A/N: So, this is my new story....Okay, that was stating the glaringly obvious facts, wasn't it? Anyway, welcome to my latest excursion into the land of Maximum Ride fanfiction. I hope you all enjoy the ride.

In case you don't know where chapter forty-one is in STWAOES, or for whatever reason didn't read the summary, this story starts when they've been recaptured by the School and Jeb and Anne have just told them that they had never actually escaped in the first place, they just believed they had, and that all the memories were fake. Just thought I'd say that so no one was too confused.

I decided to actually write this in the format of MR, even starting my chapter numbers where I'm starting the story: partway through book three. And, strangely enough, the first one happens to be forty-two. Does that make it the answer to life, the universe, and everything? Somehow, I doubt it…

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride…sorry, that was boring. How 'bout backwards? Ride Maximum own not do I. Or really backwards? .ediR mumixaM nwo ton od I…heh heh.

42

They had to be lying. Didn't they? I mean, there wasn't really any way we could have been at the School for four years while thinking we were free. Was there?

My brain wouldn't work. Suddenly nothing made sense. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the concept that Jeb was trying to tell me. The fact that I really didn't want to believe it may have made it just that much harder to comprehend, but hard to comprehend it was. What was real? What wasn't? Was the School even real? Was I?

Okay, you know what, brain? I'm cutting you off there before you get into any 'meaning of life' or 'why are we here' areas. Those are strictly off-limits in an attempt to keep you sane.

Obviously it wasn't working, though. Seriously, I was talking to my own mind. That doesn't really sound sane, does it?

And all of this sidetracking in my thoughts is really just an excuse to escape what they're trying to tell me. I bet I've looked rather ridiculous for the past minute or so, just staring off into space. Probably time for me to return to Earth now.

"Max?" It was Fang. He looked rather concerned, and I wondered briefly how many times he'd said my name. When I focused on him, his concerned look lessened a little. I gave him a 'I'm here, don't worry' look, then turned back to Jeb.

"I don't believe you." Yep, that's what I said. Blunt, to the point, and rather childish, but hey, it worked.

Jeb's face took on a look I knew all too well: his 'Max, you still don't get it'/'Max, sweetie, we're only here to help' look. Well, I wasn't buying it. He had only ever betrayed me, and that most certainly did not get him in my good books. Except, had he ever really betrayed us? If he'd never helped us escape, he'd never been on our side to begin with.

Oh, God, I was so confused. I really just wanted to lay down and take a nice, two-day-long nap. I figured that wasn't happening any time soon, though.

"Max," Jeb said. "What reason do you have to not believe us? Your scars are gone, your hand still works, Total is gone…Do you need any more proof?"

"How can you prove to me that my memories aren't real?" I asked heatedly. "They seem real enough to me, thank you very much!"

Jeb's expression became ever-so-slightly exasperated. "Of course they do, Maximum. They're supposed to be. We wanted you to believe that you really were living freely in the real world. It was a test to see how you dealt with things outside of here."

Another test. Of course. I guess I should've seen that one coming. That's the way it always was with Jeb. Everything was a test.

"So, did we pass?" I asked sarcastically. "Or did we fail at life?"

Jeb frowned. "We weren't testing you to see if you could live, Maximum. We were testing you to see if you could live free of restrictions. And you failed."

Hang on…we failed? How did we fail? I'd thought we'd stayed pretty low profile. None of us had died, we hadn't killed mass numbers of people with any acts of supreme stupidity…what had we done wrong?

Jeb must have seen the questions on my face, because he continued, elaborating on his original statement. "Your test was of leadership, Maximum. The hardest test of any of them. We wanted to see if you could lead the…what was it you called it? Ah, yes, the flock…To see if you could lead the flock effectively. It seems as though you couldn't. You exposed yourselves multiple times, you nearly got Fang killed, and you left the more defenseless members in a canyon while you left with the most powerful fighter to go on a wild goose chase for a home. And I'm afraid that's only the beginning of the epic failure that is Maximum Ride."

I stared at Jeb. And stared at him. And stared at him. Finally, I got my voice back. "So…I did fail at life then." Yeah, I know, it was a lame comeback, but my mind was whirling and my emotions were in turmoil, so my sharp tongue was being put on the back burner.

