 7 minutes.

"GAZZY! IGGY!" Hunter yelled above the fray. I saw the blond boy and Iggy snap to attention. "FIND AND DIFFUSE THE BOMB!" The two looked at each other(which was a bit creepy, considering Iggy was blind) and started to push their way through the Erasers.

I scanned the area. There was oh, about FORTY left.

Forty with about half of them armed. But then...

"HUNTER! DUCK!" Shadow yelled. I heard gunshots and snickered. Note to Erasers: Never let Shadow become armed with a firearm.

I could've sworn I heard Fang mutter "Lucky." I blinked and kicked the next Eraser.

"I'm assuming you're not human," Fang said, from his side next to me. Next to me. Next to me. By my side, next to me.

I shook my head to get that thought out. "I'm assuming the same thing about you," I muttered, remembering my dream. Midnight wings. Black feather. Mate. Love. Fang.

Something was really wrong with my head. More wrong than usual. Like when Jeb's not messing with it. Speaking of which...

Jeb? No answer. Jeb?! Still nothing. Come out, come out, wherever you are. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Oh well.

"SHADOW! PUT THAT DOWN BEFORE YOU HURT SOMEONE!" I heard Hunter yell, snapping me out of my reverie.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone...except these things," was Shadow's calm reply.

"Shadow," he hissed.

"Hunter," she hissed back. I snickered. They argue worse than Ella and Nudge when they want to watch TV.

I lashed out at an Eraser. It fell to the ground, unconscious. Good.

"6 MINUTES," the leader howled. I cringed and back handed the next Eraser across the face. It got angry and punched my across the face. I cried out and stumbled back. The Eraser came at me again. Fang launched his fist into the Eraser's face. I heard a crunch of a few bones. But the Eraser stood up again. Fang went into a fighter's stance.

The gunshot echoed through the air and the Eraser cried out in agony. It fell down revealing a cold eyed Shadow. She smirked.

"Can't you last a few seconds without me?" she called. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Can't you?!" Hunter yelled as he punched an Eraser which was a few seconds away from Shadow.

She glared at him, tucked the gun on the waistband of her jeans, and kicked the nearest Eraser.

That's when my jaw almost dropped.

The way that they were fighting, it looked...so...weird. Like whenever she would kick, he would punch. Whenever she punched, he would lash out at the opponent's legs. It was like they were...dancing.

Then they both whirled around and switched positions. And resumed what they were doing. It was odd. But in a way, just so rightfully normal.

That's when I noticed something.

Whenever I moved, Fang would give me space. Like when I threw a punch, he would bend and kick. And I could tell, he wasn't doing it on purpose.

What the heck was going on?!

Was it programmed in us?

Then, an Eraser slashed me across the face.

"5 MINUTES!" the head screamed.

"IGGY! GASMAN!" Hunter yelled. I used the momentum the Eraser gave me with the punch, and smashed the heel of my foot into his face. He hit the ground.

"That's for disturbing my thoughts," I muttered. I kicked him hard in the head, and I saw he blacked out. "And that's for disturbing my DAY!"

"WE'VE FOUND IT!" Iggy called. My heart almost stopped. They found the bomb. Maybe there was a bit of hope after all.

Wait. What am I saying? How is a BLIND TEENAGER and a KID going to diffuse a BOMB?

"They're both experts," Fang said, creeping me out by answering my thoughts. "Trust me." Yeah, because we're not in different spy organizations or anything like that.

"YOU WON'T WIN! NEVER!" the head Eraser screamed. I scanned the area around us. Okay, progress. TWENTY-FIVE or so left. Nice.

"I THINK WE'VE ALMOST GOT IT!" the boy, Gasman, cried out.

"MAX!" Shadow yelled. I looked at her. "Remember! CUT OFF THE HEAD AND THE BODY WILL FALL!" I looked over at the lead Eraser, fuming as he pushed the other ones onward. I rushed over and kicked him in his face. He was caught by surprise but just stumbled back. I backhanded him, but he caught my arm and corkscrewed my arm. I cried out in pain, but managed to preform a roundhouse kick, making him release my arm. I stepped back from him a bit.

"You'll never win!" he howled. "There's only 4 minutes left!"

"And we're almost done! So can it fur ball!" Iggy yelled. The Eraser snarled and lunged at me. I sidestepped and kicked him at the base of his spine. He slid across the ground with the force of the kick.

"Here!" Shadow yelled, throwing the gun at me. "Knock him out!" I ran over just as he got up. I hurled the gun at it's face with such force, I heard a crack when it hit it's mark. He screamed in anguish and hit the floor with a heavy thud. I stood over the limp body, staring at it grimly.

All the Erasers in the room froze and turned to look at me. I glared at everyone of them.

"RUN!" one of them howled and they all started heading for the doorway. I watched all of them run. Shadow came over and we tapped fists. Nothing can stop us.

"Hunter...almost done," Iggy said. We exchanged a look and went over to the humans of our group. Cass and Ella were already up and were balancing an awaking Chris between them. I scanned each one of them. Nobody looked too bad.

"Done! Itex must've been kidding with this junk. It was a piece of cake," Iggy said. I walked over to the bomb. The timer read 3:59:07.

"So..." Hunter trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. Everyone looked at one another and an awkward silence ensued. I saw Shadow rub her burn and wince. And that's when I noticed...

Beep...beep...beep...

I felt the blood drain from my face and Shadow muttered a curse.

"It's coming from that direction," Iggy said, panic bleeding through in his voice, and he ran to the meats section. Iggy moved the fish out of the way. I went behind him and looked over his shoulder.

The timer read 00:07:45

Oh crap.

"EVERYONE MOVE MOVE MOVE!" I shouted. Shadow head snapped up in surprise and stared at me questionably.

"WHAT'S THE TIME?!" Iggy shouted.

"Zero minutes, seven seconds, thirty something little seconds," Gasman said. Iggy's face went paler, if possible.

"THERE'S NO TIME! MOVE!" Hunter called. All of us whirled around and ran to the doors. They were locked.

"WELL, ISN'T THIS GREAT?! WE'RE GONNA GET BLOWN TO PIECES IN A SUPERMARKET! JUST HOW I WANTED TO DIE!" Ghost yelled.

"I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!" the green haired boy screamed.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE?!" Ari yelled, confusion and panic in his voice.

"SHUT UP LIES! YOU'RE SCARING HIM!" Hunter yelled at the green haired kid.

"THERE'S ONLY SIX SECONDS LEFT!" Ella screamed.

"WELL, I'M TOO PRETTY TO DIE!" Chris yelled.

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" Ghost retorted. Chris shot him the evil eye.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP ALREADY!" Shadow yelled. Then I saw Fang back up from everyone. Shadow blinked, and joined him.

"Shadow?" I asked, my voice surprisingly calm-ish. They continued backing up. Five seconds...

"Back up from the windows," Fang called, his calm voice echoing through the supermarket. Everyone shuffled to the sides. I looked at Shadow. What were they going to do? Four seconds...

Suddenly, matching each others speed, they ran at the glass doors. They threw their weight against it and it broke. Three seconds...

"EVERYONE OUT!" I yelled, immediately shouting out orders. Ari and Angel were out first, then Nudge and Gasman. Ghost and Chris came out next, glaring at one another, followed by Lies and Cass. Iggy and Ella ran out next followed by Hunter. Two seconds..

"WE NEED TO GET AS FAR FROM THE BUILDING AS WE CAN!" Hunter hollered. I ran to the van and saw...it wasn't there.

"CRAP!" Shadow yelled. One second...

"WE HAVE TO U AND A!" Shadow yelled.

"YEAH BUT-" I was cut off when the explosion ripped through the area. I felt myself get thrown through the air, and saw the ground coming, but didn't feel myself hit it...

Me: Review!:)

Me: I don't own Maximum Ride, blah blah blah. I own my characters and plot. If you use them, then give me credit. I love all of my 38 reviewers who reviewed for the last chapter. You guys are the ones who keep this story running. Now, are you ready for the Maximum Ride?(Corny joke, I know...sorry)

Chapter 15: Pathless Woods

Shadow's POV

I groaned. I couldn't help it. My arm was burning and everything in my body felt stiff. Someone lifted my head and I felt cool water reach my lips. I sipped the cool drink until the person took it away. I started to protest.

"Nu-uh, you'll get sick if you drink too much," I recognized that voice. I jolted up, my eyes snapping open.

Hunter was sitting against a tree. One side of his face was scraped open and I saw various bruises on his arms and legs. What the hell happened to him?

He had a small smirk on his face, which made me narrow my eyes.

"Where are the others," I said, making my voice as low and menacing as possible. He blinked but seemed unaffected.

"I don't know." Wrong answer buddy.

"How can you not know? We had to get here in some way, shape, or form."

"I guess you really haven't noticed our surroundings yet," was Hunter's curt reply. I glared at him and looked around.

A bunch of trees were surrounding us and a stream was in the distance. The sky barely broke through the trees. I looked back at Hunter. Now I know why Hunter looks like that.

"We were thrown into the forest from the force of the explosion." I said, more of an observation than a question. Hunter nodded.

"I was standing next to you so we were thrown together," he said. I raised my eyebrow.

"You were standing near me?" What? I like my personal space...

"You were standing where we parked our van," he shrugged. I nodded and stood up stiffly, stretching. I caught sight of the burn on my wrist and shuddered. Hunter's eyes widened and he shot to his feet.

"What the hell..." he said. I held up my hand to shut him up.

"I'm fine, just a little...shaky," I almost snorted. Shaky is not the word for it.

"Oh," he limped over. I stared at him.

"What's wrong with your leg?" he shrugged.

"The usual."

"You have a limp?!"

"No, it's just that Itex decided to mess with our lives again. That is whats wrong with my leg," Hunter said with a grim face. There was a moment of silence.

"Well...you know, I was near Max...so should she be close by?" I asked. Hunter looked thoughtful and nodded.

"Lets go." We started to trudge through the forest. "So Shadow..." I tensed, but kept on walking. "What happened to your arm?"

"Accident," I said.

"It doesn't seem like one," he answered. I glared at him.

"Well, it was."

"Fine. Whatever you say." I gritted my teeth.

"You never answered my question," I muttered. He looked at me.

"What ques-oh." He started to concentrate on the ground.

"The one about what type of experiment you are," I said. He bit his lip.

"I know."

"Then tell me. You know what I am. What are you?" He looked at me, his golden eyes serious.

"Ninety-eight percent human," He paused and looked at me, a smile on his face. "And two percent bird. I'm just like you."

Just like you, just like you.

His voice rang in my head even when all went dark.

Max's POV

Oh crap, my freaking head...ow...

"Max," I heard someone rasp. I turned away. "Max wake up." Was that Shadow? Damn, she must've been drinking testosterone or something like that. Her voice was deep for a girl.

"Go away Shadow," I mumbled. "And stop taking pills like that. It's bad. Do you want to grow a-" "Shadow" started chuckling and my eyes shot open.

Fang's face was a few inches from mine, his dark eyes bright with humor. I could practically smell him. And he didn't smell like Axe, thank goodness.

"You mutter the stupidest yet funniest things sometimes Max," he said. I stuck my tongue out at him and propped myself up on my elbows. He backed away from my face quickly.

"What, do I smell?" I asked. He chuckled and stood up. I rolled my eyes. Boys...

"Do you know where the others are?" I piped up after a few moments of silence. Fang shook his head and winced. I immediately locked onto his right arm without meaning to.

His wrist was twisted a bit.

"I'm fine," Fang said curtly, noticing my horrified stare at his arm.

"No you're not," I countered.

"Yes I am." We glared at each other. Stupid, stubborn, bull headed...

"Listen F-Nick," I said in a reasoning tone. I remembered to call him by his fake name. "How about I'll see what I can do with your arm and you get to...I dunno."

"Get one question," he said. "I get to ask one question and one question only." My eyes narrowed.

"No."

"Fine," Fang said, moving his arm away from me. I stood up and put my hands on my hips.

"Nick, be reasonable," I said.

"I am. I'm reasoning with you. You tell me one thing, I'll let you treat my arm."

"I'm trying to help you."

"I don't need help." We started the glaring contest again. Then...

"Fa-Nick!" I refused to lose in the glaring contest, but Fang succumbed because it was his Leader that called him. I looked over Fang's shoulder.

Hunter was leaning against the tree, his face sweaty. In his arms was Shadow, limp, dirty, and unconscious. I immediately went on the defensive.

"Put. Her. Down." I snarled. He blinked but didn't falter.

"It's okay, I've got her," he said. I glared at him.

"I'm surprised you haven't crapped your pants yet with the glare she's giving you," Fang said from behind me. Hunter shot him a ha-ha-very-funny look.

"Really Max," Hunter assured me. "I got her." I continued to glare at him, but relaxed a bit.

"We have to find the others," Fang reminded us. I blinked. Angel...Nudge...Cass...Chris...Ella.

"Yeah, lets go," I said, already walking ahead of them. They followed, to my surprise. I thought they'd be all 'No, we're the Fallen, we pawn ALL!' or something like that. What, I can't be a bit cynical sometimes?

"Um...Nick, your wrist is twisted," Hunter said.

"I know that," Fang said, sounding a bit irritated.

"Don't you want it fixed?" Hunter asked. Fang shrugged and winced.

"Max, do you mind, my arms are full at the moment," Hunter asked.

"I already offered. But F-Nick over here refused," I said, stumbling over his name again.

"Fnick?" Hunter said questionably.

"Hey, you called him that before," I argued.

"Yeah, but-"

"Max," Fang said. I looked over at him. "Call me Fang." I nodded.

"RUN DAMMIT!" Shadow yelled. I whirled around and saw Hunter trying to keep his grip on her as she thrashed in his arms.

Her eyes were still closed though.

"NO, get out of here Iggy! Take the others and run, we'll hold them off!" she hollered. I saw Hunter and Fang exchange a look.

"Put her down," I ordered. Slowly, Hunter lowered her to the ground into a comfortable position. She continued to thrash around.

"U AND A NOW! GO!" She bellowed. Hunter started to shake her.

"It's okay," he said, calmly. "It's just a dream, wake up."

"Oh no, ANGEL!" Shadow wailed, making me blink. I never ever heard her like that. I joined in with the process off shaking her.

"Shadow, Angel should be-" I started.

"Max, you should get the others," Hunter said. I looked at him and his eyes were intent on Shadow. "Don't worry, we'll be fine, go." I gave them one last look and straightened up.

"Fang, come with me," I said, as I started to walk away.

"GET MAX AND FANG!" she screeched, making me freeze in place. I turned slowly around to look at her.

"No...no...she can't be dead...no, it's his fault. ALL HIS!...wait...MOVE!" she yelled. That's when she sat straight up, and screamed, clutching her stomach. The scream was strangled as if she had been hit in the neck with something.

"Ow..." she whispered. Hunter put his arm around her and I blinked. I think he was getting a little too close to her.

"Shadow?" he said softly. She looked at him, her eyes clouded. In the next second, she was on her feet.

"Did you get shot?" she asked. I exchanged a confused look with Fang.

"What?!" Hunter said, confused, stnding up also.

"I said...wait...we're not at the house anymore, are we?" she said.

"What house?" he asked slowly. She blinked a few times. I stared at her. She looked different...

"Shadow," I said going over.

"Yeah Max," She said.

"Are you-"

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" I heard someone roar. Immediately, Shadow and I went into a fighter's stance. Chris, Ella, and Cass ran in. Chris jumped on Hunter's back and started yanking his hair. Cass and Ella tackled Fang and they all tumbled onto the ground.

"I told you before and I'll tell you now," Shadow said. "They need a leash." I chuckled and looked at her. She was back to her normal self.

"SAVE THE LEADER!" Another person yelled.

"Oh great," I muttered. As soon as those words left my lips, Iggy was at Fang's side, trying to get Ella and Cass away from him. Lies had tackled Chris, knocking Hunter and Chris to the ground.

"WHAT THE-" As soon as Shadow said that, Ghost had knocked her to the ground. I jumped back when he went for me.

"MAX!" I heard a familiar little girl voice call. I looked in that direction.

Ari was carrying my baby, who had a broken leg.

"ANGEL!" I screamed, thus making everyone freeze. I ran over and carefully took Angel from Ari, carefully not jostling her leg around.

"MAX? SHADOW? ANGEL?" Nudge called from somewhere in the forest.

"We're over here," Shadow called, getting up from the ground and kicking Ghost for good measure. He snarled at her and she growled.

"Shadow," Angel said. She had a worried look on her face. Shadow looked at Angel.

"What is it Ang?" she said. Nudge and the Gasman broke into the clearing, shooting each other angry looks.

"That really happened," Angel said. "I've had the exact same dreams Shadow. That really happened." Shadow's eyes widened a bit, translating into her being dumbfounded.

"Max," she said turning to me. Her big blue eyes were innocent and scared looking. "I think we're getting our memories back." Everyone in the clearing froze.

"Wait," Hunter said. "You guys don't remember anything from your past?" I turned to him. "We don't either." Shadow and I exchanged a look.

"You guys don't remember anything...like us," I said slowly. I saw Shadow wince from the corner of me eye.

"Just like you guys," Hunter said. From over his shoulder, Chris mouthed the word 'Jeb'. That was enough to snap me out of our temporary truce.

"Well...that's another story for another time," I said quickly. Already, Shadow was behind Chris and Cass, while Nudge was behind Ella. "See ya later!"

That's when we ran.

"WAIT!" I heard someone call. Too late for that. I threw Angel into the air, where she started flying. Shadow grabbed Chris and they were in the air in less than a second. I grabbed Cass by her waist and took off into the air. I saw Nudge hanging strong with Ella in the air.

"My goodness, now I know who's been stealing cookies from the cookie jar," Nudge grunted.

"C'mon Nudge, we all know that it's Max who does that," Chris said. I glared at her while the others laughed.

"Shadow. Drop her," I said.

"Yes ma'am," Shadow said, saluting me with one hand.

"Don't you dare," Chris growled. Shadow chuckled but didn't loosen her grip on Chris.

"Speaking of cookies...I'm hungry. Ma-ax, can we go to McDonalds or something. Oh wait, scratch that. McDonalds is...ugh. How about Wendys? We haven't been there for so long and the baked potatoes there taste so good! My stomach rumbles-"

"NUDGE!" I called.

She quieted and muttered a sheepish "Sorry."

"I think we should go back home for now, alright people," I said. I got various answers of "yes" and we surged west, towards our house.

I flew next to Shadow. Her eyes were oddly concentrated onto what was ahead of us.

"What was your dream about?" I asked.

"Tell you later," she muttered. "Don't want the others to worry."

I opened my mouth to object but then Ella and Nudge started arguing about who was going to watch what when they get home. I sighed and surged over to break up their fight.

"Home sweet home!" Chris yelled. I sighed and landed, putting down Cass softly and catching Angel as she landed. We tucked our wings in and Shadow dug through her pocket, getting the key out and opening the door.

We walked in and saw Jeb sitting at the kitchen table staring at us grimly.

"We need to talk," he said.

"I couldn't agree more," I said evenly.

Me: And what will happen? Review and find out!

Me: Next chappie peoples!

Shadow: She doesn't own Maximum Ride nor Origin and Whisper by Evanescence. Owns her characters and plot.

Hunter: Thanks to meepisms, Green.Winged.Mistress, disneydork, twilightluvr, BiggestMRfan, nightingale07, maximumtrouble10, Nathaniel773, Kokari, FangWannabe, amysweety, steponme2, Weasleygrlz07, SilverScreech, golden-clawed-angel, maximumride24, maxridefan95, ilovetwilight99, whatever95, bibliocrazed, angel unseen, AuburnAlice, Amethyst-Violet, LOL-ninjas-stole-my-homework, lilswickey101, Jesus-Freak2142, WANNABE-AUTHOR92, bossygrl9678, and hxcb for reviewing for the last chapter.

Chapter 16: Meetings

Max's POV

"Cass, take Angel and fix up her leg. Chris, go with her. Nudge and Ella, you guys can go watch television now," I said. The others reluctantly left. Shadow stood behind me, leaning against the refrigerator. She looked uncaring, but all of her muscles were tense, ready to spring on Jeb if he moved wrong.

"Maximum, I heard about the bomb," he started.

"You say it like I did it, and it was on purpose," I said.

"I'm not accusing you," Jeb said carefully. "I'm just saying that you could've and should've done more to stop it."

"Well, sorry Jeb," I hissed. "Next time, I'll kick Eraser butt, look out for my Flock, find the first bomb and diffuse it, then find a secret second bomb and diffuse that one too. While getting the pie from aisle 8."

"Eraser? Flock?" Jeb looked genuinely confused.

"Fine! The wolf hybrids and-mmph!" Shadow's hand covered my mouth.

"She doesn't have to explain anything to you Jeb, until you tell us who you really are," Shadow growled.

"I've told you everything I can," Jeb said calmly.

"Well, it doesn't cut it," she said, equally calm. "You're here, then you're not. You're in Max's head and the next moment-" Jeb held up his hand.

"I can explain that," he said. Jeb looked directly at me and I removed Shadow's hand from my mouth. "It seems like that when I gave you your punishment, it...short circuited my connection to your mind." My eyes widened.

"Elaborate."

"I can't see what you're doing anymore and I can't speak to you using the Voice," Jeb said.

Silence.

Jeb? Are you joking? He didn't even blink as I said that.

"It's the truth," I said aloud. Shadow relaxed.

"Hmmm...so I guess you can handle things around here?" she said, leaving the room. There was a note of victory in her voice as she walked out. Hm...

"Max," I turned my attention back to Jeb. "Money that I give you doesn't grow on trees, nor do the cars that I generously gave you. And I know how much you love that motorcycle." Oh yeah...my other baby is missing... "I put trackers on both the motorcycle and the van. Here's their locations," he continued, pushing a Palm Pilot in my direction. I looked at the screen, and there was two dots, next to each other blinking.

"The dots are the vehicle's locations. I suggest you get them before they are stolen," Jeb said, standing up and leaving the kitchen. "I'll drop by again. Goodbye Maximum." I heard the door shut and I sank into a chair in the kitchen.

So Jeb couldn't talk to us using the Voice anymore. Was that a good or a bad thing though? Will it be our doom that he can't speak to us, now that he can't lend us tips? Or is it good that now that he can't see what we're doing, therefore not punishing us for something that we did to survive?

A beeping sound snapped me out of my thoughts and looked at the hand held machine on my palm. I should get those...

I went into my room, shut the door, and saw Shadow intent on her laptop. I shook my head and looked into the vanity mirror next to me. I had a large bruise on my cheek, a sorta bloody scrape on my neck and various injuries along my arms. Eh...I can treat those later.

I moved on to the wardrobe and pulled out a blue, long sleeved shirt, and a ripped up pair of jeans. They were better then what I was wearing now, and I wasn't going out to a fashion shoot-so it'll do.

"Max," Shadow said, as I put on my clothes. "I have something very important to tell you." I looked at her. Her eyes were concentrated on the computer screen.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Hunter is an experiment, and I know you probably figured that out by now, but I know what type of experiment he is," she said quietly, her voice a whisper. My mouth went dry.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Well, way back at Omega's birthday party when...you know..." I winced. "Well, I think he found out, well, I know that he found out what I was when his hands had went up my back and-"

"Wasn't you wearing the skin?" I interrupted. She knows that she's supposed to...

"No, I wasn't," she said, blunt as always. "Afterwards, I had asked him if he was an experiment. Then, he had some sort of brain attack...I'm not sure if it was staged or not." I blinked at her pause.

"Continue," I said.

"So today, after the blast, I had woken up to him giving me water...we went to find you. Then we were talking and then I ask him to tell me. And he says, 'Ninety-eight percent human and two percent bird-I'm just like you," she closed her eyes and I noticed that she was rocking back and forth. Which made me wonder...was this spy stuff too much for her? The stress, that shock treatment, that dream today...was it pushing her over the edge?

Was she finally going crazy?

Silence echoed through the room.

If she did go crazy, what would I do? She was my second in command, and the calm one when chaos arrives.

How can I stop this?

"That's when everything went dark," she finished, opening her eyes. She rubbed her neck and went back on the laptop.

"What happened in your dream?" I asked quietly. Shadow clicked on something and music started, but I couldn't identify what it was.

"You really don't want to know-especially if what Angel said is true," she said.

"Yes Shadow," I said. "I do want to know-"

You hold the answers deep within your own mind.

My words got stuck in my mouth and images from my dream assaulted me. Splatter, blood, death...

"Max?" Shadow said, her voice low.

Death in its most hideous form

"Max, what's wrong?" Shadow said again, standing up. The guitars in the music started.

"N-nothing," I stumbled over my sentence. That was the biggest lie of my life.

"Max, don't lie to me...what's wrong?" she said, her voice low and deadly.

Catch me as I fall

"I need to get the van and the motorcycle now," I whispered and power walked out of there.

Say you're here and it's all over now

"MAX!" Shadow yelled.

Speaking to the atmosphere

No one's here a-

I slammed the door as I left and jumped into the air, spreading my wings and shooting out of there.

Hunter's POV

"I can't believe that they just took off like that," I repeated for what seemed like the thousandth time. It was the truth, I couldn't. Why would they, how could they? We could work together. And if what the little girl-Angel-said is correct, then that means that we were in their past.

"Okay, we get it Hunter. Your girlfriend dumped you. Woopie damn do," Ghost said. I growled at him and he walked out the living room and up to his room. Fang rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

"Calm down Hunter, he's just kidding," Lies said, going up also.

"Whatever," I grumbled. I wasn't in the mood to deal with him and his stupid remarks.

"Jeb's here," Iggy said quietly. I heard the door opening and shutting and in walked my wondorus father, looking as tired as always.

"Hunter, there's something I need to tell you," he said, sitting down in the seat across from me. I tensed in my seat and saw Fang do the same.

"I can't speak to you using the Voice," Jeb said, straightforward as always. I blinked, the breath was caught into my throat.

"Why?" Fang asked, his voice calm but questioning.

"In a system malfunction, you had gotten a brain attack, remember?" Jeb said, looking at me. I nodded, wincing at the memory of the pain.

"It caused the whole system to crash. I can't talk to you or see what your doing using the Voice anymore," Jeb continued. I resisted the urge to jump for joy.

"Is that all Jeb?" Fang asked a bit rudely. Couldn't blame him. He didn't like Jeb.

"No, I have the location of the van," Jeb said, handing me a Palm Pilot. "I suggest you get it before someone steals it. Good day to you two." He stood up and left in a flurry. Well, that was quick.

"So um..." I said, amazed at the shortness of his visit.

"I'll get the van," Fang said standing up, taking the device from me, and walking out of the room.

"Okay, be back quickly!" I called after him.

"Sure Dad," he called back.

"Smart ass," I grumbled, glaring after him.

Max's POV

"Should've brought Shadow along," I muttered as I looked at the motorcycle and the van in front of my face. "Now I have to load the motorcycle in the van."

I was on the side of a road. I don't know why the Erasers had chosen this place to dump the vehicles. Oh yeah, maybe because it's deserted and no cars have passed in the time that I've been here. 5 minutes.

I went over to the motorcycle and-crap-saw some scratches on the paint job. Shadow is going to be out for blood now. She had just repainted it because Chris scratched the paint after riding it a few weeks ago. And now...again! Poor thing...the motorcycle, not Shadow.

I heard rustling a few feet away and my heart jumped in my throat. Alright, calm down Max, it could just be a baby squirrel...or a whole squadron of Erasers...but still, what's the difference?

I hid behind the van as the rustling continued. I wish I had brought some sort of weapon...wasn't there always a gun under Shadow's seat? And a baseball bat behind Angel's seat too...

I quickly slipped into the passenger's side of the car. I had already unlocked it, when I had been presented with the problem of the motorcycle. I went on my seat and pulled up the cushion of Shadow's seat. There was a simple handgun there. Good ol' reliable Shadow...

I slipped back out the car and shut the doors soundlessly. I heard nothing now, just the wind whistling through the trees. The birds were silent. And all of that crap that they show in the movies when the main character-which is usually a girl with a pretty face and all that jazz-walks into the forest and is snatched by some old, drunk, murderous guy and then her modern day Prince Charming comes rushing in with his expensive looking car and kills the old guy before he could kill her.

Well, I bet I can take care of any old guy who comes out of the forest. Prince Charming would have to save the guy, not me. Fang doesn't have to be my prince. I can save myself.

I froze in place. Why did I just think of Fang? I-I don't even like him in that way! So what if I had a dream that I say I love him? That doesn't mean anything! It could be a pain induced, exhaustion dream that could've came out of nowhere. I mean, it could've even been Hunter who was-

I shuddered violently at the idea. My body was repulsed at the idea of me and Hunter being together. But why? Wasn't he the same as Fang? A guy? For some reason, a conversation popped in my head:

"Max," Angel said. I looked at her. "Can Maya and Miguel be together? I mean, I remembered Nudge saying they looked cute together and I said that they were brother and sister, and she said, 'Oh...too bad' and walked away. Why can't brothers and sisters be together?" I breathed out and glared at Shadow who snickered.

"Well Ange," I said. "Brothers and sisters can't be together because they're related. They can love each other, but they can't love each other in that way."

"But why?" Angel pressed on. I sighed.

"Well Angel," Shadow spoke up. "According to science and biology and all of that stuff, animals have to mate too and make babies. But you know, since animals can't speak, they-"

"Total can talk," Angel defended. Shadow sighed.

"Total was enhanced by crazy scientists...he doesn't count in-"

"HEY!" Total piped up from the ground.

"-This situation," Shadow continued calmly. Total huffed and sat down. "Anyways, some animals give off certain chemicals, since they can't speak, so they can let the other now if they're related or not. This repels them from one another, so they won't want to make babies. That's why Maya and Miguel aren't together. They're probably not even attracted to one another. It's instinct not to like your brother or sister. Though some brothers and sisters like each other, but that is a conversation for another time."

"But why? And why would they want to make babies? Wait, forget the last question, I want to know this one. How are babies made?" Angel asked. Shadow sent me a 'You're on your own' look and left the room.

I was snapped from my reverie by a loud banging sound, like someone kicked something, and a low sound. I readied the gun and snuck into the forest.

So what was that about? What is my mind trying to tell me this time? So, in some animals, brothers and sisters won't mate. And I'm 2 percent bird. That obviously means that I have more animalistic instincts than the average human. So does that mean that I'm repulsed by the thought of being with Hunter because we're related?

But then that would mean that we were brother and sister. And aren't we the same age? Then that would make us twins.

Impossible. It's not logical. It's not even reasonable. I'm sure I would remember my own twin brother!

But then again, when I first woke up, from whatever the hell made me lose my memory, I didn't even remember my own name.

I noticed a clearing ahead and focused on the task ahead of me, find out what's making these weird noises.

I walked in there, and noticed a glossy, expensive looking van. Now, what would a fancy shmancy like that be doing in this big forest?

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Rule number: Who Knows?, in spying: Never let your natural instincts go ignored.

I whirled around, pointing the gun at the black shirt clad chest. The person looked bewildered and I blinked in surprise.

"Max, put, the gun, down," Fang said, slowly. I glared at him and kept the gun trained on him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I growled.

"Getting my car." I shot a glance at the van. "Now please Max, can you stop pointing that gun at me." Fang looked at me warily and I slowly lowered the gun from his chest. I saw his muscles relax and he walked over to his car, leaning against it casually.

"What's up?" he asked.

Me: I've actually had the Maya and Miguel conversation with someone. But I forgot most of it, so if any of the science facts are wrong, tell me so I can fix them. And please, don't be rude while telling me. Now review if you want more, my lovelies!

Me: SORRY FOR THE WAIT GUYS!!! My week has been packed with stalkers, drama, and mid-terms. (sighs) Now time for the chapter. I don't own Maximum Ride.

Shadow: But she owns me, Hunter, Ghost, Annabell, Chris, Cass, and Lies. That's it, right?

Hunter: Yep. Now, thanks to all 38 people who reviewed for the last chapter. You guys keep the story running! Now, on with the chap!

Chapter 17: The Book and his Cover

Max's POV

I'll admit, my jaw dropped.

"What?" I asked, incredulous. How the heck can he be so casual?! Fang gave me a long look and sighed.

"We don't need to do the whole spy routine here. It's just you and me. Hunter's not behind with chloroform, and I hope Shadow's not pointing a gun at my head right now," Fang said. I looked behind me, just to make sure.

Then, there was a silence.

And not one of those awkward silences, where you stare desperately at the person to say something, but a nice, comfortable one.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" I finally asked, breaking the silence. I crossed my arms and leaned against the tree, casually. I probably should get comfortable.

"Why? Should I not want to?" Fang mocked. I glared at him and he smirked.

"You're such a comedian," I said. His smirk grew wider and I narrowed my eyes.

"Alright, alright...sorry, jeez Max," Fang said. I stopped glaring at him and looked away. Wait, why was I still here?

Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer... Jeb's old lesson popped into my head. So...if I get close to Fang then...

No, Max. I thought to myself. It's bad to play with people like that.

But what if he tries to play with me like that? I thought back furiously.

Great, I'm arguing with myself.

Then you'll know what he's pulling. And anyways, would you like that to happen to you?

I'm losing my internal argument.

And I thought Shadow was going crazy.

"Max? Are you okay?" Fang asked cautiously.

"Yeah, fine," I dismissed it. I'm just arguing with myself and losing, no biggie, I mentally added.

"The last time you assured me that you were okay, you fell to the floor screaming," I heard him mutter darkly under his breath.

And why was he so concerned?

He doesn't care. Of course not. Why would he?

"Why are you here?" I said, annoyed at how confused I felt.

"Car," Fang said calmly, gesturing to the car. "You?"

"Same," I said, using the same one word annoyances that he used.

"Cool." Another silence. Then...

"What's the difference between an Angel and a Fallen?" Fang asked, looking straight at me. I was a bit surprised at the question. Doesn't he know?

"Well, we don't do anything to get what we want. Like kill innocent people," I said. His eyes showed genuine confusion. That or he was a really good actor.

"We don't kill innocent people," he said, his tone truthful. I'm sure the look on my face showed that I was very skeptical.

"Oh yeah. Well, what about the incident at the Hilton Hotels?" I countered.

"It was either them or us. Would you let your group die because you didn't want to hurt the other side?" Fang retorted. I bit my lip. He had cornered me with that one.

"No, I wouldn't," I said.

"Why'd you think that we kill innocent people anyways?" Fang asked.

"J-Our Head told us this," I said, crossing my arms. I'm not going to reveal Jeb, no matter how much of an ass he is sometimes.

"Your Head? Hm...the person sounds...interesting," Fang said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, sure, he's very interesting," I said, rolling my eyes. This guy is something else...

"He? It's a guy?" Fang asked.

"Yes, you thought it was a girl?" Fang didn't respond, just looked away.

Silence again.

"You had said before that your 'No memory story' was another story for another time. Here's another time," Fang said, shuffling his feet.

Crap.

He just had to remember that.

Just had to.

"I don't think this is a good place to discuss this," I said, shifting my stance.

"I think it's perfect. Secluded, no one listening in, no one to disturb us." No one to hear me calling for help...no one to hear you trying to kidnap me...it's the dream spot.

"Yeah, well, I have to get home before the others start to worry," I answered. I turned around and started to walk off and someone grabbed my wrist.

I'll give you a few seconds to guess who that someone was.

Done yet?

Still? Okay, a few more seconds...

Okay, poll's closed.

Now, if you guessed Fang then you're correct. Go reward yourself with a cookie.

Anyways...

"Let go," I growled.

"Max, I want to know. I want to know my past," Fang said calmly but forcefully.

"Well, good for you," I said. He glared at me.

"Lets help each other. There's no harm done in that," He said. I sighed, feeling overwhelmed at the minute.

Should I do this?

The Fallen would love having the Leader of the Angels captured.

The others would love to know their past.

Angel and Total would be happy. Nudge would be overjoyed. Shadow would be...

Shadow wouldn't go crazy.

"Alright Fang, fine," I sighed. "But not now. Where and when?"

I cannot believe that I'm doing this. Giving in to the enemy, on his terms.

