Aww, thank you so much everyone for your really sweet reviews! And by everyone I mean Evil Angel of DOOM, Green.Winged.Mistress, missCeilidh, DigiNinMon, S.L. Michaels, ghj1, and Bubble Blower. But you get it!

And because Evil Angel of DOOM made some very good points in her review, I shall explain. Tali helps Max because she needs to stay in shape so Tali watches Syd and Shell (and sometimes Jake) while Max does her moves, like practicing fighting and stuff. And when Newt was saying stuff about mad scientists, the kids only heard about the mad scientists from their parents, and Tali's the only one who actually saw how miserable her parents were in the School. I mean to say she traveled back in time because she was bored and she saw how sad they were. But none of them have actually been subject to the horrors. Good thing too, or they'd be scarred for life! Well, now that those are hopefully clearer, to the chapter! Enjoy, and I'm sorry the last one wasn't as great as I hoped. Hopefully this one will be better.

Disclaimer: Do I own it? Would I even be any more popular if I did own it? Do I even want to be popular? Do you guys care? Do you want me to get the chapter started and quit asking questions? To answer those questions in order, no, maybe, not really, probably not, and hopefully yes. So hot potato, here you go!

Chapter 3: I Never Thought the Past Could be so Creepy

POV Newt (A/N just for a sec, forgot to mention something)

"I wonder if Zak will find his real parents while he's in the past." What the? What was Aunt Angel thinking about? I ignored the conversation between Zak, Aunt Nudge, and Uncle Gazzy to try and listen in to more of Aunt Angel's thoughts. "We're lucky he hasn't realized he's adopted, but the poor kid ought to know the truth." Okay, this is scary. What about Zak being adopted? It couldn't be possible.

"Everything okay, man?" Zak's voice brought me back to my body. I studied him for a moment. He looked too much like Aunt Nudge and Uncle Gazzy. He even has wings and their powers! Saying Zak's adopted would be like saying he's going to ride a flying cow to Pluto and meet Jeb and Anne (who we still hate) for coffee. Time to make sure Aunt Angel isn't insane or anything. I marched over to her, with everyone else at my heels, wondering what I was up to.

"What do you mean about Zak's real parents?" I insisted on an answer in the tone I rarely use, the one that says "give me answers or I kill you with a spoon".

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." She told me, and she blocked her thoughts from me, but that pause was too suspicious. I pressed on.

"No, I heard you. Something about adoption and Zak finding his real parents. What about it?"

"What does she mean, mom?" Zak asked from behind me. And you know what happens from there. Zak finds out he's adopted, we're all weirded out, etc. I guess Zak better find a flying cow, because since we figured out he's adopted anything can happen. Then when we tried to ask more questions, they ushered us to the place where we were supposed to leave, even though we tried to struggle. You chickens, just tell us already! But since it looked like they really meant it and we would have to leave I decided to ask Tali something right after I asked mom if she'd tell everyone we were good.

"Tali?"

"Hm?"

"Could you do me a favor and freeze time real quick?"

"Uh…yeah, sure." At that moment the trees stopped swaying, mom's mouth froze, and only Tali seemed capable of movement. She turned to me. "Okay, why the time freeze?"

"I need to say goodbye to someone."

"Lemme guess, I'm coming with you so I can unfreeze the person and you can say goodbye?"

"You're a smart girl, Tali. Come with me." We wriggled out of the courtyard full of people like stone. Usually I'd take the opportunity to make a few funny faces right in front of Jake, curve his lips into a grin, turn him towards Tali, and when I unfroze time he'd wonder why he was smiling at her, but Tali would know what I did to him, and besides, I had to say goodbye. We ambled through the halls full of people, ignoring how funny one servant looked when he was sneezing right when Tali froze him, so his face was all messed up. The doors opened with a squeak, and I turned into the breezeless street, Tali at my heels.

"So what are we supposed to tell this person when we're the only ones able to move?"

