Ronan

Chapter 1: Plastic Dinosaurs

I heard pounding on the hard wood floor, followed by increasing laughter. It sounded like Nudge and Gazzy were playing tag again. I smiled and rolled my eyes, then turned back to Fang and Iggy who were sitting with me in the living room, as we tried to figure out where to find our parents. Our ten-year-old minds weren't coming up with anything, though.

Then, all of a sudden, Gazzy came speeding through the hallway toward us on his bare feet. He tossed himself behind my chair and attempted to hide from Nudge. "Hide me, Maxie!" He yelled, as Nudge ran in. Gazzy ducked down lower, hoping she didn't see him. She came around my chair just as he was crawling away, then he got back to his feet and darted toward the kitchen. They chased each other around the table until Gazzy tripped and fell over one of his racecar toys.

I heard the thump and hurried into the kitchen with Fang right behind me. There was a large scrape on his knee, but it didn't bleed too badly. The Gasman didn't shed a single tear. That was my little mutant, tough as nails. Fang handed me a wet cloth and I gently patted his hurt knee. "You alright, little man?" I asked him. He nodded and hugged me. "Alright, go finish your game with Nudge."

"Okay." He got up and walked to his room. Nudge just stood there confused. I gave her a puzzled look and she just shrugged. I went to Gazzy's room, careful to make sure there weren't any toxic gases coming out of it before I opened the door (we don't call him the Gasman for nothing). I cracked the door and poked my head in. He was sitting on the floor with a bunch of plastic dinosaurs scattered in front of him.

"Whacha doing?" I asked.

"Playing," he said, not looking back at me, but continuing to play with his dinosaurs. "Where's Nudge? I thought we were playing together."

"I'll go get her." I walked back in the kitchen. Nudge was still standing there. "Gazzy decided he wanted to play dinosaurs. Why don't you go play with him?" I said, not wanting to worry her.

"But we were playing Tag! He can't just quit like that! I wanna pl-"

"Just go." I said, pointing down the hallway. If I hadn't interrupted her, she never would've shut up. She went to his room and I went to talk to Iggy and Fang.

"Gazzy's been acting really weird lately. He's fallen six times in just the past two days. His wing beats are uneven, and he's been flying longer than he's been walking. And now, he's forgetting things, like his game with Nudge. Something's up, and it's really worrying me." I whispered to them, not wanting Gazzy and Nudge to over hear.

"It's probably just a phase. Don't worry about it. He'll be fine," Iggy said, leaning back in his chair and staring blindly at the ceiling.

"I dunno, Ig. All of this? It's a bit much, don't you think? I think we need to do something about it. Maybe take him to the hospital." Iggy cringed at the thought. Even Fang flinched a little. None of us liked the thought of being in any place where they did tests. It reminded us too much of our years at the School. It was only two years ago that Angel had been brought to us from that nightmarish place, and we didn't want to return to any place similar to it anytime soon.

"Max," Fang spoke up for the first time.

"Please don't argue with me. If I wasn't so worried about him, I wouldn't have suggested it," I pleaded with him and he sighed and nodded.

…

"Shh. Don't tell anyone!" Gazzy said, his beautiful blue eyes staring intently into my brown ones. We were sitting in the middle of his bedroom floor, just talking.

"Don't worry. I won't," I said, ruffling his blonde hair. "But I believe it's someone's bedtime."

"Nah. I'm not tired." He got up and did a little jig and ran around his room trying to avoid my grasp. I finally got a hold of him and hugged him tightly before tucking him into bed. I kissed his forehead then went to my own room and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

…

I woke up to a small form jumping on my bed. "Wake up, Max!" Gazzy exclaimed.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" I said, sitting up. "Go get ready. We're all going flying shortly." He ran off to his room.

When we were all ready. We went outside and spread our wings. We took a running start and launched ourselves into the sky. Gazzy was falling behind quickly and Fang flew to my side, carrying Angel in his arms. "You're right."

"What was that? I didn't hear you," I teased him.

He shook his head. "Gazzy's having a lot of trouble. This was the right thing to do."

I looked back at the Gasman. I hadn't told him that we were taking this flight so we could get him to the hospital. He looked pitiful, flapping his wings unevenly. "I'm gonna go get him." I swooped back to him. "Hey, Gazzy. Let me carry you."

He gave me a quizzical look, but obliged. I put one arm under his knees and the other behind his head. Then flew down to the hospital.

Kit-Kat: I'm loving this fic. I hope y'all are, too. It's a lot deeper than what I usually write, but I've never done anything like this, and I'm actually quite enjoying it. Please review, guys. And check out my other fic for the Hunger Games. I'll update ASAP. Sorry it's short. Future chapters will be longer. :)