I must be out of touch.

But it's for the Flock.

Wait...there's that word again. Flock. Flock.

Why do I keep thinking that?

"That club where you and Shadow had sung that song, at eleven, tonight."

"Fine," I said. I snatched my wrist back. "But don't try and pull anything funny." Fang shot me an innocent look that seemed sincere. Keyword: Seemed.

"And why would I do that?"

"Well-"

"MAX!?" Shadow's shouting cut me off. My eyes widened.

What would she think? Would she think I'm a double-agent, talking to the enemy so casually like this?

Or would she think it was a capture attempt and try to kill him?

I looked back at Fang, who was tense, waved goodbye to him and ran in the direction of her voice.

"SHADOW!" I screamed. Keep running...lead her away from him...run into her...

"MAX?" she yelled again. I slowed down.

"HERE!" I hollered back. I heard things snapping and Shadow ran in. She stopped and leaned against a tree.

"Where-you? Worried," She breathed.

"It's okay. I just went to get the car and the motorcycle, that's all," I assured her. Shadow breathed out and nodded.

"Ok-" She froze and her eyes narrowed. Uh-oh...

"What?" I asked casually.

"Someone else is here," She said. My blood ran cold.

"I don't think so, I just looked through here because of that. There's nothing." I shut my mouth before I turned into Nudge. That's when Shadow knows something's wrong with me. She was looking suspiciously. Great.

"Max? What did you see in the forest?" She asked.

"Nothing of extreme importance," I said. Well, at least to her...don't want to give another thing to worry about...

"Max, ar-" she stopped again and I started wonder what she was hearing that I wasn't.

"You're just paranoid," I said, trying to distract her. It worked. She turned and glared at me.

"And look who's talking," she countered.

"Hey!" I pretended to look offended. She looked in Fang's direction one last time and walked back to the car. I sighed in relief and followed.

"This time, I'm driving the motorcycle," I called. She shrugged in front of me.

"Go ahead," she said. We entered the side of the road where the cars were parked. I threw the car keys at her and she slipped into the car.

I smiled as I got onto the motorcycle. See, I have my baby back.

I revved the engine and the result made me smile. The growl of it was exhilarating. Oh, how I loved my motorcycle.

Okay, not totally mine but still.

The motor of the car started and Shadow drove onto the road. I started to drive of after her when a flash of black caught my eye.

I looked in the direction and saw Fang standing there. His arms were crossed and he was staring directly at me. I met his eyes and we held each others eyes for what seemed like a lifetime, but what could've only been a few seconds.

Now, I know where Hollywood gets this stuff from.

Fang's POV

I watched Max's hair whip around her face as she drove off on her motorcycle. I sighed and shook my head. That was close...how did Shadow know that I was right behind Max. She looked directly at me.

Whatever.

"Fang." I whirled around, going straight into a fighter's stance.

"Jeez Fang. Calm down," Hunter said, putting his hands up. I relaxed out of my stance.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. It was a innocent question. Especially since he left Iggy and Gazzy alone. They could "accidentally" blow up the house.

"Well, we need the car," Hunter said, avoiding my eyes. A cold feeling went down my back.

"Why?"

"Jeb's sending us on another mission," Hunter said.

Crap.

Me: I'm just going to remind you to review...

Me: Sorry for the wait everyone! But I had surgery on my arm so…forgive me? (Bambi eyes)

Shadow: Anyways, she doesn't own Maximum Ride. She owns me and Hunter and the crew. You guys know who they are by now.

Hunter: Thanks to the 35 people who reviewed.

Me: I really do appreciate you guys! Now, on with the story.

Chapter 18: Complications

Hunter's POV

"Wait, repeat that," Fang said. We were in the car, driving to a museum. There was a fundraiser there that we had to attend. Why? I don't know. Wish I did though.

"We have to be at the exhibit until midnight," I said.

"Midnight?" Fang repeated. I rolled my eyes. Usually, I was the one who was this slow.

"Yes Fang, midnight," I said slowly. He set his jaw. "What? Is that a problem?" He didn't say anything. "Fang?"

"Let's just go there and get this over with," Fang snapped. I was taken aback. Fang never snapped like that, unless something was bugging him. I stopped the car. Fang looked at me, his face impassive.

"What?"

"What's bugging you?" I asked.

"Nothing," Fang lied.

"Oh please Fang. I'm slow sometimes, but not stupid. I know when there's something wrong with my best friend. Now, what's wrong?" I said. Fang looked out the window.

"If I told you," Fang began, "You would get so pissed. But Hunter, you just have to believe me. This is for everyone." Fang turned to look at me. "I need to leave at ten thirty. I promised someone I would meet them, and it's for everybody's good that I do so."

"What, does this girlfriend of yours have the key to finally defeating Itex?" I asked, jokingly. Fang looked at me, already defensive.

"Who said I was meeting a girl?" Fang said. I rolled my eyes at his paranoia and started driving down the road again.

"Alright Fang, it's your boyfriend. Don't worry, I won't tell the group of your little secret. Just…don't take any peeks at me when I'm asleep at night."

"Shut the hell up stupid," Fang said, punching my arm. I chuckled as he glared darkly at me from his seat. I drove into the parking lot, and parked the car myself. When I stepped out the car, the guy who usually parks the cars gave me a look.

"I can park my own car," I snapped at the guy. He looked taken aback as I walked inside the building, with Fang walking beside me silently.

"So, will you let me leave?" Fang spoke up. Well…I could handle walking through a museum by myself…

"Sure, just...well be careful," I said. Fang smirked and nodded. We walked through the humongous doors leading to the exhibit. Fang and I exchanged a look when we saw how crowded the place was. That was not good.

"Brian! Nick!" I heard someone call. I looked in the direction and my eyes widened.

Jeb was walking towards us.

What the heck was he doing here?!

"I'm so glad you two are here," he said, with somewhat of a smile on his face. That made me very nervous. Something was really not adding up.

"Really? Why?" Fang asked.

"Well, you two need to be trained harder. And to do that I had to…make a mission for you," Jeb said. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

"Explain this now Jeb," I said, nervousness bleeding into my voice.

"In this place, there are five human-lupine hybrids. You have to find them and take them out. Then, one of the artifacts-I'm not going to tell you which-has an explosive in it. You'll need to call Iggy in your cell phone and ask him on instructions to diffuse it," Jeb said. My jaw slowly dropped as he explained everything. What the hell was he thinking?!

"Are you nuts?" Fang asked calmly.

"Good luck," Jeb said, ignoring Fang's question. He walked out in a flurry and closed the door after him.

This was just perfect.

The Fallen Angels

Max's POV

Shadow threw a punch at my face. I ducked and grabbed her arm. She yanked her arm away and then whirled around with a roundhouse kick. I rolled to the ground, dodging it, and I jumped up to my feet, going back into a fighter's stance. She looked at me calmly.

"Are we done for today?" Shadow asked.

"Nope," I said, and launched myself at her. She sidestepped easily.

"You're predictable when you're tired," Shadow observed. I breathed out, annoyed.

"Me? Tired? Nope, not at all," I said, and threw another punch at her. She leaned back, easily dodging and grabbing my fist.

"Enough already. You're going to wear yourself out," she said. I snatched my wrist back and rolled my eyes.

"Afraid to lose?" I taunted. She narrowed her eyes.

"No. Afraid to cripple the leader," she said. She started to walk towards me, to walk out the training room, but then I had a very evil idea.

Don't do it Max, my inner cautious person said. But it was too late. My mind was made up and set.

As Shadow passed me, I put out my leg and next thing I knew, Shadow was on the floor cursing. I chuckled as she picked herself up and glared at me.

"You are so going to pay," she said, and then she swept my legs from under me, making me hit the ground. She stood up and I did also. She shook her head.

"What's with you? You usually aren't so…violent," she said, and preformed a roundhouse kick. It hit its mark. I stumbled back and she came at me again, her fist aiming for my stomach. I grabbed her wrist and corkscrewed her arm.

"I'm just training," I answered her question.

"For what?" And the questions just keep on coming…

"Our everyday life. You know, Erasers, the Fallen, etcetera."

She pulled away from me and, not looking at me said, "I give in. No more."

I looked at her skeptically. "What's wrong?" She sighed and sat down on the ground, wiping sweat from her forehead. I sat down next to her.

"Do you want to know about my dream?" she asked quietly. My eyes widened. So, she was going to tell me.

"Yes, I do." She sighed again, and her eyes held a far off look.

"I was in a cabin. Actually, I was in a cabin with the others. Nudge, Angel, and Total were there. But the Fallen was there also. The little boy, the Gasman-I believe that's his name-Iggy, and…Hunter."

She looked at the ground. "We were all in the living room. Nudge and Angel were watching Hannah Montana, while Iggy and the Gasman were planning to make a bomb. Hunter was outside, on watch. He came running in just then, saying that the Erasers were surrounding the place." Shadow's expression hardened.

"They jumped through the windows, and separated us. There was at least fifty of them on the first floor alone, attacking us. I don't know how many were on the second floor, but all I knew was that I had to fight for the Flock." She looked back at me. "That's our group's name. The Flock." I turned away from her stare and pretended to concentrate on the wall. I needed to know more.

"Go on." I said.

"I told them all to run. But they wouldn't listen. Hunter had screamed at them to do it also. They looked at both of us. We had been pushed to a corner of the room, the probability of them capturing or killing us was definite. The Flock wasn't going to leave without us." Her jaw tightened and her fists clenched.

"I had told Iggy to leave, that Hunter and I would hold them off. But he wouldn't go. Hunter and I had both ordered them to U and A," Shadow said. I gasped.

That would mean that Iggy, and the Gasman were avian-hybrids.

Just like us.

"Then an Eraser tackled Angel from behind. I'm so sorry Max, I let you down," Shadow whispered, lowering her head. I bit my lip and touched her shoulder. She shied away from me.

"It's okay Shadow. Whatever's happened happened. Angel's okay now," I said. Shadow let out a breath and relaxed after a few seconds of silence.

"The Erasers had Angel, Hunter and I tried to fight our way to them. An Eraser had tackled Hunter and the Gasman was already in the process of saving Angel, so I tried to take the Eraser off of him. I had also called to Iggy to get you and Fang. Then the Eraser said-he said…" she trailed off, looking away.

"He said what?" I prodded gently.

"He said to Hunter that his mother was dead, and that his father killed her," she said in one shot. I breathed out and for some reason, what she had said stung.

It really did hurt. But why? It hurts as if-as if…

As if Hunter's mother was my own.

"But…I don't know… there was something wrong about that. I remember saying something about it being his entire fault,-him being an outside source entirely-but I was thinking about two people at the same time," Shadow said.

"Who were you thinking of?" I asked. I felt like a therapist right now.

"Some guy, I can't recall his name right now and Jeb," Shadow said. That made my stomach drop. That meant either of the following:

Jeb is my-I mean- Hunter's-I mean…ugh, okay…for now, let's say that Jeb is "my" father.(Since my brain feels so set on me and Hunter being siblings)

This option would mean that he also killed "my" mother.

Or…

The other guy killed "my" mother, and Jeb is "my" father and is out for revenge.

Each one pointed to one thing.

Jeb being "my" father.

But there was also this other option.

That the other guy was "my" father and Jeb was "my" mother's murderer.

And that meant that all this time, I've been helping "my" mother's murderer.

Oh crap doesn't even cover it. A stream of curses doesn't either.

"Max?" Shadow spoke up. I shook my head vigorously.

"Sorry, I was thinking. Please continue," I said. She sighed.

"I had pulled the Eraser off of Hunter. The look in his eyes…he looked so-so dead. I told him that she couldn't be dead and that it was all someone's fault-I don't know who-and then I saw an Eraser aim a gun at him. I had shoved Hunter out the way and-" she cut off, biting her lip.

"What?"

"I got hit in the stomach," she whispered. "And the neck." I sucked in air.

If she got hit in the neck, she should be dead.

Wait…wasn't she "dead" in my dream?

I squeezed my eyes shut to remember what I tried to forget. When Fang had picked her to see if she was still alive, her face…had been shrouded by her hair, and her eyes were…wide open, glassy, stricken with horror…

I shuddered. I shouldn't have remembered that. That was definitely something I did not want to remember.

Fang had checked her pulse. Her hands were covered in blood. Her shirt was soaked in it. And there was an even darker hole on her black shirt. A bloody, gaping hole…

Didn't she say she got struck with a bullet in the stomach?

"Max, we should go back to the house before the others start to worry," Shadow said, standing up and stretching.

"What time is it?" I asked absent-mindedly, still trying to put all the puzzle pieces together.

"It's…ten forty," Shadow said looking at the wall clock.

"That club where you and Shadow had sung that song, at eleven, tonight," Fang's voice echoed in my head.

"SHOOT!" I exclaimed and ran out the training area. The training area was actually the upper level of the garage. I was glad for that. I hopped onto the motorcycle but then froze. Shouldn't I get ready? But wait, why should I? It's not like it's a date…

"Max!" Shadow called. I looked in her direction. She was at the doorway, giving me a strange look, as if I finally lost it.

"I'm going to be out for about an hour," I called to her.

"Why?"

"Just trust me!" I yelled, revving the engine. She sighed, putting her head into her hands.

"Max…just be careful," she said, walking over to me. For some reason, that made me a bit annoyed.

"Hey, if I can take care of the Angels, then I can take care of myself," I said.

"Fine Max," Shadow answered. "But in an hour, I'm going after you."

"Fine," I huffed, revving the motor again. Shadow opened the garage door, and I took off.

The Fallen Angels

Fang's POV

I wiped the blood from the side of my mouth. The Wolf laughed and I narrowed my eyes. This was not funny. It was ten fifty now. I had to get to get out of here now or else Max would get angry and leave.

And that would not be good thing.

But what also is not a good thing is the situation I'm in.

I'm in a small bathroom. Why you may ask? Well, why do people go to the bathroom, ask yourself that. And then, while I'm washing my hands, this guy comes in. The first thing he does is look at me and transform into a wolf thing, or better known as human-lupine hybrid. He had punched my face. And now, he was going to pay, like his other buddies have.

I lunged at him and threw a punch at his face. I smirked when I heard the bones crack under my fist. I threw in a roundhouse kick, which floored the mutant. I went to my waistband, and pulled out a gun.

"Don't move," I said. The thing snarled at me, and I squeezed the trigger tighter.

"I'm warning you," I said. The thing lunged at me and a pulled the trigger. It howled and fell back. I couldn't help but feel a little sick. Was it dead?

It deformed back into a human. An unconscious human. I checked his pulse. Not dead. Good.

I walked out the bathroom and saw Hunter kneeling down next to something, talking to Iggy.

"The blue wire? Are you sure...Alright sorry! I didn't mean to question your bomb skills chief…I can be sarcastic all I want! Wait no! Don't hang up! Apologize? What the hell do you mean apologize?"

I cleared my throat and Hunter looked at me. "Hold on Ig. Fang, you need to go? Just go, I'll be fine," he went back to looking at the object. It was a sculpture, of a female with wings, an Angel? Oh well, I don't really care.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked. Hunter nodded, looked over the statue again, and said something to Iggy. It was predictable image of an Angel; you know, no clothes, etcetera. But this one was…falling.

A Fallen Angel?

"What is that a statue of?" I asked Hunter. He stopped talking to Iggy, pulled a few wires from its base, and looked at the description.

"It's a nephilim," Hunter said, going back to pull a few wires. He grabbed a scissor. I stared at the statue. It was like it was calling out to me.

"Hunter, when you're done with it, can you take it home?" I asked, starting to walk off.

"Why?" Hunter questioned after me.

"Trust me," I said, and entered the staircase to the roof. I started to take two stairs at a time. Damn it…I was late.

I went on the roof and took off my jacket. I spread my wings. Black, 14 foot wingspan, the whole package. I jumped into the air and started to fly off. Luckily, the club was close by. That seemed to be the only thing that was going for me tonight.

I looked at the bright neon sign and landed. I tucked in my wings and put on my jacket. Now I looked normal-ish. But then, what is normal?

I used the staircase and went downstairs. The club wasn't packed, so it was okay. A human-lupine hybrid couldn't sneak in here unnoticed.

Then, there she was.

I smirked and walked behind her. She didn't notice me at first. Then I noticed her muscles tense slowly. Now was the time…

"Max," I said. Max jumped and whirled around. She glared at me.

"Fang." We stood in silence for a while.

"Let's just get this over with," she huffed, sliding into her seat. I sat down also.

This should get interesting.

Me: And we're done with this chapter. Oh and, I'm not going to get too in depth with the religion part of Fallen Angels. The title is has something to do with everything. Wow...that was vague. But anyways, that had to be said. Now review lovelies!

Me: Faster update this time! And…I've changed my penname…again. Oh well, that's just me and my indecisiveness. XD This will probably happen a few more times, knowing me. Anyways, I don't own Maximum Ride. I own my characters. On with the story!

Quote of the update: "Memory is not wisdom; idiots can by rote repeat volumes. Yet what is wisdom without memory?" – Martin Tupper

Chapter 19: Conversations Gone Wild

Max's POV

"So, you brought me here. Ask what you're going to ask," I said. Okay, that came out really angry sounding. Fang looked unaffected. Then again, he almost always looked like that.

"What do you remember about your past?" Fang asked.

"Nothing much," I answered. Fang looked at me expectantly, wanting me to elaborate. I sighed.

"What do you want me to tell you? I'm not a mind reader," I said. Like Angel, I added mentally.

"Where did you first wake up?"

"The house where I live at," I answered.

"Who else was there?"

"Our Head, Shadow, Ella, Nudge and Angel."

"And when did the others come?"

"Crystal and Cassandra came with our Head a few days later. They had been thrown out of your group because they were too soft," I said with a smile. Fang frowned.

"Our Head said they ran away," Fang said. I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Chris and Cass would never do that," I said.

"Well, that's what our Head said," Fang answered.

"Well, he's an idiot," I countered. What? Chris and Cass were great people. They would never run away from a task. Our eyes met and Fang looked to his left. I looked also.

A waitress was headed our way. I scanned over her. She was tall and pretty. Your typical waitress. And, here's a plus, she didn't look like she was about to pull a gun out and shoot my brains out.

But looks can be deceiving.

"Hello," she said, looking over both of us. "May I take your order?" Why? So when I get soda you can slip poison or tranquilizer in it? Or if I order a sandwich, you can put a micro tracking device in it?

"Um, no thank you," I said. I had just ruined my appetite. Stupid paranoia…

"Just water," Fang said coolly. The waitress shot him a charming smile and walked off. I couldn't help but notice how she strutted out of there. And be a bit annoyed by it. Oh, for goodness sakes! Fang is probably the same age as me!

"Max?" Fang said. I focused back to him.

"Yes?" I recovered quickly from whatever just hit me. Why should I care? It's just Fang, not anyone special…

I love you…

Why does that stupid dream always come back to haunt me at the most inappropriate times?

"What are you thinking?" Fang asked. I looked at him in surprise with wide eyes. That question was really unexpected. And why would he care what I was thinking of?

"Stuff," I answered him. The side of his mouth twitched.

"That's a very educated response Maxine," Fang teased. I glared at him. He called me Maxine!

"Shut up," I growled. He snickered and my eyes narrowed. He was really starting to test my patience...

The glass of water slammed onto the table, making me jump. I looked up at the waitress and saw an angry expression on her face. Damn, what the hell is her problem?

"Anything else?" she said, anger apparent in her voice.

"No thank you miss," Fang said. She marched off and the door swung shut behind her. I rolled my eyes. People these days…

"What's her problem?" I muttered. Fang shrugged and poured the water into the pot of the plant that was sitting next to us. I stared at it as the water hit the dirt. He placed the glass back onto the table.

"Did you actually think I was going to drink that?" Fang asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know the inner workings of your mind," I said, brushing back my hair that was getting in my face.

"Touché," Fang said, rolling his shoulders. I started to play with his glass.

"What else do you want to know?" I asked.

"We know that Shadow's an avian hybrid." I stopped playing with the glass of water. Damn Hunter and his big mouth! Why'd he have to tell the whole group?!

Did you really think that he was not going to tell the rest of the group? That little annoying common sense voice said. I bit my lip.

"What I want to know," Fang continued. "Is if you're one." I felt each of my muscles freeze up. This was not good. I mean…I could lie…

But I knew that 95 percent of the time, especially in situations like this, lying comes back to bite you in the ass.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, crossing my legs.

"Because I just do," Fang countered, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You can't always get what you want Fang," I teased, smirking. "Because then that's not fair to the people who have to work for what they want." Fang frowned.

"I got you here, didn't I? That's a hard enough task." He said. I snorted.

"The 'hard task' you did was cornering me in a forest! And that was only by luck!"

"You must've wanted something as bad as did to give into my terms like that," Fang said. I narrowed my eyes. How can he read me like that? I haven't hung around him for more than an hour, yet he can read me like an open book!

"So what, I want to know about my past," I said.

"And so do I," Fang said. Our eyes met and we stared at one another. His coal black eyes felt like they were penetrating my soul, sifting through my mind's contents.

Jeez. This guy was making me into a poet.

Fang broke the eye contact, and then looked back at me with new resolve. "I have this feeling that you were involved in my past. I want to know."

"You want wisdom," I whispered, looking down and playing with the edge of my napkin.

"I want to know all the facts," he agreed. We sat in silence for a bit. I sighed and relaxed the wing bones on my back a bit.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" The waitress came back with a vengeance. I jumped in my seat and whirled around to stare at her. She had a smirk on her face, like there was an inside joke that we didn't know of.

"No, we do not wish to eat anything," I said through gritted teeth. I really hated being caught by surprise like that. Scratch that, I hate surprises in general. Unless that surprise involves a fun, relaxing party and cake. That's when surprises are A-okay in my book.

The waitress frowned. "Okay then. Just call for me when you need your check." She walked off. Fang sent me a puzzled look and I shook my head. He wouldn't understand.

"Do you want to know anything else?" I asked.

"Yes baby. I want to know if you can come over to where me and my buddies are hanging out." My head shot up and look to the side. This guy was there. He was large, and absolutely reeked of beer. Well, I guess it's half-time, if came over to talk to little old me.

Wait a second…did he just ask me for me?

What the hell?!?!

I know I looked at least 17 (Bird genes at work) but still! Ick!

"Excuse me?" I hissed.

"Well, my mates and I are lonely and would like a bit of entertainment." The jerk smirked and leaned closer to me. I backed away. "Would you like to come and play?"

Gross. That was just…EW! Talk about a pedophile!

"How nice of you to ask me in…such a manner," I said through gritted teeth. "And the answer is no buddy." The man looked at me, anger and confusion written on his face.

"Excuse me little missy?" he said, indignant.

"You heard me. Take your offer and shove it." The guy looked surprised, then angry.

"You watch your tongue around-"

"You heard her," Fang spoke up. Anger was apparent in his normally impassive voice. "Take your offer and go. She doesn't want to do what you call fun." The man stood up straight, glared at Fang, and walked off, grumbling.

"Good riddance," I muttered. Fang looked and glared at me.

"What is your problem? Do you want to get raped or killed?!" I scoffed at his "concern."

"Please. If I can take on big, out of control wolf hybrids, then I can take on a few drunk guys, no problem," I said.

"You need a babysitter for that mouth of yours," Fang muttered darkly under his breath. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"If I can take care of a group of kids that are 14 and under, then I can take care of myself."

"Fine Max," Fang sighed, looking out the window next to us. For some odd reason, I started to remember me and Shadow's conversation in the garage earlier.

"Max…just be careful," she said, walking over to me. For some reason, that made me a bit annoyed.

"Hey, if I can take care of the Angels, then I can take care of myself," I said.

"Fine Max," Shadow answered. "But in an hour, I'm going after you."

Oh crap.

In an hour, I'm going after you.

I'm going after you.

I'M GOING AFTER YOU.

I slowly turned my head to look at the clock.

It was midnight.

(Enter state that I live in here, because I am too paranoid to tell you in case you work for Itex and are out to get me), we have a problem.

"Crap!" I exclaimed, jumping up from my seat. Fang looked at me in mild surprise.

"What?"

"Shadow's coming!" Fang's eyes widened a bit, telling us that he was shocked.

"Why?!"

"She said that she was coming because she's worried and oh gosh!" I jumped when a girl dressed in all black passed us. I stood up and started to walk outside. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt Fang following me. I whirled around to face him.

"You can't follow me. She'd go ballistic," I said. Fang looked down, and then back at me.

"Let's meet next week, at the same spot," he said. "I didn't get to finish." I nodded and marched outside. It was dark and I felt Fang's presence behind me, but that didn't matter. I heard a crash come from inside the club, but that didn't matter either.

I walked over to where the motorcycle was located. It didn't have any traces of Shadow being here. I shook my head. Maybe she forgot…

But Shadow would never forget something like this.

I sighed and shook my head. Maybe she's just on her way.

"Oh crap," I heard Fang mutter. I looked at him and saw him power walking back towards the bar. I heard a crash, louder this time, and a scream.

Then a long howl that made my blood freeze.

Erasers had been in the club. And whoever's in there now is in trouble.

I started running back there with Fang and then the window practically exploded.

Fang jumped in front of me, protecting me by opening his jacket in front of our faces, and glass fell around us. When it settled, I looked over Fang's jacket to see who-or what-went through a window.

And saw Hunter and Shadow, bruised and bloody, lying unconscious on the ground.

Me: And there goes the evil cliffie. Now review!

Me: SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! Okay, now here's an update for you guys after a long period of no updateness. Thanks for reviewing, everyone and sorry I couldn't update on your birthday disneydork! I had to do a paper on the Persians and the Greeks…anyways, time for the update!

Quote of the Update: "I stood among them, but not of them; in a shroud of thoughts which were not their thoughts,"-Lord Byron

Chapter 20: New Plans

Shadow's POV (Before she was thrown out a window)

I rested my hand on the seat of the motorcycle. Why did I have to play babysitter for Max? She's a big girl. She can take care of herself. And anyways, I came here way earlier than I promised. Thirty minutes earlier, to be exact.

I turned around and started to walk out the parking lot. It was really dark, not that I really care. It's just that Chris was in charge at the house. Usually when that happens, all hell breaks loose.

Again, I felt something pulling me back to the club. I looked back and sighed. One peek wouldn't hurt…

I whirled back around walking towards the club and started to let my mind wander. The stars were exceptionally bright tonight. And the sky was a dark, dusty blue. And-

Suddenly I got a flash of Max. She was looking at me, her face calm, yet fierce.

"You brought me here. Ask what you're going to ask," she said, her voice sounding angry.

What the heck?!

Suddenly, she faded from my vision. I stumbled as my surroundings changed and became the parking lot again. For some reason, I felt a bit drained of energy and dizzy. I stumbled to a car and leaned on the hood, trying to catch my breath.

Okay, what the hell was that? That was weird. Almost as weird as being a fourteen year old with wings and having to destroy a company that owns about half the world. Like I said, almost.

"Miss? Are you okay?" I immediately straightened up as the person's hand came onto my shoulder.

I knew that voice.

I grabbed the person's hand and flipped them onto their back. Shocked golden eyes stared back at me.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" We shouted at one another at the same time. There was silence in the parking lot for the exception of a few honking cars passing by.

Hunter stood up, dusting himself off. I scrutinized him. He was wearing a suit. Well, the jacket was torn from the back, his pants had blood on them and he smelled like gunpowder.

"What the heck happened to you?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Well, I got lured somewhere, fought five-not four, five-wolf mutants, diffused a statue, got into an argument with a PYRO, and stole an artifact from the museum AND HAD TO WALK OUT OF THERE LIKE EVERYTHING WAS A-OKAY! And here's a plus. I JUST GOT FLIPPED ONTO MY BACK FOR ASKING IF SOMEONE WAS ALRIGHT OR NOT!" Hunter ranted, throwing his hands in the air a few times.

"Um…I'm sorry?" I said a bit surprised. I've never seen Hunter like this.

"It's not your fault, it's my stupid father's!" he exclaimed. It seemed like on that moment, all my senses were focused on him. "His stupid vision of…of-I DON'T EVEN KNOW!" His fists came down on the car. Immediately, the alarm started blaring and I saw dents in the car.

"Shit," he muttered. I looked around, and spotted the alleyway. I grabbed his arm and ran into the dark lane. We both peeked out the side to see a waitress walking towards the car. She switched it off and observed the dents. She kicked the car, yelled something, and stomped back in.

"Someone's not happy," I muttered.

"I'm sorry," Hunter said. I turned around to see his apologetic face. "I shouldn't have ranted to you like that."

"No, it's okay," I said. The thing about his father still rung in my head. His father wanted them to do all that stuff in the museum? That must mean….

Hunter's father is the Head of the Fallen.

Well, that's something.

"So…what are you doing? Here, I mean?" Hunter asked.

"I was just going to get Max. She's…working here tonight," I lied.

"Really?" Hunter asked with suspicion in his voice. "On spy business or singing business?"

"None of your business," I countered, narrowing my eyes. Hunter tensed up and so did I.

"I think it is my business."

"Says who?"

"Says me. One of my guys is in there and I want to know if he'll be alright or not," Hunter explained, crossing his arms.

"Hey, so what are you doing here then?" I asked, my paranoia already hitting the top of the charts. I could already feel myself slipping into a fighter's stance.

"Like I said, I'm just here to check on Fang," Hunter said. I could see his fists clenching and his muscles tense.

"How come I don't believe you?" I snarled, sidestepping him. The door into the club's kitchen was right there. Hunter blocked it again.

"Because you're not a person who trusts easily," Hunter countered. I narrowed my eyes even further.

"Get out of my way," I said flatly.

"Why? So you can alert your precious Leader?"

"No. To keep your right hand man away from my Leader." Hunter stood his ground. "Move before I make you move," I growled.

"You're going to have to do better than empty threats to move me," Hunter said, smugness in his voice.

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? You think this is an empty threat?" Hunter stayed silent as we stared at each other, daring the other make the wrong move. Then, it was Hunter who made the mistake.

I saw his muscles relax and he smirked.

"C'mon Shadow, let's just come to an agreement and-"

"I don't make deals with the enemy," I said, my voice low. I ran at him, punching him in the face. Just when I grabbed the doorknob and was about to throw it open, someone wrapped their arms around my stomach. The next thing I knew, I was rolling on the dirty, wet ground. I hissed at the pain that shot through my right side and stood up shakily. Hunter was opening the door. I grabbed him from behind and yanked him back. He lost his balance and fell. I dodged his falling body and went on top of him, straddling him.

"Listen mister," I hissed, getting in his face. "Don't give me a hard time." He glared at me.

"Get off me right now missy," Hunter growled.

"Like I'm going to listen to you? Please," I scoffed. Just then, I felt myself lose control of the situation when Hunter flipped us over.

"And look who's on top now," Hunter snarled. My hands went for his neck but Hunter was quick. He pinned them to the cold ground. I started to struggle and he growled again. I glared at him.

"You're so gonna get it when I get up from here."

"If you can get up," Hunter snorted.

"Oh please, if I can-" before I could finish, a horrid bark-like laughing filled my ears. I looked towards the source to see an Eraser there.

"Look, they're doing our job for us," one of them said.

"Or from the looks of it…" the Eraser cocked his head to one direction. "They're going to make more of themselves!" I could see from the corner of my eye Hunter's face turn a light pink color.

"Hunter," I hissed. "Get OFF me NOW."

"Count of three," he muttered.

"I am NOT going to wait till the count of THREE," I shouted-whispered.

"One," he said.

"Ugh," I groaned.

"Two…"

"Are they frozen there or something?" an Eraser asked.

"Probably defective experiments," another one said.

"Two and a half…"

"Hunter!" I hissed.

"Two and three quarters…" An Eraser started approaching us, making panic run down my spine.

"I swear on my wings I will kick your ass if you don't-"

"THREE!" Hunter rolled off of me and lunged at the nearest Eraser. I got up unsteadily just to have an Eraser tackle me into a wall. I grunted in pain as my back and wings collided with the wall. My legs felt like mush and I bent over. An Erasers claw met my face and I hit the ground. I groaned and tried to collect myself. How can I let myself get beat up by some oversized fur balls?!

I stood up and focused on the nearest Eraser. It growled and came at me, claws outstretched. I leaned backwards to dodge it and kicked it hard in the stomach. It stepped back from me, holding its gut. I sent it a roundhouse kick and it fell to the ground. Just then, the waitress from before came out from the kitchen.

"This is for messing up my car," she growled. As she ran towards Hunter, she started to change into an Eraser. Now, who would've guessed?

I looked at Hunter to see if he could take her. He had 3 Erasers on him, with 2 of them trying to hold him down for the female.

Oh, well that's sorta unfair.

"Hey," I called. The Erasers holding him looked at me. Immediately, Hunter threw a punch at one of them and ducked to the ground. The female that was already in mid-air, ready to rip his throat out, had no choice but to hit the wall. I jumped and rolled out the way, as an Eraser grabbed at me. I swept his feet from under him, making him hit the ground and quickly stood up.

"C'mon! Let's get Max and Fang," Hunter yelled. I locked onto him and nodded. We both ran for the door and into the kitchen. A waitress screamed in surprise and dropped a tray as we streaked through the kitchen. Hunter jumped on and ran over a table as Erasers started to come in.

"Get down from there!" I said to Hunter. He stuck his tongue out at me and jumped down from table. Just then two chefs blocked the exit with poles. I nearly fell backwards as I tried to stop myself from running into the poles. I looked around as I saw exceptionally beautiful waiters, waitresses and chefs staring at us, smirks marring their faces.

"Oh, this is just perfect," I heard Hunter mutter.

"We're so screwed," I mumbled. The waitress that had lunged at Hunter just moments before walked in, trying to fix her hair.

"Take care of them for me," she said. "I have to serve the other ones." My eyes widened as I thought of Max and Fang. They may be able to help us…

As the waitress walked out, I exchanged a look with Hunter. The door started to swing shut and both Hunter and I went for it. The chefs transformed into Erasers and floored us. That's when all the Erasers lunged.

I felt claws penetrate my skin and screamed. Hunter's yell mixed with mine and a furry claw came down on my mouth.

"Let's just finish them off," an Eraser said gruffly. I imagined that their leader nodded because in the next instant, I was hauled over an Erasers shoulder. I felt myself swing helplessly like a rag doll. I snuck a look at Hunter to see him turn his head and spit out a tooth. I shot him a sympathetic glance.

Then, a human started screaming her head off and I could see some already running for their lives. The Eraser shrugged me off his shoulder and held me up by my arm which felt a bit broken.

"Hope you have a nice flight," he sneered. In the next moment, I was hurling through space. Actually, the more correct term for it would be the window.

Then all was darkness.

Max's POV

Fang and I exchanged a look then grabbed our teammates. Shadow felt like dead weight as I ran with her to the motorcycle. I heard an Eraser howl and what seemed like a freaking herd of them following us.

"Max!" Fang called. I looked at him. Well, I mostly saw Hunter's bloody face. Fang shifted Hunter so he could fully see me.

"Max," he repeated. "I need you to lend me your motorcycle." Not my baby… "I can lead them away and you can use Hunter's car to hide away at a motel parking lot or something." I swallowed.

"Alright," I caved in. "But be careful!" I dug through my pocket and threw him the keys.

"Don't worry about me," Fang said, as he unlocked Hunter's car.

"I meant with the motorcycle," I said drily. He shot me a look as he got to the car and dumped Hunter into the backseat as soon as he opened the door. I handed him Shadow and put her in there too.

"Here you go," he said, throwing me the keys as I made my way to the driver's seat of the car. I unlocked the door and made myself nice and comfy in the seat. I saw Erasers getting in their own cars and some were trying to latch onto this one. I turned the key in the ignition and took off. Fang was next to me as we exited the lot.

"Fang," I called out the open window as we entered the highway. He came closer to hear me.

"You be careful too, okay?" I said. He smirked at me and nodded. I took the exit and he continued down the highway with the Erasers on his tail.

3rd Person POV

He sat at his computer, tapping his thick fingers on the keyboard. He gritted his teeth as he saw the hybrids drive away from the lot, with some Erasers on their tail and others left to wander there.