"She knows."

"She? You're saying goodbye to a girl?"

"Well, yeah."

"Hehehe, this is a surprise! I never thought you'd like a girl enough to have me freeze time so you could say…goodbye…while time was…you told her?!" Great, now she catches on. I was hoping she wouldn't figure it out until we at least got to her house.

"Well, yeah, it's actually kinda nice to have someone outside the flock or Itex know who we really are. And I did a background check on her, she's clean."

"Wait, so you're saying you told her EVERYTHING?"

"Nothing builds a friendship better than trust." I shrugged, trying to make this not sound like such a big deal.

"Newt, did you or did you not tell her about the wings?" Tali stopped my strut down the street and made me face her.

"Why should I-"

"Just answer."

"Yes, she knows about the wings."

"Did you tell her about the powers?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell her who our family really is?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"A few years ago."

"Oh, Newt, you idiot!" Tali turned from me and rubbed her forehead. "Telling an outsider about everything, that's suicide!"

"Well if it's any comfort she didn't believe me until I showed her the wings and demonstrated a few of the powers. And FYI, you're going to have to pretend you can read her mind."

"Finally, you lied about one thing. But why?"

"Well otherwise she'd keep her thoughts guarded."

"And?"

"Then I wouldn't be able to read it correctly."

"And?"

"Look, can we just go and say goodbye to her?" I continued striding down the street without an answer, and took off. There were not air currents to ride, but thankfully there were only a few blocks to her house. Tali and I landed on her doorstep and I unlocked the door. Apparently her mom was busy making a late lunch, and her dad was watching football. We tramped upstairs and opened a door to reveal her, dancing to her iPod in the middle of her room. Tali drew in a breath when she saw the girl I sat with every day at lunch .

"Maddy?! You're here to see Maddy? Newt, you have to be kidding. She could never have known who we are the way she acts!"

"Which just makes her an extremely good actress, doesn't it?" I smiled reassuringly at Tali, and then I went and laid upside down on her newly-made bed so my head was dangling off the side. Tali sat in a fuzzy chair on the opposite side of the room, and then time unfroze in the room and Maddy came back to life.

"Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend, no way, no way, I think you need a new one, hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfr- oh." She was dancing in a circle, her red hair flying behind her, but she stopped when she rotated and saw me. I gave her a lopsided grin, and she blushed, making her emerald green eyes stand out, and took off her earpieces. "I didn't know you were here."

"Well, I only just came here, so I only heard the chorus."

"Don't you usually get in when my parents are asleep?" Behind Maddy, Tali's eyes widened when she used the word "usually".

"Yeah, but at night I wouldn't be here, now, would I?" Maddy cocked her head. "I'm leaving for spring break. I'll have to go in a sec."

"What? Where?"

"The past." Tali answered from behind Maddy, and she swiveled around to see my sister raising an eyebrow, still getting over the fact that I told her who we are.

"Oh, right, Maddy, you've heard of Tali, Tali, you know Maddy. Maddy, Tali unfroze time in this room so we could talk. Tali, you know Maddy knows who we are."

"Right. Hey." Tali nodded with a microscopic smile on her face. Maddy shyly waved back.

"Please don't read my mind too much, okay?" Maddy pleaded. It was kinda funny to watch her ask my sister not to do something she couldn't even do in the first place! I mean, this is Tali, she finds ways to do everything.

"Yeah, sure, I won't. Newt, wanna hurry this up a bit?" Tali leaned back and smirked, ready to see me say goodbye. To a girl. Which I'll never let her watch.

"You know what, Tali, how about you disappear for a while? You know, turn the doorknob, walk down the stairs, go outside, don't try to listen to us or watch us. Go steal the Mona Lisa or something while no one's looking. Relive memories, get background info for our trip or whatever. Just leave, okay?" Tali rolled her eyes and disappeared. I turned to Maddy.

