I really, truly, hate myself. This is the final straw. I AM WAY TOO AMBITIOUS! AND STUPID! D: see, this makes like six fanfics, five of which are active (well, one's technically a one-shot for the time being… :3) and being worked on, one of which is a school project that is due on Monday! This will be the death of me, I swear.

But alas, here I am, writing another fanfic. I have so many ideas and if I don't get them down on paper/in typing then they will dissolve and I will forever mourn them. RIP lost ideas.

I've read many fanfics that are basically the exact same as this – Max gets kicked out, becomes a Greek goddess, then the flock joins CHB a year later. But none of them ever get updated! I've read so many amazing ones that people have just forgotten! Also, none of them have very detailed beginnings, of Max being kicked out. I think I might just devote this whole first chapter to her getting kicked out. Let's cross our fingers and hope it will be over a thousand words XD

So this is my pledge – I will write this fanfic and try to upload at least once a week. That is my vow. Muhahahaha! (btw this takes place after TFW and TLO)

So let the challenge begin…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Max POV

Yawning, I strode into the bathroom to brush my teeth. After a whole bunch of Antarctic adventures, I was more than ready for the break. It seems the rest of the flock felt the same way, so we settled back into our E house for a few months. Who knows how long we'll stay or how long it takes Jeb to find us again and sweet-talk us into saving the world. Or, more like sweet-talking me into saving the world. Ugh.

As I made to scrunch my hair up into a ponytail, I caught a glimpse of something on my neck. Was that… my eyes widened and I stumbled back, then twisted, frantically trying to see my back clearly in the mirror.

No, it can't be! I thought I was supposed to save the world! Or something like that…

o.O.o

Gazzy POV

"Morning, Max!" I chirped cheerfully. She was wearing a hoodie with our 'required' slashes on the back and was pouring milk carefully into six cups. Turning, she tried to smile, but it turned out more of a grimace.

Frowning, I pattered up and peered over her shoulder. "What's wrong? Nightmares?" She shuddered, then nodded with her lips pursed.

"I guess I just didn't sleep well," she muttered, then turned and tried to brighten her smile. "What do you want for breakfast?"

Shrugging, I just ignored her behavior. We all had nightmares, and sometimes lack of sleep can be a little harsh the next morning. Stretching, grabbing a cup of milk, and plopping down at the dining room table, I grinned and replied cheekily, "Eggs. But let's let Iggy make them." Downing my milk in one gulp, I pretended to be scared of the dagger glare Max was giving me.

At least it had cheered her up a bit.

o.O.o

Iggy POV

Ack, not again, I thought as my hand smacked into the dining room table. "Did you guys move the table again?" I asked irritably, nursing my bruised knuckles.

Gazzy scoffed. "Come on, dude, you know it gets moved every night! You purposefully knock something off the table, use your blindness as an excuse, Nudge goes on and on and on and on and on about something that doesn't matter in the slightest – let alone has anything to do with the topic on hand – Angel's just quiet, Max tells you off, and Fang's even more quiet. Then everything erupts into a full-blown pillow fight with the cushions from the couch and everything gets moved around. Aren't you used to it by now?"

"You forgot the part where Total comes running in complaining about pastries," I grumble, but flop down on the couch and searched for the TV remote with my hand. Somebody placed it in my palm and as I brushed my fingertips across their skin the pale color registered as Fang. "Make some noise!" I complained, flipping the TV on and skipping to my favorite show.

"Listen to the radio," he counters, then continued finger-combing his hair (I can hear his hands rustling his hair, cause I'm just amazing like that) as he made his way to the kitchen.

Angel came skipping in, whistling cheerfully. "Hey Max, what's for breakfast?"

"Um- uh, I don't know," I heard Max stammer. "Gazzy said you should make eggs, Iggy. Apparently my cooking skills are yet to be appreciated." I heard the joking tone to her voice, but somehow it didn't quite come through. Something was up.