He typed furiously onto his keyboard, issuing a command to his pawn. The man at the keyboard watched from his seat, seeing his toy bring a walkie-talkie to his mouth and order some Erasers to trail the hybrids. The man at the keyboard smirked in satisfaction. The "toy" ran a hand through his dirty blond hair and sat there, robotically, waiting for another command.

"Doctor," the man at the keyboard jumped as the teen's voice filled the dungeon. He looked up and saw the pinnacle achievement of Itex lean against the cell bars casually.

"Yes?" the doctor said, his thick accent almost affecting the pronunciation of that word.

"Do you need anything?" The doctor smirked inwardly to himself. This was supposed to be the top experiment, one of the smartest out there, and yet, even it couldn't figure out his plan.

"Not ver now," the doctor replied. "But maybe later." Omega nodded and exited the dungeon. The doctor smirked as he started to finish the design for a new chip. This one wouldn't combust because of too much force, like the last ones did.

He also needed to start designing a stronger control chip. This one was starting to wear out, and that was bad. If his pawn started to break away now, then it could ruin the whole scenario.

And that would be bad for the doctor. He'd have people out for his blood.

Even though, if he can't get out of his dungeon, he highly doubted that people could get in.

The doctor sighed and rubbed his sweaty forehead. He put the finishing touches on the new chip and smiled to himself. He was done and all he had to do was make Omega build it. Now, to check on the group called the Flock…

He watched a video of the group lead by experiment M10116g25, the one that was called Maximum Ride. The interactions between them were interesting. Maximum was the mother figure of the group, coming off as a strong, fearless Leader. But later on, she'd relate stories of her hardship and rant to experiment K1483710Z. The one they called Shadow. A demonic smile spread onto the doctor's face.

What would happen to Maximum if we were to take her second in command away?

The doctor started to watch footage of Maximum interacting with experiment K0372609A. The one that was called Fang. The doctor already knew that in their past, Maximum and Fang may have had an intimate relationship. Did their feelings last even after the memories were wiped? This interested the doctor.

Whether the doctor watched too many soap operas, we will never know. But a plan formulated in his head which could've been a plot in As the World Turns or Days of our Lives.

The doctor sent another command to his pawn which read: Send the Fallen and the Angels on another Mission.

The doctor hit Enter button and smiled. Things were going to get interesting.

Me: (chuckles) I have given you more pieces of the puzzle. I wonder who's going to figure this out first. Review please!

Me: Well, (stretches) hey everyone! Hope everyone's okay! Oh, and I guess I still have to do this, I don't own Maximum Ride, I OWN MY CHARACTERS. Hugs to the reviewers! Sorry for the late update I had a bit of writer's block…meaning I stared at the screen blankly for a whole day and then started writing.

Quote of the update: "One might as well try to ride two horses moving in different directions, as to try to maintain in equal force two opposing or contradictory sets of desires." Robert Collier

Chapter 21: From One World to Another

Max's POV

I tapped my fingers nervously against the steering wheel. All this waiting was making me want to scream. Where was Fang? Why was Shadow and Hunter not waking up? How did the Eraser's find us? Who was-?

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. I jumped from my seat and yelped in surprise. What was going on?

Another scream resonated and I looked desperately out the car window. The night was calm, and there seemed to be nothing wrong. So where was it coming from?

The banshee screamed again, and it was coming from right behind me. I whirled to look at the backseat. Shadow seemed to be stirring and Hunter moaned. The scream came again; sounding exactly like the first 3 times it pierced the air.

"Cell phone," I heard Shadow mumble. I locked onto her. Her eyes were starting to open and Hunter's were also.

"Wha-?" Hunter said, incoherently. I rolled my eyes. Shadow just HAD to choose that ringtone. Just HAD to.

I took the phone out of her pocket and opened it. "Hello?"

"Max? Is that you?" It was Cass.

"No. It's the pizza man. Can I take your order?" I snapped. Cass could be slow sometimes.

"Skittles…I could've SWORN I put Shadow as speed dial on number three…" Cass trailed off. I groaned.

"It IS Max dummy. Do you know what joking around is?" I said.

"Oh. OH. Okay, sorry Max. You know how slow I can be sometimes," Cass said sheepishly.

"Oh yes, I know," I said scratching the back of my head. Exhibit A was just presented… "So what's up?"

"Wait a sec…" Cass trailed off and I rolled my eyes. I loved Cass; I really did, but… "I called Shadow, not you Max."

"Here's the beauty of cell phones," I said drily. "Anyone can pick it up."

"I know that, but…UGH. Just forget it. You need to know anyways." I shook my head, chuckling inwardly. "Jeb wants you and Shadow to go on another mission."

I blinked twice and waited for the words to re-process through my mind. Because I could've sworn Cass just said that Shadow and I were sent on another mission.

"Max?" Hunter said blearily. I shot him a look.

"Who's that boy there?" Cass asked.

"Alright Cass, gotta go, bye!" I said quickly, shutting the phone quickly. That's when I remembered…

I needed to get the mission from her. DARN!

"Max? What's going on?" Shadow mumbled. I looked at her. She was sitting up straight, stretching out carefully as if making sure she could move first.

"Another mission," I said. Her eyes widened a bit, then one twitch ever so slightly. Translation: She was pissed.

"We're not going," she said through gritted teeth. I blinked.

"Shadow, we can't disobey an order. And anyways, I'm going. You're going back home," I said. I could hear Shadow starting to growl in protest.

"Wait…is that you or do I hear a motorcycle?" Hunter said. Shadow glared at him and sure enough, I could hear motorcycle in the distance. It came into the parking lot, and parked beside this car. The driver got off and knocked on the window of the car. I opened the window and Fang's head appeared.

"Hey," he said, oh so casually.

"Hi," I said.

"Report," Hunter said, reminding me of…me.

"Well, they stopped chasing me," Fang said. Shadow and I exchanged a look.

"What?" Hunter asked, sounding astonished. "They stopped chasing you…out of nowhere?"

Fang nodded and then there was a moment of silence.

"Well-" Hunter was cut off by a cell phone ringing. We all looked at one another to pin-point whose it was. Fang fished the phone from his pocket and flipped it open, putting it to his ear.

"Yeah? I'm somewhere with Hunter…what?!" There was a moment of silence, and then Fang cursed.

"What's going on?" Hunter asked. Fang held up his hand.

"Where…okay then, bye." Fang snapped the phone shut and looked at Hunter.

"We have to go on another mission."

"Fang, it's one in the morning." I glanced at the clock, and sure enough, it was 1 o'clock.

"Do you think J-the Head cares?" I noticed how he stumbled over the word. I could feel Shadow's eyes on the back of my neck.

"Where?" Hunter sighed.

"The government building down the block from the pizza place that Gazzy and Iggy likes," Fang answered.

"The one that always smells like grease?" Shadow asked. Fang nodded. Shadow leaned back in her seat and kicked my seat.

"Sorry Max," She said. I could hear something else in her voice.

"So what now?" Fang asked. Shadow's cell phone beeped and she casually took it out her pocket, scanning it.

"Chris has a problem," Shadow said, pressing a few buttons on her phone.

"What does that have to do with us?" I asked a bit annoyed. Right now, I needed a plan, not to hear the troubles of others.

"Here," Shadow shoved her cell phone in my face, making me flinch. I snatched it from her and glared.

"What the hell-"

"Read it stupid before Chris flips," Shadow hissed, glaring at me. I huffed and looked down at the screen.

Max, I was lyin, chris didn't snd a mesge. Wat r we goin 2 do nxt? We cant do anythin tht wil giv us awy 2 th boys.

I blinked at her use of chat speak. It was very…odd. I deleted what she wrote and typed in my own message.

I dunno yet. Why are you typing in chat speak?

"Here's your phone back," I said, handing her back the phone. Her eyes scanned the screen and I could see her eyes narrow a bit. She put it back in her pocket, and casually started playing with a ripped part of her jeans. I drifted back to the boy's conversation.

"-and that's a fact!" Hunter continued.

"Really? Or is it in the idiot's manual that was written by you?" Fang snarled.

"Funny Fang, very funny. But you-"

Ding

Everyone looked in Shadow's direction and she shifted in her seat. "It's just my cell phone, nothing special." The boys looked away and I tried to look as casual as possible.

"Chris again," Shadow said, handing it back to me.

Cause it's fastr nd we r nt in English clas. R u sur u don't hav a pln?

I sighed and looked up. I could feel Fang's eyes on the back of my neck and tensed up.

"Fang, it's rude to stare. Keep your eyes in your sockets," Shadow said mockingly, putting her hands behind her head. Fang glared at her and went back to arguing with Hunter. I looked at my surroundings. Fang was blocking my exit out the car, but he was slowly moving towards Hunter, giving me a chance to get out. But then there was Shadow…

I looked back at her, watching her slowly stretch out, trying to get into a comfortable position. That's when an idea hit me. I quickly pushed in my message to Shadow and passed it to her. She scanned the screen. A ghost of a smirk played on her face and she stretched back, and I could see her thumbs go up.

"Gosh," she said. "This car is way too cramped!"

"Fine, let's get out," Hunter said. He opened the door and sorta hopped out the car. Shadow slipped out after him.

"Can I get out too?" I said to Fang. His eyes flickered to me, and he opened the car door. I awkwardly stepped out, feeling a bit unsteady. Fang grabbed onto my elbow.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I said.

Shadow rolled her neck and shuffled her feet.

"So what are we going to do guys?" I asked. Fang shot a look at Hunter, and Hunter scratched the back of his head.

"Well…I don't know yet," he said shrugging.

"Uh-huh…I see," I said.

Ding

Shadow and I raced for the motorcycle. Shadow jumped on the driver's seat and I hopped on the back.

"HEY!" Hunter cried out. The motor rumbled, growled, and then off we were. I laughed at the amazed expressions of the boys.

"Sorry boys, but we work solo," I called out.

"Nice line. Sorta clichéd though," Shadow yelled over the motor.

I smacked her shoulder. "Shut up and let's go!"

Me: Yep. Your horrors were granted. This was a sort of a filler chapter. Readers: OH NOES! Me: Sorry…next chapter will be the mission, which will be better. There's also a poll on my profile concerning this story. Please vote and review…

Me: OH GOD, SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!! I'm not even going to bother with an explanation…Anyways, I don't own Maximum Ride. I do own my characters. Oh, and the poll is closed, so if you want to see the result, just go to my profile.

Quote of the update: "If it's surprising, it's useful." Tom Hirshfield

Chapter 22: Surprise

Max's POV

"I'm going to park here," I heard Shadow say. She slowed the motorcycle to a stop and looked around. We were on a mostly deserted street. Important looking buildings rose around us and the cars that were parked around were almost too nice looking. Judging from the surroundings, I'm guessing we were in the financial district of town.

I slid off the motorcycle and she jumped off after me. I started to scan the area around us. My eyes landed on some people coming out the building. Coming in our general direction.

"Shadow," I hissed. I could feel her eyes land on me as I searched for somewhere…anywhere…AH HAH!

I grabbed her wrist and ducked behind a car, dragging her with me.

"What the hell-"

"Hush!" I cut her off. "There are people coming!" She looked around and saw them. I heard her curse.

"Great job picking this car," she whispered. I couldn't tell if that was sarcasm of an actual compliment until she said "This is the car they're coming to!" I hissed the curse and tried to find somewhere else to run to.

"They're too close! No way can we find another place to run NOW," she said.

"So what the heck are we supposed to do Shadow? Be sitting ducks?" I jeered, my stomach dancing around. This was not a very good place we were in right now.

"I prefer sitting hawks," Shadow muttered. I rolled my eyes. She chooses the best times to be a smart ass. I heard footsteps coming closer and quieted. Shadow stiffened next to me.

"-so that's how it works. Any other questions?" a female said. She sounded very curt and in control.

"How well is the security in the area?" the male said. He sounded old and boring. Yawn.

"Well, there are security guards that check the area every half an hour, cameras, and there are still workers in the building," the female said.

"Okay, good. The last thing we need is to get the documents taken," the male droned. I could hear the car door opening.

"Ladies first," the man said. The woman slid into the seat. I heard the door slam shut and footsteps coming closer. Shadow looked at me desperately and I pounded my fist into my open palm. She nodded and braced herself.

The man came around the corner. He looked like he was in his 60's and he was wearing a suit. His cloudy blue eyes landed on us and widened.

"What are you-OOF!" I swept his feet from under him before he could say anymore. He fell onto his back and Shadow came from behind towards him. She covered his mouth.

"Quiet or I'll snap your neck," she hissed viciously. I shot her a look and she smiled innocently at me. The guy started flailing and making sounds.

"Benjamin? What's wrong?" I heard the lady say.

"I swear, you bite me and I'll rip your spine out and beat you with it," Shadow growled.

"Benjamin?" the lady called again. I looked toward the lady, starting to fidget in the car, then toward Benjamin who was starting to thrash even harder.

"Knock him out," I muttered.

"Gladly," Shadow said. I looked away and the guy made a sound and stopped moving. I looked back over.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" I whispered.

"Hopefully," she answered. I glared at her and checked his pulse. He was alive, thankfully.

"He's alive, Ms. Violence, thanks to you and your miracle work," I said.

"Thank you for the sleep easer, Ms. Sarcasm," Shadow muttered, standing up. My eyes widened.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed.

"Hello, who's there?" the lady said.

"Just watch," Shadow said. She stood up and then, her face changed. It looked pained and she stumbled to the other side of the car. The lady yelped in surprise and Shadow banged on the window. The lady rolled down the window.

"Yes?" she said in a shaky voice.

"H-help me," Shadow said, her voice in hysterics. "S-some guys j-j-just ROBBED me!" I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Shadow is such a drama queen. Apparently, a believable drama queen.

The lady's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. "Robbers?! HERE?!"

Shadow nodded fiercely. "Yes and some old guy went after them since they stole some files I was bringing to the building." Now the lady gasped.

"Where'd they go?" she asked. Shadow straightened up and pointed from where we came. "That way." The lady exited the car and looked at Shadow, up and down.

"What did they DO to you?" she asked. I almost howled with laughter. I was SO going to bug her with that later.

"Beat me up," Shadow sniffled. "All of them jumped me, it wasn't fair."

"You poor girl…I'll go after Benjamin, he might get hurt," the lady came out the car, took Shadow by the arm and sat her by the passenger seat. "Just stay here. Everything's gonna be alright."

Shadow hiccupped. "Okay." I could hear the rushed clicking of the lady's high heels fade into the night.

"It's clear now," Shadow's voice was emotionless as always. "Bring the old guy." I sighed, picking up the old guy and bringing him to where Shadow was. She had opened the backseat of the car.

"Should we put him here or in the trunk?" Shadow said.

"What are we, from the Mafia?!" I said.

"The Mafia is a very successful-" I cut her off.

"I'm going to put him in the back seat. We're NOT the Mafia, and we're going to try to keep the illegal stuff at a minimum," I said, putting him in the back seat.

"Fine," Shadow pouted. She walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk. My eyebrow went up.

"What are you doing?" I said.

"Score!" she shouted. She took out a bunch of white coats. "Want one?" I nodded and took one, throwing it on. Shadow put on one, and straightened out the sleeves.

"How do I look?" she asked. I looked her up and down.

"What did they DO to you?" I said, imitating the woman's horrified voice. Shadow narrowed her eyes.

"You're horrid," Shadow said, tossing her hair and starting to march inside the building. I ran to catch up to her.

"At least I didn't threaten to snap an old man's neck," I said. Shadow rolled her eyes.

"You're still horrid."

TFA

"Identification please," the lady at the front desk said, sounding SO INTERESTED.

…That was sarcasm by the way.

"Our professor said to come in and meet him now," I said as sweetly as possible.

"At two in the morning?" the secretary said. The boredom in her voice was now laced with suspicion.

"He said there would be less people and we wouldn't get in the way," I said.

"Okay then, what's your professor's name. I'll call him and verify that you're supposed to be in the building," the secretary said.

"What are you hiding?" Shadow asked. I shot her a look and the woman looked surprised.

"What?"

"You won't let two teenage girls into a building. What are you hiding?" Shadow said, leaning closer to the lady. She rolled back her seat.

"Miss, this is just security procedure and-"

"What the hell do you mean, 'security'? This neighborhood is one of the safest in the planet!"

"Because of the security that we keep. Now, identification please," the lady said, full blown annoyance in her voice.

"Listen, how about we go through and then call you when we're upstairs," I put in.

"No. Identi-AH!" Shadow leaned across the desk and banged the lady's head on the table hard. My eyes widened as Shadow picked her head up again and brought it down hard.

"SHADOW! ARE YOU-"

"HUSH!" She hissed. She brought the ladies head back up. Her nose was broken and blood was streaming from her mouth and nose. Shadow went to the other side of the desk and stuffed the lady's body underneath. She sat down at the desk and gave me a big smile.

"Hello, I'm Itex's new secretary. I received notification that you were coming Ms. Maxine Ride and you may go upstairs. Meanwhile, I shall stay downstairs and keep a lookout for Mr. Brian and Mr. Nicholas. Any questions?" she said. I stared at her in disbelief.

"I…you…why…ugh, later, okay?" I said, trying to sort through all the thoughts in my head.

"Yes. Now get your ass upstairs before we get caught," she said.

I shook my head and ran part the secretary desk to the main lobby. It was completely deserted. It had a bunch of windows, sculptures, plants and even a fountain in the middle. Talk about luxurious.

I walked toward the elevators and pressed the button to go upstairs.

What exactly are you doing here…oh crap.

I yanked my cell phone from my pocket and called Cass.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Yeah, it's Max. What am I supposed to do here?"

"Oh, hey Max. Do where?" I rolled my eyes.

"Remember…you called and said me and Shadow had a mission…"

"Oh yeah! You were supposed to go to the 108th floor and go to room 5935. Get the blue folders from 3rd drawer in the cabinet on the far left, next to the flower statue and then get out of there," Cass said. Who gets a STATUE of a flower? Why not keep a real flower…

"Alright, bye," I said, hanging up the phone. The elevator dinged and I sighed as I stepped in, bracing myself for the small space I was going to be in for a long time. The doors closed behind me and the elevator started shooting up.

Why the heck would someone build something so dang tall… I thought to myself and leaned against the elevator wall. I felt myself lean against and push a button. Oh crap.

I gasped. Suddenly, I could see through the elevator. I could see outside. I was really dark, only like 2 in the morning. Stars were glimmering against the dark night sky. I could see where the city ended and the forest began. It was a nice sight.

I've seen it a thousand times before, but never like this.

I suddenly felt trapped. I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate. I slid down to the floor. The elevator seemed to be getting smaller and moving slower and slower and slower…

Suddenly, a silver mass streaked the elevator. My eyes widened and I stood up, unsteady.

Shadow, my mind registered. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. I ran out, glad that it was over and ran to the nearest window. I looked up and saw Shadow there, hovering, glaring at the ground below.

I slid the window open. "SHADOW! OVER HERE!" I yelled. She looked down and nodded, flying toward me. I stepped back and she squeezed through the small space.

"Report," I said, studying her appearance.

"Fang and Hunter are heading up," she said, breathing hard,

"Oh," I said, my eyes sliding the other elevator. It was on floor 68.

She laughed and I looked at her, mentally questioning her sanity. "They actually thought I was a secretary here."

"They didn't recognize you?" I said, surprised.

"Nope. I had tied my hair in a bun and put on the girl's glasses, so I guess I looked different," she said, shrugging.

"Those idiots. Anyways, let's go before they come," I said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her to room 5935. It wasn't locked so Shadow and I just slipped through. The lights were off, but thanks to our raptor vision, we could see better in the dark than regular humans.

"What do we do now?" Shadow whispered.

"We go to our left," I said, walking in said direction. The room seemed so eerie.

"Watch out, there's something right there," Shadow said.

"It's a sculpture of a plant," I said, matter-of-factly.

"Why would someone make a statue of a plant?" Shadow muttered.

"I have no clue," I said, looking over the cabinet and yanking the third drawer open even though it really required a key. See how gentle I am?

I skimmed through the files and Shadow shone her cell phone light on the files. I took all the blue ones and closed the drawer back up.

"Need the cream?" Shadow said. I nodded and she took a tube of cream out of her pocket. She uncapped, squeezed and rubbed it all over the door handle. Cass had invented it to eradicate any fingerprints left behind. Shadow closed the drawer with her elbow.

"Let's-" she started but never finished.

The door opened.

And two male avian hybrids stepped in, looking none too happy.

Me: O: AHMYGAWSH! What will happen next? Stay tuned for the next (and sooner, hopefully) installment of The Fallen Angels!

Me: Okay, really sorry for the long wait =] I don't own Maximum Ride, I own my characters.

Chapter 23: Capture

Shadow's POV

"Give us the files," Hunter said in a very controlled tone of voice. I kept my hand on my thigh, ready to shoot out his brains if he got too close. Fang also looked ready to pull something out at any moment.

"How about…no," Max snarled, holding the files closer to herself. Hunter slipped into a fighter's stance and I clenched my fists and stiffened my jaw.

"You lose this round. Back off," I hissed, stepping in front of Max. In that instant, Fang pulled out a gun and aimed at Max. Matching his speed, I pulled out my own gun and pointed it at Hunter.

Silence.

"Stalemate," Fang muttered.

Then, the song Chop Suey rang in the air and Hunter carefully went into his pocket and took out his phone.

"Hello?...Yes, we're here…what?" Hunter looked straight at me. "But why?...But…Hey! I-Okay, yes sir." Hunter hung up the phone, looked at Fang and mouthed something to him.

Fang blinked twice. "What?" Hunter mouthed it to him again. "But what does…she have to do with anything?" I could feel myself getting nervous now and exchanged a look with Max. This did not sound good at all.

"Okay dudes? You can continue arguing but we're going to leave now," Max said, backing towards the door. Hunter and Fang both turned to her, making the hair on the back of my neck rise.

"Oh, one of you can leave…" Hunter said, switching to a more offensive stance. "But one of you is going to have to come with us."

I stood in front of Max and had switched to an offensive stance. "You are not going to take my Leader."

"No one said we were after your Leader Shadow," Fang said. I could feel my heart beating faster.

"What are you saying?" Max asked, grabbing my arm, ready to yank me backwards if necessary.

"Shadow, you're coming with us," Fang said, keeping his voice even. Adrenaline flooded through my veins.

"How about no?" I said, backing up.

"Count of three," Max muttered. I braced myself.

"It wasn't a question, it was a fact," Fang said, coming closer.

"ONE!" Max yelled. I ducked and she threw the file at Hunter's and Fang's head. She then grabbed my arm and literally threw me out the door. I saw a window and threw myself out of it, spreading my wings and working hard to speed away as fast I could. Max cruised right next to me, grabbed my arm and then started flying warp speed. I screwed my arms shut and let myself go limp. If I struggled, it would only make things worse.

Max slowed down and looked backwards. "Well, they're not following us, which is a good thing." I breathed out in relief. Max looked at me with concern and a bit of suspicion in her eyes. "But…what the hell do they want with you?"

"Truthfully, I have no freaking idea. I don't have anything they would want. At least, I think so," I said.

Max sighed. "Well, let's just go home, we'll figure this out better if we're well rested."

I nodded and started flying when she let go of my arm. "Yes, let's go home."

Hunter's POV

"So," Fang said. "What the hell do we do now?"

We were in a park that was deserted at this time, with an exception of a few joggers. I ran my hand through my hair and rubbed my eyes.

"Well, I would want to ambush them while they were at home, but I have no idea where they live," I said. Fang shifted and looked up at me. "What?"

"What if I told you that I might know how to get to their house?"

"Wait, remind me why we're doing this again," Ghost said. "Why are we capturing this one? The Leader would be more important."

I sighed. How many freaking times would I have to explain it before he freaking gets it?! "Well, Jeb said ever since the shock treatment thing, Shadow is the most likely to turn to our side. Max would just fight and try to escape until she kills herself. However, if we treat Shadow the right way, she could become a Fallen."

"Ah, okay, so basically, since your Daddy gives you anything you want, you asked him if you could go take your girlfriend, he agreed and now we're here?" Ghost said, smirking. I turned around and glared at Ghost. He was just such an asshole sometimes.

"No, you fail," I spat, turning back around.

"Whatever, I don't care, she's hot," Ghost said, leaning back on his seat a little. I grabbed the Clorox wipes from the cup holder next to me, and threw them at him.

"Will you just SHUT UP ALREADY!" I yelled. Ghost laughed and settled down in his seat.

"Can both of you be quiet? I'm trying to concentrate," Fang said quietly, taking a sip of Red Bull. We were in our car, driving, trying to locate where the Angels lived. I sighed and leaned against the window. Shadow was going to hate me after this. And for some reason, the thought of it really irked me. And I really didn't know why.

"We're here," Fang said. I looked to where Fang was staring and there was a small, simple, little 1 floor house.

"Wow, that's small," I muttered.

"What did you expect?" Ghost asked.

"Not this," I said simply, getting out of the car. Ghost and Fang also closed their doors and trailed after me. I went up to the doorstep and made space for Ghost. He started to pick the lock, trying to open it. I exchanged a look with Fang. This is it.

The door clicked open. Ghost opened it slowly and then allowed us to walk in. The house was surprisingly neat. Everything was clean and in order. But then again, Max was the Leader.

"Ghost, I want you to go and wait in the driver's seat in the car," I said. "We may need to jump in at a moment's notice." Ghost nodded curtly and walked off. I looked toward the hallway and walked quietly, trying not to bang into anything. Fang walked ahead of me, the whole quiet thing coming naturally to him. He then whirled around and made me bang into a mirror. He gave me dirty look, put his finger over his lips and pointed into the room. I glared at him back and peeked into the room.

It was a big room, with a vanity, a dresser, various posters on the wall and clothes strewn on the floor. The room was dark with curtains filtering out all the sunlight. There were beds on either side of the room. Both held the key players of the Angels.

Max and Shadow.

Max was sleeping quietly on the bed, a bit tense, but snoring quietly. Shadow was still as a stone and I had to stare for a few seconds to realize that she was breathing.

"Do you have the tranquilizer?" I asked Fang. He took out a small syringe and squirted out some. "Do it carefully, if she wakes up, she could wake up Max." Fang nodded and went up to Shadow. I kept an eye on Max. Knowing her, she could just sit up, say surprise, smack on a sarcastic smile, call her forces and kick our asses.

And knowing her, she would do that. Just to crush our male egos.

I heard Shadow make a low grunt. I immediately turned to her and then she sat straight up with her eye open. My heart started beating faster and I slipped into my pocket for my knife.

Instead she just looked straight at me, smiled dopily, which looked so weird for her and said "My an-a-angel. M…my g-golden a-angel." She stumbled onto her feet and came to me, arms wide open.

"Shadow?" I whispered, thinking that it was some plot to get me to let my guard down. She looked up at me and smiled. Then he eyes fluttered shut and her whole body went limp. I froze and held her, sweat dripping down my back and looked at Fang. His eyes were slightly widened, which was his version of a bewildered look.

"What was that?" I asked him, my voice a bit shaky. He shook his head and blinked slowly. I breathed out, letting out all the tension from my stomach and picked up Shadow. I was glad that she was an avian hybrid. Not only was she just like me, but she wasn't total dead weight while I was carrying her.

I turned around and was about to walk out of the room when a dog walks up in front of me. It was a small Scottish terrier, with grayish-blackish fur. And for some reason it looked familiar to me.

"Good doggy, get away doggy…" I muttered, trying to sneak around it.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, UNHAND HER VILLAN! AND STOP CALLING ME DOGGY!" Did the freaking dog just talk?! Scratch that, did the dog just freaking YELL at me!? What the fuck was wrong with this house?!

But figuring that didn't matter when I heard the creaking of a bed behind me. I whirled around to see Max jumping out of her bed and looking all around the room like crazy.

Oh crap.

We're FUCKED.

She looked straight in our direction, realized what was going on and her eyes practically turned into fire.

"INTRUDER!" the dog yelled and ran into the other rooms. "INTRUDER!"

"PUT HER DOWN NOW!" Max yelled, lunging at us. I quickly backed up and Fang grabbed her arms and shoved her backwards.

"RUN HUNTER!" he yelled. I held Shadow closer and hurtled out this house looking for the car. I heard Chris scream and looked back and saw a dark skinned girl catching up to me.

"DUDE, let her GO!" she yelled.

"GHOST!" I yelled. Out of absolutely nowhere, the van sped into the street and stopped right in front of me.

"Duck!" Ghost hollered. I ducked and Ghost popped out the window of the car, armed with a freaking tranquilizer gun. Like really, where the front door did he GET that thing from?

I heard him shoot and looked back to see the girl get hit, fall on her knees and slump to the ground, unconscious. The feeling of guilt crept up and gripped my heart. She looked only a few years older than the Gasman. She shouldn't be fighting in this.

None of us should, the oldest I think is Max, is only 14, maybe even 16. We shouldn't be fighting like this.

"Get in the car before another one comes!" Ghost said, opening the back door of the car. I climbed in and placed Shadow in the backseat.

"Guard her, I need to go help Fang," I said. Ghost nodded and reloaded his tranquilizer. I ran back to the house and saw Fang trying to fend off Max.

No anger is greater than a woman scorned.

"FANG, LET'S GO!" I yelled.

STOP AND GIVE ME MY SISTER BACK! I heard a small voice yell in my head. I looked and saw a little blonde girl with big blue eyes. I felt sweat form on my forehead. She looked just like Gazzy.

Really, what the fuck was up with this house?

Please Hunter, pretty please? I heard her beg. That knocked the breath out of me. Where have I heard her beg like that before? Where have I heard her before?

Before I could dwell on it any longer, Fang grabbed my arm and practically dragged me with him to the car. Really, how rude?

I jumped into the front seat and Fang hopped into the seat, pushing Shadow a bit so he could get in and we both slammed the door shut. Ghost totally stomped on the gas and the car took off.

"Oh God, I feel like such a criminal," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, we could be charged with breaking and entering, kidnapping, assault, speeding, endangering the welfare of a child with…tell me you didn't shoot her with a real gun Ghost," Fang finished, his eye on the thing.

"Oh chillax! It was a tranquilizer gun," Ghost said, hitting a speed bump hard. I winced as my butt hit the seat hard.

"The one who needs to chill is you! You're going to kill us!" I said, hitting his arm. Ghost shot me and look and slowed down a bit, muttering something about me being genetically enhanced and him having delicate bones that can snap if that girl were to get to him. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. He's such a drama queen.

Then there was a thump on the hood of the car. I looked up and then a knife punctured the roof of the car and started ripping the car a new HOLE.

"Holy…" I heard Fang mutter.

"SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE USING? A SUPER KNIFE?!" Ghost yelled, swerving the car wildly. Shadow's head banged against the window and she groaned.

This is where Leader Hunter steps in. "Okay, I'll try and get her off the roof. Ghost, you keep the car steady but swerve sometimes and keep her off balance, I'll be fine. Fang, make sure and Shadow stays unconscious, you will KILL us if she wakes up now, understand?!"

"Yes sir!" both of them said at the same time. I rolled down the window and climbed onto the roof. Max tried to stab at my hands before I got onto the roof but I quickly moved then and jumped on.

"See, I didn't deface your car," I said. She growled and lunged and I quickly dodged. I shook my head. "Tsk tsk Max, anger makes you careless."

"Give me Shadow back," she growled. I couldn't help but put on one of my more sarcastic smiles to piss her off.

"Well, you can't have her so nah nah na- nah nah!" I said, sticking my tongue out at her. That seemed to absolutely infuriate her. She lunged at me again.

And Ghost swerved the car.

Max lost balance on the tip of the car and fell off. I watched, feeling a bit bad as she rolled away. I shouldn't have taunted her. Too late now though. It was either me or her. I saw Max stop and sit up slowly, which made me feel a bit better.

I jumped back into the car and settled in. Ghost held up a hand and I high fived him. "Nice job dude!" he congratulated.

"Is Max okay?" Fang asked. I turned around and scanned his expression. He looked genuinely concerned.

"Yes, she's fine. She got straight up. How's Shadow?" I asked.

"She's fine, but I found something questionable…" Fang trailed off. I stared at him, trying to read him. What was he talking about?

He held up Shadow's hand, and she was clutching a gold and black feather.

Feathers that was identical to mine and Fang's.

I could feel my heart beating faster and clutched the seat.

"Yes," I said. "That definitely raises some questions."

Me: Review! =]

Me: I should be doing my English Research paper now but, nah xD I don't own Maximum Ride, I do own my characters so don't use any without my written consent. By the way, I've decided to put up time stamps cause… =X

Chapter 24: Anger

Hunter's POV

Time: 15:39

"Okay," I whispered. "Clear out quietly and I'll give her an antidote." I looked at Shadow. She was unconscious on the bed with drool hanging out of her mouth. Where's a camera when you need one?

Fang, Ghost, Lies, Iggy and I were all in the basement of our house. Ghost was armed with his handy dandy tranquilizer gun because, ya' know, in case Shadow's a little pissed that we captured her.

Which I doubt she would be.

End sarcasm.

"I don't think we should leave," Lies said, uncertainty in his voice.

"I think she'd be more aggressive if she sees more people in the room," Iggy said, shrugging.

"True," Fang said, putting in his er, one cent as usual.

"Okay, how about all of us hide and be ready to jump out in case she tries to kill you?" Ghost said.

"Fine," I relented, feeling a bit annoyed. I could defend myself; I was physically stronger than her.

At least, I think so.

The gang all hide in different places in the room, and gave me various grunts to signal that they were ready. I approached Shadow and pricked her with the dart of antidote. I backed away and sat down on a chair, prepping myself for the worst.

Shadow stirred and groaned, holding her head. She looked around the room and her muscles tensed. Her eyes landed on me, and I felt myself straighten up.

"Where am I? What are you doing here?" Shadow's voice was deep and threatening, which made me wonder why I had to be the one to break it to her.

"You're in my basement." Well, that didn't sound creepy at all.

"Well, what am I doing in your basement?" Shadow asked, wiping her mouth and eyes.

"You were sleeping, but now you've been awakened," I said, keeping my voice cool. I can't keep this up forever.

"Nice answer smart ass," She spat and glared at me. "Where is Max? What have you done with her?"

Well, I kinda sorta threw her off the roof of my car. She's probably home, plotting on how to dismember Fang, Ghost and I in the worst way possible…

"She's not here," I opted to say instead. "She's fine, she's just not here, but you are."

"Yeah, thanks Captain Obvious," she said. Annoyance flared up inside me. She continued, "Just what the hell do you want from me?"

"Shadow, I'll say this truthfully, I was going to give you this whole speech, but since you seem to absolutely hate fluff, I'll tell you bluntly." I shifted in my seat, nervous at her reaction. "I want you to join the Fallen."

Shadow stared at me for about a minute, scanning my face. Then she chuckled and her face turned serious.

"That was the funniest joke I've ever heard. You want me to join you." Shadow said in a flat tone. She shakily got onto her feet. "Betray Max and join you? Oh please honey, you're not that cute." I could feel my cheeks turn a blazing red. "So you can f- off with the offer."

"Fine," I said, standing up. "I'll ask again once you've grown accustomed to your surroundings."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, you're staying here until you agree to our terms."

"You're joking. Let me out."

"Honey, you're not that cute or convincing," I said, mocking her. Her eyes were practically shooting daggers at me. Good. "I'm not letting you out of your cage anytime soon, so chill out."

Shadow marched towards me, with murder in her eyes. She stood in front of me and poked my chest hard. "I'm giving you until 3 to let me out of here."

"And I'm giving you till the count of 3 to sit down," I retorted, crossing my arms. She crossed her arms, challenging me.

1…

2…

She drew back her fist and launched a punch straight at my face. I grabbed her fist and her other hand. She struggled but I managed to restrain her.

"See, now that you couldn't follow my simple instructions to sit down…" I shoved her onto the bed and held her by the neck down. "You're going to have to stay like this." She glared up at me and tried to spit on my face but I covered her mouth.

"LET ME GO!" I heard her scream from under my hand. I uncovered her mouth.