"So what does she mean we're going to the past?" she asked me.

"Well, we're going to go spy on our parents. Like when they were eighteen, before Jake's dad was rich and all that. Before we were born." Her eyes widened.

"Why would you do that?"

"We're getting them together."

"No way!" Maddy squealed. "That's like so sweet!"

"Yeah, but the thing is it might take a while…"

"A while? As in how long?"

"…years."

"Years? Newt, how could you leave for that long? And wouldn't people just notice you were gone or something? We wouldn't see each other until what, high school?"

"No, no, no, I meant years for ME. In your time I'd just be gone for spring break and I'd be back in school next Monday."

"Would you age?"

"Nope. Once I go through the time vortex I get back to the age I was when I left. But still, it'd be a long time for me. Would it be okay if I wrote? You know, just so I'm not completely lonely or anything."

"Aww, that would be nice! But how would you get the letters to me?" I stared blankly at her. Oh crap, I forgot Tali was the only one who could get the letters through time to her!

"Uh…well, your house might be there in the past. I could hide the letters somewhere in your home and you could find them and read them then, I guess."

"That'll work!"

"So would you write back? Maybe I could 'convince' my sister to play post-office." I pointed out the window at Tali, who was sitting under a tree, lost in her own head.

"Of course I'll write! I'll really miss you, Newt." At this point Maddy was on the bed next to me, and out of nowhere she hugged me. And it wasn't one of those friendship hugs she gave to her friends when she said goodbye for the break. It was more like an "I'm going to write you every hour, I'll miss you that much" hug. And I liked it. After a second of adjusting to the fact that she was hugging me (me!), I returned the gesture, and we spent some-odd minutes just sitting there. Then a "tap" came from the window, and we turned around to see Tali sitting on the roof, laughing her head off. I thrust open the window, and she became audible.

"Hahaha, you were (giggle) THAT close to going further!" She held her fingers about two millimeters apart and almost fell off the roof from a new wave of laughter.

"Tali, do you mind?"

"No, I don't mind that my brother has a girlfriend! Hehe, Newt, I've never seen this side of you!" Tali just couldn't hold in her snickers, and Maddy raised an eyebrow.

"She's not my girlfriend." I muttered, taking back the words instantly. She could be. But that might not happen for years or so. In the meantime we're just friends. Friends who hug. I've seen girls do it all the time, it's possible to hug and only be friends!

"Oh, but she might be, or oops, did I say too much? I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Tali just couldn't hold it in anymore, and rolled down the roof and was about to smack into the driveway. Maddy was already gasping, expecting to see her with bones broken on the pavement, and I was ready for some revenge, but she caught herself and hung suspended in the air, still laughing her head off. Maddy turned to me.

"Why is this so funny?"

"Because apparently someone thinks I'm incapable of showing affection. Usually I just hang out with Jake and Zak and mess around on skateboards." I grumbled. "Mind if I take care of her?"

"Could you wait one second? I need to show you something. May as well show Tali, too." Maddy motioned towards the door. I would have just called Tali to make her come, but I was feeling show-offish today (or maybe it was the hormones talking), so I spread my wings (to Maddy's delight and awe) and flew down to Tali, scooped her up with my strength, and flapped back up to the window with a laughing sister in my arms. Maddy made some room as I set her on the ground, and we all went down the stairs, where Maddy directed us to the living room.

"Dad's watching football, ignore him." She pointed to her dad, who reclined in his armchair and yelled at the ref. I paid hardly any attention when Maddy opened up the nearby fireplace, but Tali examined him with a look of confusion on her face. "Okay, there's a false stone back here, if you pull really hard- or in your case, Newt, gently-" Maddy beamed at me, still remembering the strength I displayed "-then it'll come loose and you can put anything in the space back there. So we'll leave the letters here and pick them up here too, okay?" I nodded, but Tali just approached Maddy's dad cautiously, like if she dared touch him too fast she'd be electrocuted.

