A/N: Hey people! I am attempting a crossover between Maximum Ride and Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. In MaxRide time, this story is set right after SOF. In Twilight time, this story starts off while Bella is still in the hospital after her encounter with James (Note: Sadly, the prom scene is destined never to happen). Please read, enjoy, and review too; this is especially for all you MaxRide and Twilight lovers out there! And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or Twilight. Wish I did though…they're awesome:D

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Chapter 1: Destiny Calls

Max's POV

Ow. By the powers of all that is good and holy, ow. My poor, aching ribs. I attempted to breathe normally, but, failed miserably. Funny. I felt almost hysterical…must be the aftereffects of that stupid isolation tank back at the School.

"Fang," I gasped. "Quit. Laughing. Can't. Breathe."

Next to me, sitting up against a tree, Fang smirked and rolled his eyes. But, needless to say, he was able to stop laughing almost instantaneously. How the heck did he do that? I'm still laughing like I just inhaled a pound of sugar, for crying out loud.

"Yeah, Max, we shouldn't be laughing. There's nothing funny about your cooking."

Why thank you Fa–

"We should be crying. In terror."

Thanks Fang. Thanks. I whacked him with the empty coke can.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not one to break down after being offended by someone who, all things considered, is pretty much King-Of-All-Lame-Insults. See above insult if you want proof, not that you need any. But something was different this time. My head started pounding as all the horrible events of the past few days, hours even, came back and hit me. Hard. All the fear and adrenaline came and, whoosh, caught me completely off guard. Teeth chattering, I wrapped my arms tightly around my knees, and threatened the tears that were suddenly trying to shove their way out of my tear ducts. Get back in there, you traitors.

I could feel Fang's eyes on me, and when I glanced at him, I knew he was worried, by the grim set of his jaw. Regretfully, I remembered how happy we had been, just seconds before…that is, up until I suddenly decided to freaking fall to pieces. I'll admit it. I was confused. Unbeatable Savers of the World (in training) don't cry. Don't act so…beaten.

"Max? You ok?" Fang reached out and wiped away the single tear that had managed to escape. Wonderful. "What did they do to you?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know," I muttered, choking as my throat suddenly locked up. "It's just that, right now, everything feels so…I don't know, hopeless. I know we escaped this time, and, who knows, maybe we'll do it again. But one of these days, I'm going to make a mistake. And I can't afford that. We can't afford that. Not if we want to survive."

Outwardly, I had on my best poker face (ignore the fact that I've never played poker before in my life. It's a sissy game anyway – we gamble with our lives. Next to that, how pathetic is it to gamble with poker chips?...I digress). But on the inside, I was mentally smacking myself. Why the heck was I falling apart now, of all times, when I needed to stay strong for the flock?

Maximum, think about it. Returning to the place of your traumatic childhood, getting put into an isolation tank, fighting Erasers and whitecoats, and setting off explosives can really do that to a person. It's normal to cry when you're frightened. You need to relax, stay focused. (A/N: Yes. This is the voice. Yay!)

I bristled at the F-word: 'frightened.' I was not.

"Shut it, you freaking idiot."I snarled back.

Pleased by the empty silence that followed that very eloquent speech, I looked over at Fang, to see how he was coping with Max, his newest basket case. Well…he looked…offended. Maybe even a little hurt. Huh?

"Max, why'd you just tell me to shut up?"

Oh, crap. Was I talking to the Voice out loud?

"Um. Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah."

I grimaced and tapped my head with a finger. "Sorry. Having a little squabble with the extra Voice that has currently taken up residence in my head."

"Oh." He still looked worried, and rightly so. I'd just proved that yes, I really was a basket case. I mean, I hear voices in my head. Definitely not normal. Or is it? What's normal for someone who was born a freak? I watched as Fang's frown deepened.

"Fang, don't worry, I'm ok, really. I was just–

Startled, I was cut off from my ramblings as Fang suddenly pulled me into a hug.

"I know you're ok. You're the indestructible Maximum Ride, after all," he said lightly. I could hear the smile in his voice, though I knew, that if I bothered to look up into his face, all I would see was his expressionless mask. But still. There's a reason why Fang's my best friend.

Returning the hug, I smiled.