"Well, I'll let you go," I said. "If you tell me where you found these." And that's when I whipped out the feathers from my back pocket.

That turned out to be a really bad mistake.

Her face turned from anger to complete FURY. She kneed me HARD in the stomach and kick my face. I landed on the ground and I felt cold, small hands wrap around my neck.

"GIVE THOSE BACK! GIVE THEM BACK YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she roared, tightening her grip. My eyes widened and I struggled to get her hands off my neck. She stood up and totally swapped places with me, so now I was being strangled while she had all the power.

I grabbed her arms and tried shoving her backwards but she wouldn't let go. She was beyond pissed and she wasn't going to spare me.

Suddenly, her hands went slack. The fire in her eyes disappeared and her whole body went limp. I fell onto me, and then rolled off onto the bed. I sat up, rubbing my neck. Ghost was standing a few feet away, gun still ready. Fang appeared next to me, glaring at Shadow.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I rasped. I looked at the feathers on the floor.

What do those feathers mean to her?

Max's POV

Time: 16:10

"Max," Cass said. "Breathe, you're not helping Shadow by panicking. Just breathe and think of the nice things in the world! Like, flowers and birds and-" I glared at Cass. Right now, I didn't want to hear the whole 'Think positive!' bullshit.

"I think I speak for everyone in the room when I say, just shut the fuck up Cass," Chris said.

I was in the kitchen, surrounded by Chris, Cass, Ella, a sedated Nudge, Angel and Total. I was trying to brain storm a plan but so far, I couldn't get out of my head that those stupid boys were able to get into MY fort and kidnap MY sister. Like seriously, can the world be anymore messed up? There are some girls who would LOVE to have their sister kidnapped. But I had to be the one to suffer.

"Jeb!" I yelled when I heard his footsteps outside. I ran to the door and yanked it open. Jeb stood there with surprise evident on his face, his key ready to unlock the door.

"Max? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Shadow's been kidnapped by the Fallen and I need ideas on how to get her back," I said, stomping my foot.

The next thing that Jeb said almost gave me a heart attack.

"Well, Max honey, maybe it's for the best," Jab said calmly. I stared at him, reading his body language for any sarcasm.

The bastard even threw in a smile.

"You're kidding me, right?" Chris said from behind me.

"Think about it girls, now you'll have less burden, the fewer of you, the better," he said cheerily. See, at this point, I was shaking, ready to punch his face so hard that his nose would meet his brain.

Chris grabbed my shoulder and pushed me lightly behind her. "You know what Jeb? You can back off until you get an attitude adjustment. Okay, thanks, bye." Chris slammed the door and locked our new lock which was able to stand against even the best lock picker in the world.

Too little, too late.

"Did he really mean what he said?" Cass said, frowning.

"Yes, he meant every word," Angel said quietly, petting Total.

"So, what are we going to do?" Ella sighed.

I closed my eyes, trying to backtrack, to see what to do…

My eyes snapped open and I felt a very devious smile form on my face. Angel looked up at me and smiled in return.

"I think that might work."

Fang's POV

Time: 22:48

"What's our line up again?" Iggy asked, twirling the drumsticks in his hands. I tuned my guitar and looked at Hunter.

"Are you sure you want to sing? You've sounded like crap since Shadow flipped out on you," Ghost said oh so charmingly.

Hunter glared at him and said, "Iggy, we're doing Shut Your Mouth by Pain, that's it."

"Cool dude," Iggy said, tapping on the snare drum lightly.

Rachel, the woman that owns the club appeared and looked at me.

"Nick, your cousin called and said he has a little situation?" Rachel said, looking weirdly at me. My blood ran cold. That would mean Shadow got loose. Or that the Gasman blew up the house. Either one is pretty bad.

"Okay, I'll get the phone." I walked off the stage and down the hallway to the office. The door was wide open and the room was dark. The hair on the back of my neck went up. I quietly entered the room, trying to hear anything suspicious. I walked towards the desk and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I said.

"Look up," a female voice said unexpectedly. I dropped the phone and looked straight up.

And there was Max, hanging on the ceiling staring down at me, having the biggest grin on her face that I've ever seen.

Before I could brace myself, she dropped down onto me and grabbed me in a chokehold. I tried to escape but then she held a huge, shiny knife at my neck.

"If you move wrong, you're dead," Max said, her voice dead serious. My heart pounded and I stopped struggling, looking around for a weapon or some sort of method of escape.

"You're not getting away." A little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes stood up from under the table. She glared at me. "At least, not without telling us where Shadow is."

I snickered. "I'm not telling you anything."

"You won't, but your mind will," the little girl said, sounding like she was older. Creepy.

"How?" I challenged, hoping they were bluffing.

Then I felt someone come into my mind. I tried to fight against it, but they managed to restrain me.

"The more you struggle, the harder it will be. For you," the little girl said. Max pressed the blade closer to my neck.

"Isn't Angel such a lovely mind reader?" Max mocked.

If she's a mind reader…

I'm screwed.

Me: :D Review!

Me: Sorry for the wait! I don't own Maximum Ride, I own my characters. By the way, I won't be updating Completing My Soul anytime soon because of my major writer's block. =| Sorries. Anyways, I did some things in the chapter on purpose, so I'm wondering who will notice it =D

Chapter 25: Remember Me

Fang's POV

Time: 22:55

"So," Angel said. "Are you going to tell us willingly, or will I have to look through mind to get it?"

"You can get it but once you release me, I'll tell the others and they'll relocate her," I said smirking, trying to look as cocky as possible.

"Who said anything about releasing you?" Max snarled, pressing the knife closer to my neck. I felt my throat drop to my stomach.

"What are you going to do with me?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.

"We'll see when we get there," Max barked. "Angel, where does he live?"

The little blonde girl jumped off the table and landed right in front of me. Her big blue eyes captured mine and she stared straight at me. I felt something pushing on the barriers on my mind. This time I was prepared. I closed my eyes and concentrated on blocking her. I put a wall between her and me. She was not getting in, no matter what.

"You think I'm not going to get in Fang? You're wrong," Angel snapped, sounding not very angelic. She rolled her eyes, probably hearing what I thought and probed my mind again, this time harder. I stood my ground. No way was she getting in.

Angel growled in frustration and stomped on the ground. I smirked at her temper tantrum. She must've been at least 6 or 7.

"So what if I'm 7?! I still have better powers than you!" Angel exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes, but I have self-discipline, so I win," I said.

"UGH! Maaaaaaaaaaax! Fang won't let me inside his head!" Angel whined. Max's knife loosened a bit, but I knew that wasn't an opportunity, it was bait.

"Are you sure you can't?" Max asked.

"Yes, he's blocking me," Angel said, glaring at me.

"Would it be easier if I knocked him out?" Her voice was so nonchalant, yet the question was so serious.

"No, when people are unconscious everything becomes cloudy," Angel frowned. I look down at my watch. I tapped my watch, trying not to think-

"Max! Fang's watch has a tracker!" Angel exclaimed. I glared at her. I felt a sharp pain on my side and before I could see what it was, everything turned dark.

Hunter's POV

Time: 22:57

"Rachel," I said trying to keep my voice calm. "Can you put the other act first? I think there must've been some sort of emergency and Fang had to leave."

Rachel pouted and frowned. "Okay, but next time let me know earlier!" I smiled and nodded as I walked towards the doorway with Ghost and Iggy in tow.

"So, what do you th-" Ghost started to say before my watch started beeping. I looked at it and my heart sank.

"Fang sent out an SOS," I said, starting to run. I heard the others footsteps behind me. I followed the directions to Rachel's office and looked inside.

No one was there.

Fang's watch was though.

Time: 23:49

I stomped into Shadow's prison and slammed the door behind me. She looked up at me, her eyes blank. The room was totally dark except for the flickering ceiling light that I've been meaning to replace. I looked back at Shadow, who looked frail and sickly, but I knew it was just an act. She packed quite a punch.

"They took Fang," I growled. I was pissed. Fang was my right hand man, my second in command, and my best friend.

"Who took him?" Shadow rasped.

"Your Leader, Max. It's so obvious that she did it. Itex wouldn't be so neat," I snapped. She knew who did it, she KNEW.

"Karma," Shadow said simply, shrugging. I glared at her and marched towards her.

"Where would they keep him?" I growled.

"Like I'm going to tell you," she growled, glaring. Now she was started to get me even angrier.

"I can always go over there and take him myself."

"Oh, don't worry, I bet Max is prepared for your ass to storm the place," Shadow snapped, standing up. She was shaking and she kind of looked like she was about to collapse.

"Shadow? Are you okay?" I asked, my anger cooling off. She blinked and straightened up.

"Yes, I'm just fine," she said. Her hands went to her stomach but I still heard it growl.

"You should eat. You're not doing anything by not eating."

"I'm protesting."

"No, you're being stupid. Now eat."

Shadow crossed her arms. "No."

"What are you, 5?! 'No, I don't want to eat my broccoli!'" I exclaimed, imitating a baby voice. I saw Shadow bite her lip to prevent a smile. "Seriously Shadow, just sit down and eat."

"You just can't go along with my teenage rebellion, can you?" Shadow asked with a ghost of a smirk on her face. I shook my head and she sat down on the floor and started to devour her food. Ghost walked into the room and looked at both of us.

"Ummm…You know who is here and he wants us to call him Marcus?" Ghost said, his voice unsure.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know, I guess to keep it a secret from her," Ghost said, gesturing to Shadow. "Anyways, he wants all of us upstairs." I nodded and helped Shadow onto her feet. She stumbled and grabbed onto my arm. I looked at her and she sent me a ghost of a smirk. I really couldn't read her. Was it friendly? Was she faking? Why was she so confusing?

"Earth to Cunter, has the spaceship landed?" Ghost yelled. Shadow chuckled.

"Cunter," she said and chuckled again. I could feel myself turning red from embarrassment and I smacked Ghost on the back of his head.

"Idiot," I muttered and walked out of the room. Shadow was still holding onto my arm but I could barely hear her next to me. She was worried about this, I could tell by how hard she was grabbing my arm.

We reached the living room and Jeb was sitting in the computer chair. At least, I believed it was Jeb. This guy had black hair and was tied into a ponytail and green eyes. His skin was dark as if he'd been working under the sun for the last few days and he had his ear pierced.

"Hello Shadow," Jeb said, his voice altered somehow. "How are you? Are the boys feeding you well?"

"Umm…Yeah, I guess," Shadow answered, looking around the room.

"So, they took Fang, correct?" Je-Marcus asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Well, let's see if they'll trade Fang for Shadow tomorrow night. Shadow, can you please e-mail your friends telling them this? They check their e-mails every day, correct?" Marcus addressed Shadow as if addressing a child, smooth and calm. I guess he didn't want to set her off.

"Yes, I can send them an e-mail and they should see it in time," Shadow said, her voice robotic. I looked at her. All her muscles were tense and her teeth were grinding together. What was wrong with her?

"Well, I have to go now. Hopefully I'll see all of the boys tomorrow?" he said, getting up.

"Yep Marcus, all of the boys," Ghost answered. Jeb nodded and walked out of the house, locking the door behind him.

I squeezed Shadow's arm, looking for the reason why she was acting like this. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Shadow, I know you better than that." The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. She looked at me and one eyebrow went up. The next words that came out of her mouth hurt me more than they were supposed to.

"You don't even know me."

"Meow," Lies said in the background. Iggy, Ghost and Lies all erupted into laughter and smacked high fives.

Idiots.

Time: 06:29

Max's POV

I sat still in my chair and prepped myself for the worse. I'm not sure how Fang was going to react to me keeping him in the basement but I definitely know he wouldn't hug and kiss me for it.

For some reason, that sent happy shivers down my spine.

Ew.

Fang stirred and groaned, holding his head. He looked around the room and all of his muscles tensed. His eyes landed on me, and I felt myself straighten up.

"Where am I?" Fang's voice was deep and threatening and it didn't scare me at all. So nah nah to him.

"You're in my basement." I said simply, trying to be as creepy and weird as possible. So he wouldn't think I was fully sane. You can take advantage of sane people.

"Well, what am I doing in your basement?" Fang asked, a bit of humor in his voice.

"You decided that you couldn't stand the Fallen anymore, so you came and joined us," I said, giving him my biggest smile.

"Nice answer," Fang said, running his hand through his hair. "What do you want from me?"

"Well, I want Shadow back. Hopefully they play into my hand and either trade her for you or try to storm the place again with her as a shield. I'm going to win this round," I said, smirking and crossing my arms. No one messes with me or my crew.

Yes, I said 'crew'.

Got a problem?

"The invincible Max," Fang said, a bit of humor in his voice. "Where have I heard that before?"

"I don't know but you should tell Itex. It'll shut them up for a while," I said, shrugging and crossing my legs. I can't say that I still wasn't angry at him for kidnapping my second in command but for some reason I just couldn't stay mad at him.

Fang was looking down at his shirt, disgusted. "What is it?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. He started to take his shirt off.

"Do you want me to leave? I asked, feeling my face flush. I have never had a guy undress in front of me before. At least, not that I remember.

"No, I'm not shy," Fang said. He took his shirt off and that's when I saw them.

Black wings.

Black feathers.

Mate.

Fang's POV

Usually when I take my shirt off, girls don't drop to the floor. I guess there's a first for everything.

I ran towards Max and picked her head off the floor. I felt for her pulse. She was alive, just unconscious.

"HELP!" I yelled. "HELP!"

No answer. Fuck.

I felt her forehead. She was burning up. Maybe that's the reason why she fainted. I checked first to see if she had some sort of shirt under. She did. I was going to feel like a pervert for this…

I slowly took off her turtleneck shirt, making sure that I didn't lift up her tank top as well. I felt her forehead again. She was cooling off. I lifted her up and couldn't help but notice how freaking light she was as I laid her down on the bed.

If she was that light, it means that she must be an avian hybrid. Or was she?

Great, I'm feeling like a curious pervert now. I mean, I'm not sneaking a peek at her boobs or anything, just her back…

Fine, just one peek, I thought to myself. I turned her over just a bit and saw her wings.

Her feathers were a tan color. They were soft and had freckles on them.

They were beautiful.

Just like Maximum Ride.

Those were my last thoughts before I started to remember what I had lost…

Me: Review =3

Me: Fast update O_o xD AND LONG CHAPTER?! Alright, I don't own Maximum Ride or the song April Rain by Delain, I do own my lovely characters =D Oh, and my reviewers are the best EVER. Happy reviews make this writer happy :3 xD Alright, on with the chap before I shed a tear. Dr. ter Borcht's dialogue was hard to write D: Can I get props?

Chapter 26: April Rain

Max's POV

Time: 08:09

I remembered him.

I remembered everything about him now.

I remembered his smile that made my heart sing. I remembered his angry expressions that always got me mad with him. I remembered his mournful expressions that always made that one cliché tear fall down my face. Not really, but my point was…

Fang was my mate and I loved him.

I sat up and breathed in, feeling better than I ever have. I stretched and started thinking about the Flock. I was going to tell them everything now, this was just so AWESOME.

Then I frowned.

There were some blank spots in my memory. Ugh, I needed answers to all of this!

I looked around and realized that I was on a bed and that my shirt was off. Ah, now this is when I realize my creepy surroundings. Nice job Maximum.

Then I saw Fang lying on the floor. My heart stopped for a good 2 seconds.

"Fang!" I yelled, jumping and landing beside him. I picked up his head and started fanning him. That's all I needed, just as I get my memories of him back, he dies. Just. Freaking. Great.

My heart fluttered when Fang's eyes fluttered open. That idiot. My idiot.

"Fang?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. The last thing he needed to know was how much I cared about him. He'd use it against me like the big freaking jerk he is.

God, I love him.

I couldn't help but feel disgusted at all the mushiness going on in my head. I could practically hear Shadow saying, "All this sweet shit is giving me a cavity."

That's when something struck me. There's something about Shadow and Fang; something really important. I scanned Fang's face and really couldn't help but think of Shadow. Olive skin, black hair, medium size ears, angular facial features…

"Maximum?" Fang rasped, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. I smiled and a warm feeling spread throughout my being. My mind totally threw out what I was thinking of and just thought of Fang and how he always knows what I was thinking and how he always gave me that feeling that I'm not a genetically enhanced freak.

And that's a pretty good freaking feeling.

"Fang," I said back. For the first time that I can remember, I was genuinely excited. My mouth ran before my brain could process what I was saying. "Fang, I remember you and I love you."

I was immediately embarrassed. C'mon Max, you're totally throwing yourself all over him, give him some space!

He didn't seem to mind though.

In the next moment his warm, firm lips were against mine.

How could I ever have lived without this?

Hunter's POV

Time: 09:18

I put Shadow's pancakes in front of her and sat down right next to her. She glared at me and I shot her a sideways glance.

"What?" I asked, stuffing the pancakes in my mouth. Ari, the Gasman, Lies, Iggy, Ghost, Shadow and I were sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. The vibes were fairly normal even though Fang was missing. Though, there was a bit of tension between Shadow and everyone else. 'Cause, you know, she's here against her will and all…

"How do you expect me to eat this?" her voice was sharp and angry, as if I had done something incredibly stupid.

"Easily, Iggy made it soft just for you princess," I snapped back. Iggy snorted and the Gasman giggled. Shadow glared at them which made the Gasman shut up but Iggy continued eating. Because he couldn't exactly see the death glare.

Shadow rattled her handcuffs and glared at me. I looked at them, which were tied to the back of the chair and then looked at the table.

Oh.

Ghost snickered and cut up her pancakes into pieces. He stabbed one with her fork and put it up to her mouth.

"Say 'ah'," Ghost said, smirking.

I think if it was possible for Shadow to dismember him with her eyes, she would. She lashed out against the chains and growled. Ghost chuckled and held up the keys.

"I'll ask your boyfriend to open up those cuffs if you promise not to kill me."

Shadow huffed and settled in her seat. "Fine. Correction first, Hunter's not my boyfriend."

"Oh really? Then who is?" Ghost asked, unlocking her hands and her feet. She massaged her wrists and rubbed her ankles together.

"I don't have one."

"Aw, well a pretty girl like you should have a boyfriend," Ghost said, smiling.

Ghost? Smiling? Sweet? Flirting?

Oh no.

"Ghost is getting his game on," Lies muttered to Iggy. Iggy chuckled and then glanced in my direction.

Shadow looked completely lost. She looked at me and then stuttered, "Thank you." She stuffed pancakes in her mouth and kept her eyes downward. I couldn't help but feel a little victory from her reaction.

I don't know why though.

"Um, Shadow?" Ari asked, uncertainly. I looked at my little brother and smiled, trying to encourage him to step up. He smiled back and looked at Shadow.

"Yes Ari?" Shadow said her voice softer than normal. I think she likes Ari but I have no idea why.

"How's Angel?" I looked at him remembering the time at the supermarket. He was with the little girl from the Angels. I could tell that he really liked her. There was something really mysterious about that little girl.

"She's doing fine. Her leg is healing up just perfect. She'll be as good as new in no time," Shadow said in between bites.

Ari looked as if Shadow announced that Christmas was tomorrow. I smiled. Ari was a really good kid, with a kind heart. I remembered the night before:

"Hunter?" Ari called. I walked into his dark room and tucked him in.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why are we trapping Shadow downstairs? It's not fair. You always told me to be nice to people but I don't think she likes this," Ari said, frowning. I sighed and sat down, patting his dirty blonde hair.

"Ari, things aren't always that simple. It's just like…you know how Lies and I always tell you to share and to keep your voice down and how not to hit people? Well, I'm sorry that I'm such a hypocrite, because I do those things everyday unfortunately. The thing is that the world is different than the little bliss land that I try to keep you in and protect you in."

"Yeah, b-but Angel is going to be sad. She loves Shadow," Ari said, his big hazel eyes going wider as he looked at me. "I'll do all the chores for a week if you let Shadow go back to her family."

Those words made my heart break a little bit. I may act like big heartless leader of The Fallen, but my little brother is just sweet sometimes.

I ruffled his hair and said, "Sorry buddy, but no. Now go to sleep."

I sighed and ate the last bits of my pancakes. Shadow was staring at her plate, with a somber expression on her face. Something was wrong, but before I could ask what Jeb…Marcus BURST into the room.

And when I say BURST, I mean door flying open, running, tripping over the Gasman's and Ari's remote controlled cars and absolutely everyone in the room grabbing their utensils and bracing themselves to use it as a weapon.

"Sorry guys…and gal for scaring you like this, but this is URGENT!" Jeb yelled, opening his small laptop and turning it on.

"Does he always come in like this?" Shadow said her knuckles white from clutching her fork.

"I guess he forgot his pills today," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Hi daddy," Ari dared say quietly. Jeb paid no attention as his fingers moved impossibly fast for a human over the keyboard. I felt angry and put my hand on Ari's shoulder. Stupid Jeb and his stupid non-existent fatherly instincts…

I saw Shadow looking at Ari and me, her eyes widening slightly. She caught my gaze and pointed at Ari and mouthed, "Brother?"

I nodded and then Marcus started speaking, "I discovered today that Itex had planted a chip inside Hunter, Shadow, Iggy, the Gasman and Ari when you were born. Now, this chip has served absolutely no purpose in you other than to say that you were made by Itex. Then I was studying your bodies and your minds and I found that the chip travels, and it has embedded itself inside your brain."

"Great," Iggy spat, voicing my thoughts and roughly sitting down in his chair and shoving his plate to the side in disgust. The Gasman turned pale but stood standing like trooper he is. Ari hugged onto my arm tightly and squeezed. I ruffled his hair reassuringly, trying not to curse in front of him. That's not something I'm trying to teach him. Lies and Ghost exchanged an uneasy look. I knew that even though they were jerks some…most…a lot…99 percent of the time, they still cared for us. I saw Shadow stiffen more than I thought possible, but she showed no reaction other than that.

"So what does this mean?" I asked, finding my voice. Jeb moved away from the screen and it showed me, Shadow and Iggy. A movie came up and it showed our insides and the chips moving from our arms up to our brains and doing…something?

This is so weird.

"Itex's plan is to distract you from your mission to destroy them. They're playing on the fact that you have no memories. They have moved the chip to each of your brains and are putting in 'memories'. These are fake images. Do not believe them," Marcus said, massaging the bridge of his nose.

I stood there in shock. So, the things about Shadow and Max in my past were fake? But, what about…?

"Marcus," Shadow spoke up, her voice soft yet strong. "My…cousin, she's seven and she's a hybrid herself. She told us that these memories are real. She possesses a super power and it has never been wrong before. Are you positive about this?"

Marcus smiled sadly at her. "Yes Shadow, I'm sure. I know these 'memories' are pleasant but look at the data. Look at the facts. Itex created you all, and they have powerful enough technology to create this as well. They're trying to brainwash you. I am sorry, but your cousin is incorrect this time." Shadow looked down at her feet, probably rethinking everything. Marcus closed his laptop, patted my shoulder and stepped out of the room. He suddenly shuddered and turned around.

"By the way," he said his voice robotic. "One of the people in the Angels is a traitor and it is definitely no one in this room." He turned back around and left, shutting the door behind him.

Shadow looked as if someone punched her in the stomach hard and sank into a chair. I went over to her, put a hand on your shoulder and kneeled to her eye level.

"Do you know who it is?" I asked, trying to keep control in my voice.

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "I think I have an idea."

Max's POV

Time: 10:57

I smiled as I watched Fang play with Angel and Nudge. Right now, I was way past cloud 9. I was at cloud 939485, maybe?

No, that number is way too small for how I was feeling right now.

The rest of the Angels took everything I said to heart and rejoiced. We were steps closer to regaining our memories. The others didn't get anything off of Fang's wings and he didn't get anything off of theirs. It was a bit of a disappointment but it didn't matter.

I was determined to get our memories back now. Nothing can deter me of that goal. And later, I was going to tell The Fallen and everyone would be a happy Flock again.

The house with the white picket fence is optional.

Suddenly Jeb's car pulled up. I could feel my heart beating a bit faster when some weird dude came out of the car. He had dark brown hair and tan skin. He turned around and I saw his big blue eyes. His face looked like it was moved around and his facial features were just…wrong?

"Hello Max!" he said cheerily, approaching me. I couldn't help but gawk. Who was this and what did he do with Jeb?

"Wha-?" But before I could say anything else, Jeb went over and held out his hand to Fang.

"Hello, my name is Giovanni and I am the Head of the Angels," he said. Fang looked at his hand and then looked at him, his face saying 'Do you really expect me to shake your hand?'

Everyone, Jeb wants us to call us to call him Giovanni around Fang, Angel said in my mind and most likely everyone else's.

Why would he want us to do that? I thought to Angel. Something smells fishy and it's not the fish sticks that are burning in the oven right now.

He doesn't say but I agree, Angel said. The others are thinking the same thing.

"Everyone, come inside! I have great news!" Jeb, or should I say Giovanni, ushered all of us into the living room. Man, even his walk was different. What the fish sticks was going on!?

Sorry, I'm hungry and food is on my mind.

Anyways, I sat on the sofa next to Fang and his hand slid over mine. I smiled at him and looked at Jeb, narrowing my eyes. He was acting really fishy…

"Chris, I think you should get those fish sticks out the oven. They're burning and Max can't get her mind off of them," Angel said, smiling brightly. I stuck my tongue out at her and I heard Fang chuckling. I looked back and him and smiled, feeling the urge to lean on his broad shoulders and take a nap.

Jeez, Fang was just making me into a marshmallow.

Yum…marshmallows…

"So," Jeb-Giovanni said, with a chockfull of pep. "The great news that I bring you today is that you guys are regaining your memories!" I squeezed Fang's hand. "I think I've found something that can help get the rest of your memories back. BUT, I need to put the finishing touches on it. Expect it soon." Giovanni smiled and Fang squeezed my hand.

Answers, finally!

I can't wait to tell Shadow

Outside POV

Time: 15:06

Dr. ter Borcht sat down at the head of the table with a smile that matched the Cheshire Cat. His plan was coming to its greater stages and he finally made IT.

"Ladies an' Gentlemen please sit down and prepare for your eyes to be blovn," he announced in his thick German accent. The group of people sat down and concentrated on the screen that the doctor was presenting on. They ranged from very important members in the black market, to the world's greatest scientists. Two of the most notable guests were the 'Wonder Boy', Omega and Head of Itex Corporation, Dr. Marian Janssen.

"Please, everyone sip up, dis is going to be a pleasant presentation," Dr. ter Borcht said, his voice uncharacteristically cheery. Everyone except Omega picked up their coffee and drank. Dr. ter Borcht looked at the boy and frowned. If he was going to be a problem then he would have to be eliminated. Permanently.

"Vhat is vrong Omega? You do not like coffee?" Dr. ter Borcht asked, trying to keep any maliciousness out of his voice.

Omega looked at ter Borcht in the eye and said, "No, I don't need coffee and I'm not thirsty. Caffeine makes me nervous." Dr. ter Borcht was annoyed but tried keeping it in. This boy was going to ruin everything. He watched as Omega straightened out his papers. The Super Boy hissed and put his left index finger in his mouth.

"Ugh, paper cut," Omega hissed. He looked up when the doctor cleared his voice and spoke.

"My most esteemed colleagues, I haf gathered you today so you can vitness history! I, along vith many others, haf finally created de vorld's smallest super computer! This computer von't be used as a commercial product neither as a vay to one up the government-"

Did he just say one up? Omega thought, and shook his head, trying to pay attention. This speech was boring since he already knew what was going to happen. He traced his left index finger around the rim of the cup, trying to beat the boredom. Dr. ter Borcht smiled and continued, pointing at the video as he spoke.

"'Dis machine is like a firus. No, it is a virus. It infades the system like a firus does and goes straight to de brain. Vhen inside the brain, it spreads around and vhen I press a button, I can control de infected person, to put dis simply."

There were many gasps around the room and an important mafia boss interrupted, "So what does this have to do with our plan of world domination? I bet this virus is very hard to spread."

"It has to do vith de afian hybrid called Angel. Subject Eleven. She possesses a certain power vhere she can read and control minds. Dis firus has an alpha mode in dis particular person so vhen she is around ANYONE, it spreads from her mind to de next person. It is absolutely amazing but I still have a few kinks to vork out." At this point, several people in the room stood up to interrupt and ter Borcht raised his hand. "I'll inform you all vhen it's done. Meeting dismissed! But Omega, I vant you to stay, we must speak," The scientists and the criminals filed out the room, talking excitedly to one another. Dr. ter Borcht sat down at a seat opposite of Omega and glared.

"There are no kinks to work out. There were viruses in the coffee," Omega said, his voice angry.

"Smart yet not so smart Omega," the doctor said, reclining in his seat.

"How so?"

"Here is de thing you and Valencia seemed to haf forgot. Vhen you have emotions, you are not perfect, you slip up. You knew dere vere firuses in the coffee. Yet, you traced de rim vith your cut finger. Boredom is an emotion Omega, and it vas your end," Dr. ter Borcht laughed and stood up. Omega felt everything in his body go cold.

I just ruined everything I've strived for…

Max's POV

Time: 22:56

"Ugh, this is so not cool! Why is it raining? The weathergirl didn't say it would rain! I-" I could hear Nudge complain from under the trees.

"Well, the only reason they hired her is because she's all boobs and no brains," Chris said. I turned around, glaring.

"Hush! Don't scare them away!" I hissed. The last thing they needed to think is that I brought my mafia or something to put them six feet under. Fang put his arm around me and held me closer.

"Don't sweat it. It'll go perfect," he whispered. I put my arms around him and squeezed him, looking up at his face even though his eyes were covered by his wet, black hair. Fang leaned over and kissed me.

The next part I didn't anticipate at all.

I heard a bunch of footsteps running in our direction. I jumped away from Fang, and looked in the direction of the sound. Everyone in the Fallen was headed in our direction. I saw Shadow, in the front of the herd slide to a stop and looked at Fang, then at me.

"WHAT THE FREAKING HELL IS GOING ON?!" I heard Hunter yell, voicing Shadow's look. He slid next to and somehow almost managed to bang into her. Shadow had her hand on the belt of her pants. I knew what she was headed for.

That's when I knew that this was not going to end well.

"Why is Fang kissing Max?" the Gasman asked Iggy.

"Hi Angel!" the little kid-Ari, I believe his name is-said.

Hunter whirled around and barked, "Lies, get Ari and the Gasman out of here. This is not going to end well." He turned back around glaring at Fang. "I want an answer Fang. What the FREAKING hell is GOING ON?"

"Hunter, I've gotten my memories back," Fang said carefully. Every muscle in his body was tense and I stood next to him as silent support.

"No, they are not memories. They are made up movies by Itex to trick you," Shadow said, keeping her eyes on me and Fang. Wait, what? Where did she get that crap from?

"What? What do you mean?" I asked, feeling a bit hurt. Does she think I can't tell real from fake or something?

"Itex planted chips in us when we were born. They gave us fake memories from these chips," Hunter said slowly. "What, did they make you think that you and Max were together in a past life or something?"

"Yes, they did," Fang said stiffly. "And they're real."

"Yes, they are. Listen to us," I said, taking a step in front of Fang.

How does it feel when all you're counting on is scattering?

Hunter crossed his arms, ready to hear us out. Shadow stiffened and gritted her teeth.

"Shadow, Angel confirmed it and even j- Our Head confirmed it! What more do you want?" I said.

"I want actual facts. Proof. Logic. Pictures," Shadow said.

This was tougher than I imagined it would be.

Every wind that you have sailed upon, a hurricane

"What about the feathers, huh?! That's tangible!" I exclaimed. I pulled out a black one from my pocket. "This is Fang's feather. I saw his wings with my two eyes," I said, stomping.

This was totally dampening my evening more than the rain had done to my hair.

Every summer you have seen was filled with April rain

"What do you mean that you saw his wings?" Hunter asked, a deadly tone in his voice. I glared at him.

"I saw them and it was no big deal since it led to us discovering great things!" I exclaimed, waving my hands in the air probably looking like a crazy person.

This was not fair. We've already been through a lot! Why was it getting hard now when this was supposed to be the easiest part!?

It doesn't get easy, don't you know

"Guys, Max is telling the truth, I mean, if Angel can see it-" Chris began.

"Angel is seven, she'd love for everyone to love each other and be happy," Iggy said.

Fortune smiles on you

"So what if I'm seven!?" Angel said indignantly. Hunter's face was slowly turning a tomato color and he looked up at Fang, his golden eyes on fire.

You're not watching, dig that hole deeper

"Fang, I cannot believe you. YOU, out of all of us, EXPOSING THEMSELVES?! TO HER! BECAUSE OF SOME HALF ASSED VISION!" Hunter exploded, taking a step towards Fang. Shadow grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards.

"Calm down Hunter," she said quietly. He yanked his arm back.

Fortune smiles on you

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! I CANNOT BELIEVE HIM!" he yelled again, throwing his arms in the air. I couldn't believe Hunter right now. He was totally flipping out right now when he hardly ever even raises his voice.

You're not watching, create your own fate

"Do you want your little brother to watch you like this?" Shadow said quietly. That immediately seemed to calm Hunter down and he massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Okay," he said, his voice calm.

Count your blessings and prepare to change your point of view

"Listen, Hunter, everyone can have a good life finally. No fighting off Erasers and such. We've already wasted our lives for who knows how long fighting this fight that can't be won!" I said, putting my hands at my hips.

All those days that you spend waiting won't come back to you

"Our lives won't be so dreary anymore, where we get up to survive every morning. It doesn't have to be that way," Fang said quietly, clenching his fists.

Take off the glasses that have treated your world black and grey

"So you expect us to kick back and relax while Itex is taking over the world?" Hunter said with a hint of cynicism in his voice.

"We can work together to take them down Hunter," I said, trying to keep my annoyance out of my voice. "It doesn't have to be my group versus your group versus Itex."

Silence.

It doesn't get easy, don't you know

Shadow looked up at me, her eyes cold and she slowly held up the gun and pointed it at Fang.

"Traitor."

Fortune smiles on you

You're not watching, dig that hole deeper

Everything in me went cold. "What do you mean, traitor? He's not a traitor!"

Fang put his hands up and Hunter looked at Shadow. "What do you mean?"

"He showed his wings to Max on purpose, because he knew it'd activate whatever Itex put in her brain. There is no way Max could possibly be this stupid," Shadow hissed.

Fortune smiles on you

You're not watching, create your own fate

"NO! It's my decision! No one's controlling me!" I yelled running in front of Fang. Shadow looked at me in the eye and slowly put the gun down.

There was something wrong.

"So, you made a big deal and didn't really believe me when I told you about Hunter, that the kiss just happened, but you believe Fang and …you know who?" Shadow's voice was dull and her arms dropped to her sides.

"No, I didn't know at the time but I know now! Please Shadow, stop being unreasonable!" I pleaded. But I already knew that look in her eyes. The blank look.

She was closing herself off.

Crap.

It keeps raining

"This is all shit Fang. Absolute shit. Thanks for always being behind us a hundred percent," Hunter spat.

Keeps raining

"Why are you not trying to under-" Fang started.

"Because your logic is BULLSHIT. You're a freaking TRAITOR, and THAT'S the only thing that makes sense," Ghost yelled. I looked at Iggy and his reaction mirrored the rest of the Fallen.

They didn't believe us.

Keeps raining

"C'mon guys, let's go," Hunter said, turning around. The Fallen boys turned around and started leaving.

"YOU GUYS!" Fang shouted. Ghost shot the bird and they continued walking.

It keeps raining ('cause we are blind)

Shadow looked behind her and then looked at us, her expression hardening. I felt my heart sink into my stomach. No, why?

"Shadow, please don't go," Angel pleaded, stepping next to me and grabbing my hand.

Keeps raining ('Cause we are tired)

"Have fun with your new second in command Max," Shadow spat, whirling around and walking with the Fallen. I can't believe this is happening…

"SHADOW!" I yelled, running towards, trying to grab her shoulder and pull her back.

She turned around, eyes blazing and shot the ground in front of me.

Keeps raining ('Cause we are blind to fortune's guidance now)

I slid to a stop. The Fallen all turned around, expressionless. Zombies.