"Tali?" I asked. She shushed me, and then slowly she pulled back Maddy's dad's bangs. After a second she pulled back as if he just bit her.

"Newt, do you know who this is?"

"Yeah, he's Maddy's dad."

"No. He's someone else too, I think. Maddy." Tali's head snapped to her after all that time of never keeping her eyes off of Maddy's dad. "What's your dad's first name?"

"Sam. Why?" Tali's eyes widened to look like dinner plates, and suddenly she went into deep thought.

"Sam, no, couldn't be, but he might have stayed, yeah, maybe settled down, stalked Max, found a wife in the meantime, forgot about Max possibly? Probably, but still, it couldn't be him, could it?" Okay, now Tali has officially gone insane.

"Uh, Tali?" I tapped her on the back, and she swiveled around. "Is your brain finally exploding after all those advanced classes?"

"Ha ha, very funny. No, it hasn't exploded. I'm just thinking."

"Well please, share it with the rest of the class!" My tone was daring her to tell us.

"Yeah, what's so weird about my dad?" Maddy inquired from behind me (I think she didn't want to get close in case she could read her mind when she's closer or something like that).

"Well," Tali turned back for another look at Maddy's dad. "The thing is…Newt, you remember when Max told us about her old boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah, I remember. Fang got really mad at that!"

"Yeah, well, the thing is, maybe Sam missed Max too much?"

"And…?"

"Maybe he decided to come see her…"

"Go on…"

"And be a servant at her mansion?"

"I still don't get it."

"Maybe he settled down and had a kid and her name was Maddy! Come on, Newt, you know you can only do half the background check, you must have missed that her father's name was Sam!" Tali almost yelled as if Maddy wasn't there and looking like she did when I told her I was part genie.

"So? A lot of people have the name Sam!"

"And that's where it went wrong, you'd need to do extra research on him, and you don't even give extra credit math a glance. You'd have to see that he once had a date with a girl named Maximum Ride."

"Woah, woah, wait just a sec here!" Maddy interrupted. "So you're all worked up because my dad dated your aunt?"

"Well, yeah, I mean we never knew where he went after Max's date. He could have given info to the School or anything! And Fang would be really mad if he knew one of his former servants dated his wife, I don't think that hate ever left him. Look, we just can't be sure he's safe, this guy was a total mystery to us." Tali concluded as if this made as much sense as the fact that you can't see when you cover your eyes. Maddy and I stared blankly at her.

"Uh…okay." Maddy said. "You're sure?"

"She's always sure." I told her.

"Fine, but does this really mean anything?" she asked Tali.

"Well, I thought it might be good to know that our families have a serious grudge against each other." Tali shrugged. "Consider that when you propose, Newt."

"Who said I'm proposing?!" I exclaimed.

"Me. Are we done yet? I wanna find out the answer to those questions I had about Zak." Good, I didn't have to change the topic.

"Yeah. Bye, Maddy." I gave her a quick hug and unwillingly followed Tali out the door. Looking back as we flew back to the mansion, I saw Maddy waving from her window. We both waved back.

"Seriously, Tali, who said I was going to propose?"

"I told you, I did. Fortune telling powers, remember?" she tapped her temples for emphasis. "So unless the future changes you're all matched up."

"Well since we're messing with the past we might mess something up and she won't be born or something."

"Two bucks says you'll be together." Tali challenged.

"You're on." I agreed, then regretted it instantly. Crap, I just bet against being with Maddy! So I can loose Maddy or loose two bucks. I'd rather loose the money, to be honest. "Hey, while you're looking up the future why don't you see who you'll end up with?"

"Nah, no fun to know. I'd rather know about you two."

"No, seriously, check it out, just a glimpse of you ten years from now, that's it." I tried to get her absorbed in the conversation so she wouldn't try to see any more and hold it against me. Should she remember what she found that is…(insert evil laugh here)

"How much will you pay me to look?" she snapped back as we landed on the lawn and started our walk back to the courtyard.

