A/N Yay! Three reviewers! Thank you a million times over to sharlie25, AnimexShadowxFreak, Stargazer-Look4Me! Yay! So here's chapter 2...Same target for reviews this time...
Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride...Or Star Wars, now that I think of it...or that rice crispy treat I just ate (dang, my bro is going to KILL me)
Claimer: I do own my A+ in English! I think. Can you own grades?
Di POV
I was floating in nothingness, and memories were flashing by my eyes. But these memories didn't belong to me. They belonged to someone else, someone with wings.
"Come on, Angel, you can do it, just jump and flap, come on, come on." I called.
"I can't, Max! I'm scared."
"Angel, just try! We'll catch you if you fall!" I told her, swooping down. I grabbed her arms and pulled her up to the sky. She weighed only about thirty pounds, so I lifted her easily. I tossed her high into the sky, and she unfurled her wings, and began flying awkwardly. Gradually, she flew more gracefully, and we all cheered. I flew under her, helping her when she needed it and catching her when she fell.
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I couldn't remember this-I'd blocked it, so long ago. It couldn't be returning! After all I'd done to forget it, it just came back.
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It was 2:34 according to my Mickey Mouse alarm clock, so I sat up and slid my feet into my blue slippers. They matched my blue jammies. I silently slid open the window and jumped out. I kept my wings tucked in tight until I was only a few feet from smashing into the ground. Then I unfurled my wings and shot up high. I flew quietly, since no one else could fly and they didn't know I could. I felt pure euphoria, knowing I could touch the sky whenever I wanted.
When I landed in my room, it was five o'clock, and they'd figured out I was gone. I touched down on the windowsill, saw them, then dove off backwards. I heard laughter and so I swooped back up to wave. Then I touched down and dragged Iggy and Fang to the window, tossing them out without checking to see if it was okay with them. They caught on quickly and soon there were three of us in the sky.
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Oh, it felt so wonderful to fly, but I couldn't. Another memory I never wanted to see again, because it made me remember them.
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The USS Minnesota was a really big submarine, by sub standards, but it was still smaller than, say, Disney World. Or a wide-open beach. Or a desert. Or, hey, the entire freaking sky.
"Um, Max, you gonna go?" Nudge asked. There were two officers waiting for us. The seconds were ticking by.
It looked like I'd be climbing into a huge coffin.
It felt like that too.
I could not be a total wuss in front of all these people. Especially the Flock.
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I remember that. It was back when I didn't trust subs yet. But I do now. I depend on them. I don't remember why I hated them-there really was nothing to hate.
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"Max! Max! Max, where are you?!" I heard Nudge's frantic cry, but I didn't go to comfort her. I wasn't one of them anymore.
"Angel, I can't find Max!" She yelled.
"I can't find her either!"
"Where could she have gone?" Iggy yelled in frustration. "It's like she just vanished!" At that point, I jumped out of my tree and landed on the cliff in front of them.
"I' m gone. So forget trying to find me." I knew my voice sounded as cold as ice, and that was the way I'd planned it. I took a step back towards the edge of the cliff.
"Goodbye." I leaned back and let myself fall. I tumbled down, over and over. I heard shouts and saw them trying to follow me, but I sent a burst of energy to stop them. Inches above the canyon floor, I spread my wings and flew low. I dropped a bag of rocks to create a dust puff, make them think I'd died. Then I flew through the canyon and got out of there. Three days later, I was on a sub near Antarctica, never regretting my decision.
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I still don't regret it. All I want is to be able to be free from my wings. They must have believed I did die because no one came to find me. My powers were weak then-I could only see glimpses of the future and only small energy bursts. Bigger ones drain me now, but I don't have to work hard to get them going. Small energy bursts are beautiful power that keeps everything going.
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"You can fly, can't you?" I turned slowly from where I had landed. Molly sat there, watching me.
"Yes." I said simply, deciding not to deny it.