It keeps raining, cause we are blind

"I never miss Maximum. Never," she said coldly. I scanned her face, trying to look for answers. I'm losing my best friend…

It will keep raining, cause we are tired.

I found my voice. "I know Shadow." We stared at each other. To me, she looked unfamiliar. Black hair covering her eyes, clothes too big for her figure, and her demeanor was colder than usual.

It keeps raining, 'cause we are blind oh

I was in complete denial right now. This was not happening…

It will keep raining 'cause we are tired.

She turned around and started walking away. The rest of the Fallen resumed walking as well.

Fortune smiles on you

You're not watching, dig that hole deeper

"I can't believe this," I muttered, feeling numb. Angel buried her face in my shirt and I started to rub her hair, trying to comfort her. So this was how it was going to be…

Fortune smiles on you

You're not watching, create your own fate

I sighed. "Let's go guys, there's nothing for us here."

Me: Nice, cool reviews fuel me to type faster :]

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Chapter 27: Set Up

Omega's POV

Time: 23:34

I threw the ball against the wall again, pissed off. It made another hole in the wall. I sighed.

The ball was The Fallen, The Angels and I while the wall was Itex. We've only made dents.

And right now, it looks like that's the last things we're going to be making.

I heard footsteps down the hall and immediately thought of the papers on my desk. For the last 8 hours I had been trying to figure out an antidote to the virus, but I haven't found an exact one, only concoctions that can inhibit it for a few hours. I went to my desk, put the papers in the drawer and sat on my desk. No one can get these papers. They are my last chance.

Dr. ter Borcht walked into my room, smiling and holding a gun in one hand and a small Blackberry looking machine. My heart went a bit cold. What is he planning now?

"Omega, hov very nice to see you," ter Borcht hissed. The hairs on the back of my neck went up.

"Yeah, nice. What do you want?" I said, keeping my voice steady.

"You haf become a fery important part in de Angels and de Fallens next mission," ter Borcht said. "And you'll do it whether you like it or not."

I eyed the gun. "Explain."

"Vith dis gun, you vill shoot Maximum and infect everyone in de Angels vith de virus," ter Borcht said with a malicious undertone in his voice. "Once Angel is infected, the vhole vorld is mine!"

I felt my eyes widen. "No!" I protested. "I won't no matter what!"

"Have it your vay," ter Borcht said, pressing a button on the Blackberry looking remote.

That's when I lost all control of my body.

I have failed…

Hunter's POV

Two days later at 05:16

There were Erasers everywhere. They were flooding through the windows and into the house with murder in their eyes.

"RUN DAMMIT!" I heard Shadow yell. I looked at her. She looked haggard and too thin. She was glaring at Iggy whose defiance was written all over his stance.

"No! I won't leave you guys here to die!" Iggy yelled back. He whirled around and started fighting an Eraser. They started going in between us, separating Shadow and me from the younger ones. I felt my body start fighting against the closest Eraser.

Where was I?

"NO, get out of here Iggy! Take the others and run, we'll hold them off!" Shadow hollered.

"GO RIGHT NOW!" I yelled, trying to see who was there. There was Angel, Nudge, Iggy and the Gasman; the humans weren't here.

"No Hunter! I'm sorry, but no!" I heard Nudge shriek. Panic and anger was making me clumsy and an Eraser raked its claws against my arm. Shadow looked at me, her eyes widening and then looked at the others.

"U AND A NOW! GO!" she bellowed. I heard a howl of triumph and I saw Angel, bloody and unconscious, being tossed over a shoulder of an Eraser.

"NO!" I yelled, trying to get to the Eraser. A few others jumped in front of it and snarled. They can't take Angel too, they already took Ari!

Wait...what was I thinking?!

"Oh no, ANGEL!" Shadow screamed behind me. I looked back at her and for the first time, I saw actual panic and fear all over her.

This was bad.

"GET MAX AND FANG!" She ordered Iggy.

"I can't, I'm busy!" Iggy yelled back. He threw something into the kitchen and it exploded. Even though those Erasers were done for, there were still more.

We've only made a dent.

"Hey birdie," one of the Erasers said. All of them stopped and looked at me. Shudders went down my spine.

"What?" I spat. Then he held up a photo.

My mom.

Gunshot wound to the head.

Dead.

"Your mother is dead."

Numb, so numb inside. My mom, the best mom in the world…

"-will be the same." I looked up at the Eraser. I didn't realize what he was still talking. He had a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Wait…MOVE!" Shadow screamed. She shoved me forward. I stumbled, heard gunshots and looked back at Shadow, to see what was going on.

I choked back a cry as she fell to her knees. One of her hands were at her stomach, the other was trying to stop the blood flow from her neck. I looked at her eyes, and her usually silver eyes were now a dull grey.

She was gone before she hit the ground.

All my fault…

I woke up and sat up, feeling my head. I hate it when I wake up groggy; it always seems to mean that something bad was going to happen today.

"Fang?" I rasped, searching the room for my right hand man. I saw black hair coming out of the blankets next to me and I lifted them. "Itex is giving me bad-"

"Hunter, I swear to God," Shadow hissed. I jumped backwards. "This is the fifth time! I'm seriously considering sleeping in the basement!"

I smacked my forehead. "I'm sorry Shadow, I'm really sorry. It's just that I'm used to Fang there and I've been having weird dreams and I used to confide with him when I had them."

"Sure," Shadow spat, sitting up. She ripped off her headphones and yawned. She left an unsaid scolding in that 'sure'. I felt my face go red.

"No, seriously! Did you sleep all night or you couldn't because of my stupid kind of sleepwalking impulse thing? I'm sorry, I'll work on it. You won't have to sleep in the basement, we kept you down there to-"

Shadow raised her hand. "You're rambling. Shut up."

Even though Shadow and Fang weren't the same in terms of gender, they were in terms on bluntness. Shadow continued. "I woke up 9 minutes ago because your computer broadcasted that you had mail. You're lucky I wasn't that sleepy, or else I would have shot it." I looked at her face for any sense of joking. I found none.

I looked at the computer, "I hardly ever get anything important at this time in the morning."

"Check it anyways," Shadow said. I moved the mouse and the screen brightened to life. I clicked on the bold e-mail that said [no subject]

I read it, sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

"What?" I heard Shadow say softly behind me.

"We have to go on a mission," I said feeling miserable.

"When? Why? What's it about?" Shadow got up and looked over my shoulder.

The e-mail was from Jeb, I knew that. My stomach re-twisted as I heard Shadow read it quietly under hear breath in disbelief.

Itex has antidotes to your expiration dates. If you don't get them, you're going to die.

Real soon.

Max's POV

Time: 07:32

"Please stop pacing Max," Fang said.

"I can't! It doesn't make sense!" I huffed. Why is it that all of a freaking sudden he doesn't get it?! Right now I needed my supportive right hand man, not overly concerned boyfriend. Is that too much to ask for?

"You're not helping anyone by not sleeping well," Fang said calmly, being the annoying voice of reason as usual.

"YEAH WELL, I'm THINKING!" I said, stomping. I saw movement at the doorway and I jumped backwards as a shoe flew right in front of my face.

"MAXIMUM. RIDE. GO. TO. SLEEP." Chris yelled from the doorway. Her hair was frazzled, her whole body was tense and she was practically foaming from the mouth. And everyone thought I needed to chill out.

Total trotted towards us and looked at her. "It is regular sleep for some people, but for others, it's called beauty sleep and you need a lot. I recommend cucumber slices on the eyes; they do WONDERS for the owl circles," Total said and walked back to Angel's room. Chris stared in Total's direction and I saw her fists clenching and unclenching.

"CHRIS STOP THINKING OF HURTING TOTAL! YOU'RE MEAN!" Angel shrieked from her room.

"I'LL GET YOU MY PRETTY AND YOUR LITTLE DOGGY TOO!" Chris yelled, running into Angel's room. I heard laughter and then silence. I groaned and put my head in my hands.

"They feel it when you're not well. It affects everyone," Fang said quietly, shifting his position on Shadow's bed.

"I can't help it!" I said, exasperated. "I know that the memories are real. I just need proof."

"Max?" I heard Nudge yell. I huffed and marched into Nudge's bedroom.

"What?"

"I think I know how you can maybe get proof. See, I made this program on our computer, it's much harder than it sounds but I put all the street addresses that exist in America on this program and Cass told me that the purpose of this program would be to sort of jolt your memory into remembering the address so we can go there, get proof, come back, get some sleep and then present it to The Fallen. Then we'll become a whole big Flock again and get some more sleep. If this works, can I get TV rights for like, the next month? Ella kept distracting me from making this and it was a bit annoying but that's okay. So Max-"

I cut her off, "Honey, I get the point. So how does this work?" If I hadn't cut her off, she would have gone onto this distant tangent and would have never come back.

Nudge got up from her seat and held up a pair of headphones. "You sit down, put these on and just not think about anything. Like, don't concentrate on remembering the place to hard cause then your mind not going to be as accurate, get me?"

I nodded and sat down. I hadn't noticed that Fang had followed me into the room. He half-smiled in my direction and I smiled back.

I was happy he was here. I felt somewhat complete.

But I need the rest of the Flock to feel completely complete.

I put the headphones on and shut my eyes trying to block out everything I was thinking of. Jeb, Itex, the Fallen, Erasers all were put on pause.

"Ready."

54 Sun Street, 12 Wayward Way, 5 Bone Street, 67 Road, 89 Bear Lane…

I was trying to block out my annoyance. This was never going to work, there were too many addresses and the machine was saying it too fast. How was I-

20 Eastern Way

"20 EASTERN WAY!" I shouted, jumping up. "Max and Fang left you guys in a cabin and I remember on the map it said 20 Eastern Way and it was a bit into the forest!"

Nudge jumped and clutched her chest. "Jeez Max! A little warning?!"

But I was too excited. I grabbed and hugged her. "YOU'RE A GENIUS NUDGE! ABSOLUTE GENUIS!"

I let go of her and looked at Fang. "Pack up! We're going to 20 Eastern Way!"

"Ummm Max?" Cass said, timidly looking into the room. I didn't like the sound of her voice… "We have a problem."

"What is it?"

"Giovanni wants us to go on another mission," Cass said.

"Oh please! He can totally wait! This is like, discovery of the century! Way better than Facebook or the Internet or the Nintendo Wii!" I said, blowing it off.

"No, this one is important."

"What is he sending us to do this time then? Save the president?"

"No. This time it's to save yourselves."

"Cryptic. Specify," Fang spoke up and stood next to me. Cass sighed.

"You guys have expiration dates and Gio has located the antidotes to stop the expiration dates from activating. If you guys don't stop it, you will all die. You won't find out anything, you won't get to save the world."

I felt like someone just throw a brick at my face minus the bruising, swelling, blood and broken bones.

Fang put his arm around me and I felt him lending me strength. I stood up straighter and said, "Fine. Let's go."

Me: Okay, yes it was a bit of a filler chapter xP Sorry. But I gave you all the good stuff in the last chapter! Please continue reviewing, I enjoy them, seriously =] …You know what? As a sorry for the filler, I'll give you guys a sneak peek to the next chappie!

Chapter 28: I'm Going In [Preview]

Shadow's POV

I rushed in past the smoke and debris. Note to self: Yell at Iggy and convince him to make smaller bombs. Bigger isn't always better.

"Shadow c'mon! You're slowing us down!" Ghost yelled from somewhere up ahead. I felt irritated and ran in the direction of the sound. I saw him looking around in the smoke in confusion.

"Over here human! Here boy!" I yelled at him. He looked in my direction and narrowed his eyes at me and started to follow me. We ran out of the smoke and slid into a hallway where Hunter and Iggy were waiting.

"Let's go, I think I heard-" Iggy started to say but then was cut off by Erasers tumbling to the ground out of the smoke. I tensed up and felt anger run through me when I saw Max, Fang, Chris, Ella and Nudge emerge out of the smoke.

"Max," I said, clenching my fists. She looked at me and narrowed her eyes.

"Shadow."

"I love Western films," Ghost said.

Critique is welcome =] Next chapter is a songfic so stay tuned =]

Guys, I am so sorry this wasn't published sooner =[ Long story though =/ Thanks to Dreamcatcher826, FreeSpirit329, M_S14, alexa35, TwilightXAngel, Mo- the Reviewer, Mrs Kirsty and Taylor Cullen, Kina Kalamari, Rainie16, Dusk's Hinode, BookWormForLife, kunoichiXwitch, FaXLoVEr, Guest, JASPERxHALE-YES, SeekDreamsAndFindHope, Flyer without Wings, dELLAirium, pendragonc, qwaspolkmr, paro4peace, KoKari, and SpreadYourWingsAndFly for reviewing for the last chapter! You guys rawk out loud cause you reviewed =3 I do not own this song by Pain =] On with the chap!

Chapter 28: I'm Going In

Shadow's POV

Time: 10:40

I crouched in the bushes in between Hunter and Ghost. We were looking at a very nice, expensive glass building. With an entrance that has automatic machineguns. Lovely.

Even though I protested, Iggy and Hunter agreed that the best way to get in was to blow the entrance up. Then to leave Lies, the Gasman and Ari outside to distract the Erasers. Boys.

"When is this thing-" Ghost started.

BOOM!

I rushed in past the smoke and debris. A stupid alarm was blaring throughout the building. Note to self: Yell at Iggy and convince him to make smaller bombs. Bigger isn't always better.

"Shadow c'mon! You're slowing us down!" Ghost yelled from somewhere up ahead. I felt irritated and ran in the direction of the sound. I saw him looking around in the smoke in confusion.

"Over here human! Here boy!" I yelled at him. He looked in my direction, narrowed his eyes at me and started to follow me. We ran out of the smoke and slid into a hallway where Hunter and Iggy were waiting.

"Max," I said, clenching my fists. She looked at me and narrowed her eyes.

"Shadow."

"I love Western films," Ghost said. I glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" Max spat, putting her hands on her hips.

"It's a free country, we can go anywhere we want," Hunter hissed, matching the venom in Max's voice.

"Yeah, but you can't blow up anything you want either," Chris butted in. "What are you doing with them Shadow?"

"Just doing my little part in saving the world Crystal," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, you're just doing your daily part," Max said, but the sarcasm was evident in her voice. Whatever. I don't need her approval. I never did.

You don't believe in what I'm doing

How much more do I have to prove you?

"At least I didn't get brainwashed by some emo creep," I said, glaring at Fang. He rolled his eyes.

"Emo? Original," He said.

"Acting like you hate us isn't going to do anything for you," Chris said, crossing her arms.

"Who said that I'm acting?" I spat, shifting into a fighter's stance. "I'm going to help the Fallen. There's no turning me from that."

I can't give up what I've started

I'm not a quitter, this is what I do

Oh yeah

"We have proof now, just stop with this already," Max said.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Quit lying. As soon as I step into the house you're going to attack me and brainwash me. I'm not stupid."

Can you look in my eyes without telling me a bunch of lies?

Max stomped her foot. "Stop being ridiculous!"

"She's being logical. It'd be better if you just admitted lying all along instead of doing this crap with memories because it's not working, Itex traitor," Hunter hissed at the Angels.

All I asked for was the truth

"We're not traitors. None of us are," Max said, her voice deep and angry.

"I've thought about it Max. At first, I thought it was me being stubborn. But it doesn't make sense," I said, tensing.

I thought it was me, but now I know it's you

Liar

"Enough chit chat!" Ghost cut in. "Let's just break some noses and get the antidote while the Erasers are occupied outside!"

"I agree to a point. Let's break your noses and get out of here," Ella said.

I exchanged a look with Hunter. If they're after the same antidote as us…

And if there's only one…

Hunter jerked his head in the direction of the door and I nodded. I whirled around and ran as fast as I could. I heard shouting but I didn't turn back to see what happened. They were counting on me.

I'm going in

Into the fire I'm burning you out

I'm going in

I'm cooling down your skin

I slammed the door open and stopped in my tracks. There were motion sensor lasers moving all around the room.

This was going to be difficult.

Usually, Max would send Nudge or do this type of stuff herself. I'm not flexible. At all. My asset was always fighting and acting cool with the enemy. Not that whole goes through air vents and jump over gorges that Max the superwoman does.

But Hunter and the others never struck me as the flexible types. And I couldn't run back and say: 'Hey, I can't really do this, so can one of you go back for me? Kthxs.'

I just had to suck it up.

I heard a commotion and saw Max speed around the corner and Hunter right on her tail. I looked back into the room and jumped in, narrowly missing the first laser. Nice job.

I tried to concentrate on the next laser. It was doing crazy loops on the floor. Who the hell programmed this!? I jumped over it and fell to my hands and knees trying to avoid the third laser. That was close…

I heard Max rush into the room and hiss. I concentrated at the task at hand. I was ahead of her and if I hurry, there would be no chance for her to catch up.

"Shadow," she called. I didn't answer. I was not going to waste my energy. She's set on her idea and I'm set on mine. I heard her huff in annoyance. Oh well.

Do you like how I treat you?

Or should have I treated you like a movie star?

Did she expect me to accept her idea with open arms?

Everything could've gone so well, if she hadn't said that stupid memories thing. Little did she know that WE knew it was one big lie.

If only we could still be friends.

Something good just went so bad

If only we could both live.

I've got to bring you down

I knew that Hunter was stuck at the door. He didn't want to risk setting of the alarm if he tripped. I had to hurry because Max was catching up.

I'm going in

Into the fire, I'm burning you out

I'm going in

I'm cooling down your skin

"MAX!" I heard Fang yell. Max whirled around, totally forgetting where she was and the laser that was coming right at her. I turned and felt one pass through my leg. Shit.

Suddenly, all the lights in the room turned on, blinding us. I covered my eyes and I heard a loud blaring sound and doors opening. I looked around and saw Erasers pouring out of the rooms. I looked ahead and the door was right there.

"Sorry Max," I muttered running ahead jumping inside. I heard Max screaming and Hunter cheering me on. The door shut behind me and everyone could see I was inside.

I'm going in

Into the fire, I'm burning you out

I saw two vials there and felt bad. I looked back and Hunter. He noticed too and nodded. "Don't worry Max! I'll get the other one for you," I shouted. I thought I saw Max smile but then she turned around and started kicking some Eraser that was closing in on her.

Maybe we could get along after all.

I'm going in

I'm cooling down your skin

I walked towards the stand holding the medicine and took the two vials out at the same time just in case. My heart slowed and I sighed. And I thought this would be hard.

Suddenly I heard a gun loading. I looked and saw Omega, perched on a chair just staring in my direction. My instincts told to just run already and my common sense told me to stay put; that I could get out of this.

"You're not Max," Omega said, standing up.

"Neither are you," I said, keeping my voice impassive.

"Funny. She probably sent you in so you could take the fall for her," Omega said. My eyes widened and I felt myself back up a step. She couldn't have known what was going to happen, or else she wouldn't be rushing to get here.

I whirled around and ran as fast as I could away from Omega and bracing myself to throw all my weight against the glass door.

But I was too slow.

Pain exploded in my leg and I cried out as I crashed into the door and it broke.

"SHADOW!" Hunter yelled running over and scooping me up. I gripped the vials. As long as I had them, I didn't fail.

"I DIDN'T SET YOU UP I SWEAR!" I heard Max yell. I screwed my eyes shut and buried myself into Hunter's chest. I hated this. I was helpless and I WILL find out if Omega was telling the truth or not.

I will.

Dream on little liar

Truth will call out your name

Hunter was running out and I looked over his shoulder to see Fang and Max rushing out also with Erasers on their tail. I looked at the vial in my hand and looked back at them. Fang's eyes met mine and I felt my arm throw one of the vials at them. Fang caught it. I could've sworn I heard him say thank you, but he didn't move his lips.

I'm going in

Into the fire, I'm burning you out

I'm going in

I'm cooling down your skin

We were outside now and I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness.

"Iggy, I'm going to rush home now, she's losing a lot of blood," I heard Hunter say. The pain was like fire, spreading through my body and making everything hurt.

"Alright, I'll follow you, Ghost will drive," Iggy said.

I'm going in

Into the fire, I'm burning you out

I'm going in

I'm cooling down your skin

Hunter's golden wings whooshed from his back. I felt my eyes widened as I looked from his wings to his face.

My golden winged angel was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

:D Review time!

Hey everyone! I'm back from the depths of schoolwork! I hope to finish The Fallen Angels before my senior year of high school, so be prepared for updates : ). I don't own Maximum Ride, I own my characters. No stealing.

Chapter 29: Piece by Piece

Shadow's POV

Time: 18:14

I opened my eyes and a bright white light seared my vision. I closed my eyes quickly and moaned.

Where was I?

"She's awake?" I heard someone whispered. I lifted my arm over my eyes and look to the side. Hunter was sitting on a chair and I could feel my other hand being covered by his.

"Hunt-?" Before I could finish, images assaulted me. Hunter smiling, frowning, crying, hugging me, his arm over my shoulder, k-

"Shadow?" Everything came back into focus and all I could see was Hunter. His warm hands were caressing my face and for that moment, I felt complete.

I moved away from Hunter when Marcus' words rang in my head. It was just Itex, it was just Itex, it was just Itex.

But it felt so real…

"Shadow? Are you feeling okay?" Iggy said. I shook my head and looked at him. "Yeah, sorry Ig. Just woke up." I looked at him and felt a bit nauseous. His face was paler than usual, but his hands were stained red with blood. I looked at Hunter who also looked a bit sick. "What's going on?"

Iggy sighed and ran his hand through his strawberry blond hair. "Shadow, you have a bullet in your leg."

"And?"

"We can't get it out. You don't have enough blood for us to go through that, and I'm not a good surgeon." I felt vomit coming up and swallowed it down.

"That's fine, people go their whole lives like that," I said, keeping my face impassive.

"Yes, but this bullet is different, a lot different from normal ones," Iggy said. "We're not sure what it'll do to you."

"Eh, figures," I said, brushing it off. Things I learned from life: Do not worry until you have to, it's a waste of energy. I saw Iggy and Hunter exchange a look and I rolled my eyes. Boys.

"So, I'm going to check on the tests that Lies is doing upstairs. I'll see you in a few," Iggy said, walking out and shutting the door behind him.

I sighed and stared past Hunter. The only thing I hoped from all of this is that my leg would heal fast.

"You okay?" Hunter asked, sitting next to me. I nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine, just fine," I sighed. Hunter moved closer to me and put his arm around me.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this," Hunter said.

"No, it's fine," I said again.

"Repeating it isn't going to make this better. I shouldn't have sent you in there, Lies is better at-"

I held up a hand. "No, I'm an agent. Lies shouldn't have to cover me." I lowered my head. Hunter frowned and I felt stupid and awkward. "I'm sorry that I'm blubbering."

Hunter's eyes widened and I felt his warm hand pick up my head so my eyes met his. One of his fingers brushed the hair out of my face. "Shadow," he started. "It's fine, for goodness sake, you were just shot in the leg. The bullet is huge and is stuck in your leg. You won't be able to walk the same for a while. It's okay if you're…blubbery?"

I couldn't help but smile a little. "Thanks Hunter."

His golden eyes seemed to dance in the light. "Don't mention it."

I didn't have the heart to move his hand away. Not when it was so warm. Not when it was so familiar...

The background seemed to change to a beautiful forest. There was a waterfall, the sky was clear and fish were swimming by in the rivers. I was sitting on a rock with Hunter.

"Shadow?" his words seemed to echo. I looked straight at him. "Are you okay?"

"Best that I've felt in a while," I said.

"I know. It feels oddly familiar. Too bad Itex just puts it in our heads," Hunter said, a sad smile on his face.

That's when everything crashed into normalcy. The room was back to grey concrete, the mossy rock was a hard mattress, and the beauty was gone. I pushed Hunter's hand away and flopped onto my pillow. Fuck Itex...

"Shado-"

"Go away. I'm dizzy," I said gruffly.

Hunter bit his lip and stood up to leave, but then Marcus walked in and looked straight at me.

"I am so sorry Shadow," he said, genuine concern on his face.

"It's just a leg," I said, brushing it off.

"No...It's more than that Shadow."

"What is it Marcus? What's wrong?" Hunter questioned.

Marcus looked at the floor, his face pale. "It was false information. The antidote to your expiration dates is water. There WAS no expiration date. It was all a set up."

I laid myself down slowly as everything hit me at once- anger, betrayal, bewilderment, shock and just dizziness from loss of blood.

"Figures," I spat out bitterly.

Max's POV

Time: 18:30

"C'mon guys, let's go!" I called to the group. Fang, Nudge, Angel and Total were coming with me to 20 Eastern Way, the lovely place that would get the Fallen to finally believe us because they were stubborn and bullheaded. Ugh.

I agree Max, Angel said in my head. But at least we'll be a Flock again?

I felt kind of complete in that gross Hallmark-y way when she said that. I smiled in her direction. Yes Ang, we'll be a Flock again.

I looked at Cass, Ella and Chris who were staying behind so that they can research the antidote to make sure it wasn't poison. Plus, we couldn't exactly lug around three humans with us.

"I still think it's a bad idea," Ella said as she walked up to us. She had been acting weird for the last few days, but it could really be anything. For some reason, I was always felt not as close to Ella compared to the others. Weird, I know. Paranoid Max is paranoid.

"You worry too much," I reassured her. "C'mon, I'm a super spy. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Ohhhh…I don't know…maybe you…y'know, die?" Ella said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. Oh, hello Ms. Attitude!

"Please Ella, don't be ridiculous. Just be glad you have the TV for yourself this weekend," I said, pushing off towards our past…and our future.

Outside POV

Time: 18:47

"You haf failed me Omega!" Dr. ter Borcht screamed. The doctor could not believe how bone headed the "perfect" Omega could be. "Vhy would you shoot DAT mutant! She is absolutely useless! Useless to de plan and useless in de long run! Ve needed MAXIMUM VRIDE! Did you forget vat she looked like?"

"No," Omega said. "Shooting experiment K1483710Z also known as Shadow was what needed to be done. She came in and the door locked. It was impossible at that point to shoot experiment M10116g25 also known as Max. She would've gotten away." The doctor breathed, trying to calm down his heart rate. Even under control, this experiment was a disobedient wretch! He should not have put him under free will just yet.

"I should keel you," the doctor hissed, glaring at Omega.

"On the contrary," Omega said robotically. "Infecting experiment K1483710Z is absolutely perfect, presented of the circumstances. She will spread the virus to all the members of the Fallen. Do you think Maximum Ride can overpower all of the Fallen without an antidote?"

The doctor narrowed his eyes. "For your sake, let us hope not."

Time: 20:15

Shadow slowly sat down at the kitchen, wincing. Her leg was still hurting even though she took painkillers. She knew it would be a long while before she was able to walk normal again, even with super fast healing. It made her feel bad, like a liability, even though no one in the Fallen was calling her such…yet.

"Shadow," Iggy said, while mixing dinner. "Can you taste the stew? I'm not sure if it's ready." Iggy walked over and held the big ladle to Shadow's mouth. They were both unaware of the mini machines that were crawling throughout Shadow's body. More specifically, her mouth. Iggy brought the spoon closer and put it near Shadow's mouth. Shadow took a small sip of Iggy's stew and the machines that were in her mouth latched onto the ladle.

"Oh, it's definitely ready Iggy," Shadow said, half-smiling. Iggy smiled also and coughed. When he was treating Shadow's leg, he did not know of the machines crawling out of the bullet, onto his skin and into his body. The machines landed on the bowls of food, waiting for the rest of the unsuspecting super spies.

"Yay! Stew!" Ari said as he ran in and jumped into his seat. Iggy put a bowl in front of him and he eagerly ate the mixture of meat and machines.

The Gasman sat down and wrinkled his nose. "I wish we had a dog during times like these." Shadow helped Iggy serve bowls of stew in front of everyone's seat.

"It's not too bad," Lies said, eating some. "Beside, you can't grow big and strong on a diet of cookies, chips and soda."

"I guess," the Gasman sighed. Hunter and Ghost walked in and sat down.

"Hey Shadow. I'm sorry you were shot over water," Ghost said, sitting down next to her.

Shadow shrugged. "I've been shot over stupider things."

"How are you feeling?" Hunter asked taking a sip of the machine mixture.

"I'm okay," Shadow said. She looked around the table, and felt…content. The normalcy of sitting down and eating dinner was such a contrast to the usual shooting, running, hiding and fighting. "I'm just glad to be alive."

Hunter smiled and looked at everyone in his group. He felt safe. But he also felt a little bit scared, like if this was the last time everything would be normal.

Hunter didn't know that everyone in the Fallen was infected with the virus.

Max's POV

Time: 21:27

"Well, this is cozy," I said. Fang nodded. 20 Eastern Way turned out to be this really cozy winter cabin. It didn't look like it could hold 8 bird kids, at all. So why was this address familiar to me?

"Let's go in guys," I said and the others nodded. We quietly snuck around the house and checked if anyone was in there. It was empty. I gave Fang the signal. He opened the window quietly and we were in.

It was really dark and cold. With my raptor vision, I could make out stains on the walls. Wack paint job? "Can someone turn on the lights?"

"This place smells tragic," Total commented, brushing by my leg. I heard the lights snap on and I would've screamed, if I was a screaming kind of girl.

The place looked like a horror movie. There was dried blood everywhere, on the walls, on the floor. Nudge and Angel had screamed and Angel walked over to me crying.

"This place is bad," she sobbed. "Bad things happened here." I bit my lip and turned around, seeing a TV. Fang and I exchanged a look and he walked to it, turning it on. All that came on was white noise. I shrugged and turned around, going to head upstairs but then…

"Max!" Fang called out. I looked over to see Jeb's image flash on the screen. "You hold the answers deep within your own mind."

Then white noise came back on again. I felt sick. This was just like my dream…

The screen flashed again and a lady with brown hair and brown eyes was standing at a podium. My heart felt like it was going to break, and I had no idea why. "Death in its most hideous form!" She exclaimed and the screen went to white noise again. I looked at Nudge who was for once, speechless.

"Are you sure your program didn't lead us to a trap?" I asked, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. She nodded and I looked around.

"Fang, take Nudge and Angel out of here. Total, stay with me," I said. Fang looked hesitant, but he nodded. Angel looked too sad to protest and so did Nudge as they jumped out the window and into the night.

"Total at your service! What do you want from me chief?" Total said saluting me with his doggy paws. If I wasn't so nauseous, I would've cracked a smile.

"I need you to smell the blood for me and see if you can identify anyone," I said.

Total wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Do I look like a bloodhound to you?"

I wanted to roll my eyes. I didn't have time for this. Attempting to keep my voice sweet, I said, "No. But you look like a tough dog that can carry out his mission." Total stood up taller and trotted over to the blood and started sniffing. I rolled my eyes at the overdramatic dog and walked upstairs. The hall upstairs was clear, except for the trashed bedrooms. I froze when I read Shadow's writing on the wall:

The number one rule for being an Avian American: Never sleep, never die.

Ugh, this is too weird! My dreams are literally on the walls, and I can't put the pieces together!

Are you okay Max? Angel's little voice said in my head.

Yes, I just need to look around. I'm almost done. I felt like I had to walk into one bedroom. The lamps were broken and the desk was turned over, but the bed was mostly okay. I peeked under the covers. Nothing. I looked under the pillow and spotted two pictures.

Jackpot.

I grabbed one and scanned it, feeling a huge lump form in my throat. There was Jeb and the lady with the brown hair and the brown eyes, smiling and with their arms around each other. Jeb's hand was resting on Hunter's shoulder, and the lady's hand was on my shoulder. Sitting next to Hunter was Ella, and I could tell she'd rather be at the dentist than be there. In between Hunter and I was Ari, the youngest member of the Fallen holding a big teddy bear. I stared at myself and my big dorky smile plastered on my face and I felt like crying.

I used to have a happy life.

I turned the photo around and my heart almost stopped beating.

In my weird handwriting, it said: My biological family: The best mom ever, the coolest dad, my twin brother Hunter, my little brother Ari and my half sister, Ella.

Since when was Ella my half sister?

Since when was Jeb my father?

Since when was Ari my little brother?

And since when in hell was Hunter my TWIN brother?

I stuffed the two photos in my backpack and headed downstairs, feeling lost but trying to hide it.

The others can't know about this. Not yet.

Me: : ) Review! The dream that Max is referencing is in chapter 11 in case anyone forgot : )

Me: This was a hard chapter to write! I don't own Maximum Ride, I own my characters. Thanks to my lovely reviewers: UnbrokenSilences, kittiesrock90210, Anara Celebvilya, jazz4lyf or death, and Fangtastic ! You guys rock!

Chapter 30: Tensions

Hunter's POV

22:43

It's been a few days since the last mission. It's been quiet. Too quiet. So, my gang of merry mutants, humans and I were training because we live by the Fallen motto. Always be prepared.

Okay, so we jacked it from the boy scouts. Your point?

"Can we keep her?" Ghost whispered, staring into our super special virtual training room. I refocused in on Shadow, who was in the room, doing a shooting activity on level Super Hard. No one in the Fallen had ever passed that level with flying colors like she was. No one but Fang.

But he's not in the Fallen anymore.

I was standing in the computer room watching. Her vitals were excellent and she was still as fast and powerful, despite her leg. She had done several tests, agility, strength and fighting. Fang had been stronger than her, but slower than her. It's like they traded off, totally tied.

This shooting test would be the tie breaker. Fang put a lot of value in his marksmanship so it put a smile on my face to see someone as good as him. This had been her fifth time doing this level, since every time, she and Fang have tied.

Ding!

She was done. I looked up to see the room turn back to normal and she was standing there, not even breaking a sweat. It was as if that was what she was made for.

Then again, it probably was.

"Time?" she said calmly.

"200 targets in 20 seconds," Lies said, hesitantly.

"Fuck me!" she shouted, throwing the virtual gun on the floor. Ghost whispered something perverted to Iggy and they chuckled which earned a death glare from her and me.

"You've done better than any of us here," I said, reassuringly.

"Not better than Fang. It's a tie," Ghost said, mockingly. It really annoyed me when Ghost was in one of those moods. Shadow locked onto him, like a hawk going after prey.

"But beyond her expectations based on her vitals," Lies said, eyeing Shadow nervously. Shadow marched up to Ghost and got in his face. There was a few seconds of silence as she glared at him, and his smirk grew.

"I am better than Fang. Way better," she hissed, with real venom in her voice. She whirled away and marched off. Ghost just snorted. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Idiot." I muttered.

Max's POV

22:30

I felt like I didn't know anything anymore.

I stared at the picture with Jeb, the lady, Hunter, Ella, Ari and me and then looked up into the night sky. I couldn't exactly tell Fang, "Hey, you know your former best friend? Yeah, the one that threw you out of your super spy group because he thinks you're an Itex spy? He's my twin brother."

Actually, I don't think him OR Shadow would take that well.

My thoughts wandered to Shadow and I couldn't help but remember that rainy night…

"Shadow, please don't go," Angel had pleaded, stepping next to me and grabbing my hand.

"Have fun with your new second in command Max," Shadow spat, whirling around and walking with the Fallen.

"SHADOW!" I yelled, running towards, trying to grab her shoulder and pull her back.

She turned around, eyes blazing and shot the ground in front of me.

"I never miss Maximum. Never," she said coldly.

I shook my head, getting goose bumps from that night. I didn't like to think about it, she was my best friend. How could SHE betray me like that? I didn't betray her! I felt hot anger rush through my veins and immediately tried to quell it. If we were both mad at each other, we wouldn't be able to get past it. Plus, I had all that time after she realizes she's been a stubborn butt to rub it in her face.

If she even allows me near her. Stupid Omega and his stupid deceiving mouth. My thoughts wandered back to that day when we were SUPPOSED to go after our "antidote" aka crappy Itex tap water.

Shadow walked into the room cautiously. I watched with dread. If there was only one antidote bottle, she sure as hell wasn't sharing.

