Ari Chapter 3

AN: Dear faithful readers, I am deeply sorry I have shamefully neglected my stories for like the part 7 months. I am just getting up the energy to finish (or at least CONTINUE) them. To any reader still interested: I LOVE YOU! YOU ROCK!

Now back to the story.

I was outside, taking a break from everything and everyone. Angel had clued everyone in after almost having a breakdown because I was going to save Ari, however, doing so would imprison me forever in the School. And you know, everyone took it so well. Note the sarcasm. Nudge theatened to hurl a huge block of metal at anyone who took me away (even if the person who took me away was myself); Gazzy was going to blow up the first building in sight; Angel was nearly having a panic attack, Iggy vowed to find his real parents again, because at least they wouldn't surrender themselves to crazy people; and Fang did nothing but glare his steely eyes at me, his already dark eyes going completely onyx.

I took a breath, and realized I was shaking. And not because it was cold, I was overwhelmed. With what? Everything. But mainly Ari. Ari could live, and maybe live a normal life. Well, not exactly normal. I mean, what half wolf-half person would live normally? But HE WOULD LIVE. He would live with the Flock, and not under the control of some psychotic scientist. And this tremendous guilt that plagued me would go away; the guilt of not protecting my Flock to the fullest of my capability.

You did protect him to you fullest capability. No one could have stopped Ari's...death.

Oh, gee, thanks, that makes me feel so much better that Ari is sitll dead, and it's not my fault that he had an expiration date stamped on the back of his neck! Expiration dates on people aren't normal! It shouldn't have been there! I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED IT FROM HAPPENING! I'm his SISTER! I'm SUPPOSED to stop crap like that from happening!!

Tears I didn't know were there rolled shamelessly down my cheeks, I layed on the ground, hoping for some form of comfort.

"You know, you can show some emotion with us. We'll always be here for you." Fang said, although I couldn't see him. Dang invisibility. Crap, I DON'T WANT HIM TO SEE ME LIKE THIS!

"No, I can't. Emotions are idiotic," only beautiful red-head beauties showed emotion, I silently added. God knows I ain't one of them.

Fang moved, making his body visible to me. He walked closer, with each step closer making my heart beat way too irregularly. Finally, he closed the distance entirely; he held my face in his hands, and wiped away my tears. Which, oddly and annoyingly, only made MORE tears come down.

"Don't do it," Fang, master at pithy sentences, said.

"I don't know what to do," I whispered, in complete truth. I didn't. I wanted to go and save Ari, something I couldn't do before. But my Flock also kinda needed me. And I needed them. That was for sure. And I for sure needed to help Ari even if it was a possibilty that it could be done. That's what Flock's are for. I'd do that any time for my Flock, and they'd do it for me.

This isn't me. This isn't the invincible, incredible Max. This is someone else, and I stole her emotions, using them as my own. And I hated it. I love control, I'll be the first to tell you. If I hurt, I suck it up. But this wasn't physical, I could handle physical. No, this was something I had little experience with.

Right then and there, I almost leaped into Fang's arms. And Fang also did something that wasn't him. He held me, too. And, for a moment, I didn't hurt half as much.

Dang emotions.

"Do you think this is our fault?" Nudge asked, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. It was so unlike Nudge to say so little.

"No, it's Max. She feels bad, like she's responsible for Ari," Angel said, portraying Max's feelings to a tee.

"Well, just tell her she's not responsible for someone who's already dead. She should focus on the living. I mean, hey, that's what I do. You don't see me giving up my freedom to be an experiment," Gazzy said rather annoyed. The three were having a secret meeting, hoping to find some way to stop Max from becoming a human (well, sorta) sacrifice.

"You know Max! She's a leader. And whoever she's leading is her family. She's leading us, and we're family. She...led Ari, and he was actually part of her Flock and real family. That makes it harder. And that he died while fighting with us. I'm telling you, she's not going to give up. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We need to have a battle plan," Angel, taking charge, commanded.

"Sheesh, I think you spend too much time with Max. You're starting to sound like her," Gazzy reported.

Angel smiled with an almost-Max smile, "Here's the plan...."

Meanwhile...

Iggy had a plan of his own. He wasn't going to try to convince Max to stay: he really didn't think Max would do it (he hoped), but just in case, he was going to set up a perimeter guard that went off silently to the person breaking in (or, in this case, out) but only through a tracking device on Iggy himself. That part wasn't really that hard, really. He had all the equipment, and assembling them wouldn't be all that hard. Nope, the hardest part was finding a way to put tracking devices on everyone without them knowing it. Somewhere where no one could see it, and somewhere where it would stay there, despite showers and clothe-changing. Max would be easy, you would think that girl was a boy. One who never showered or changed. Nudge, on the other hand, would be almost impossible. Fang was most possibly the hardest because of his stealthiness.

But really, the main target was Max, so all the others could wait.

He smiled to himself...yeah, he was a genious.

"You're not actually considering this, are you?" Fang asked, incredulous.

What? Considering? Hell, no! I'm doing a lot more than that!

"Well, yes, I am!" I said rather loudly and rather annoyed.

He pulled away from our hug (if this were under any other circumstance, I would be freaking out with joy or oddness that we are hugging) and stared at me, almost peering into my soul.

"Max, that's just stupid! Do you remember what the School's like?"

"How can I not! My worst nightmare is being back there!" I exploded. I couldn't help it. I was already feeling crappy. After feeling almost...normal. And I'm telling ya, after experiencing normal, I feel downright bad when I think of what we've all went through.

"Then why are you going?!" Okay, Fang was adorable (I admit it!) but this wasn't adorable. I wanted the adorable Fang back.

My eyes were stormy, "You know damn well why I'm going back," and turned the other way, feeling like a petulent child and not caring.

"Ari's not worth it," was a totally Fang reply.

"Yes, he is!" I was really shouting now.

"You can't love him and me," Fang replied, going totally monotone on me, hitting a soft spot. How could I forget how much Fang hated Ari. I felt even guiltier, if possible.

"Yeah, well if you loved me, you wouldn't care if I loved him," I was going to ramble on that he was my actualy blood brother, and loving your brother was normal. But my wetness rolled down my cheeks again. Fang, the only person I could really trust in a pinch, didn't have my back. And I hated that almost as much as Ari being dead.