"Bad dreams?" I quipped as I passed her, locating the cupboard with the frying pan and opening the fridge. Max jumped slightly, the pads of her bare feet skipping a little on the floor.

I heard a sigh. "Worse than usual. Sorry, I'm a bit out of sorts…" she trailed off.

Out of sorts is right. But I don't think it's just nightmares… I thought.

o.O.o

Fang POV

I narrowed my eyes at Max. I could tell Iggy was trying to coax something out of here, but she just fibbed about nightmares and dashed off to wake Nudge. Normal Max wasn't nervous around us, even when she did stay up all night because of nightmares. Nightmares made her edgy, sure, but all around just more bossy and irritable towards us. No, something besides sleep was unnerving her today.

Even if I could read her face as well as my wingtips, I couldn't put my finger on what was going on with her. She sure had chosen a strange outfit today – Normal Max didn't often wear hoodies, unless we were going on a trip or something. Hell, she'd come skipping in here in a tanktop most mornings.

"You guys notice it too?" I muttered to Gazzy, who nodded and glanced at Iggy. The blind strawberry-blonde was busy at the stove scrambling eggs, but he'd heard us and jerked his head slightly.

I'll find out what's going on with her, Angel offered telepathically. We'd gotten a little too used to her weird ways of communication. Sighing, I turned and raised an eyebrow at her, but at the same time gave her an almost imperceptible nod of the head. She grinned and skipped off towards Nudge's room.

o.O.o

Nudge POV

"Hehe, butterflies are so pretty!" I giggled in my land of mystical golden sunlight and green grass. Everything was candy pink, canary yellow, azure blue, or deep glittering gold here. It was so pretty. And then there was the shimmering green grass of all different shades.

But noooo, Max just had to interrupt my paradise by shaking me awake.

"Come on, Nudge, it's another sunny day," she said half-heartedly. Okay, now I was awake. Max was never half-hearted in shaking me awake and boring the same 'it's another sunny day' deep into my dreams. But today she just shook me awake, droned the wake-up line, and cleared out.

That does it. Just then Angel came skipping in, skidding to a stop when she found Max wasn't there. "Was Max just here?" she asked.

Nodding tersely, I thought (hoping she'd pick it up) 'What's wrong with Max?'

Angel sighed and shook her head to show she'd heard. We don't know. Fang, Iggy, and Gazzy all noticed it too. Then she walked out, me following anxiously. When we reached the kitchen, Max was sitting at the dining room table trying futilely to keep up a conversation with Mr.-No-Emotions-Cause-I'm-A-Rock Fang, who just nodded or shook his head and quietly shoveled scrambled eggs into his mouth. Iggy was still at the stove and Gazzy was hovering nervously behind him, casting glances at Max every few seconds.

Great. I wished I could just go back to my dreamland with the pretty pink butterflies.

o.O.o

Angel POV

I tried to see into Max's thoughts, but they were such a swirling storm of sadness, confusion, anxiety, and hesitation I couldn't pick out any intelligible snippets. It was like a hurricane of regret and nervousness. What could possibly drive her emotions to such extremes?

Gazzy. Iggy. Fang. Nudge. I can't read her thoughts! There's so much going on, there's no way I can make out a single word, let alone a sentence to figure out what's wrong, I thought frantically to the others.

Great. Now what? Iggy moaned.

Fang stopped eating and gazed thoughtfully at Max, who was staring out the window, spacing out. Very un-Maxlike. I don't know what's going on, but something's really bothering her.

No duh, Sherlock, Gazzy managed to do a thought-impression of Max that startled even me. So what do we do about it? he asked in his normal voice – well, thought-voice.

I sighed internally. What if she's not Max?

This startled the others. You mean… like, Max II? Nudge asked nervously.

That's exactly what I mean, I said grimly.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

well, it's over a thousand words. Hehe. ^.^

~DeaththeKidKat