Then she turned around and looked at me, and I saw the old Shadow again. "Don't worry Max! I'll get the other one for you." I couldn't help but smile and started kicking Eraser butt with new vigor. Maybe this would bring us together. Maybe she could believe-

A gun loaded. "You're not Max," an eerily familiar voice said. I looked back to see Omega standing there, looking just…odd. Especially with the huge gun. What happened to the rich heir façade?

"Neither are you," Shadow said, her voice impassive.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE SHADOW!" Hunter yelled. But she couldn't hear us, we could only see her.

"Funny," Omega said and then his eyes flicked to me. I felt my heart drop into my stomach. "She probably sent you in so you could take the fall for her." Everyone in the Fallen glared at me and I put my hands up. Shadow took a step back, turned back around and then started running back towards us really fast. She slammed into the glass door just as a shot ran through the air. Hunter grabbed her and picked her up.

There was a HUGE bleeding hole in her leg.

I wonder if she's okay. By the time us Angels got out of there, Hunter was out of sight. Where had he gone? Could he reach super speeds like me?

That would make sense if he was my twin brother.

I growled in frustration. I was like Total when he's chasing his tail in a circle. I looked down at the picture and switched it with the other one behind it. This one wasn't as revealing as the other one. It was just my Flock, it proved that we were all together at one point.

Hunter, Ari and I were standing in the middle, beaming. Fang was standing next to me and I could see him holding my hand. Shadow was standing next to him and looking up at the sky at something. Angel was standing next to the Gasman and Ari and had a pink teddy bear. Iggy and Nudge were also in the picture, smiling huge.

I looked at Fang, and then Shadow. There was so much resemblance that I couldn't see before. 'Cause, c'mon, so what if they both have black hair and olive skin, so does a good portion of people in the world! I can't go accusing people of being related just because they look the same.

I switched to the picture of my family again and focused on the woman, my supposed mother. When Shadow had dreamed or remembered, an Eraser told her that Hunter's mother was dead. When she related it to me, it hurt, as if Hunter's mother was my own. I kept seeing this brown eyed woman in my own flashbacks, so she must be pretty important even if she isn't my mother. But she was, according to the tag in the back.

Whoever she is, she's dead. I think she would've popped up by now if she wasn't. But did Jeb really kill her? I remembered the day of the brain attack and how he electrocuted Shadow for treason. He was capable of cruel things, that's for sure. Shadow had always said that I was Jeb's favorite. Was it because I was his child? Why hasn't he told me about my mother yet? Was it Itex that killed her?

Okay Max, get it together. You sound like the ending of a bad afternoon drama. Will Greg ever see Sabrina again? Will their love survive? Will THEY survive? Find out next time!

I stood up, brushing myself off and balancing on the roof. I decided right then what I was going to do. You know, one of those dumb butt decisions that can either be the heroic saving of the day, or the stupidest thing ever.

I was going to pay a visit to Hunter.

Hunter's POV

22:50

"Ghost," I hissed at him. His eyes slid to me and his grin faltered a little. Good, he knows I mean business. "Stop picking on Shadow already. She's a member of the Fallen now, no need to be a total asshole."

Ghost raised his eyebrow at me. "I'm not being a complete asshole, I'm just teasing. She's not a big crybaby like you, she can take it."

I narrowed my eyes. "Excuse me? This crybaby is your Leader. This crybaby? He wasn't the one totally panicking and almost crashing the car when Max was on top of it trying to grab back Shadow. In fact, he was on the roof of said car, fighting with her." I stepped closer to him and lowered my head down to his level. "So watch who you speak to that way, got that?"

He glared right back me and Iggy stepped in the middle, separating us. "Whoa whoa guys. Calm down, it's okay. Do I need to put you in your time out corners?" I stepped back and Ghost rolled his eyes and walked away, throwing his towel on the floor.

"Ass," I muttered.

Iggy patted my shoulder. "It's alright Hunter, a good night's sleep should do everyone some good."

We walked upstairs together and as he was walking away, I put my hand on his shoulder. "Thanks Ig."

"No problem," he said, smirking. "Goodnight Hunter." He walked away and closed the door behind him. I wonder how bad the consequences would be if I got him bomb supplies as a gift. Since, ya' know, if the whole house explodes, I think everyone else would be pretty pissed.

I closed the door behind me got into bed, not bothering to undress. That would take too much energy, and I'd just change into my pajamas to change out of them tomorrow morning. I started dozing off and thought I heard someone land in the room from the open window.

"Shadow?" I said, not wanting to open my eyes to see if it was real or not. Who else could it be at this hour? Who else would come through the window? Anyone else would use the door.

"No," a very unwanted, familiar voice said. My eyes shot open and I looked at Max, standing in front of my door with a sheepish smile on her face.

Guess I was wrong about the door thing.

I shot up to my feet and clenched my fists. "What do you want?" I said, scanning the room for anyone else. I had been stupid to leave the window open; Shadow has always used the door before saying something about privacy. Then again, is a man not allowed to have a nice breeze in his room without some girl landing in that's possible going to kill him?

"I just want to talk," Max said, putting her hands and motioning me to stand down.

"Just the words a guy always wants to hear from a girl," I sneered. But I sat down; it would be easier to launch myself at her if she tried attacking me anyways.

"Hunter," she began and then closed her mouth. She was silent and then looked down at something at her hand. She then looked me in the eye, with new resolve. "Hunter. I found something. Something that proves that you and I are related."

I felt like she just punched me in the head. "Excuse me?" Usually, I was full of witty retorts, but right now? I just couldn't think.

"We're…twins Hunter," she said, hesitantly smiling. "Twins."

Shadow's POV

23:00

I landed in the backyard of the house and walked through the kitchen's back door. The lights were off in all the rooms and Hunter's window was open, but it'd be rude to just fly in. What if he was changing or something? I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks and dismissed the thought from my head. Hunter was my Leader and nothing more. I thought of that time at Omega's party and squashed the thought, looking at the fading burn mark on my wrist. Not now Shadow.

I walked upstairs to my room, stretching my wings out and yawning. It had been a long day and all I wanted to do was sleep. Then a door opened and Ghost came out of the bathroom, half naked and dripping wet from a shower. I resisted the urge to play Disassemble-A-Human and teach the Ari and the Gasman a human anatomy lesson.

"Hello there Shadow," he said smirking. I glanced at him and looked away which I guess was absolutely hilarious to him because he started laughing. I rolled my eyes.

"It's all in good fun Shadow, don't look at me like that," he stuck out his lower lip. "It hurts my feelings." I clenched my teeth and resisted the urge to punch him. He was SO irritating. Every single thing about him was irritating! His smirk, his remarks, even the way he stood made me want to kill him. All this time that I've been with the Fallen, he's been bugging me.

"What is your problem?" I snarled, snapping my wings into my back. His eyebrows rose.

"Oh, nothing at all," he walked up to me and scanned my face. We were about the same height. All I could smell was his noxious body wash. He walked even closer to me and I was backed into a wall.

"Back UP human!" I hissed. The water dripped from his hair onto my shirt. I clenched my fists to prevent myself from shoving him. I really didn't want to get on anyone's bad side here. They would be more loyal to Ghost than to me, the girl from the Angels.

"You just look so…cute when you're angry," he said. That's it. I raised my hands to shove him and he leapt away nimbly, laughing. "See? Plus," his smile faded, all humor gone from his face. "I don't trust you." He walked into his room and shut the door.

Males. Males and their stupid Y chromosome. Like literally, I think it sacrifices a brain cell every month. Females have periods; males lose a brain cell every month. Sounds about right.

I walked up to Hunter's room and tried to open it, desperately wanting a bed right now. The door was locked. I huffed in frustration, hoping he wasn't asleep and I would have to use the window, like a freaking criminal. Or worse, a super spy.

I crack myself up sometimes.

I rapped the door lightly. "Hunter?" I called. I pressed my ear to the door, expecting to hear Hunter's light snores.

Instead I heard...MAX?

I rubbed my eyes, feeling more tired. I must be hallucinating. Lack of sleep sucks, folks. I felt a slight movement and looked to my left. Was Ghost coming out again to harass me again? The dark hallway was empty.

Was the wall shimmering? It was moving, like on a really hot day. Slightly, but still so. I went out to go touch it, to see if I was dying and this was really what you see at the end.

My hand landed on a shoulder.

I yanked my hand back and jumped away just as Fang appeared. His black clothing stood against the dark wall and I went on high alert, pulling out a gun from the back of my pants and aiming it at him.

"What the HELL are you doing here?" I spat. Fang put his hands up in surrender.

"I'm just looking for Max," he stated. I narrowed my eyes.

"Trouble in paradise?" I hissed. Fang narrowed his eyes at me and I took a step closer to him. "We didn't capture her, she's not here. So what is your real reason for being here?"

"I told you m-"

"Hunter, why would I make this up?" I heard Max yell from Hunter's room. My eyes widened and Fang stuck his ear closer to the door.

"Shut up unless you want someone to hear you! I don't think anyone would take very kindly to you being here," I heard Hunter say. I lowered my gun and looked at Fang. Why is he spying on Max? I followed suit, wondering what was going on.

"Who cares? This is important, look at the similarities. That's YOU in the picture," Max said, barely audible. What picture? She whispered something back, but it was impossible to hear.

"That can't be." Hunter said. "You're lying. I knew you…stupid, not that stupid. Itex...easily…duh." Hunter's voice lapsed.

"I'm way smarter…you, bird brain!" Max whispered angrily. "It's…you're…we've…it's meant to be. It was the…not…because it wa…idden." I looked at Fang whose expression was hardening. What was going on here? What was she talking about? I hated being so confused at this hour.

"Conveniently so?" Hunter said. I could hear the disgust in his tone.

"Trust me Hunter, the last person I'd want it to be is you. But as-" there was a crash somewhere in the house, and I couldn't hear what was said. I hope that whatever happened to whomever, it hurt them. I heard Ghost moan. Especially him. "We need to stick together. We…power…down Itex. Why…separated…against each other. Us…team…beat Itex together!" There was a silence and then…

"Quit…lying to…Fang!" Hunter said with a hurt tone in his voice. I felt Fang stiffen next to me. I looked up at him and saw a dark expression on his face as he backed up from the door. I couldn't help be feel annoyed at him.

"Well," I hissed. "Glaring at the door is totally winning her over. She's running into your arms right now." Fang turned his glare on me, and he looked like he wanted to hit me.

"-Shadow?" I heard from the door. I turned my head back to it.

"No…not going to tell her," Hunter replied. I stared at the door in shock and Fang snickered.

"You're totally winning him over," Fang mocked. I glared at him.

"At least I'm going to do something about it, unlike you," I said, gritting my teeth. These boys were getting me soso mad!

"Oh really?" Now he was challenging me. Oh he'll see.

"Stick around if you're not too chicken winged to see the result," I said to Fang. He narrowed his eyes at me, obviously getting what chicken winged meant. Max and I usually taunted each other that way since chickens can't fly. I knocked on the door. "Hunter! I've been waiting out here for forever! What are you DOING in there?"

Outside POV

23:09

Hunter turned red and looked at Max. "Hide!" he whispered. If Shadow caught us, she'd want a proper explanation. Something that I can't give right now. If those pictures are fake and made up by Maximum, I could be putting everyone in danger. But if not…

Max hid under a bunch of clothes and regretted it. Phew, do boys ever do laundry?

Hunter open the door and Shadow was there, hand on her hip. "Finally. Were you sleeping naked or something?"

"No!" Came Hunter's embarrassed reply. "I was just in a very deep sleep."

Shadow soundlessly walked into the room. She looked at her bed, at Hunter's bed and up at the ceiling. Max wasn't hiding in her usual places. "I heard voices." Max felt her heart speed up and she looked around the room for the quickest escape. She had seen the gun Shadow had attached to her waist. If she threw the computer at Shadow and flew out the window at super speed, she would make it out alive.

"I was talking in my sleep, I guess," Hunter said, his voice even. Shadow looked at him and felt frustrated. She couldn't tell if he was lying or not. He IS a super spy, which is basically a legal con artist. He's good at his craft.

"Really? I heard a girl's voice," Shadow said, almost absentmindedly. Max knew that tone. Shadow was her ex-best friend, after all. It was a trap; she was assessing Hunter's reaction.

"I didn't know I sound like a girl in my sleep," Hunter said. Max peeked out and saw the innocent smile on Hunter's face.

Shadow wasn't sure anymore if she had heard Max. Maybe that whole ordeal with Fang in the hallway was a dream; she was very tired after all. She looked outside the window, and saw the hazy outline of Fang. It wasn't a dream…

"Are you okay Shadow? You're acting strange," Hunter said. Shadow walked to the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water, feeling frustrated by the whole day.

I'm tied with stupid Fang at my best skill, my former best friend is hiding somewhere in this room and my only ally in this whole damn group of stupid men is hiding it from me. And let's not get started on the King of Annoying, Ghost, Shadow thought bitterly. She gripped the sink and then walked out the room, trying to smile. "I'm probably just…" she trailed off and spotted that all of Hunter's and Fang's clothes were bunched in one corner. It wasn't that way before, she thought. She made the outline of the 5"8' Maximum Ride hiding under the clothes and glared.

Hunter's heart sped up and he followed Shadow's glare. "Shadow?" he said, trying to sound innocent. Her silver eyes locked onto his in expectancy. Expectant of what?

A tense silence filled the air and Hunter couldn't stand it. "Earth to Shadow," he said, irritated. "Are you in there? I think you should sleep. You're acting very strange."

Max was annoyed. Don't invite her to sleep idiot! It's disgusting down here!

Hunter's heart froze. Did Max just say that…out loud? There were a few more moments of silence. Not only was it apparent that Shadow did not hear, but it was also very clear that she was angry. Very angry.

"I'm going out for a flight," Shadow muttered darkly. Her whole body was taut and stiff as she walked by Hunter. He immediately felt guilty and angry at himself for snapping at her. He went to go touch her shoulder. Quickly, Shadow smacked his hand away and glared at him. He put his hand down and clenched his fist. She knew. She had to know. Shadow turned back around and slammed the door as she left.

"NO SLAMMING DOORS," Lies yelled from his room. There were a few groans and the door leading to outside slammed even harder. Hunter heard a window open.

"HEY ANGEL," he heard Ghost yell. Oh no, Hunter thought miserably. "I don't know how your old rules were but-"

"SHUT. UP. VINCENT," Lies said. He heard a small struggle, and then a glass break.

"Have a nice night!" he heard Shadow yell cheerily from outside. "Enjoy the icy breeze!"

Max stood up from her hiding place and picked the clothes off of her. Her brown eyes met Hunter's gold and she frowned. "I'm not sure why Shadow stays here. You guys are rude and you smell. And you're dirty."

"Thanks," Hunter said, rolling his eyes. "Do you have anything else to tell me?"

Max looked down at the photo and pointed at Jeb. "Do you know this man?"

Hunter's heart started beating faster. He knew the first rule; Jeb is never to be revealed. Itex would kill him since he IS a regular human, and he was the one that organized us, after all. Hunter thought. He's more wanted to Itex than me. Although he is a jerk of a father, he is still my father. Hunter looked at the back of the photo. After all, Fang could've told Max that Jeb, Ari and I were related. This could be a trick.

Max scanned over him. Why was it taking him so long to answer?

"No," Hunter finally answered. "No, I do not. Do you?"

"No," Max said, matching his tone. "I don't either.

Fang's POV

23:15

After hurling a big rock at Ghost's window, Shadow stormed past me into the woods. I followed her, waiting to see how the dashing Shadow won her dear, Hunter back.

"Shut UP! I heard that!" Shadow turned around and yelled at me. I raised my eyebrow. I was sure I didn't say that aloud.

Shadow walked a bit more into a clearing and sat down by a lake. I stood behind her. I wasn't sure why I even followed her here. I should be getting back before Max goes back.

Max…

I felt angry all over again. Since we got back from the cabin, she has been distant. And I had respectfully given her space, thinking that she was shaken by the ordeal. She flew off into the night and I followed her, concerned that she would be attacked by someone if she was alone. Then she flew right into Hunter's open window, as if he was expecting her. And for some reason, when I was sneaking around the house, Shadow caught me.

"How did you see me?" I asked Shadow who was skipping rocks at the lake. She looked up at me questioningly. "When I was by the door."

"It was hazy where you were standing," she answered looking back at the lake. I must've not been concentrating hard enough then. No one has ever caught me before.

"I don't know why I'm here with you," Shadow said. I glared at her. She was so annoying.

"Likewise."

"At least you can just ask Max when you get home. Hunter's not going to tell me the truth," Shadow said, standing up and stretching.

"Max has been lying to me. Did you not hear?" I said. Shadow glared at me and clenched the rock in her hand.

"Oh whatever Fang!" Shadow snapped. "I'm trying to be nice here! Give you some kind of hope! But no, you're determined to be emo until Itex blows up the world!"

"I don't need your pity," I spat, stepping closer to her.

"Obviously you do," Shadow said, crossing her arms. "You can't even face the girl you claim you loved in some Itex memory." Now she was really pissing me off.

"Why are you so DENSE? Why do you keep running from what's proven to be real? What are you scared of?" I hissed at her.

"I'm not scared of anyone! Not you, not Max, not Ghost, not Omega, not Itex, not anyone!" Shadow said, putting her hands on her hips.

"You forgot a name," I said smirking. Shadow stared at me for a minute, confused and she realized who she forgot.

"I'm not afraid of Hunter either smartass," she snarled, clenching her fists. I decided to drop it before she lost it. She still had a gun on her after all and I was not armed. I walked away and looked at the lake.

"Don't worry about Ghost," I said, remembering their confrontation in the hallway. "He's just bugging you because you're the only girl."

"Sexist pig," she muttered, flopping down on the grass. It was silent and when I looked at her, she was examining her leg. I raised my eyebrow at her and she looked away. She had obviously strained it too much today.

"How can you believe," she began. "That we had a happy past. Look at us. We're freaks. Do you think you and I were born like this?" She said, holding up her gun. She concentrated and then shot a tree at a distance and the branch broke. "We're not naturally this good. Someone had trained us before we lost our memories."

"Yes," I interrupted. "But-"

"Has Jeb told you anything? You know, about your past?" It felt weird hearing Jeb's name coming out of Shadow's mouth. Then I remembered that he was her boss now.

"Jeb never told us anything. At least when I was there. Has he told you anything?"

"That man hates my guts," Shadow said, rolling her neck. "He loves Max though."

"Jeb knows Max?" I said. Now I was really confused. How could Jeb "love" Max? They've never met. Shadow sent me and quizzical look.

"Duh? Are we talking about the same Jeb? He's the blonde guy that goes to the house every so often. He's the Head of the Angels. Have you been sleeping through meetings?" Shadow made a tsking sound and looked away. I felt all the blood drain from my face and I sat down slowly. Shadow looked back over to me, looking irritated. "What is it now?"

"Jeb is the Head of the Fallen, not the Angels," I said. Now Shadow looked at me like I had grown an extra wing.

"No, Marcus is," she said.

"Who's Marcus?"

"The Head of the Fallen!" Shadow said, exasperated.

"Shadow. I was in the Fallen longer than you; I think I'd know who the Head is!"

"Right back at you about the Angels!" We both stared at each other, bewildered. "Who is the Head of the Angels then?"

"Giovanni," I said slowly.

"Who? The minute I leave the Angels, Jeb does too! Fuck me!" Shadow said, slamming her fist to the ground.

"When did this…Marcus appear?" I asked.

"The day you were kidnapped," Shadow said. She got up and started pacing. "That first day, I thought he looked like Jeb, but he rushed out so fast…"

I narrowed my eyes. "It seems as if Marcus and Giovanni aren't actually real," I said.

Shadow looked grimly at me and nodded. "We've been lead by the same person all along."

I felt angry, really angry. I never liked Jeb, and we were supposed to trust him. And it turns out we've been put against one another by the one person that we were supposed to trust.

"Fan-" Shadow began but then her eyelids dropped and she fainted.

Outside POV

23:44

Dr. ter Borcht was angry. Not only did he have to use his viruses early to make that avian girl shut up, but they knew.

It was a matter of time before they knew about him too.

Experiment M10116g25 also known as Maximum Ride must've found something and figured out that her and the one with golden eyes, experiment M09005h36, was her twin brother. If the doctor allowed experiment K1483710Z to speak with experiment K0372609A any longer, they also would've figured out that they were related.

Dr. ter Borcht watched as experiment K0372609A brought experiment K1483710Z into the house and dropped her carelessly on the sofa.

He was going to have to keep a close eye on those two. Especially the boy.

The viruses were going to take a week to fully manifest in all of their bodies. Until then, the doctor could not control them.

But when the week was over?

The world would be his.

Me: 12 pages on Microsoft Word! My fingers are bleeding :P. Experiment M10116g25 = Max. Experiment M09005h36 = Hunter. Experiment K0372609A = Fang. Experiment K1483710Z = Shadow. Alright, please review ^-^!

Me: Hi everyone! : ) Thanks to maggie230173, CrazyNerdyFangirl, skyrunner27, Kina Kalamari, bellan55, CreativeInsanityy, and bookworm14 for reviewing! Oh, there's a Young and the Restless spoiler in there. I swear, I don't watch the show, but I needed to put it in there so sorry anyone who watches it. And there's a lot of innuendo :P You were warned!

Chapter 31: Trust Me?

Shadow's POV

Time: 07:14

"Unh," I moaned, gaining consciousness. I grabbed my head, feeling as if it would come apart if I let go.

Where was I?

Memories of last night flooded my mind and I opened my eyes, looking for Fang. The living room was empty, only lit by the early morning light that was filtering through the windows. I sat up and let go of my head slowly, feeling a bit better. My leg felt really weak and I unwrapped the bandages around it, cursing myself.

Stupid, how could I strain it so much?

I heard a refrigerator open. I peeked into the kitchen and saw Hunter looking through the fridge and scratching the golden haystack on his head. I felt a mix of anger, suspicion and then denial. Why was he talking to Max last night? What were they planning? Were they going to take on Itex together, but without the rest of us? Why?

I got up slowly and walked behind him. He was staring into the nearly empty fridge. Then his whole body tensed and he jumped up to look at me, his golden eyes wide.

"Will you quit that Fan-oops," Hunter exclaimed, whirling around and then seeing me. I shot him a quizzical look at sat down. So Fang liked creeping up after him. Huh. Hunter stared at me for a few seconds, and then looked away. "It seems as if we're in dire need for groceries. But no one seems to want to go to a supermarket, not after last time." I chuckled, remembering the incident. Oh, how long ago that was. No really, was that like a week ago? Two weeks?

"Here," he said. Suddenly, a cup of apple juice was placed in front of me. I glanced at him as he sat across from me and sipped his own cup.

Could I trust Hunter? He and all of these jerkwads have kept Jeb a secret from me since day one. Fine, on day one I was technically an Angel but by day 4? You know, around the time I took a freaking bullet in the leg? Not one of my best moments, I confess. And worse: I had to be carried out by Hunter. Like some damsel in distress! I could've totally walked out of there myself.

Okay, not really. But still.

"Shadow is there something wrong?" Hunter said, probably noting my major case of spacey this morning. He continued to chide me, which never goes well. Not when Max did it, and I'm not going to give him any exceptions. "Shadow, I did notice that you were sleeping uncomfortably on the couch, which is very bad for your leg."

"Who are you, my dad?" I bristled, unable to hold my tongue. His face turned angry.

"No, I'm your Leader and if you let how you feel get in the way of any of our missions, you become a liability!" he said, raising his voice. I gritted my teeth and refused to show him how much that comment stung.

"You don't have to worry about a damn thing Hunter, because it's fine. And how I feel! You don't know anything about how I feel! You're just my Leader, like you said," I sneered. I got up quickly and went to go for a flight-I needed to clear my head-when I heard his chair sliding.

"Shadow, wait. Please sit down, I'm sorry," he said. I clenched my fists, but walked over and sat back down, refusing to look at him. How dare he say, how I feel? How come it's not what I think? It's cause I'm a girl, right? Just like Fang said. Stupid sexist bastards, all of them.

I realized then how much I hated it here. I was stupid to leave the Angels. I'm a traitor to everyone here because I'm a traitor to the Angels. Fang could get away with it because he's Max's boyfriend.

Or was anyways.

It hit me how much I missed Max and how simple life was living with her at that moment. I missed her bad attempts at cooking. I missed her yelling at Ella and Nudge when they wouldn't shut up about the TV. And I missed them too. And I missed Max scolding at Chris about the phone bill every month, or how Cass would occasionally blow something up when trying to make sunglasses that shoot out a small poisonous dart or something like that.

And now I'm not sure what's true. Marcus/Jeb told us that the memories are fake, but did he do it to drive a wedge between us on purpose? If I left today to tell Max I believed her, would she even believe me?

It was like a blow to the stomach. No, I can never go back. Max won't accept me. I have to stand my ground here or give myself up to Itex. There are no alternatives.

Hunter interrupted my notions. "Shadow, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Oh, he was speaking?

"Sorry, I was lost in thought," I said, meeting his eyes. He sighed and got up to sit near me. He clasped my hands in his bigger ones and looked at me straight in the eye.

"I apologize on behalf of everyone on how we've been acting. You're new to us, and you're replacing Fang, who was invaluable. You were once our enemy. Trust will come in time," he said. "I want to let you know that if you have any problems, you can tell me. I'm here for you and I consider myself a friend of yours." He gave me a gorgeous half smile and my breath was stuck in my chest.

Shadow be careful, he's trained in this. Don't let him charm you, my common sense warned. I sighed and felt my head droop. This was becoming too much. I didn't even feel like I could trust myself at this point.

I felt one of his hands unclasp mine and lightly he lifted my chin up. "You can tell me," he repeated. At that moment I became hyperaware of how close our lips were and I scolded myself for noticing it.

He was luring me. He was tricking me. He was seducing me. He was my Leader and nothing more! Must…find…way…out…

"I would like new clothes," I said quickly. I gestured to sole black T-shirt or his that I was wearing. "I'm not your size."

He nodded solemnly. "I understand. Although…" He trailed off and a devilish smirk played on his face as he sized me up. "I think they look quite good on you."

I felt my face go hot. Was that a…what was that? Does Hunter like me? Noooo! Maybe? No! I looked into his honey gold eyes. Honey gold black hole eyes. Once I entered, I was DEAD. I had to find a way out of this.

"What day is it?" I asked quickly. I got up ungracefully and walked over to the calendar hanging on the wall. Hunter looked up at me in mild surprise. Ha.

"I believe it's the twenty-first," he said. "Why?"

"Well," I said. I thought quickly for an excuse and one came in my head. Embarrassing? Yes. Good excuse? Yes. The truth? Unfortunately yes.

"Well?"

"It's a little bit private."

"You can tell me. Like I said before, you can tell me anything," Hunter said with a smile.

"I'm going to need certain…supplies bought."

"We have guns," Hunter said, standing up and stretching. "And costumes and other weapons."

"Not spy supplies. Woman supplies," I said. Hunter stopped mid-stretch and his eyes slid over to me.

"Woman supplies?" he asked quietly, standing up straight.

"Yes Hunter, I need woman supplies. For my period," I said, a little too bluntly, judging by his reaction. It seemed like all the blood drained from his face from a moment. Then his blush came back with a vengeance.

"Oh! Well, um…" Hunter trailed off.

"Well, that explains a lot!" Ghost said. Hunter and I jumped and whirled to face him as he strutted in the kitchen with that stupid smirk on his face. And so it starts.

"Good morning Ghost," Hunter said, neutrally.

"Morning Hunter," he yawned, opening the fridge. "What's for breakfast?"

"It seems like we're going to IHOP or something. I'll wake the others," Hunter said, walking towards the stairs. He paused where I was standing and whispered so only I can hear, "Remember. You can tell or ask me anything."

I shivered at how warm his breath was against my cheek. And then my girl hormones flew out the window; kicked out by my spy senses when I realized why all of a sudden he was all macho and pouring me apple juice.

He knew that I knew about Max.

Hunter walked away and I was thinking of how I could possibly escape the madness that is my life when Ghost said in the worse impersonation of Morgan Freeman's voice that I have ever heard, "And he whispered sweet nothings into her ear, and she confessed her undying love to him." He then proceeded to butcher my voice. "Oh Hunter, scramble my eggs!"

I groaned at the avian jab and walked to the car. It's almost 7:40, and I've had enough of today. Oh, what a world.

Fang's POV

Time: 12:30

Some guys dream of living in a house full of girls.

It had turned into my worst nightmare.

"I want to watch the Young and the Restless!" Ella yelled. I groaned and put down my grilled cheese sandwich. My appetite was gone.

"JILL BETRAYS BILLY! There! I want to watch Full House!" Nudge shot back.

Ella let out a bloodcurdling scream; you'd think Erasers just attacked. "HOW COULD YOU?"

I walked of the kitchen, ready to punch the damn TV when Cassandra ran out if her room…and tripped, dropping the weapon in her hand.

Folks, let me tell you that a high energy laser and curtains do not mix.

The curtains burst into flames fast and Nudge dove out the way and straight into me. We fell down and the air was knocked out of me.

Jeez, she tackles like a football player.

"Fire!" Ella screamed, jumping over us and running out the door.

Now I knew who I could trust in life or death situations.

Max ran into the room, prepared with a fire extinguisher. A minute later, the fire was gone and the curtains were ash.

"Can someone please tell me how the HELL the curtains got on fire!" Max exclaimed, whirling around. Nudge jumped up and I stood up slowly, reassessing how hard Nudge tackled me.

Cassandra started crying. Literally, this girl can invent a gun that could kill 10 people in one shot and she was crying.

"I'm so so so so sorry Max! I heard Ella screaming so I ran out here to defend her and I tripped," she sniffled. Max turned her glare to Ella who had tiptoed back into the house.

"Ella!" Max barked. Ella froze mid-step. "Why were you screaming?"

Ella's stance turned defensive. "It's because that one-"she pointed at Nudge. "Spoiled my favorite TV show so she could watch Full House! Who the hell watches Full House anymore?"

"I do!" Nudge said, marching up to her with fire (Ha!) in her eyes.

"I am so sorry that the early 90's passed without you! Here's a spoiler for you! The adorable Olsen twins become CEOs of a money sucking empire and kill animals for fur, John Stamos remains hot and single, and the rest of the cast becomes redundant!" Ella screeched.

I'm going to need a bottle of Tylenol.

"Well-" Nudge began. Then Max saved the world by letting out a sharp whistle which shut them both up.

"Enough! No TV for either of you for a week," Max sentenced. She held up her hand when they tried to protest. "Either that or I smash the TV right now." They both shut their mouths. "Now, the two of you go clean the mess. After that, Nudge, go sweep the garage. Ella, vacuum the rug. Cass, go buy us some new curtains. Dismissed." Ella and Nudge bowed their head and started their chores. Cass nodded once and went off to get new curtains.

Max sighed and looked at me, giving me a weak smile. "What's up?"

I didn't know what to say. After last night, I felt like I didn't know Max anymore.

Quit…lying to…Fang! Hunter's voice rung in my head. What did he mean by that? Sure, Shadow and I only heard snatches of the conversation. But what else could Hunter have meant?

"At least you can just ask Max when you get home…" Shadow had said. But what can I ask without giving the fact that I was following her like a possessive boyfriend?

"Fang, let's go on a flight," Max said, after moments of silence. I nodded. Flying always helped me clear my thoughts.

We left the house and told Crystal to watch over things as we went flying. Max took off before me and I followed, since she probably knew where she was going.

"What's wrong Fang? Not that you're usually talkative just that you're even quieter than usual, if that's possible," she said, shooting me a wry smile. I didn't dare look at her.

"Where were you last night?" I asked. Her usual rhythm of flying went off a beat and then suddenly turned back to normal.

"Out flying," she said, her voice guarded.

Liar.

"You took a long time," I said keeping my voice nonchalant. Inside, I want to grab and shake her and say I know the truth!

"I took a long flight," she answered. "Getting my mind off of things, you know?"

"I know," I said. An awkward silence was between us and I couldn't stand it. I love Max, but my spy instincts were telling me not to trust her.

What if she's changed from the Max I knew from my memories?

Or what if Hunter and Shadow are right and there are no memories?

I booted that out of my head. I didn't want to go down that road, not when I saw that cabin.

All that blood…

"We should head back," Max said in her Leader tone. We made a U turn. I glanced at her and she was staring straight ahead, not looking at me.

"You can trust me Max," I said, trying to reach out to her again.

"I know," Max answered, unsmiling.

We silently flew back to the house. We walked in and Angel hugged Max.

"Giovanni's in the training area," she said. I felt angry and tried to guard it from Angel. She couldn't know yet.

That man hates my guts…he loves Max though…

So, Jeb has a soft spot for Max. I remembered that electrocution video that Jeb himself showed us about Shadow and their Head being evil bullshit. He didn't want to hurt Max. Nor did he punish Hunter. But Hunter is his son. So what was Jeb's deal with Max?

It's so aggravating to only have half of the puzzle.

I walked to the training area with Max and Angel. Jeb, disguised as Giovanni was standing by a computer with the rest of the Angels.

"Hello everyone," Giovanni said, looking at everyone with a smile. "I have another mission for tonight."

I'm sure you do Jeb, anything to keep us busy, right?

"There is a little twist with it though," Giovanni continued. "See this man?" The computer was linked to a projector and some guy's face was plastered on the wall. He looked an important business man, and I read his ID that was hanging from his pocket.

Michael Anderson, Itex Customer Service

"Customer Service?" Chris said with a mocking tone in her voice. "I'm so afraid."

"He's not really customer service," Giovanni said robotically. "That's a cover. He's head of the science department. He helped make all of you and helps conduct those cruel experiments on children. Now," the screen switched to a picture of a club. "Mr. Anderson is going to be there tomorrow night in the V.I.P. lounge. Max and Crystal, I want you two there with him at the V.I.P lounge. You must be disguised. Nudge and Ella, you two will be waitressing at the lounge." Jeb handed them two tickets and Max wrinkled her nose.

"So you want me to act like this dumb, bubbly airhead for some sadistic scientist who grafted wings to my back?" Max stated simply.

"Now Max, I'm not done explaining. Yes, you have to act like that. But I want you to lead him to a secret backroom," the picture changed again to a…room with a big bed with leopard sheets, mirrors on the pink walls, posters of naked woman, and with whips and handcuffs lining the walls. I glared at Jeb, wanting to tear his head off. What the hell did he want Max and Crystal to do, have a threesome with that jerk?

Crystal's nail file dropped from her hand and her mouth gaped open. Max covered Angel's eyes quickly. "JE-GIOVANNI! What the HELL?"

I caught that slip Max.

"Please Max, let me finish! You're just going to lead him to there, to that window," Giovanni pointed to a big window with a laser pointer. He then switched to another slide. It was the outside of the club and the building next to it. "Lead him to the window, make him sit on the sill and a sniper will be waiting there." He pointed to building roof next to the club. "That sniper will kill him."

A frozen silence hung in the air. Sure, we might've killed an Eraser or two. But not someone who didn't willingly engage us.

"So who is this sniper?" Max asked, crossing her arms.

Giovanni sighed. "Well, I would've liked it to be Shadow. What she lacked in loyalty, she made up for in marksmanship." I bit my lip, not saying a word and I saw Max clench her fists. "But lucky for us, we gained a member!" Giovanni looked at me, and I saw his small, yet sly smile.

Fuck you Jeb.

His expression changed back to the business. "I had hacked into the Fallen's files again, and I gained access to videos of their training," he continued. I narrowed my eyes. He knows the password for our computers, there was no hacking. "Here's an old video of Fang training…and here's a recent video of Shadow training." He put two videos up side by side and started both of them.

At the end, I was shocked. Absolutely shocked.

I had always been the best, and of course I knew Shadow was good. I never thought she was as good as me.

We got the exact same time.

"Whoa, you're good," Crystal said. Then Giovanni showed us another pair of videos. And again, we got the same exact time. Max whistled in amazement.

"I think we've found our assassin," Giovanni said, looking at me.

Hunter's POV

Time: 14:59

Let me set the scene of you. Me, carrying laundry, passing by training room. Normal right?

Then I heard voices. Not The Voice, that was long gone now. It was Shadow and Ghost talking, which, in itself is odd.

