Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or the Hunger Games... *big sigh*

A/N: Just quickly, Angel is supposedly dead, even though the world ended.

Max's POV

30 Years Ago

"It's time to pick, Max." Maya was too close to my face. Way too close. She was so close I thought maybe I'd steam up in my eyes like a windshield. It was really annoying. I had to resist punching her for probably the hundredth time in my life.

"I pick…." My voice trailed off. I just couldn't pick. Why did I have to pick anyway?

"Max….." Maya groaned. We've been having this argument all week, and I managed to postpone it until Friday. Well, it was noon on Friday, we were relaxing and we'd just had lunch. Time to proclaim who I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. No pressure.

"I'm sorry I can't I - wait, Maya, you're me so pick!" Theoretically, if she were to pick Dylan, we have the exact same DNA, and he was programmed to love me. The one thing I've learned from being an experiment is that I am completely DNA, even my oh, so lovely personality. He was programmed to love my DNA.

Maya sighed. "I'm not you, Max. I know in the end, you'll pick Fang. There's one difference between you and me right there. If I were you, I'd pick Dylan, so I'm picking Dylan." Maya proclaimed, got out of my face and walked over to stand next to Dylan. He put his arm around her, and it really didn't bother me that much. I didn't have the same history with Dylan that I did with Fang. I was glad that Maya didn't pick my best friend. Now he was mine forever. My heart skipped a beat at the very thought of it.

I looked at Maya and Dylan. Their smiles were genuine, and I could tell that they belonged together. Also, they were both clones, and they could have something in common.

I turned back to my best friend, my boyfriend, and the one that could completely relate to me even in the worst of times. The one who abandoned me, and the one who came back. The one who would always come back. I wanted to say something that would be romantic that we would remember years from now, but with me being – well – me, it didn't exactly come out that way. The first thing I noticed was his unruly, ugly hair.

"You desperately need a haircut." I said.

Hey, I tell it as it is.

He just laughed a laugh I hear so rarely and smiled. We are finally together, and this time nothing is going to keep us apart. He lifted up my chin and kissed me. It seemed like so long ago when I was taller than him. A lot has changed since then and not just height. I smiled, and suddenly Fang's face turned serious and I knew what was on his mind. I just had to read his eyes.

"After we find Angel." He said, and I nodded.

Chapter 1

Present

A lot of things changed. We kept looking for Angel for the next couple years without any luck. Nudge kept looking and we lost contact with her. Gazzy went with her but he settled down and we're almost positive that she lost contact with him. Then, Iggy and Ella settled down and he became Mayor of District 12. Dylan and Maya became bakers. If I ever became a baker, I would end up burning down the shop within five minutes. Later, me and Fang settled down and had two girls (Katniss and Primrose) and a couple years ago, he died in a mining accident/explosion. Yeah so things changed while we were going crazy looking for Angel. America became Panem and then the states became Districts. There are 12 districts and 1 capital. So Iggy, Ella, and their daughter Madge, Dylan, Maya, and their sons, and Katniss, Primrose, and I all live in District 12. While Nudge, Total, Akila, and Gazzy live elsewhere in Panem or possibly elsewhere in the world. I couldn't even think about Angel. We also have been living for over 100 years, so I don't recall much. Since Fang and I reached 20 we've been aging slower and slower. We decided to have kids 16 years ago so I might be the same age I was 16 years ago. I certainly don't feel any different physically then a few years after the world ended. I was physically 20, and I kinda stopped aging, I guess. One of the happy quirks of being a mutant. The weird thing is our daughters don't have wings yet. We think when they're is 20 or something their wings will start to grow, but they don't know I have wings or if they're going to grow wings. Yeah, that's going to be an interesting talk. I can already picture it.

"Hey, Katniss! Hey Prim! Guess what I've been hiding from you for your entire life?"