"Thanks, Fang."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

All the way on the other side of the country, an exceedingly worried and nervous vampire was watching over a girl, as she lay sleeping in her uncomfortable Arizona hospital bed.

Edward stared intently at the girl's white and fragile face, which was accented by deep purple circles around the eyes. They even rivaled with the perpetual bruises on his own pale face. Just one of the many perks of being a vampire. His eyes, a perplexing, beautiful mixture of black and topaz, flickered at lighting-fast speeds, catching her every movement, every sigh, every smile, every wince of pain.

Gently, he reached out and gently brushed a stray lock of dark hair from Bella's face, with one long, icy finger. Edward bit back a snarl of anger, as he looked once again at the bandages that covered Bella's broken leg and ribs, and at the crescent shaped scar on her hand. Trailing his finger across the scar, he was consumed by a feeling of disgust. He hated its cold, dead feeling, so different from her warm skin. He wiled away the long, sleepless hours, fantasizing about how satisfying it would have been to kill the causer of her many injuries.

…James…

Sighing, he leaned over and kissed Bella on the forehead.

As he got up to report to the nurse on duty, he bent down and whispered in her ear. "Bella, what am I going to do with you? Alice says…Alice says that one day, you'll be like us. Just like us. And I don't think I can let that happen. You have a life to live, and I will not, will never, keep you from that life. I can't."

I love you, Bella. Maybe too much. But…when the time comes, I don't know how I'm going to leave you, let you fly free. You've stolen my heart, nonexistent as it is. And even though it hasn't beaten for over a century, even though I never needed it before I met you, I…I don't know how I'm going to fill up the emptiness when you're gone. Because my heart will always stay with you.

Goodnight, sweetheart.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Max's POV

It was getting to nightfall as I swiftly shook the younger kids awake from where they lay in exhausted heaps on the ground. I'd let them rest for nearly the whole day, while I traded the watch with Fang and Iggy during the long night; Fang had helped me forget my momentary breakdown by dragging me along with him to scout out the area for danger.

Trouble was, I was getting antsy. To put it lightly. Very lightly. Experience told me that pretty soon, we'd be up to our necks in Erasers of both the flying and the stupid variety. Wait, did I just say that? I totally meant to say that we'd be up to our necks in Erasers of both the stupid and the stupid variety. That's the only kind there is, after all.

Angel and Gazzy were sitting up, and rubbing their eyes, feeling disoriented by the fact that they were waking up to pitch-blackness. I was just on my way to attempt to wake Nudge up (I'd already tried five times), when Iggy's sudden exclamation from behind me made me stiffen and spin around.

"What?!" Iggy whisper-shouted, "Fang, what's wrong with you, are you insane?"

"Uh, no. I just suggested that we go and check out the old house, see what's happened to it. You got a problem with that?"

Grinning, Iggy held up both hands, palms facing forward, and took a mock step backwards. "Nope, no problem with that. I was just talking about the fact that you actually talked. To me. A talking Fang is definitely not sane, no way."

A pretend look of fury on his face, Fang rushed at Iggy, fists raised. Iggy, the dang smart little birdkid that he is, anticipated Fang's mad rush and sidestepped him completely, grin widening as he listened to the delightful sounds coming from somewhere to his left, as Fang surprisingly failed to stop his charge in time, and consequently, ran into a tree.

I snorted. Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected, the great one himself (insert sarcasm here), incapacitated by an unsuspecting tree. Hilarious.

Iggy found his way over to where Fang was sitting on the ground, rubbing his head, and looking vaguely embarrassed. Tapping Fang's leg lightly with one foot, he grinned, and said, "Kidding. You've got to work on improving your reflexes though, old man. Just two months older than me, and you're already a wreck. Pretty soon you'll have arthritis, and you won't be able to beat me up any more. Imagine that." He walked away over to the Gasman, still sniggering.

Fang rolled his eyes at me, and I grinned back. Man, I love these guys.

Straightening up, I called out in a commanding voice. Just to show them that, unlike some people, I've got poise. Not to mention brains.

"Ok everybody, get your butts over here!" That got them moving.

Nudge finally woke up, looked fuzzily around, and would have promptly fallen back to sleep, if I hadn't waved an energy bar under her nose. She revived herself immediately, snatched the bar, and grinned up at me, chewing like her life depended on it. I lived for mornings (err, well, in this case it was night), when everything about Nudge was functioning except for that danged motor mouth of hers. Jeez, sometimes I can never get that girl to shut up. But I love her anyway. Always will.