"You're so inexperienced," I heard her say.

"I'm not, it's just a little broken!" Ghost exclaimed. That's when I stopped, wondering what they were doing.

"Well don't use it if it's broken," Shadow said. "I don't care." That's what she said?

"You're cool," Ghost said, sarcasm evident in his voice. I heard something thrown. Lies, Iggy and the Gasman passed by right then.

"What's-" I covered his mouth and put a finger over mine. Lies and Iggy looked at me if I was crazy.

"Geez, do you know what a razor is? Looks like a jungle," Shadow said. Lies covered his own mouth, trying not to laugh and Iggy wiggled his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, I'll be more hygienic for you next time princess," Ghost said with more sarcasm.

"And you're sweating already? This is going to be no fun," Shadow said. "I should've asked Iggy or Hunter. You can't take me." Iggy's face turned hopeful and I punched him.

"Oh just you wait. I can make this harder," then we heard a slight sound.

"That's your best shot? Harder!" Shadow said incredulously.

"I knew they had a thing," Iggy muttered, with a hint of amusement.

I narrowed my eyes at him but said nothing.

"Alright fine, things are going to get rough," Ghost said. I heard grunting and I started feeling sick.

"Oh FUCK ME, that's your hardest? Harder!" Shadow said. "I've gone faster with Max!"

"So what, you're with ME now, and we do it MY way," Ghost said. Lies was on the floor, laughing as quietly as he could.

"Ow! Not there idiot! Stop focusing on one part of my body!" Shadow said. More grunting. A moan. The sound of something hitting the floor.

"Yes!" Ghost shouted. There were barely audible sounds and then a louder sound.

"OW!" Shadow yelped. "You son of a-"

"You said you could take it," Ghost said with a smug tone.

"Yes, but I said no face shots! Dumbass! You got me right in the eye!" Shadow said. Iggy was muffling Lies' laughter with the laundry I dropped. The Gasman looked clueless.

"Hi everyone! Marcus is here!" Ari said, smiling and coming down with Jeb.

"We have to go in the training area now," Marcus said rushing past us and opening the door.

"NO!" Iggy, Lies and I shouted.

Shadow was on the floor, holding her eye and glaring at Ghost while he was standing over her with a big self-righteous grin.

They both had clothes on.

I felt a wave of relief and Ghost looked up at us and waved. I noted the brass knuckles he was wearing. "Hey everyone! We were just training. Actually, I was kicking Shadow's ass."

And like lightening, Shadow's foot shot out. Ghost made a sound not quite human and crumpled to the ground, curled in a ball. Shadow got up and dusted herself off.

"Nutcracker," Lies muttered from underneath the laundry.

"If you EVER hit my face again during training, you won't just get a kick in the balls, got that? I was going easy on you human," Shadow spat, leaning over Ghost. He nodded and then rolled over. "And shave your underarms, seriously." Shadow looked at us, her face impassive. "What's up? You all look weird."

"Nothing!" I said quickly, walking into the room with the Gasman. Shadow shot me a confused look and then Marcus cleared his throat. Shadow looked up at him and something unreadable crossed her face. I tried to catch her eyes but she didn't look at me.

"I'm here to set you for another mission," Marcus said. "Tonight." He walked over to the computer projector and set up a slideshow. "See this man?" A man's face came on screen. I read the ID on his pocket.

Michael Anderson, Itex Customer Service

"Yes, I sure do see him," Iggy said with a big grin. Marcus shot him a look but didn't comment.

"He owes a big debt to Itex, and Itex wants him dead. So they're sending a group of assassins after him. Hunter and Ghost, you're his bodyguards. Iggy, you'll be working as a bartender. If the sniper fails, the hired guns in the club are ordered to kill him, so be careful. Now Shadow, I have a special task for you," Marcus said, going through the slideshow rather quickly. The picture was now an outside view of the club, and two buildings. He walked towards our armory and drew out a big briefcase.

That was Fang's special sniper gun. His pride and joy.

He opened the briefcase and showed it to Shadow, who had only raised an eyebrow.

"This was Fang's but now it's yours. Unfortunately I don't have the time to show you how to put it together so-"

"That's okay Marcus. I have the exact model at home," she said, sounding bored.

"Shadow, this is a specially imported model from Russia. You can't have the exact one. Ghost knows how to put it together so he shall," Marcus said. Shadow shrugged. "Now Ghost set up the gun right here." He pointed at the highest roof. "The assassin will be right there." He pointed to the slightly lower roof.

"Who is this assassin?" Shadow asked. The question was innocent enough but it seemed to throw off Jeb. His shoulders hunched.

"It doesn't matter," he said.

Shadow smirked, more in a way that bared her teeth than anything. "It's okay Jeb. I guess know now based on your reaction."

What?

Silence.

"I guess I'll go get ready then," she said, turning away and walking out the room.

Silence.

"Who. Told. Her," Jeb grated out. He was so angry that he was shaking. I exchanged a weary look with everyone.

"No one," I answered. "No one did."

Me: Oh snap! Anyways. :) Remember folks, if you don't review, I don't know if you like it or not or if I should continue or anything I should improve on! So please review!

Warning matey's, LONG CHAPTER AHOY!

What?

Anyways, thanks to CreativeInsanityy, CrazyNerdyFangirl, I LOVE Y, Kina Kalamari, Tammy Angel, hi3210, alexa35, Rose, Bunnysavior, fuzzypompom, kittiesrock90210 and kunoichiXwitch for reviewing! ^-^ I love you guys!

Chapter 32: Deception

Shadow's POV

Time: 21:41

Standing on the ledge of a tall building is exhilarating. Looking down is staring death straight in its face. One push and you'll be a bloody, mangled heap of blood, guts and broken bones. Of course, that's if you don't have wings. You can defy death's pull with-

Okay, this mental poetry is disgustingly melodramatic. I'm sorry that I even thought that.

"Ghost!" I called, turning to look at him. "Are you done yet?"

"CAN YOU SHUT UP?" Ghost yelled. "I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE HERE." He was putting together the gun that I couldn't possibly know how to construct, it's not like I'm an expert or anything. No, never.

"Hurry," I said, knowing it would piss him off.

"YOU FUC-"he took a deep breath. "Since you know so much princess how about you do it?"

"I would love to. But, Jeb said you do it, so you do it," I said, doing a handstand. Ghost rolled his eyes and went back to concentrating on his work.

"How did you figure out Jeb anyways?" Ghost muttered.

"His disguise was terrible. I've seen him before on files from Itex," I lied, doing a cartwheel to get back on my feet.

"Huh," Ghost said, messing with a tiny part. "So then who is YOUR Head then? Who's the Head of the Angels?"

"Excuse me," I said, raising an eyebrow. Ghost put down a part and glared at me.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"My Head is Jeb," I said, smiling. Ghost gave me a level look and then went back to putting on the final part. If only he knew. But he's not ready.

I walked around the roof and spotted a camera. It was fairly hidden; the owners would have no reason for it either.

I remembered that time at Omega's birthday party where Jeb magically got shots of me and Hunter. I clenched my fists. So, Jeb was quite the little spy, wasn't he?

"Ghost," I called, keeping my tone neutral.

"What the flying fuck is it now?" he answered, frustrated.

"I found a camera. It could be Itex," I said, grabbing it and showing it to him. "Or if the news catches hold of it, we would be plastered everywhere."

Ghost nodded gravely. "Destroy it."

I threw it hard on the ground and smashed it with my boot. Don't trust me Jeb? You have very good reason.

"Okay, I'm done," Ghost said, standing up and stretching. "I'm going downstairs to Hunter now. Don't fuck this up Angel."

I glared at his retreating form. He makes doing this that much easier.

I scanned over the gun. Although it took him a while, he did put it together perfectly. Too bad.

Jeb knew I had the same exact model at home. He just wanted me to look incompetent in front of the others. I knew it like the back of my hand. I knew that if even the suppressor was incorrectly placed, it wouldn't fire.

I unscrewed the screw that was holding the 5 round magazine and stuffed it in the case, under the cleaning supplies.

All this time, Jeb has been 5 steps ahead of us. I stretched out my wings and practiced standing on my bad leg. Not anymore.

Outside POV

Time: 21:56

A large van was parked outside of a park. Fang was leaning against the side of it, staring at the ground. Right next to him was a large rifle case. A basketball flew towards him and he caught it with ease. The owner of the ball ran over.

"You, give it back," the owner said rudely. Fang glared darkly at him and the young owner felt intimidated. "Uh…um."

Fang shoved the ball over to him and looked away, like a hawk that suddenly became bored with its prey. The owner fell backwards since the ball caught him in the stomach. The owner scrambled up and ran away.

"Jeez Fang," Angel skipped towards Fang, her golden curls bouncing. "You didn't have to scare him so bad."

Fang shrugged, secretly amused.

Cassandra peaked out of the passenger window. "Angel, are you hungry?"

Angel shook her head. "No thank you Cass."

"How about you Fang?" Cass asked, glancing at Fang. He shook his head. Cass smiled kindly but then looked inside.

"Nudge! Ella! If you two are going to argue, take it outside. Some of us like to change in peace," Max commanded from inside. Two girls stepped out the van, dressed in matching short skirts and T-shirts.

"Look what you did Nudge," Ella said, crossing her arms and looking away from Nudge.

"Me? You're the one that never shuts up!" Nudge said indignantly.

"That is utterly hilarious coming from you," Ella said, smirking.

"Enough," Fang cut in. Both of them closed their mouths immediately. The van door opened another girl stepped out, almost unrecognizable.

"Whoa Chris! You look different!" Ella exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's the point," Crystal said, tossing her hair. Nudge snickered and Ella glared at her.

"Is everyone ready?" Max's voice rang out from the back of the van.

"Everyone except you," Chris said, lounging on a park bench. Her normally curly light brown hair was now straight bleach blonde. She changed her eye color and made herself up to look completely different. "Do you need help in there?"

"No, I'm almost done," Max called. The van doors open and Max walked out. "I hate heels."

"You look GORG!" Nudge exclaimed. "You look so different with your hair so short and black, and the tattoos! MAX you're so badass, and leather has always looked good on you. You should become a model one day, you're tall and-"

"I hate to break it to you hun, but the wings on my back would pose a problem. Chris, I hate this outfit," Max said. The black wig was cut in a bob, framing Max's face. The leather halter top and pants made her look different.

"Max, you don't look like yourself. That's the point of this," Chris said, annoyed that her sense of fashion was being doubted.

"But heels?" Max insisted.

"Exactly, heels," Chris finished, focusing back on her nails.

Max sighed. "Okay guys, remember. Chris and I will be in the V.I.P. lounge. Nudge and Ella, no arguing while serving, understand? And Cass and Angel will stay out here." Chris, Nudge and Ella nodded, and walked towards the building.

"C'mon Angel, we need to stay in the parking lot," Cass said. Angel smiled sweetly and climbed into the back. They drove away, leaving Max and Fang alone.

"You know what you have to do," Max said, smiling at her right hand man. "Or do I have to go through it again, newbie."

Fang smirked. "No. But are you prepared in case?"

"In case what Fang? You're not going to fail. You're a great shot. Don't be stupid," Max said, the smile fading off of her face.

"You never know," Fang responded, shrugging. He leaned down and quickly kissed her. After a few sweet seconds, he pulled away and seemingly disappeared into the trees surrounding the park.

Max bit her lip. She didn't have a good feeling about this.

Max's POV

Time: 22:35

"This is Gem. I have a visual of the target at 12 o' clock. I'm going in Mother Bird. Over," Chris voice crackled to life in my ear. I was sitting in a lounge sofa, sipping on my drink, looking totally badass with the exception of my heels. It was pretty dark and the lights were dim. Music was pumping through the club in a brain numbing way.

"Roger that Gem. Oh, and stop calling me Mother Bird? Thanks. Max out," I said, hiding my mouth behind my drink.

"Securite, securite, securite. All stations, all stations, all stations," Nudge's voice came on. I immediately went on high alert. "This is Butterfly, Butterfly, Butterfly. There are two security guards, armed and considered dangerous, out."

"Gem, this is Max. Stay put, I'm going in. Out," I said. I stood up and managed to find Chris, who was leaning casually against the bar. "Where is he?"

Chris slightly moved her head in his direction. "I thought we practiced heels with you. You look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa."

"Thanks," I said drily. "I love compliments. Really, you're too kind." I looked in the direction she told me to and saw Michael Anderson fresh from a long day of killing innocent children. He was sitting on a lounge chair like he owned the place, drinking a martini. And next to him were two body guards that looked like they just stepped out of a Men In Black movie. How unoriginal.

"Hey girls, want a drink?" I heard the bartender say.

"No," I said, not even glancing at him.

"Maybe a so-" Chris said, starting to turn around. I grabbed her arm.

"No time. Let's go," I whispered. I put on my most people person smile and walked over. The bodyguards scanned over us and looked away.

"Heyyyy," Chris drawled, smiling flirtatiously at the sadistic scientist. "Can we join you big boy?" I resisted the strong urge to barf as he smiled back.

"Of course sweetums," he said grinning, showing annoyingly perfect teeth. "One on each side. I like keeping things even."

Calm down Maximum, I thought to myself as I sat down. Fang will shoot out his brains in a few minutes. And if he doesn't, I'll have the liberty of wiping the floor with his sexist butt.

"Do you own the club? You look like a celebrity," Chris continued, sounding like a valley girl. Ugh, I'd rather be being chased by Erasers right now. Yes, it's that bad.

"Oh yes, I'm the owner hun," he lied. Yuck. He turned to me and I wanted to punch him in the nose. "What's wrong babe, cat got your tongue?"

Chris glared at me and I tried to come up with a clever response. Then I realized: I'm not supposed to be clever! So what does a stupid girl do under pressure?

I managed to choke out a giggle. I need to start getting paid for this.

The guy smirked and I wanted to throw a brick at his face. "So you're the silent type? That's adorable." He turned back to Chris and I almost sighed with relief. Almost.

"Pan pan, pan pan, pan pan! All stations, all stations, all stations! This is Cinderella, Cinderella, Cinderella! My position is the bar. I have spotted Iggy from the Fallen and he's bartending. I require Butterfly's backup at once. I haven't spotted anyone else from the Fallen. Awaiting plan of action from Mothe-Max. Over," Ella practically hyperventilated in my ear.

Crap! I exchanged a look with Chris. She nodded ever so slightly at me and I scanned around the club. What could the Fallen want here?

"Let's danceeee," Chris drawled again. She pulled the guy up to the dance floor. I relaxed a little and the Man in Black with brown hair sighed angrily.

"This is boring," he said.

"Shut up," the blond one said. Well, someone isn't very cheery today. I pretended to drink from my cup and spoke into my microphone.

"Securite, Secu-Oh whatever. Ella, Nudge? Do not engage him unless he recognizes you. Repeat, do NOT engage. He's blind; use that to your advantage. Chris, get ready to move the target out into the room. Let's get this over with already. Out," I muttered quickly.

"Miss, are you okay?" the Man in black with brown hair said. "You're muttering."

Sticking to my routine, I giggled. He gave me a skeptical look and then sat down next to me. Perfect. Maybe my people person smile was too good. That and I always attract the weirdos.

"Is everything okay?" I heard Fang's calm voice crackle in my ear. I bit my cheek to prevent myself from answering automatically.

"This is Base to Fang. Everyone's okay. Stay in position. Don't charge off like Max does," Cass ordered. I wanted to retort with 'I do not charge off' but then Mr. Brown hair started talking.

"I like brunettes better then blondes," he said. Well then you're out of luck buddy, I thought, but smiled anyways.

"Vincent," I heard the blond one warn.

"So can I get your number? We can hang out after or tomorrow night," he continued, smiling arrogantly. What is with the males in this club tonight?

"Vincent!" the blonde one hissed, grabbing his arm.

"Oh for fuck's sake Hunter! Did you see me cockblocking you and Shadow this morning? Exactly. Fuck off," Vincent said, hitting off Hunter's arm.

Oh CRAP! Crap crap crap. Breathe Max. I can just walk out of here. No biggie. Wait, what was that about Hu-.

"This is base to Max; go to Chris right now. She's ready to move out with the target," Cass said quickly.

Hunter groaned and curled his hands into fists. "Ghost. I can kill you and make it look like an accident. Stick to the job."

"I'm going to Anderson now!" I said, trying to sound valley girl. I quickly got off the sofa and almost tripped while walking over to Chris.

"Hey there cutie," the jerk said.

"Oh Maxine!" Chris said sounding very bubbly. "Why don't we show this hunk our room?"

"Oh, I don't know chickies," he said, frowning. Oh, I would drag him out kicking and screaming if I had to.

Instead I mock gasped. "Do you think he can't take us both?"

I guess I injured his male pride a little bit. "That's not it at all. I could take ten more of you," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Chris and I exchanged a look. God, this guy is a pig.

He continued. "It's just that I can't just cut the cord on my security guards."

"Yes you can! Come on!" Chris grabbed his arm and I grabbed the other. We dragged him into a hallway, a little too roughly. We couldn't let Fang have all the fun now, could we?

We located and stepped into the room. I wanted to firebomb it. It looks even sleazier in real life.

"Oh girls, I feel like we're all going to have a great night," he said, taking in the surroundings.

"Oh yes. We all are," I said, pushing him to the window. "Fang now!"

Silence.

"Fang? Now? Are you one of those chicks that are into the vampire shit?" the jerk continued. "True Blood lovers are the kinkiest. Vampire Diaries lovers like role playing more and I don't sleep with Twilighters, that would make me a pedophile!" He laughed. When he stopped, the whole room was thick with silence. A pit formed in my stomach from the lack of response from Fang.

"Fang?" I said into my microphone. "Cass, what's wrong with Fang? Is he taking a bathroom break or something?"

Hunter and Ghost burst into the room. "Put your hands up!" Hunter ordered. Chris slowly put her hands up but I ignored him.

"What's with the room?" Ghost said, taking off his shades and looking around.

Then quietly, I heard "Mayday. This is Fang. I am under attack. I require immediate assistance. I am abandoning the task at hand, it was a set up."

Outside POV

Time: 22:43

Fang was standing on the ledge of the building, watching the club. He wished to be in there with Max. He looked towards the window again. Nothing, no signal. Fang sighed and started fiddling with the sniper rifle. He was starting to get anxious. The guy might not be as harmless as Jeb tried to make him out to be, Fang thought. And why are the Fallen there?

Fang heard a barely audible crunch of boots on gravel.

Fang whirled around and saw Shadow, who was aiming her handgun straight at his head.

What the hell is she doing? Fang crossed his arms, unwilling to surrender. They were silent until Fang cocked his head to the side, beckoning for her to speak.

"Jeb ordered me to kill you," Shadow said, her hair tossing in the wind.

"Oh?" Fang said, with a daring note in his voice. He scanned the area around him. Maybe if he threw the sniper gun at her leg it'd give him-

"But I think my gun up there-" Shadow said, pointing up to the roof. "Isn't going to work tonight. A piece has gone mysteriously missing."

Fang's eyebrows went up.

"You're not going to shoot dear Michael. Instead, you're going to radio Max and say that I'm attacking you. I'll radio Hunter and say you've spotted me. We'll fight. Then we leave," Shadow listed, spinning her gun on a finger. "Kapeesh?"

"Why?" Fang asked. She jumped onto a dumpster and looked up, measuring the distance. Well, she doesn't trust me enough to show me her wings, Fang noted. She's afraid I might "brainwash" her with memories. Stupid.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Shadow said. She turned around with a devilish smirk on her face. "For now."

Fang grinned slightly. It was time to beat Jeb at his own game.

Hunter's POV

Time: 22:49

"Fang? What do you mean? FANG," the girl yelled into the microphone. I looked at her closely this time. I hadn't paid mind to her before and that was my mistake.

It was Max. Jeez I need to work on the whole recognizing your [potential?] sister thing.

"What is going on here? Are these the people that are after me?" the Anderson guy asked. Everyone ignored him.

"Hunter, my gun jammed!" I heard Shadow in my ear.

"What?" I exclaimed into the microphone.

"Oh GREAT did the Angel mess us up? I knew it!" Ghost spat, clutching the gun tighter. I glared at him. Would he mess up Shadow on purpose?

"The gun didn't fire," I hissed at him. His face paled.

"That's impossible. She must not know how to use it. I put it together correctly," Ghost insisted, keeping the gun trained on Crystal.

"I know how to- Fang is attack-" Shadow cut out.

"Shadow? Shadow, report NOW. Shadow?" I called. No response.

Max glared at us and then at Mr. Anderson. "Abort mission, it was a set up."

"What?" Chris said. "We can't abort mission now!"

"Don't question me!" Max snapped. "Let's go!"

Chris stared at her incredulously. Max shoved the guy out of the way and jumped straight out the window.

"Ghost, keep an eye on her," I said, following Max to the window. I held the microphone on my sleeve up to my face. "Iggy, ditch the bar and go to the park that we told you, Gazzy should be waiting there."

"Aye aye captain," Iggy answered. I took off my jacket, jumped out of the window, snapped out my wings and followed her form. It was oddly foggy tonight.

Max landed on the building under where Shadow supposed to be. I felt my stomach drop to my feet. I quickened my flight and landed on the roof.

Fang and Shadow were fighting. But why?

"It's okay Jeb. I guess I know now based on your reaction…" I remembered her saying earlier.

She knew. But how did she figure out Jeb's identity and that Fang was the sniper tonight?

She's making it very hard for me to trust her.

"Fang! Shadow! Enough!" Max yelled, rushing forward. "What the HELL is going on?" Fang shoved Shadow towards me and I grabbed her. She was breathing heavily, her nose was bloody, her eye was black, and she was out for Fang's blood.

"He's going to kill an innocent man!" Shadow yelled, struggling out of my grip.

"No," Fang growled. I could see scratches along his cheek and his lip was bleeding.

"We were sent to kill the guy who had tested on us. You remember our funky wings? They're his fault," Max explained, her voice cold. "He's far from innocent."

"We were told he was innocent," I interrupted. "We were sent to protect him."

"And once again we're against each other," Shadow hissed, glaring at Fang. "Isn't that just a big FUCKING coincidence?"

"You just can't stop running from the truth can you? Does it scare you?" Fang sneered. I sighed. I wasn't in the mood for this tonight.

"Okay you two, enough," I said.

"Yeah, stop it before we have to put you two in time out corners. Let's just go," Max said. But they ignored us.

"Running from what truth? The truth of Itex?" Shadow exclaimed.

"I don't work for Itex," Fang growled, clenching his fists.

"If it barks like an Eraser..." Shadow trailed off, smirking. Oh no.

Fang's eyes darkened and he lunged at her, shoving her to the ground. Shadow tried jackknifing to her feet but her weakened leg caused her to lean off balance on her right side. Instinctively, she spread out her left wing, helping her stumble up right and steady herself.

Fang froze, his eyes widening slightly. Which means in Fang language: 'Gee whiz I'm amazed!' I followed his line of sight to…Shadow's wing?

I got that weird feeling again like if I was remembering something but squashed it. It was fake, it was fake, it was fake. It was faker than Pamela Anderson's boobs. Fake.

"You son of a-" Shadow said, rushing forward to punch him. I expected him to attack. Instead Fang let out his wings and Shadow's fist stopped, inches away from his face.

Everything went into a standstill.

"Earth to Fang and Shadow?" Max said slowly. Fang snapped his wings back into his back and Shadow's hand fell to her side.

"Hello? Guys?" I said loudly. Again they didn't move. I felt irritated at the lack of response. What the hell is going on?

"Hunter?" Lies' voice crackled in my ear.

"Yeah?"

"Have you not seen the Erasers flooding the building? Get the hell out of there now!" Lies shouted.

"What!" I yelled.

"There are no-" I could see Max shouting at her sleeve.

But before I could even think of making a smart remark, Erasers flooded in from the staircase that led to ground level. I turned around to start running off the roof. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough. The Erasers grabbed us, and one swung a steel pole at my head.

Then I blacked out.

Review people! ^-^

My school has started :( I'm a high school senior. Joy. –insert disclaimer and claimer here- Thank to CreativeInsanityy, Baby-Rosalita, I LOVE Y, Kina Kalamari, CrazyNerdyFangirl, fuzzypompom, MissA540, Randomly Obsessed, lalalalalal, and readinglove for reviewing! :D WARNING WARNING WARNING, this chapter is really violent thanks to Wikipedia informing me what happens to captured spies D: If you are easily sickened by gory content, or don't like it, just skip the part after Cass and Iggy, PM me and I'll tell you the G rated summary of what happens. You've been warned.

Chapter 33: Torture

Outside POV

Time: 05:46

Max's eyes fluttered open. She looked around blearily, and once she remembered the last few seconds before she was captured, she started struggling. She was lying on the floor, her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were tied together. She tried reaching into her pocket for a knife but the ropes were too tight.

"No use," she heard a voice say. She turned her head and noticed that the dark bundle lying near the corner was in fact a person. Slowly, it rolled over and Shadow faced Max. One of her eyes was swollen shut, and there was dried blood encrusted in her hair. "We're disarmed."

"Wonderful," Max spat. She glanced around the room. It was really big and there were no windows and no light. The air smelled like blood and excrement. The floor was rough, cold cement. Across the room was a door with a fairly rusted cart next to it. Bars and beams crisscrossed the ceiling. Max spotted Fang across the room. He was unconscious and all bundled up but at least, to Max's relief, he was breathing. She also saw Hunter, Ghost and Chris, similarly wrapped up. Ghost met her eyes and he looked away angrily.

"Fucking SHIT," he yelled and thrashed around. Shadow rolled her eyes.

"That didn't work the first twelve ti-" she began.

"FUCK YOU!" he yelled. Shadow sighed heavily but didn't say a word.

"I'm just going to go out on a wing here and assume we were captured by Itex and not rogue Erasers," Max said. Shadow nodded. This feels oddly normal. Totally a sign that I'm going nuts, Max thought. A moan from Hunter signaled his waking. He rolled onto his back, looked around and groaned.

"This is all YOUR FUCKING FAULT Hunter!" Ghost shouted. Hunter groaned louder and banged his head against this floor. Ghost continued. "If it wasn't for that DAMN Angel, we wouldn't be in this mess. I should've been assigned to shoot the gun, not this stupid girl! There's a REASON why the Fallen was better than the Angels and that was the lack of PMS-ing women!"

Max and Shadow glowered at him, not appreciating their gender being insulted.

"They're going to kill you," said Fang. His awakening had gone unnoticed. Max met his eyes and she tried smiling.

"Shut UP traitor!" Ghost shouted.

"Can someone knock him out? Please," Shadow muttered under her breath. Max ignored him and rolled closer to Fang. They leaned on their sides and their fingers mingled briefly. After the sweet moment, they started trying to unknot each other's ropes.

"Where am I?" Chris moaned, stirring. She looked around and shrieked, noticing that she had been captured.

"Itex. Don't worry Crystal, we're going to get out of here," Max said, trying to undo one particularly nasty knot.

Chris's eyes darkened and her voice was uncharacteristically bitter. "We better. You broke the rules and now we're here."

Max stopped and tried glancing in her direction. "Excuse me?"

"Fang knows the risks. You abandoned me to go save him. Great friend you are," Chris spat.

"He required assistance! You didn't need any! I hadn't known that I needed to hold your hand through everything," Max shot back.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!"

"Enough you two," Hunter broke in. "We're all in this-"

"You're not my leader, so shut up!" Crystal shouted.

"No one wants to hear your complaining Chris," Ghost said.

"Pot meet kettle," Shadow muttered.

"Oh FUCK YOU!" Ghost shouted again. Shadow rolled her eyes.

"Ghost, you have no right to even speak to me after what you did to me," Chris hissed. Ghost rolled his eyes.

"You and Cass were the ones who ran away." All eyes were on Chris and Ghost.

"What? No we weren't! You threw us out! We would never run away!" Chris said indignantly.

"I would have never thrown you guys out. You were very valuable," Ghost said stiffly.

"Oh, did you conveniently forget about the e-mail you sent me the day before we were set to work with the Fallen? The one that said 'You're useless, simpleminded and you're out of the group.'" Chris said in a mocking tone. Ghost looked clueless.

"What are you talking about? You know I would never-"

"YOU DID!" Chris screamed. "YOU STUPID-"

"Can you guys SHUT UP!" Hunter roared over Chris. "If I hear another word about who abandoned who, I will rip your throats out!"

"Seriously you two, enough bickering. When we get out of here, you can argue all you want. Key words: When we get out of here. So quiet," Max said, yanking on Fang's ropes hard.

"You're not going anywhere," a voice echoed through the room. "So I'd sit tight if I were you."

"C'mon furball! What happened to the traditional fair fight? Tired of me kicking your butt?" Max challenged. Fang's fingers started working faster, untangling the knot.

"Alright birdies, you asked for it," the voice said. There was a sound of a microphone being slammed into the holder. Silence.

"I am terrified. No really, I am," Max said, her voice bored.

A high keening noise sliced through the air. The avian hybrids, whose hearing was more acute than the humans, struggled harder against the ropes just so they could cover their ears. Chris and Ghost exchanged a clueless look.

"What's going on?" Ghost demanded. But Max, Hunter, Fang and Shadow were unable to answer; for, the noise became sharper. The pressure was so much; it felt like their eardrums were going to pop. To the humans, it was just an irritating ringing.

The sound stopped and all anyone could hear was a horrid, barking laugh.

"This is just the beginning," the voice said, once it calmed down.

The keening sound rang through the air, leaving the torture room in chaos.

"Cass, what are we going to do! This is horrible! Max, Fang, AND Chris were kidnapped! What are they going to do to them? I saw some of the Fallen were taken too Cass! Jeb always warned us about what to do if they captured us, what if Max really does have to kill herself! What are we going to do?" Nudge cried, her hysterical voice echoing through the back of the parked van. Cassandra was also panicking inside. She was not a Leader, at all. But she knew she had to be strong for everyone else.

"Nudge, calm down," Cass said, trying out her best Max voice.

"Everything will be okay in the end," Ella said, putting her arm around Nudge. Cass couldn't help admiring Ella's calmness in such a bad situation.

"Cassie," Angel said, pulling on Cass's arm. Cass looked over to Angel, who was staring off into a distance.

"Yes Ang, what's up?" Cass said, putting her hand on Angel's shoulder. Angel looked up at her, eyes intense.

"The Fallen are in the park. Hunter, Shadow and Ghost were captured also by the same Erasers," Angel said. Cass felt a bit more worried now. Was the whole thing a set up? Why would Jeb send them on a mission where they could be captured so easily?

"I think we should team up," Angel continued, her face already set like stone.

"Angel, remember Jeb's rules," Cass cautioned, biting her nails.

"I don't care about Jeb! I want Max back!" Angel shouted, jumping out of the van and running into the park.

"ANGEL! Come back! As your Leader, obey? ANGEL!" Cass shouted, jumping out and running after her.

Angel skidded to a halt in front of a park bench. Cass came up behind her and looked up. Iggy was standing in front of the Gasman, and was looking in the general direction of Angel. Lies was sitting on the bench, his arm around the sober Ari. Cass's eyes met his and she hurriedly looked away. She was supposed to hate Lies.

"Hi," Angel said sweetly. "I'm Angel. I know that Itex took your Leader. They took mine too. If we work together, I can help get your Leader back, along with Shadow and Ghost."

"And why would we take your help?" Iggy asked, the suspicion obvious in his voice.

"Because I can read minds," Angel said. "I know you went to IHOP for breakfast and ordered 10 pancakes with maple syrup, sugar, and a strawberry on top. You also stole some of Hunter's bacon, and he threatened you with having to do laundry for a month which you don't mind because you love the smell of laundry."

Iggy looked in the general direction of Lies and back at the ground. Cass held her breath, hoping that he said-

"Sure. I guess. What's the plan?"

After a while, the keening sound ceased.

Max slowly straightened her body out of fetal position. She heard a bunch of footsteps and then the door was slammed open. She cracked her eyes open and saw four Erasers, smiling hungrily at her and her group.

"Hey Fido and friends, what's cracking?" she rasped. The smiles dropped off of the Erasers faces. The one in front of the rest just barked out a laugh.

"Feisty. She's Max, head of the Angels," he said. He walked over to her and ripped off her black wig. "See?"

Fang tried rolling over to Max to assist her, but the Eraser kicked him hard. He skidded across the floor and collided with Chris. The Erasers laughed at her cry of pain. Then, the lead one grabbed Max and tied her up to one of the low ceiling beams.

"I always wanted to be a decoration when I grew up!" Max said with sarcasm evident in her voice. "How'd you guess Fido?"

"The name's Jagger," the Eraser said. "And I know your secret."

"Oh darn it! Fang, I told you not to tell anyone that I hated overgrown fur balls," Max said, feigning an upset look.

Jagger laughed much to Max's irritation. "No, not that one. This one." He snapped his fingers and one of the Erasers rolled forth a large cage which held an enormous green snake. All the blood drained from Max's face and her heart started beating faster. If there was one thing she was afraid of in the whole world, it was snakes.

"Aw Max, you don't like my pet anaconda?" Jagger mocked, opening the cage. The snake slowly slid out towards Max. Max tried lifting up her feet, but the snake slithered around them anyways, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Not particularly. It'd be cuter if it wasn't yours," Max said, trying not to show how freaked out she was.

"Maybe you should take a closer look," Jagger snarled. He grabbed the snake and wrapped it around her. Max tried staying perfectly still, knowing that a reaction was what they were looking for.

Fang knew that Max hated snakes. He tried rolling over but the Erasers kicked him back. Fang growled and tried again. Jagger laughed and yanked Fang upright by his hair. Jagger pulled out a switchblade from his pocket and held it up to Fang's mouth.

"What's with the sour face?" Jagger breathed. Fang glared and said nothing. Jagger continued, "I've heard you don't talk much Fang. I think a serious birdie like you should smile more, shouldn't he fellas?" The Erasers at the doorway laughed and agreed. Jagger put the switchblade near the corner of Fang's mouth. "How about a permanent smile? It's less work."

"Someone's watched The Dark Knight one too many times," Hunter muttered. Shadow snickered but said nothing. Jagger locked onto Hunter, and threw Fang at Max. Max swung a bit and the snake adjusted itself tighter around her.

"Ah Hunter," Jagger said, beaming. "I wouldn't speak much if I were you."

"And I wouldn't go outside if I looked like you, but to each their own," Hunter retorted.

Jagger sighed and shook his head. "Hale? Get me the shears."

"Hale? Seriously? I am so scared of some guy named Hale. He might pack my grocery bags at the supermarket wrong," Hunter said, rolling his eyes.

An Eraser stepped towards Hunter, holding up a tool that resembled a crocodile clip except the end had hemi-cylindrical blades that when closed, was a long narrow tube. The inside looked like it had spikes in it.

"Do you want to know where this goes?" Hale rasped, spitting on Hunter. Hunter wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"All I know right now is that you need Listerine," Hunter replied. Hale barked out a laugh and muttered the answer as to where the shears are placed to Hunter. Hunter visibly paled and gulped, aching just from the thought of the shears. Hale laughed, straightened up and kicked Hunter hard in the chest. Hunter rolled face first onto the dirty floor.

"We should give them a big, warm, Itex welcome," Jagger said, smiling. The two other Erasers that were standing by the door walked in and started beating on the closest person to them. Once that person looked bruised enough, they moved onto the next person.

"Alright guys and gals, enough fun time!" Jagger called out. The Erasers stood up, giddy with bloodlust and started licking their hands, chest, wherever blood splattered. Jagger tied up Fang, Hunter, Shadow, Ghost and Chris to the same beam where Max was hanging. Jagger removed the snake from Max and roughly threw it back in its cage. Max, who was spared from the beating, angrily looked on and wished that she was free…so she could kill them.

"I think I've shown you what my associates and I are capable of doing," Jagger snarled. "Answer me: Who are you working for?"

"The greater good and all that sweet, sugary stuff that you can find at your local candy store," Max said. Jagger backhanded her across the face.