"How's ten for you?"

"Pay up." She held out her hand, I slipped her two fives, and she closed her eyes for a moment and came back blushing.

"So? What'd ya see?"

"Nothing." But her thoughts said "Holy crap I'm married." I burst out laughing.

"You? Married? Never!"

"Hey, there was a wedding ring on my finger, what else do I assume?"

"Well, you're not one for fashion, so it must be marriage or engagement."

"Nope, marriage."

"How come? And to whom?"

"Oh, look, we're here!" Tali exclaimed as we opened the door to the courtyard. "And don't ask again, because I won't tell you."

"You're right, you won't." I agreed solemnly and Tali's eyes widened.

"You are NOT going to make me forget, Newt!"

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Tali." I smirked in false apology. "I'm sure you would have loved teasing me with that info on Maddy." I raised an eyebrow, and she shook her head, a blank look on her face.

"How'd everyone freeze?" she pointed to the frozen flock surrounding us.

"You froze them, remember?" I pretended to be weirded out at my sister's apparent loss of memory.

"Why would I do that? I was just about to find out about Zak."

"Don't you remember? I had to go to the bathroom before the trip and I didn't want to miss anything. Are you okay, Tali?" I looked at her with concern, and I did a pretty good job of it, apparently, because this time I wasn't caught.

"I think." She rubbed her head. "Are you done?"

"Yup, I'm good."

"Okay then, unfreezing time and about to find out about Zak!" She unfroze time, and at the same time I wiped her memory of that last conversation. Hey, better safe than sorry! Besides, she could look back and see I was lying if I let her keep the memory.

"One question?" Tali asked like the last…what was it?…hours hadn't happened.

"Fine. One." Mom sighed.

"How did Zak get his wings?"

"I gave them to him." I played along and widened my eyes. But I could still feel that hug Maddy gave me and those words Tali told me were still ringing in my ear. "Our families have a serious grudge against each other." Did this mean I'd hardly be able to see her because of what her dad might be? I don't think I could stand that.

"Now, everyone, good luck, we love you, and remember not to tell anyone but me that you're from the future." Mom reminded us, and then we were gone.

In the past (A/N yes it was pointless fluff to you, but it's actually important to the plot. Besides, pretty much everything I write is pointless!)

POV Jake (A/N because from what I've read from your reviews you guys like his POV)

Never have I felt weirder than when I went through time. It was like everything was swirling around me in a rainbow of colors, and winds were everywhere, but only for a split second. When it stopped abruptly, everyone's eyes but mine were clamped shut. Newt was standing with his arms crossed, looking like a second ago he had to hold himself together. Syd and Shell were pressed against each other, trying to hold on so they wouldn't fall off, and Zak actually fell over because the winds were so strong. But where was Tali? Oh, right. Attached to my arm. And boy did it feel good.

"Ahem." Newt coughed, and Tali opened her eyes and was ten feet away from me before the little kids even had a chance to look at her. "So where are we, anyways?"

"The past." Tali answered simply, still blushing from when she was holding on to me. In a way I was disappointed that she had to leave, and another part of me was confused as to why she held on in the first place. But as always I kept my emotions hidden in my mind.

"But where are we, like place-wise?" Syd and Shell asked as they peeled themselves from each other.

"Yeah, I mean what's with all the trees? Isn't there supposed to be a mansion here instead of trees and shrubs and dead leaves and- wait, dead leaves, that means that it's fall so now we know what season it is, and the air is all dirty so it's probably in the late past like fifteen years ago or something, but wouldn't it be like fourteen years if we're one year before our parents had us and got married and all that and-" if you didn't think that was Zak you owe me ten bucks. And you owe me another ten if you thought that Syd and Shell weren't the ones covering his mouth.