I bundled little Angel into her jacket, because after all, it is December, even if we're in Florida. Poor Angel looked so tired, as she stood there rubbing her eyes, too tired to even complain that the jacket was too small and old to be worn any longer.

Now, where should we go next? We have to get out of here soon, or else those idiots from the School will catch up to us…

Angel impatiently pushed her golden curls out of her face and looked up at me. "Don't worry about me Max, this jacket's ok, and I'm not cold anyway." She tugged on my sleeve, so I knelt down next to her. She whispered in my ear, "I don't care where we go. As long as I'm with you. And the Flock." She smiled. I smiled back. I mean, come on, how could I be worrying about Angel's mind-reading talents when she looking at me with those big blue eyes of hers?

Ruffling Gazzy hair, I looked at him solemnly and said, "Keep those bombs coming, big guy, I have the feeling we'll be needing them soon." An utterly mischievous and devilish look flashed across his face, and then was gone. Uh oh. Maybe that wasn't such a great idea after all…

I turned to Fang, and squinted at him. Just to bug him. An idea suddenly came to me. A silly idea, but who cares? It'll make Fang look stupid. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: why are you so hideous to your 'best friend?' Because…he's my best friend. And he knows I love him, no matter how awful I am to him….Yo. I heard that. Don't pretend it didn't happen. That little squeak of surprise. No, I don't love him, love him. I love him as family. Because that's what he is. Sorry to get your hopes up.

I zoomed over to where Fang was slouching, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him.

"Fang!"

His awareness levels went through the roof. "What, Max?"

"There's something on your face!"

Fang wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "What?" Seeing the look of horror on my face, he rubbed at his face with his hand. "What, Max?"

I smiled widely up at him. "It's your nose." Grinning, I poked him on the tip of his nose and stepped back. I widened my eyes at him. The picture of innocence…. Hey! I can hear you snorting out there, so stop it. I'm innocent, aren't I? Yeah. I am.

He glared at me. Knowing it would annoy him even more, I turned my back on him and called out to the rest of the flock. "You guys, get ready for take off. Let's head to the nearest McDonald's." I glanced back at Fang. "Coming?" He shuffled his feet slightly, so I eyed him in confusion. Fang never shuffles. Never.

"Well, Max, I really was thinking that maybe we should check on the old house. Since we haven't anywhere else to go right now." I considered. Can they handle that long of a flight? "Yes, we can," Angel piped up. Eerie, isn't it?

"Ok guys, here's what we'll do then. We'll fly westward, hang a left at Arizona, and head for the mountains. Who knows, maybe the Erasers didn't burn the house down. If they haven't, then we can hang there for a while, get our bearings, rest up, and refuel, and then move on from there. Sound ok?"

There was a chorus of yeses from the younger kids. Fang and Iggy both just nodded in my direction. They knew the risks we were taking. But I was willing to take an unnecessary risk, just this once. God knows we all needed this trip. To reconcile with that life we had once had with Jeb, and put it forever behind us. No kid should have to be weighed down with memories like those. Besides, I already had an agenda all laid out.

As we were taking off, and stretching our sore wings, I filled Fang and Iggy in on the details, while the younger guys hovered above us in the cool night air, wheeling playfully and doing spins. Little buggers.

Once we were all up in the air, we stacked, and tapped. Good luck to ourselves. Turning in the air until we were pointed in the right direction, I couldn't help but welcome the grin as it stole lightly across my face. God, if there is one good thing about this whole godforsaken avian recombinant crap, it's the flying. Flying free of all earthbound troubles, with an entire horizon waiting, just for us. We could make it.

And we were gone. Erasers, eat our dust. Or whatever.

Note to self:

Agenda:

First: Find the house.

Second: Send reconnaissance to the School, figure out as much as we can about ourselves and our enemy's next move.

And last: Don't forget to kick some serious Eraser butt.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

A/N: So people, how did you like it? I started thinking of this after I read KWSN's awesome crossover fic, The Twilight Incident. And I adore Twilight. Who doesn't?

And…If you're bored (gasp), try out my other fanfic, Reality? No Such Thing. It's a Maximum Ride fanfiction too.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!