"Tell me!" he shouted. Max spat a wad of phlegm in his face. Jagger laughed and wiped his face slowly. "Zadie, give Max one of your special manicures. She wants to be treated like a princess."

After grabbing something from the table, one of the Erasers morphed into her human form. She walked towards Max, with a big demonic grin on her face. She grabbed one of Max's fingers, and with red-hot pliers, tore off Max's nail. Max made a small noise, but otherwise made no indication of pain.

"What a tough cookie," Jagger said, approaching Max. "Her mother always made really good cookies. Too bad she had to die. She would've made a very good slave."

"Your mother was an idiot who donated her eggs to Itex for money," Max sneered. "She didn't care what happened to you. She doesn't care that you're alive. At least mine did."

"Here's the difference between me and you, Maxie-poo. Oh look, I rhymed," Jagger said. The others laughed. "You care about all the emotional crap." He breathed on Max's neck, and she didn't flinch. "I DON'T!" he drew back his fist and punched her in the gut. He walked over to Hunter and grinned, "Hopefully you'll be smarter."

"I am smarter," Hunter said, rolling his eyes. "I'm smart enough to know not to converse with idiots that will probably dramatically decrease my brain cell count."

"Smash that freak across the face!" Hale shouted, grabbing something from the cart.

"They need you to get back to aisle eight Hale, the spill of dog food is waiting for you," Hunter said, smirking. Hale howled in anger. He pushed Jagger out of the way, grabbed Hunter and snapped his arm. Hunter uttered a stream of curses and tried his best to kick Hale but Hale nimbly jumped away.

Jagger growled and punched Hale in the back of his head. "You moron! Fine, we'll just ask the other boy. Zadie, Veda, come to me." Jagger walked over to Fang, flanked by the two female Erasers. His eyes flickered over the avian boy who glared darkly back at him. "I suggest you talk. These two are my most vicious henchmen."

Fang said nothing.

"Aw, Fang, sometimes I wonder if they made you mute and stupid. Then I realize, you're probably just stupid. Hunter and Max were made to be the superior experiments. You and Shadow were simply made to follow."

Fang said nothing.

"I'm sure you remember. The anger at always being second best. No one cares for you two. You are inferior to them. Remember what you were made to do."

Fang said nothing.

"If you tell me who's leading you, I'll tell you what you were made for."

Fang said nothing.

"Fine Fang. But just don't forget this," the Eraser leaned close to Fang, caressing his face and digging his blood encrusted nails into Fang's cheeks. "You're more like me than you think." Jagger backed off and signaled Veda and Zadie to Fang. They grinned, approached Fang, and one of them ripped off Fang's shirt.

"Kinky?" Ghost joked, but was awarded with a smack from Hale.

Zadie poured ice cold water on Fang's back, making him hiss. Veda picked up a cat o' nine tails whip, and brought it down hard against Fang's back. Fang bit the inside of his cheek hard, trying not to show any emotion. He unfurled his wings, not wanting them to get the brunt of the blow.

"You FUCKING FREAK!" Veda shouted, continuing her onslaught. Blood seeped from Fang's back to the floor. "You all think you're fucking BETTER than us! YOU'RE JUST LIKE US! ALL FUCKED UP, JUST LIKE US!"

Jagger watched contently at the pain that Fang was trying to hide. He looked at how angry Max was getting and how Hunter was trying not to look concerned, but kept glancing over. His eyes slid over, knowing Shadow's reaction would be the most savory of-

Her face was blank.

Jagger strolled over to her and she stiffened. He went close to her ear and whispered, "Does it hurt you? Seeing your brother like that?"

Shadow frowned but her response was automatic. "He's not my brother. It's an Itex lie."

Jagger threw his head back, laughed and said loudly, "Omega was RIGHT! They don't remember ANYTHING!" The other Erasers only seemed to care about the blood that was streaming on the floor from Fang's back. Jagger went back to Shadow's ear. "Are you that horrible of a person that you can't even remember your own flesh and blood brother?"

"I don't remember because he doesn't EXIST," Shadow muttered through gritted teeth. Jagger shook his head.

"Hale, roll the cart over to me, she needs to lighten up some," Jagger said. Hale pushed the cart over and Jagger examined a few tools before choosing one.

"Now Shadow, if you tell me who is leading you, I won't remind you of something very bad that's happened to you before," Jagger said, waving a long cylindrical tube in her face. Shadow rolled her eyes in response. Jagger poked her with the tube and shocked her. Her eyes widened in slight panic and she turned to glare at him.

"How the hell-"

"I ask the questions," Jagger said, shocking her again. "Now tell me who you four are working for."

"Come up with some original interrogation fur ball!" Max shouted from across the room.

"You had your chance Max; it's time to have fun with someone else. If you so desire attention Hale can grace you with his presence," Jagger said. He turned back to Shadow, tapping the cow prod against his hand. "Tell me Shadow. If you do, you and Fang go free."

"Why?" Shadow asked. "Why us?"

"I ask the questions," Jagger repeated and shocked her with a higher voltage. "I'll tell you the same thing I said to Fang. You're more like us than you think."

"I'm nothing like you!" Shadow snarled. "I'm not telling you anything. Fuck off."

"Nasty mouth," Jagger said simply. He placed the prod right on her chest and began to shock her. She tried to move away but she was bound in place.

"I'm not going to stop until I hear you screaming," Jagger rasped in her ear.

"I'd…rather…die," Shadow grated out. Her muscles were starting to have spasms from the electricity.

"It seems that we're having chicken for dinner!" Jagger called to the other Erasers. They laughed horribly and a tiny whimper escaped Shadow's lips. Jagger's face changed from violent to calm.

"Fine. Veda, enough with the boy. Save some energy for later," he said. Shadow hung her head in shame. Veda threw the whip to the side and licked Fang's back. Fang cried out, half-delirious and half unconscious from the pain.

Jagger approached Chris who shied away from him. He grabbed her by the head and forced her to face him.

"Tell me human, why did the United States government send you to help out these failures," Jagger said, gesturing to the avian hybrids.

"We all look cute together?" Chris said, trying to keep calm. Jagger took out his switchblade again and held it against her nose.

"Well you know what else would be cute? Your nose on my plate for dinner," Jagger said. Hale licked his lips and a low, hungry rumble escaped from his throat.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you," Chris resolved, biting her lip to keep it from quivering.

"It looks like you put a lot of time on your looks. It'd be a shame if such a pretty girl like you lost her nose," Jagger said, putting pressure on the switchblade.

"Leave her alone!" Ghost called out. Hunter sucked in air, but didn't say anything. He knew there was no use. Ghost just dug his grave.

"What did you say human?" Hale growled, grabbing Ghost by his neck. Ghost tried to answer but only managed to sputter out 'me…go…'

"Maybe if you let him go, he'd answer. Man Hale, you're not bright at all," Hunter called out. Hale howled in anger, grabbed a saw from the cart, and held it on Hunter's wing.

"If you don't shut your FUCKING mouth, I'm going to rip this shit off, eat it, and shove the bones down your fucking THROAT!" Hale bellowed, getting spit all over Hunter's face.

"You really need a therapist. What is wrong with you?" Hunter said, his voice nonchalant. Hale's eyes widened and his nostrils flared in fury. He started to slash through Hunter's primary feathers to his bone. Hunter cried out in pain and Shadow started to struggle harder.

"Hale! Have some self-control! Veda, hold him down," Jagger ordered. Veda tackled Hale and a slight struggle ensued. Veda ended up on top while Hale struggled below her. Jagger rolled his eyes and walked over to Ghost, who was gasping for air.

"Well, since you're so eager to talk, answer my question," Jagger said. "Why is the United States government getting into Itex's business?"

"That wasn't the same question you asked before. I only allow wolf failures one question a day," Ghost stated with a smug smile on his face.

"I believe that's discrimination," Zadie said, appearing next to him with a bucket of water in her hand. "Jagger has been so nice to all of you, but I'm sick of standing here listening to your disrespectful remarks. Especially yours human. We each can kill you in 500 different ways and yet you mouth off to us?" Zadie grabbed Ghost by his hair and put the bucket near his face. "Answer us."

"Wah wah, inferior human, I am better, yet all I'm doing is whining about how better I am than you wah wah. Get off your soapbox please," Ghost sighed, feigning a yawn. Zadie pushed his head cruelly into the bucket and after a minute, she let him up. He spat the water that he swallowed in her face. Her glare hardened and she shoved his head in the bucket again. Jagger thumped her on the back and turned to Chris, whose face was a mask of horror.

"Now my pretty…If you answer my question, we'll stop drowning your boyfriend," Jagger said, patting her head.

"I'm not your anything you SON OF A BITCH!" Chris yelled. Max groaned loudly, trying to draw his attention away from the two humans, yet she was ignored.

"That hurts my feelings," Jagger said. With his claw, he loosened the ropes that bound her wrists. She quickly tried to punch him, but Jagger was faster. He caught her hands and kissed them. Chris screamed and tried lashing out at him. He tightened his grip and slowly started crushing her hands.

"LET GO!" she yelped, tears streaming down her face. He continued until an agonizing crack resonated through the room.

"Satisfaction," Jagger sighed contently as Chris was wailing in pain. He turned to the avian hybrids with a crazed smile on his face. "Her pain is your fault. If only you just told me what I wanted to hear, this devastating ordeal wouldn't have happen."

Fang moaned in pain and Jagger shook his head in pity. "Veda, would you please treat the boy before he catches an infection. Itex would punish us if he dies."

"Yes sir," she said, standing up. She grabbed anti-septic from the cart and sloshed it on his back. Fang began to scream as his back burned. Veda laughed maliciously and poured on some more.

"What is WRONG with you, you psychotic BITCH," Max yelled, struggling against her ropes.

"Thank you! But watch your language," Veda said. She forced Max's mouth open and emptied the rest of the anti-septic into her mouth. Veda turned around, not bothering to watch Max's reaction and pointed agitatedly to Chris. "Can you shut that one up? Her screaming is annoying."

"Will do love," Jagger said, picking up an oval-shaped cage, big enough for one's head. He held Chris still and locked her head in it. He forced the iron curb-plate into her mouth that was studded with spikes. "Now human, if you relax your tongue, it won't hurt too much." Angry tears fell from Crystal's eyes and she looked away from him, wishing she could yell at him.

"Fuck you!" Ghost screamed as he resurfaced from the bucket. Jagger pulled out his switchblade and casually sliced his arm. Ghost hissed in pain and Zadie grinned horribly, knowing what was going to happen. Jagger grabbed a portion of the sliced skin and pulled it off slowly. Ghost screamed in anguish and Chris retched.

"You're sick," Hunter spat in disgust. Jagger laughed and yanked at Hunter's injured wing. Hunter bit his lip hard and Jagger pulled harder.

"Stop it!" Shadow shouted suddenly, losing control. Her eyes widened in shock and she immediately shut her mouth. Jagger laughed and punched her hard in her already bruised cheek. She made no sound and glared back at him, longing him death.

"That's cute. But you're boring. Hale, deal with her," Jagger said, moving onto Max. Hale jumped up and ran out of the room. Jagger exchanged a confused look with Veda. Then, Hale burst back into the room with a bucket, almost overflowing with water.

"Here's a bird bath!" Hale shrieked excitedly, his voice in hysterics. He poured the water on her and she screamed and cursed in agony, writhing in her ropes.

"What's wrong?" Hunter yelped, confused.

"I guess boiling water isn't good for birds?" Hale said, throwing the bucket to the side and shrugging. The other three Erasers laughed and Shadow quieted, biting her lip. Blisters were already forming on her bare skin.

"You're all a bunch of psychos. Trust me, when we get out of here, I'll be sure to rip you to SHREDS," Max snarled through gritted teeth. Jagger caressed her face and then licked from her temple to her neck. Fang tried protesting, but all that came out was a delirious moan.

"EW!" she shrieked. "I hate dog saliva! Get off!"

"Maybe you're more of a biting girl," he said and sunk his teeth into her shoulder. She screamed in her head but on the outside, she made no indication of pain. Jagger laughed, and her blood dripped from his fangs to the floor.

"C'mon Jagger," Veda said, glaring at Max. "Let's go already. They're so last week."

"Is that jealousy I smell?" Shadow snapped. Veda growled and punched Shadow across the jaw. A sickening crack was audible, but Shadow just laughed and spat a piece of tooth in Veda's face.

"I want to give Maxie a gift first," Jagger said, grabbing a piece of black leather from the cart. He shoved it on Max's head despite her protests and strapped it tightly. It covered her eyes, mouth, nose and ears.

"This is a sensory deprivation hood birdies," Jagger said, patting Max on the head. "She can't speak, hear or see you. So you'll have to stay entertained amongst yourselves."

"Screw you," Hunter spat. Jagger laughed and walked out of the room with the other Erasers. After a moment, Jagger's voice resonated through the room.

"Envious Hunter? Fine, I'll give ya'll a gift too," he said. Several slits opened in the wall and rats ran out of them. Chris shrieked in horror and the rats started climbing up their bodies. They struggled but to no avail as the rats began to feed on the exposed parts of their bodies.

Jagger, Veda, Zadie and Hale watched from another room. They held a toast and as they saw the rats feast on Fang's exposed back, laughed harder.

"To Itex!" Jagger yelled above the screams.

"To Itex!"

…-awkward silence-…um review? :)

I'M SO SORRY GUYS! It's not that I don't care or forgot that I wrote a 34 chapter-long story! I had a serious job over the summer, finished high school and a semester of college. Sorry! :( Thanks to FallenSnowAngel5297, readinglove, KENDRA1212, fuzzypompom, Kina Kalamari, STALLION OF THE CIMARRON, flock fan, CrazyNerdyFangirl, Adonai63, fangluv, xFang'sgirlx, LiveLaughandLoveForever, hysterical chicken, ihatepeople0416, LiningUpThePieces, TwilightAddict413, Jesse Rae, Dolphiness, prettygirl2012, Heart of Diamond, Soaring Without Wings, aalaal, roylpain, Maximum Ride 4ever, FangGirl1995, Avian-American Gurl, candycanelover, Tasha133, and Eee for reviewing.

Since it has been a while, I'll repost basic character relationships:

Hunter: leader of Fallen, (maybe) Max's brother, Ari's brother, Jeb's son; Max: Leader of the Angels, Jeb's daughter, girlfriend of Fang, ex-best friend of Shadow; Fang: "Traitor" to the Fallen, (maybe) brother of Shadow; Shadow: "traitor" to Fallen, has weird relationship with Hunter; Ghost: Jerk of the Fallen :P human spy and; Chris: Human spy of the Angel. Michael Anderson: The perv from chapter 32

Chapter 34: Escape

Outside POV

Time: 20:18

Hunter stirred awake again. He wasn't sure if it had been hours or days since he had last been awake. Trying to ignore his gigantic headache, he looked around the room.

Max was absolutely still. The sensory deprivation mask was still on her. Hunter wondered what she was thinking. Fang was finally asleep, vomit covering his bare chest, his back encrusted with blood. Hunter looked away, feeling sick himself. Hunter remembered that he went on a screaming fit earlier from all the pain he was in. The room was humid, and none of the hostages had been given a bucket, let alone a bathroom. Hunter felt disgusted as he hung there in his own excrement. Way to make us feel lower than low Itex, Hunter thought.

Chris was laying on her back on the ground. She was the only one with her hands free, but they were crushed so they were of no use. Ghost was staring at the ground, silent.

Hunter glanced at Shadow. Feeling his stare, she looked up at him, trying to avoid focusing on his arm that was unnaturally twisted and curved.

"This sucks," Hunter said.

"Fucking understatement of the millennium," Ghost muttered.

"They knew us," Shadow said, her voice raspy. "From before we lost our memory."

"You must've killed their mother or something. Fang must've eaten her. That's the only explanation to what's going on," Ghost said.

Hunter sighed. "Maybe. Maybe not. Itex prides itself in creating monsters."

"Fucking Itex," Ghost said. The room was silent. Ghost thought back to when Jagger was talking to Fang about "being just like us". He glanced at Shadow, remembering something. "Fang's your brother?"

"I don't know. I doubt it," Shadow answered, her voice strained.

"You don't remember a thing about him?"

"No."

"Do you think Itex is making it up?"

"I don't know, Ghost!" Shadow snapped.

"Sorry for asking a question, princess!" Ghost retorted.

"How about asking me a question I know the damn answer to?"

"Shut UP you two!" Hunter growled.

"Nobody asked you Hunter," Shadow hissed. Hunter raised an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

"I know we're all testy from being here," Hunter said, looking at her but addressing everyone. "But we can't turn on each other. We aren't the Fallen vs. the Angels here. We're us vs. Itex. Alright?"

"That'd be cool if the Angels were awake to agree," Ghost said.

"Mmmmm," Chris tried to make herself noticed.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ghost observed. Chris rolled her eyes but nodded.

The door slammed open. Bright light filtered in. Hunter squinted and watched as someone stumbled into the room. He or she closed the door behind him or herself and locked it.

"Great. Round 3 featuring Omega," Hunter deadpanned. Omega held up his hands in surrender.

"Look. I have no time. Just trust me I'm on your side. I have no time," Omega spat out hurriedly. He went up to Hunter and cut the ropes that were binding him. Hunter landed on his feet, trying to ignore the excruciating pain from his broken arm.

"You shot me in the leg. I have a limp," Shadow said as he cut her ropes.

"I'm sorry," Omega said simply. After he cut her down, he moved on to Max. He cut open the mask. Slowly she opened her eyes. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes were bloodshot. She made a noise, but stopped, wincing.

"I know it's going to be rough," Omega whispered, aware of the effects of sensory deprivation. "But please try to stand up." He cut her ropes and she stood steady, yet unmoving. Hunter tried to meet her eyes, but they were trained onto the ground.

Omega freed Ghost who, even if he was just rescued, still gave Omega a dirty look. Omega opened the cage that trapped Chris' head and sliced through the ropes that entrapped her feet. Ghost went up to her and helped her to her feet. She leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling unbelievably happy to be free of her cage but unable to say something without crying.

"What the hell did they do to Fang?" Omega murmured, eyeing him carefully. He was careful not to be rough as he cut Fang down from the ceiling beam. Fang collapsed into Omega's arms and Omega passed him to Max. Max kneeled to the ground and quietly assessed his back.

"He's doesn't look well," Hunter said, from over her shoulder. Max jumped a little, his voice loud compared to the last hours she spent in silence. She nodded her head, but didn't say a word.

"You guys can't get out of here with him like this!" Omega exclaimed, his voice nervous. "I don't have the time to help you. I'm running out of time. You guys have to listen to what I say. I know it looks weird but I'm your only way out. You have to trust me."

"What do we have to do?" Max whispered, starting to become used to her voice again.

"Fang needs bandages and painkillers. He's your responsibility after you leave here. I suggest a blood transfusion as soon as possible. His body did a good job of patching itself back up but he still needs stitches."

Hunter sighed. "Where are we going to get bandages and painkillers? They haven't answered our requests for food and water, so I think drugs would be out of the question."

Omega assessed everyone. "The humans can't get it, they're not as fast and stealthy as you guys, at least not in their current state. I can't bring it. Hunter can't carry it. Max can't stand anything brighter than a nightlight right now and obviously, Fang is out of the question." Omega gave Shadow a long, steady look and she shrugged.

"What do I have to do?"

Omega pulled a small hand held device from his back pocket and it projected a map of Itex against the grimy wall. "I'm going to pull an alarm once I leave. All the Erasers will be diverted to the left side of the building. On the right, in this large closet labeled 4C is where some of the medical supplies are kept along with files. I expect that you know what to do from there."

"Treat Fang and escape," Shadow said.

"Yes. I think it would be best if Max treated him. I mean, those burns might open while you're treating him…maybe you should get stuff for everyone." Omega looked over them again, realizing how bad it actually was.

"One step ahead of you. Let's get this over with," Shadow sighed. Hunter put his hand on Shadow's shoulder.

"Be careful."

"If you say so," Shadow said with a devilish smirk. Hunter barely managed to smile. If the Erasers found out, they would all be slaughtered.

Omega started coughing. Max was startled and put her hands over her ears because it was so loud.

Hunter was the first to say something once the coughing subsided. "Jeez Robot, sounds like your lungs are going to escape, not us." When Omega drew his hand away from his mouth, Hunter noticed the blood on his hand. Hunter felt his stomach twist.

"Oh jeez," Ghost said.

"Did you just call me 'Robot'?" Omega asked, looking amazed.

"So? You just-!"

"There's no time. Shadow, get ready and good luck," Omega said. He left the room. Hunter exchanged a look with Ghost.

"He probably doesn't feel pain. Or maybe the blood is a good thing. I don't know, he's a freak," Ghost muttered.

"He helped us," Chris whispered.

"Still a freak."

"Max…what's wrong?" Shadow asked kneeling down next to her. Max looked at her and shook her head. "Max, I'm not stupid. You would've had a thousand snarky responses by now and ripped Omega's head off. And yelled at us about trusting him."

"We-have no choice. Fang...his heartbeat is weak," Max mumbled.

"I know you don't trust me and I'm some horrible traitor, but-"

The alarm started blaring. Shadow shot up and put her ear to the door. She heard Erasers running past in the dozens…then…silence.

"Go!" Hunter whispered. She shot through the door and ran down the hallway. All the doors except for theirs were barred. Shadow wondered how she could get the supplies if they were locked.

"SHE ESCAPED!" Fear ran down Shadow's back. She whirled around and saw…Omega pointing in her direction? It was another set up?

We've got to stop falling for these things, Shadow thought. Whatever, gotta go.

Shadow ran as fast as she could down the hallway. She didn't know where she was going, as long as she wasn't caught. She turned the corner…

Erasers were there too!

She was trapped and she knew it. She would get caught and killed and the others would get more torture. Her eyes darted around, looking for an escape.

She found closet 4C. Desperate, Shadow launched herself through the door and locked it behind her. Erasers banged and clawed at the door, trying their hardest to break through. Using the last bit of strength she had, she pushed a large metal shelf in front of the door, hoping that it would keep them at bay for a while.

Shadow dropped to her knees and rested. It didn't matter how hard the Erasers banged the door, she was too tired to care. The adrenaline helped her run, but now she was hungry, shaky, and worn out. She noticed a camera on the wall and its focus was on her. She felt around, grabbed a heavy small box and chucked it at the camera. The force broke it and fell to the floor.

"Okay Shadow, get a grip," she muttered to herself, standing on her feet. She had no time to feel sorry for herself. The others were waiting for her. The room was huge, with one side dedicated to storing medicine while the other had file cabinets galore. She gathered the medical supplies she thought she might need and walked to the other side of the room to see if there was anything of interest.

The first two rows of file cabinets were locked. Shadow was about to give up hope when she saw two fat files on top of a cabinet labeled "Avian-Hybrids". She opened one of the files and saw a picture of Fang. He was just casually walking down a sidewalk. How did they take a picture of him without him noticing? Shadow thought to herself. She was now more suspicious and opened the next folder, her hands shaking.

She was shocked to find a picture of herself.

Okay, this is weird, Shadow thought. She grabbed the folders and put them in the niche where her wings folded into her back. She tightened the muscles and hoped she wouldn't have to fly out of there.

Grabbing the medicines, she rushed to a vent hoping she could get back that way. She heard the door break and the Erasers growling in anger.

Sorry dog-breath. You're not getting me today.

"Why is it taking her so long?" Ghost muttered angrily.

"There was an alarm a while back," Hunter wondered aloud, a hint of worry in his voice.

"What if they killed her?" Chris asked. Hunter glared at her.

"We can't think like that," Max said, shaking her head. "She might be trying to lose them or taking a different route."

"More like getting her nails done," Ghost said rolling his eyes.

"Shut up Ghost!" a voice said. Everyone looked at the ceiling. "I just can't find a way out of these fucking VENTS!"

"Shadow?" Hunter called.

"Nooooo, it's the box ghost. Seriously Hunter, who the fuck else?"

"Chill and you'll find a way out," Hunter huffed, annoyed.

"Really? 'Cause I tried that and it didn't work. There are decaying rats in here Hunter. DE-CAY-ING."

Max stood up slowly from kneeling next to Fang, her knees cracking. She looked at the ventilating pipe, jumped up and hung onto on of the beams that suspended the super spies before. She swung towards the vent and kicked in a panel. Shadow crawled out of the pipe and dropped down at the same time Max did. They nodded at each other and Shadow handed Max the medical supplies.

"Report," Max and Hunter said at the same time.

"Well, Omega set us up, so we should get the heck out of here before we're killed," Shadow said while rubbing balm on her skin.

"What do you mean 'set up'," Hunter questioned while helping Max lift up Fang.

"As soon as I left the room he commanded a bunch of smelly dogs to go after me."

"Cool. Next time we see him, we'll thank him by kicking his ass," Ghost said in a mock cheery tone.

"I will make every member of Itex regret ever being born," Chris snarled, clenching her fists.

"Ge… in line," everyone turned to look at Fang who was slowly trying to stand up.

"Hold on there superman," Max said, holding him. "I just gave you painkillers. Don't overdue it before I knock you out again."

Fang glanced at her. "I'm glad you're okay." Max smiled.

"That's the painkillers talking," Shadow muttered. Ghost snorted in laughter. Max opened her mouth to say something but Hunter cut in.

"I'd hate to stop a potentially witty response, but we need to get out of here," Hunter said gesturing towards the door.

Max sighed. She had a really good insult but it would have to wait. "Alright. Shadow, you'll lead up the front since you're the least damaged. Behind you will be Ghost and Chris. Behind those two will be Fang and I. Hunter, you'll be rounding up the back. Any objections? I didn't think so. Let's go."

Shadow kicked open the door and ran out. She snatched a fire extinguisher from its place on the wall. Max shouted out directions to run in from the back. She hoped she guessed correctly.

A group of Erasers jumped in front of them. Chris screamed and almost backed into Fang. Shadow pulled the pin on the fire extinguisher and released the high-pressured contents on the Erasers. Some of them flew back, but others were unaffected and lunged at her. She swung the fire extinguisher and smashed the Erasers away.

"Let's go let's go!" Max urged. Shadow rushed forward and bumped into Omega who had a crazed expression on his face, which contrasted to his panicked look from before.

"I'm going to slice you open and strangle you with your intestines!" Omega spat in her face.

"WELL YOUR BREATH STINKS!" Shadow yelled back and bashed him over the head with the fire extinguisher. He fell in a heap onto the floor.

"I bet you regret kissing him now," Max said smugly. Shadow sent a death glare in her direction while Hunter choked on his saliva laughing.

"Owned," Ghost chucked.

"Listen, I know where you sleep asshole," Shadow hissed. Fang, who was mostly quiet, started howling in laughter.

"It's funny 'cause she can't be tamed," Fang snorted. Everyone froze and stared at him, not comprehending what had just occurred.

"Guys," Hunter said, quickly snapping out of it. "I think we should keep moving." Shadow looked away and led the group onward.

"Those are what I call some strong drugs," Ghost muttered shaking his head. The group hit a fork in the hallway and was unsure as to which way to go.

"Left or right?" Shadow called from the front.

"Forward!" Fang called and chuckled.

"Obviously," Shadow muttered, rolling her eyes. She noticed a figure coming from the right. Michael Anderson, stumbled down the hallway and gasped in shock when he saw the group.

"Max? Hunter? Is that you? What are you two doing in an Itex lab?" he said. Everyone stared at him incredulously.

"How the hell do you know my name?" Max and Hunter said at the same time. They gave each other a look.

Ghost sighed. "Here we go." Shadow elbowed him so hard that he fell to the floor.

"Hunter, Max, stop joking. I trained you in martial arts. How can you not remember me?" Anderson said, his eyes wide and confused.

"Our memories were kind of wiped by Itex so we don't remember anything farther than 6 months ago. We also tend not to trust people who claim memory of us," Hunter said simply, crossing his arms.

"I can prove that I know you. Max, come here. It'll be quick and no one's coming in this direction. The facility is in lockdown. They're looking through the west wing. We're in the east," Anderson said, beckoning to Max. Hunter looked behind him and saw there was a big door that had shut behind him. Max and Shadow exchanged a glance. Even if he is trying to pull a fast one, I can take him, Max thought.

Max handed Fang to Shadow. She stepped forward and Anderson entered a fighter's stance, roundhouse kicking her. Max caught his foot, but he jumped and tried to kick with his other foot. Max blocked that one also and shoved him away. He landed on his feet, grabbed and corkscrewed her arm.

"Tsk tsk Maximum, I know you can do better," Anderson said shaking his head.

Do better, do better…

"Danny?" Max said before she could stop herself. Hunter's eyes widened as the guy smiled.

"Daniel Hughes, you always bought us chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream after practice at Lulu's Creamery," the words tumbled out of Hunter's mouth. Daniel laughed and released Max, ruffling her hair. Hunter approached him and patted him on the back. Ghost's jaw dropped.

"Daniel HUGHES? THE DANIEL HUGHES?" Ghost exclaimed. Chris shot him a strange look and Ghost rolled his eyes. "DANIEL HUGHES! The greatest martial arts expert in America and master of disguise! He's the greatest spy America has! Geez Crystal, do you know anything?"

"Shut up Ghost," Chris said, rolling her eyes.

"Maximum and Hunter, my two favorite students! How have you been? You look so grown now! How old are you? Sixteen? How's Ari?"

"He's fine," Hunter said automatically, mesmerized by the memories coming back to him.

"I see those two over there...what did Itex do to him?" Daniel approached Fang and Shadow.

"They tortured us. All of us," Shadow answered stoically. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew not to trust it.

Daniel scanned her. "Are you two the ones that were brainwashed by Itex?" Everyone turned in their direction and Shadow's eyes widened with the insult.

"I don't know what you've heard, but I think you're mistaken," Shadow spat with real venom in her voice. Fang's head slowly looked up and he stuck his tongue out at Daniel. He simply laughed.

"Hey, Itex brainwashed everyone at some point. Don't get so defensive." He turned back to Max and Hunter as Shadow seethed in the background.

"I agree!" Fang said loudly. "He's full of shit!" Everyone ignored him but Shadow sent him a sideways glance.

"I didn't say that out loud," Shadow muttered to him.

Fang went to Shadow's ear and whispered. "That's because we can read each other's MINDS!"

Shadow shrugged. "You're high. Go to sleep." Fang huffed loudly and looked away from her.

"Anyways," Daniel said, ignoring Fang. "I'm sorry about what happened to your father and mother. I never thought he would do that, but mind control is serious business."

"What? What happened to our mom and dad?" Max asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"You really don't remember do you?" Daniel sighed. "It's alright, Itex can't keep it from you. Well, your mother Valencia-"

Fang saw it a split second before anyone else did. He nudged Shadow and she saw it also.

Ella was standing in the hallway to the right. She was holding her gun and taking careful aim. Before Shadow or Fang could tell her to stop, she pulled the trigger.

BANG!

Hunter and Max screamed as Daniel's head exploded in front of them. The body fell on them and they pushed it in disgust, letting it fall to the floor. Chris and Ghost had ducked while Shadow and Fang stared in shock.

"MAX, ARE YOU OKAY?" Ella yelled, running down the hallway. Max saw the gun and shook Ella.

"Why'd you shoot HIM? WHY, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?" Max screamed, shaking her. He was going to tell them about their past. Hell, he was practically family from what she remembered and he was dead with his blood all over her.

"I thought he was attacking you Max, I didn't know! Remember, Giovanni said he was bad!" Ella said, her eyes watering. Nudge, Iggy, and Lies rushed down the hallway, taking in the scene at hand.

"You stood there to take aim and fire. You heard the conversation," Shadow spat. "You never were a good shot, don't lie Ella."

"SHUT UP TRAITOR!" Ella screamed and marched up to Shadow. Shadow narrowed her eyes at the smaller girl.

"I saw it too!" Fang exclaimed. But everyone ignored him.

"You watch you tongue little girl. Take responsibility for what you've done," Shadow hissed.

Ella smirked. Her face was uncharacteristically smug. "You don't know what I've done. And if you did, you wouldn't be talking that way to me. Maybe you should watch yourself."

"Ella, what the hell's with you?" Chris butted in. "You're like, twelve. Chill out."

"Whatever," Ella rolled her eyes. "I came to save you. But obviously, we're feeling ungrateful today."

"You need an attitude adjustment," Max hissed. "Seriously, when we get home, no weapons and no more missions for you since you can't handle pressure, can't follow protocol, and you think you can speak down to your superiors! Please remember that I'm the only one allowed to have a smart mouth because I'm the LEADER."

Max and Ella glared at one another. Nudge, Lies and Iggy looked at each other awkwardly and Iggy cleared his throat.

"Well, we're still in the middle of enemy headquarters so maybe we should head out before they lockdown this side of the building."

"Iggy is right," Hunter said, his voice shaking along with his body. "We have to get out of here."

The group rushed silently down the hall and out of the building with no problem. Angel, Cass and Ari were waiting in one white van while the Fallen's black van was parked next to it.

The Angels and the Fallen looked at one another and knew it was time to disperse. Ari ran up to Hunter and hugged him tightly, bawling. Iggy and Lies exchanged a handshake with Cass and Nudge. They also thanked Angel for her help. Angel beamed, proud to have been of assistance. Ghost and Chris awkwardly nodded at one another and walked in their separate directions. Shadow walked up to Max and handed Fang to her.

"What are you going to do about Ella?" Shadow whispered. They watched as Ella slipped into the white van and slammed the door shut behind her.

Max sighed. "Nothing, I guess. It was a mistake. She's just too young to have understood what was going on."

Shadow's eyes widened in shock. "Are you serious? I know what I saw! Fang saw it too! He was the one who pointed it out to me!" She gestured towards Fang, who was dozing off and drooling on Max's shirt. Shadow felt herself becoming enraged. She knew what she saw and yet again, Max doubted her.

"You might not have seen what you thought you saw. It was all so quick," Max said, her voice strained. She really didn't want to argue with Shadow right now. She was too tired and all she wanted to do was treat Fang and go to sleep.

Shadow's face was impassive, but it felt like her insides were on fire. "Fine Max. Not my teammate, not my potential former friend, not my problem."

Angel suddenly ran up and hugged Shadow. Shadow stiffened at first but hugged her back. She had missed Angel so much.

"I missed you too," Angel said. She turned to Max and whispered, "Shadow's right. Ella knew what she was doing."

"Told you," Shadow shrugged. Yet she felt relieved that someone believed her. Fang moaned next to Max, bringing her attention back to him.

"I have to deal with it later. Thank you Shadow, for everything, and good luck. C'mon Angel, we've got to go," Max said, walking to the van with a delirious Fang in tow. Angel followed her, waving at Shadow. Shadow rolled her eyes at Max, feeling annoyed that it took a mind reader for Max to believe her. She hopped into the black van and the two cars went on the highway and went their separate ways.

Category:	Maximum Ride
Genre:	Adventure, Romance
Language:	English
Characters:	Fang, Max
Status:	In-Progress
Published:	2007-08-17 22:13:25
Updated:	2012-03-17 18:10:00
Packaged:	2021-04-22 00:11:29
Rating:	T
Chapters:	34
Words:	87,849
Publisher:	www.fanfiction.net
Summary:	AU. Max and Fang are in different organizations, both rivaling each other to take down Itex. But what happens when these two super spys find out that they are not all so different? And are they falling in love with each other? Come here to find out. FAX!

The Fallen Angels by Sleepwalker418

Table of Contents

1. Socialite Spy

2. The Deal with Us

3. Trapped

4. Stalemate?

5. Chop Suey!

6. All That I'm Living For

7. Love Squares

8. IMPORTANT Author's Note

9. You voted, your results

10. You Spin Me Round

11. Origins and Whispers

12. Treason

13. Supermarket Sweep

14. Shop till you Drop

15. Pathless Woods

16. Meetings

17. The Book and His Cover

18. Complications

19. Conversations Gone Wild

20. New Plans

21. From One World to Another

22. Surprises!

23. Kidnap

24. Anger

25. Remember Me

26. April Rain

27. Set Up

28. I'm Going In

29. Piece by Piece

30. Tension

31. Trust Me

32. Deception

33. Torture

34. Escape