"Don't worry. I won't tell. I know you're here because you're running away from something. It'll be our secret. But only if you tell me what you're running from…"
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I remembered that too. It was when I confided in Molly about being Max. She didn't agree with my reasons, but understood. After all, she was running away from what her family wanted her to be-a writer. She chose to become a scientist instead.
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"No, Di, don't!" I held a knife to the base of my wings.
"I have to! I can't stand them! They hurt me!" I screamed. Molly and I were on land in the room we shared. I was trying to remove my wings.
"Di, put down the knife." Molly was suddenly calm. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt of the knife, and she gently loosened my grip.
"Di, your wings aren't a curse, they're a gift. I'll talk to you later, but no knives around you, okay?"
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I had tried to chop off my wings and Molly had stopped me. She was my first friend who cared about me that much. (A/N Okay, I know that Fang kept Max from killing her on the beach and the flock really cared about her, but the stress had just built up so she just blocked those memories so they couldn't hurt her anymore.)
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"We're going to be attacked in three minutes." I whispered. Molly nodded and started to prepare for battle. Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds later, M-Geeks stormed our dig site.
"You were off by a second, Di!"
"No, I wasn't! You didn't count from when I started talking!" We were kicking M-Geek butt. By the time Mart and Dag got back to camp, we'd started to pack. A pile of M-Geeks testified to how good we were at fighting.
"Wow. Holy Moly, Di, Molly, what did you do?" Dag was slack jawed. He's the most concentrated of us, and this clearly shocked him.
"We had a bit of an…issue with some M-Geeks."
"We gotta move camp."
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That was all I saw. Then those memories repeated, over and over until I thought I'd scream. But when I tried to scream, I found I couldn't move and so I sank deeper into the blackness, forgetting everything.
When I woke, I was in my bunk, a worried Molly stroking my hair.
"What…?" I asked groggily.
"You…screamed. You've been under for about a week." That's when I realized my GPS was telling me we were near Argentina.
"Where…am…I?" For some reason, words were hard to form. My mind was racing, but I couldn't speak easily.
"We're on the sub, Di, just near Argentina. The little girl, Angel, read your mind and realized she had to help you. She said something about 'Di trapped in memories'. I won't tell them you're awake. But you will have to tell them, you know."
"Not…if…I…can…help…it." I gasped, then passed right back into unconsciousness.
When I woke for the second time, bright blue eyes bored into mine.
"You okay, Di?"
"No, I was unconscious for ages!"
"Yes, you were."
"When we were in Virginia, like, ten years ago, there was this girl named Lissa, and it turns out that Molly is her twin sister! I mean, how cool is that?"
"Um, I know, Lissa and Molly are both my good friends."
"Wow, I thought you would react more, Max. I mean, you hated Lissa's guts back then!"
"Um, what? I've always liked Lissa. She's like a surrogate sister to me."
"You're Max." I gave her a blank look.
"No, I'm Di. I was the one that hit my head, remember? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
"No, I'm fine. But you are Max, aren't you?"
"Angel, my name is Edirjya Mumixam."
"No. Your name is Maximum Ride."
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"Let me see your back." I turned and showed her. I have no wings. At least, that's what it looks like. My wings retracted into my back, and I can grow skin over them at will. No one ever sees them. Angel sighed.
"I really thought you were her."
"Hey, I can be a substitute Max, if you'd like."
"That'd be nice." I hugged her, and for once, Angel seemed happy.
Nudge POV
I was sitting in the corner of the room, watching Angel stare at Di, who she seems to be convinced is Max.
"You okay, Di?" Di had stirred and was sitting up.
"No, I was unconscious for ages!" Well, yes, I see how that could be Max, but don't other people do that too? It couldn't be Max.
"Yes, you were." Angel was matter of fact.
"When we were in Virginia, like, ten years ago, there was this girl named Lissa, and it turns out that Molly is her twin sister! I mean, how cool is that?" Wow, Angel sounds like me. We met Lissa again, and she's married to Will Hart, but when she saw Fang-'scuse me, Zane-she acted like she wasn't. 'Course, when Zane slapped her for being rude, I think she understood.