"Actually, Zak's about right." Tali nodded. "So we're fourteen years in the past, the air is dirty, and we're in the woods."

"Yes, but why are we in the woods?" Newt asked impatiently.

"Well you didn't honestly think I was going to get us right in the courtyard, did you? No, we'd be intruding on the privacy of a very affectionate couple if I did that, and plus we'd be kicked out immediately and then we'd have to creep around the place invisible if we're going to get our parents together." Tali told us.

"So where are these woods we're in?" Zak asked.

"The woods across from the mansion." Tali said.

"There are woods in front of the mansion?" Syd and Shell wondered.

"Yeah, before they cut them down to make space for houses and all that." Tali answered.

"So now what?" I cut right to the chase, and Tali looked down.

"I don't know. Something about getting them together, but I never figured out if we should get close and talk to them personally or just stand back, scavenge for food, and use powers and stuff to spy on them and get them together." Great. Tali has no plan. We're doomed, completely doomed. And we just got here! Everyone stared at Tali, speechless, then Zak perked up.

"I have an idea!" he exclaimed, and we all cocked our heads.

"Well, it's better than anything I've got. Go ahead!" Tali nodded enthusiastically.

"So we take some dirt…" He scooped up a mound of soil from the ground "…and smear it over our faces, and then we tear up our clothes a bit." To everyone's astonishment, he smeared the dirt all over his face and arms, then he started tearing at the ends of his t-shirt. Tali winced and attempted to stop him, but it was useless, because he was already done. "Then we play a game of tag until we get all sweaty and tired. Well, what are you all waiting for?" Zak finally noticed the weird looks we were all giving him.

"Dude, I know you've always wanted to do that, but it isn't going to help us." Newt reasoned with him, but Zak shook his head defiantly.

"No, it'll work! Because if we go up to the security guys they'll see us looking all dirty and it'll look like we haven't had a bath in ages and we'll be all ragged so then it'll look like we need new clothes and we'll be sweaty so it'll look like we walked a long way to get there and we'll be all tired so we'll look like we'll need a place to rest and then if we ask if we can see Mr. Denton the guy can assume we need a job and he'll let us in and Mr. Denton will give us a job if we look like we're orphans who need the money and not rich kids who look cared for! So am I still crazy?" We all stared at Zak for a good three minutes. Finally, Syd spoke.

"That-" Syd began.

"Is-" Shell continued.

"BRILLIANT! Why didn't we think of it?" They finished together.

"Yeah, man, how'd you get such a great idea?" Newt asked.

"I dunno, I just always wanted to wear dirt without mom nagging me and now I have a reason!" Zak shrugged. Either way, we started the face painting. Everyone but me. Why should I cover my face in dirt? The rest of them can look pathetic (well, Tali never looks pathetic, but for some reason other people think so when she's covered in dirt) and I'll just follow, like the rich runaway who bought them food up until that point.

"That's a good idea, Jake, but come on, they're not going to assume you're a rich runaway unless you add a little dirt." Newt argued my mind, and I scowled.

"Come on, Jake, you know you want to!" Syd and Shell added.

"Join the fun!" Zak looked up from his dirt angel (which I think is just a step too far). "Tali, make him join us!" I looked to Tali and gave her a look that said "you do, you die". She stopped rubbing her face in dirt, stood up, and walked up to me until our faces were almost touching. I could smell her scent, like flowers, and the dirt only enhanced the experience. I was lost in her eyes, until I felt her fingers rubbing on my cheeks.

"Tag, you're it!" Tali stepped back and the whole group laughed when they saw my cheeks smeared with dirt! I glared at Tali and scooped up a mound of dirt. Everyone jeered, and Tali lost the smug look on her face and ducked right as I chucked it at her head. Instead, it got Newt, who pegged me in the hair. Eventually the kids came into the fight, and we kept tossing the wet soil until we were nice and dirty.

"What was the next step again, Zak?" Newt asked, eager for the next instruction.