I pondered this as I attempted to drag myself out of bed. I always do a double check that my wings are closed before I go to wake up Katniss and Prim. Once a long time ago, I walked out of the house in my full, angel-like glory. It's a good thing we live far away from the Capitol, let's put it that way. I only got a few feet out of the house before Fang pulled me back in, but I'm almost positive someone saw me. Even though I was older, I still had the same level of paranoia. Some things never change

"Wings, Max." He said, in the voice that meant, you're seriously being that stupid?. We'd been so careful before the apocolypse, and now I was walking out in broad daylight exposing my wings. Bad Max.

When Fang was killed in a mining accident, I really didn't know what to do with myself. I felt as though I had no reason for living. I had almost lost Fang once, and I only saved him by injecting pure adrenaline into his heart. I couldn't even get down to him now, tell him how much I loved him. I just sat up there, holding Prim and Katniss away from the ropes. I had just lost my best friend and my husband. That was a major blow. I already lost Angel, Dylan and Maya I could live without, but the rest of my flock was gone. Well, Iggy was here, but I didn't see much of him. I never understood how Fang could go into the mines every day, because I knew of the completely rational fear all of my flock had of being confined underground. Growing up in a cage will do that to you.

I pushed open Katniss's door, pulling me out of my memories.

I looked at her bed, and found it empty, like I did most mornings. She was most likely out hunting with Gale. I looked for her bow that Fang made her – I could never figure out he managed to make that -, and found it missing too. She was definitely out hunting. I really couldn't stand it sometimes when she went out without telling me. When she was twelve, she would go out alone and it gave me heart attacks. I would wake up Prim and hold her close to me, just to keep her in sight. Prim would remind me so much of Angel sometimes it would physically hurt. I told her nothing bothered me when I started to cry in front of her.

Today, I just sighed and went on to Prim's room. I had to make sure Prim was ready for the Reaping. It was her first year, and I wasn't worried too much about her. Katniss made sure she didn't take tesserae, and her name was only in the bowl once. Usually the Tributes are older, 16 or 17. Like Katniss.

"Come on, An-" I caught myself and took a deep breath. "Prim. Time to wake up." I shook Prim's sleeping form, almost unreachable underneath her pillows and blankets. Angel used to sleep surrounded by all her stuffed animals and blankets, like a bird in a nest. Prim slept like that, too. Another reminder of Angel. I don't know how much the world thought I could take.

"Do I have to get up?" Prim asked, her eyes not even open.

"Yes you do." I smiled.

"Fine." She complied and pushed off her blankets and stood up. Then, she fell down, and I'm sure she would've bounced off the mattress if it wasn't missing half the springs. The thought of her even being in the drawing for those horrible Hunger Games made me sick to my stomach. She was my baby. She always would be. Her name was only in there once, but I still was worried.

"I'm going to give you your outfit, okay?" I said, and Prim barely nodded her tired head. Her blond hair seemed to defy gravity in some places, and I had to resist pushing it down. I knew she hated it.

I handed her the outfit that Katniss wore at her first Reaping. It consisted of a white blouse and a tan skirt. It wasn't much, but none of us really had much in District 12. In this case, it worked for Prim. She looked amazing in everything she put on. Well, I might be just a bit biased on that statement.

"Okay, now time for your hair." I continued. I really had no idea what I was doing. Katniss always did her own hair, and this was more of a Nudge thing. If only I still knew where Nudge was. I really could use her help, especially now. If she hadn't gone back to Europe, she was preparing herself to go to the Reaping. Or she was preparing her kids, like I was now. Oh, God. Nudge might have kids! My sweet, little Nudge!

I couldn't even think about Gazzy. Hopefully, he doesn't have kids yet. If they were both aging like I was, they'd be remotely five years older physically than when we split up.

I started cautiously braiding Prim's hair. I crossed one piece of hair and dropped it, then picked up another piece of hair and repeated. Pick up, cross, drop. Pick up, cross, drop. After a while, my hands started to defy my brain, making me mess up and restart. It took a while. Note to self: Give Prim a haircut. I finished and tied it with one of our few hair ties. Like most things here, they seem to disappear very quickly.

"That's so pretty!" Prim crooned over her hairstyle in our cracked mirror. "Are you going to do the other side?"

I just smiled even though I wanted to groan. I had only done half of Prim's hair by accident. Yeah, I really needed Nudge for this.