"Um, I know, Lissa and Molly are both my good friends." Okay, this is totally not Max. Max couldn't stand Lissa. We didn't really understand, but I think I do now. Max used to be in love with Fang/Zane, okay, I'm just calling him Fang from now on, and she got jealous of Lissa. That's what I think.
"Wow, I thought you would react more, Max. I mean, you hated Lissa's guts back then!" Wow, to the point much, Angel? I don't think this is Max, sweetie.
"Um, what? I've always liked Lissa. She's like a surrogate sister to me."
"You're Max." Di looked confused.
"No, I'm Di. I was the one who hit my head, remember? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" I wonder that sometimes. I'm not sure.
"No, I'm fine. But you are Max, aren't you?" Angel was very determined.
"Angel, my name is Edirjya Mumixam." If this was Max, she really was clinging to her cover story.
"No. Your name is Maximum Ride." Well, if this was really Max, clinging to a cover story, Angel was sticking to her guns just as strongly.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"Let me see your back." Di turned and showed Angel her back. It was smooth and wingless. There was a small, silver tattoo on the bottom of her back, six hearts linked by stars.
"I really thought you were her."
"Hey, I can be a substitute Max, if you'd like."
"That'd be nice." I hugged her, and for the first time in seven years, I saw a truly happy smile on Angel's face.
"Aw…how sweet!" I exclaimed, hugging them. "What happened to cause a hug-fest?"
"Di is going to be a substitute Max!" I wasn't sure how well that'd work, but let's see what'll come of this…
Di POV
I ruffled Angel's hair and hugged Nudge. It felt good to do that again.
"My hair!" Angel shrieked. Yup, she's a teenager.
"Here, I'll fix it." I reached under my bed and pulled out a bag of hair supplies. Hey, I dye my hair black. I gotta have some knowledge of hair styling. I pulled out a brush and untangled it. It was wavy, not curly, like I remembered, and not straight, like it had been when I'd met her. I pushed her into the shower. When she came out, I brushed her hair so it fell to her shoulders gracefully. It waved nicely, and I used a small energy pulse to help it dry faster.
"Fixed!" I exclaimed. Angel looked in the small mirror I kept stashed under my bed and yelped.
"Now I know you're not Max!" Nudge looked shocked.
"Wow! Angel, you look beautiful! Where'd you learn to do that, Di?"
"Comes naturally." I led them to the mess room. Technically it's the on-board kitchenette/dining area, but we call it the mess because it usually looks like a tornado tore through it.
We spent another two days on the sub, trying to figure out where the M-Geeks were coming from, but it turns out there's nothing in Antarctica. When we docked, Angel, Nudge and Gazzy grabbed me (thanks to lead weights sewn into my clothes, I weigh about as much as a normal human) and basically kidnapped me.
"Put me down." I put terror into my voice. "I'm scared of heights." I closed my eyes and started panicking. I started kicking and struggling until they landed and put me down, where I started shuddering and crying.
"No heights…no heights…" Oh, it hurt so much to be up high, and not flying. I haven't spread my wings for years, and to be dragged up into the sky? Pure torture.
"Tranquilizer?" I heard Angel whisper, and then I was stabbed by a needle, causing me to pass into unconsciousness once more.
Geez, I gotta make Max stop passing out. I'm sorry, but this is the only way I could think of getting Di from Antarctica to wherever the Flock calls home. Trust me, it's important to the plot.
Heads up, I won't be posting for at least a week. Possibly two weeks. Why? I'm going to be stuck on an airplane, with no internet conncection, then in a new house, with no internet connection or computer, and then I'm going to camp, with no internet conncection. I'll probably post, like, three or four chapters at that time. I'll have them on notepaper, but not on the computer, and I'll probably change a detail that will put two weeks of work to waste. I'm sorry 'bout that. I'll post if and when I can. Sorry!
Luna