"Start making your clothes look really worn." He told us, and we tore our clothes to near shreds. Newt used his strength to kill the knees on some of our jeans, and Tali made the colors fade so they looked like we wore them every day. "Now let's play tag, Jake's it because Tali got him!" Everyone giggled and ran away from me. I started chasing Tali to get her back, and she ran like a deer through the trees with me at her heels. In the end I jumped forward and tackled her to the ground.

"Tali's it!" I shouted, too caught up in the moment to remember that I don't usually yell. Then I spread my wings and flew up to the tree trunks above, hiding in one of them and watching as Tali got Shell, who tagged Syd, who spread it onto Zak, who began chasing Newt, who flew dangerously close to my hiding place, so I squeezed myself against the trunk and didn't think anything until they passed.

"Ahh." I exhaled softly, and then flinched as someone settled on the branch next to me.

"Relax, I'm not it anymore." Tali said as she draped herself over the tree. The wind tossed her hair as she smiled exhaustedly at me.

"I saw." I replied shortly and watched Newt try to get Zak back.

"Smart plan Zak had. It's a little hard to grasp the concept that we're about to pretend to be orphans in desperate need of a job, but still."

"Servant of my own home, I can see it now." I rolled my eyes, and Tali laughed the laugh I love so much. We sat silently until the sun was overhead and we got really hot, then Tali and I agreed to go hunt down everyone and meet at the mansion.

"C'mon, gotta go." I found Zak and Newt running through the trees near a pond (while Zak was complaining about how Newt has super speed so it's not fair), and Newt skidded to a stop while Zak zoomed right past him.

"Now?" Newt asked as Zak narrowly avoided a tree. I nodded, and they both sighed and followed me to the mansion, where Tali, Syd, and Shell were waiting for us.

"Now let's review." Tali started. "We need to look like orphans, ask for Mr. Denton, and ask for a job. Everyone have enough dirt on them?" We looked at each other and nodded, then we all marched to the guard's desk. Showtime.

"Excuse me, sir?" Tali's voice sounded meek and tired as she addressed the guard's desk. The guy glanced up from his portable T.V (some prehistoric show called American Idol) and nodded.

"What do you need?"

"We were wondering if we could see Mr. Denton." Syd asked him shyly (a new record for her, considering she's one of the boldest people I know besides our parents).

"Please?" Shell added.

"Surname?" the guard hardly looked at us as he took out his clipboard and held his pen out.

"None." Newt told him, and the guard raised his eyebrows. "We don't know, anyways."

"No name, then." The guard jotted without real care of what he was doing. "Reason of visit?"

"Ask for a job, I guess. We just need some help is all." Zak tried to remember how to speak less than three sentences, and he looked eager to say more, but Tali's glance shut him up.

"Fine then, but I'd advise you to turn back now, he isn't a charity. Might I suggest Goodwill?" The guard eyes our clothes and smirked.

"Sir, with all due respect, Goodwill only gives clothes, not money or homes." Newt stated.

"Or food." Zak piped up.

"Right, and food. So we can't really find Goodwill as helpful."

"Fine then, sorry for breathing. And how urgent is this?"

"I dunno, how long would you be willing to wait if you had nowhere else to go but here?" Tali snapped, then recollected herself. "I'm sorry, sir, it's just that we walked a long way to get here and we're a little tired. It's sorta hard to get from one end of the county to the other when you've just run out of money and have to dumpster-dive for your meals. So I'm sorry for snapping, but could you try to get us in soon, please?" Wow. That right there was some of the best acting I have ever seen. Okay everyone, let's give Tali a standing ovation! We all would have looked impressed, but the guard was there and all.

"Uh…okay. Gates opening for six kids who want to see Mr. Denton ASAP." The guard called up to the main building with the phone on the desk and waved us in as he spoke.

"Thank you." Tali gave a watery smile to the guard, and we all hiked up the perfectly-manicured lawn to the main doors.