I looked around the room, hoping that maybe I would find answers on the faces of my flock. I didn't. Iggy's head was down, Nudge looked hopeless, Gazzy looked scared, and Fang just stared back at me, his eyes flat. I don't know what emotions he was covering up–fear, hope, or even disappointment–but no reassuring silent messages came from him. And Angel…wait, where was Angel? She and I had a plan. She was supposed to play traitor and then help us get out. And she'd been here just a moment ago, doing just that. Now she was gone.

"Where's Angel?" I asked Jeb, my voice louder than I'd originally intended. "What have you done with her?"

"Calm down, Maximum," Jeb said, disdain in his voice. I guess he no longer felt the need to play the caring father figure. "She's perfectly safe. We're just…bringing her back to her senses."

Huh? I didn't get it. "You're doing what?"

"We're erasing her false memories," Jeb told me. "We're bringing her back to the real world."

43

Angel was confused. She didn't know what was going on, and she wasn't completely sure she wanted to.

A minute ago, she'd been in the room with the flock, playing the perfect part of traitor. Then two Whitecoats had grabbed her and dragged her out of the room, making sure she didn't make any noise. Now the two Whitecoats had her by the arms and were hauling her down a hallway that led to who-knew-what.

Finally, she quenched her fear of the answer enough to ask, "Where are you taking me?"

But the only answer she got was, "The Restoration Room", which, while it didn't sound particularly horrible, didn't really help her understand anything.

After a couple minutes of walking, the Whitecoats stopped at a door. One of them flung the door open, and the other one shoved her inside and shut the door behind her. She heard a metallic 'snick' as the door automatically locked. She was trapped.

"Hello, Angel."

Angel whirled around at the voice…and stopped short, staring at the thing occupying the center of the room.

It was a large machine. It had a large chamber in the middle of it, which had a clear plastic door. There was a computer attached to the side of it. The most startling thing, though, was all the steam coming out of it. Any seams in the metal were leaking thick, green steam.

A Whitecoat, who Angel assumed was the owner of the voice she had heard, stepped out from behind the huge machine and smiled at her.

"Who are you?" Angel asked, instinctively trying to clutch Celeste to her before she remembered that she no longer had the bear. In fact, she hadn't had Celeste since they'd shown up at the School. How weird…

"I'm a friend," the woman said. "I'm just here to give you a little help."

That was typical, Angel thought. The Whitecoats always said they were going to help you. They never did.

"What kind of help, exactly?" she asked, hoping she sounded tough and sarcastic like Max always did.

"Well, you see," the woman said, squatting down so that she was on eye level with Angel. "Your memory has a few…problems. We're just going to correct those so that you're all better again."

Angel frowned. "I don't wanna be all better. I wanna be me."

The Whitecoat smiled gently. "Angel, darling, don't you want your mind to be right again?"

"No," Angel replied stubbornly. "There's nothing wrong with it."

The Whitecoat suddenly looked like she was forcing her smile. Angel decided to see what she was thinking.

They expect me to deal with this impertinent kid? Why did I get stuck with this job?

Angel liked that. She was annoying the Whitecoat, which couldn't possibly be bad.

Suddenly the Whitecoat's smile dropped away. "Okay, kid, look. It's not up to you. We're going to do this whether you want us to or not, so why not just cooperate and make it easier, huh?"

Angel's smugness evaporated. Now the Whitecoat was getting mean. After all, that's what Whitecoats did: They got mean.

"No," Angel replied defensively, trying not to let her voice waver. "I'm never gonna give in. Never gonna give up. Do what you want."

"Of course," Angel thought she heard the Whitecoat mutter. "I get a feisty, stubborn one." Then she raised her voice to a normal level. "Look, honey, I respect your, uh…pig-headedness, but fighting won't help you."

"I don't care."

The Whitecoat shrugged. "Whatever." She pulled a little gadget out of her coat. "Say goodnight, sweetheart." She touched the gadget to Angel's neck.

The last thing Angel saw was the green steam of the machine obscuring the ceiling as she slumped sideways into darkness.

A/N: And there is chapter one of my brand new fanfic. Hope you liked it! Reviews are, as always, very much appreciated.