"Of course." I said and did the rest of Prim's hair.

Next, Katniss opened the door, still holding her bow and game bag. I took it from her and she placed down her bow gently. The bag was pretty heavy, so I was guessing she had a good day. Gale was really good at setting traps, and it most likely helped that Katniss inherited the raptor vision both Fang and I had, and she had an uncanny sense of accuracy. Maybe more genetics. My accuracy had to be good to shoot through a manhole in Paris. That was one of the few times that I realized I could've tuned to a human pancake immediately if the wind changed a little bit. So, yeah, I'd say my accuracy was pretty good. I stopped flying everywhere a while ago, but I still go for the occasional fly.

She walked right past me, not bothering to even breathe in my direction, and that hurt a little, but I deserved it. I had abandoned them for four years. I really would've done the same thing. In fact, I did do the same thing with Jeb. The exact same thing. Kind of creepy really. I guess this is karma coming to bite me in the butt.

"Tuck in your tail, little duck." I heard Katniss say, and I looked at Prim. Sure enough, the back of her shirt was sticking out, and it made her look like a duck. She doesn't tuck in the back of her shirt whenever she's nervous. Prim quacked, and it hurt my heart. The odds were in for her favor, but there was still a chance. Katniss only had two more years until I didn't have to worry about her, and I could focus on Prim. It'll feel good in two years when I can hold Katniss's hand in the crowd. At least one of my ducklings will be out of hunting season.

I sighed as I saw children trudging off to the Square. They looked as if they marching off to war, and I realized that any one of them could be fighting for their lives in a few weeks. Let's hope it's one of them and not one of my ducklings. That was selfish, but every parent was thinking it.

"Time to get dressed, Katniss." I turned around to realize she was already in her room, changing. I had left one of my old dresses out for her, one of the rare ones I had. I think the only other dress I had was my wedding dress, and even that wasn't too pretty anymore. As she emerged, I almost cried. Her dark hair was braided behind her head, and fell over one shoulder. Her eyes flashed, and the blue fabric made her look like a Cinderella of sorts. I think Fang would've been proud of her. Katniss is the last thing in this world that reminds me of Fang.

"You look beautiful." I said, then realized how unlike me that is. I know what you're all thinking, Invincible Maximum Ride has gone soft. Maybe I have, but I can still kick some butt if needed. People get robbed a lot in District 12, and if I had to defend my home, I'd break out some Eraser – killing karate.

"Thanks." I think I heard Katniss mutter. One of the rare words she's spoken to me in a while "Prim, time to go."

Prim was still fretting over her chances when we left.

"B-but what if I get picked?" Prim started to sob when I was just out of her sight. I still had my hearing, and I could hear her crying.

"Your name is only in there once." Katniss reassured Prim.

"B-but – " Prim protested.

"You'll be fine. So will I. I promise." Katniss said. Prim nodded, and started to walk away. Oh, I've learned a lot in my life, and one thing is to never promise anything, no matter the odds. Katniss guided Prim to the lines where you get your fingers pricked. I shuddered just thinking about needles. Prim was the same way, and I didn't know how she would handle it. Even though I was an apothecary, I mostly dealt with plants. On the run, we really learned what was edible by trial and error. Don't try by trial and error, kids. When we found this district didn't have a healer, I filled the role. I would unwillingly do my duty when a mining accident victim came in, but I became immune to it after a while. Prim was fine with the blood, the needles freaked her out, though.

I saw my baby reach the front of the line, and flinch as they pricked her finger. Then, she joined the other twelve year old girls, who looked as nervous, if not more nervous, than Prim. I wondered how many had taken tesserae because they didn't have a choice. I wondered how many of them were only children, how many were hungry. I wondered which one might die. I had this gut – and we all know how many times my gut has been scarily accurate - feeling that the girl tribute was going to be a twelve year old, and maybe that's why at the moment I was scared for Prim more than Katniss.

A/N: Okay, so that's it for this chapter. I'll try to update soon, but school is actually becoming... work. SO, don't hate me if I don't update every day. But I want to know if I should continue, so Review. Thanks!