"Wow, Tali, that was brilliant!" Syd and Shell congratulated.

"Oh man that was awesome how did you think of the dumpster diving on the spot and the walking- oh wait our parents dumpster-dived and if they didn't have wings they'd probably walk so I can see where you got it but still if you didn't say anything like that the guard might not have let us in so great job!" Zak agreed.

"I think you learned something from dad." Newt told her. "He lied instantly too!"

"Thanks guys, but it was just there in my mind. I'm sure one of you would have thought of it." Tali grinned.

"No." I said. "We wouldn't." Everyone agreed, and we approached the doors (good thing I was used to walking up and down it every day from the bus, because that was a huge hill). The doors opened for us, and for once the servants didn't look too happy to see any of us. Maybe it was because we were dirty and smelly and they didn't know who we were. So they stayed a few feet away from us as they directed us to Mr. Denton's office (which we all knew where it was anyways but hey, when in the past, pretend not to know anything).

"Announcing six children." The two guys sneered when they opened the doors and told Mr. Denton who we were. I think they were ticked that we wouldn't tell them our names. Hey, what was I supposed to tell them, my name was Jake Denton, heir to the Denton fortune and grandson of their current master? I don't think so.

"Hello." Came a voice from the armchair by the small fireplace. Sitting there was a man about my height, with black hair just like mine and eyes equally dark that wouldn't portray any emotion. Man did that guy look like dad. And me. I'm looking at my grandpa here! Oh, right, back to what he was saying.

"Well, sit down." He pointed to a couch meant for three people. Tali, Syd, and Shell took the seats of the couch in that order, Newt and I stood behind them (naturally I stood behind Tali just in case), and Zak sat on the floor in front of us.

"So tell me, why have you come here?" Mr. Denton (I never got used to calling him Grandpa) leaned back, ready to listen. "If it's money you want, you may as well leave now. I'm not a charity."

"Sir, we bring you a proposition." Tali began like a businessman. "It's true we need money so we can pay for food and new clothes, and we do need a place to stay. We heard that servants can get lodging, food, and uniforms in exchange for service to the master, which are exactly what we need. So we were hoping if you could possibly give us a job as your servants."

Mr. Denton thought it over, and we watched him. At first he looked doubtful, but then we saw him get more relaxed at the idea of six children growing up working. Sure, child labor laws and all that, but servants employed as adults grow up and pursue more beneficial jobs. With children working, we wouldn't know any better than what we had, and we'd stay for our lifetime. This could be an advantage to him.

"Fine. But I'll need some information on you." He stood up and walked to his shelf, where he grabbed a binder labeled "Servant Info" and set it on his T.V tray. We all glanced at each other. Would he accept anonymous servants? "Names?"

"We'd rather not say." Newt told him, and Mr. Denton raised an eyebrow but didn't complain. He's getting a bargain out of this, so why should he care?

"Fine then. Ages?"

"Guess." Zak said. Holy crap, one word! Is he feeling okay? "Because we don't know ourselves. Might be better if you guessed for us." Never mind.

"I'll just do thirteen for you three," He gestured to me, Newt, and Tali. "Eleven for you two," Syd and Shell, who looked at each other and grinned. "And nine for you." Zak. Wow, he got so close! Except for the fact that Zak's nine and a half, he just got all our ages right. "Since you don't seem to have any place of residence or experience, you're pretty much done. Now, sign here, all of you." He held the papers out to us, and we signed with "x"s. "Nice to have you on board. You will begin in the morning, but in the meantime, Charles will show you to your room." We all looked at each other. That was only too easy.

There, I updated! You're all so happy. I wouldn't normally update this suddenly, but Green.Winged.Mistress just kept asking me so here you go. Okay, I'm updating already, woman! Hehehe, I'm weird. But please review! And this is a long chapter, which means things are back on track, so celebrate.