Oh my goodness, guys... I am so sorry I haven't updated in who knows how long. I've been pretty... unmotivated and stuff. And preoccupied. And all that wonderful stuff. :) Thanks so much for being patient and not bombarding me with angry stuff. (I know that's what I would've done. Haha.) In case you were wondering, I didn't spend all that extra time writing the Maximum Ride books, so they're still not mine. And despite my hiatus, Aspen is still MINE. Not anyone else's. Mine. The end.

Chapter 27: Disagreement

The sun rose, eventually. It made the frost on the trees around us sparkle a little bit. It was pretty, in a weird kind of way.

I nudged Robin with my foot. "Wake up," I said unkindly. I resisted the urge to kick her out of the tree.

Robin swatted at my prodding shoe without opening her eyes, muttering something incoherently. I thought I heard the word "Eraser" in it though.

I couldn't just sit back and take it anymore.

Planting my shoe in her side, I gave her a good shove, and down she went. Robin shouted something that I'd rather not repeat as she hit the ground.

She got up, brushing herself off. "What did you do that for, stupid Er-?"

"Shut up, Robin," I interrupted her. "I know you don't like me. I don't like you much, either. But seriously, cut it out. I'm not going to put up with this anymore. You can try not to be a total jerk, or I'll just rescue Conner on my own. Got it?" My voice was shaking with all the anger from the week and a half of torment she'd put me through since we'd started "working together."

For once, Robin was silent. She didn't snap at me, or even glare. She was staring at me in horror.

"Please, don't…" her voice trailed off feebly.

Confused, I looked down at my hands, which were clenched in fists at my sides. They were hairy and had claws. I'd accidentally morphed when I got angry. I'd forgotten that that happened; I'd been trying so hard for so long to keep my emotions in check that I hadn't actually gotten outwardly angry for a while.

I shifted back into my less-threatening form, anger ebbing just a little bit. But not much. Robin continued to eye me warily. The silence stretched uncomfortably, and I still wanted to claw her face to a bloody mess.

Without speaking, I grabbed my now-full backpack and slung it over my shoulders. I spread my wings and launched into the air, not looking behind me to see if she was following.

I flew for several hours, just concentrating on the cool air on my face. After a while it started to be less cool and more frigid. I shivered in my thin, worn-out jacket, wondering why I hadn't donned my new one.

Tucking in my wings, I went into a steep dive and landed in a deserted-looking park. I put my backpack on a nearby picnic table and rummaged through it until I found my new sweatshirt. I pulled it on over my old one, after cutting holes in the back for my wings.

My stomach rumbled painfully, reminding me that I'd missed out on breakfast. Crap. I was preparing my own meals. I was going to die of food poisoning without Robin, I admitted to myself grudgingly.

I extracted a package of granola bars. Even I couldn't mess up granola bars. I shoved a couple in my pockets to eat while I was flying and shoved the box back into my backpack. I looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone watching before unfolding my wings to take to the air again.

Before I could take off, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, near the entrance to the park. I hastily tucked in my wings and tried to look casual.

The intruder came over to me, looking slightly afraid, but mostly angry. "What were you thinking this morning, taking off without me?" demanded Robin.

My temper flared again. "I don't know, something along the lines of 'I hope she doesn't bother to follow me,'" I snarled.

"Well, I didn't follow you because I wanted to," she retorted. "I'm only sticking with you because I'm going to rescue Conner, and, unfortunately, you need to help me."

"You're going to rescue him?" I repeated incredulously. "What do you know about getting into the Institute? Do you know where they've most likely put him? Do you-"

"Shut up!" shouted Robin. "You think that just because you're an Eraser, you know more than I do? I've broken out before, in case you've forgotten. As far as I'm concerned, breaking in after that should be a piece of…"

I'd stopped listening. Something had moved in the tree above Robin, and I was trying to figure out what it was. Suddenly a fist connected with my face.

"Listen to me!" Robin said angrily. "I'm getting sick of-" Her sentence was interrupted by a scream.

An Eraser had jumped out of the tree I'd been inspecting and landed right on her. He was closely followed by another who leapt at me.

Caught by surprise, I was knocked down by my attacker. Instinctively, I morphed and clawed at one of the big hands pinning my shoulders to the ground. I rolled sideways out from under him, knocking him over. I scrambled upright as quickly as I could, and aimed a kick at his head. The Eraser collapsed, unconscious.

Robin didn't seem to be faring as well as I was. Her Eraser was bigger, and had his hands around her throat. Her attempts to loosen his grip were getting feebler as she gasped for air. I flung myself at the Eraser, clawing at his face. He dropped Robin, clutching his bloody muzzle.

Snarling, the Eraser rounded on me furiously. I barely dodged his potentially face-crumpling fist, losing my balance. I stumbled, and his claws tore through my new sweatshirt and into my side. I gasped in pain. The Eraser was grinning, enjoying my pain. I punched him in the jaw, and his head snapped upward. The momentum from my blow sent him a few steps backward, towards where Robin lay, completely unconscious.

He turned to attack the vulnerable prey. I leapt forward, tackling him before he could take advantage of Robin's temporary weakness. We tumbled to the ground, each trying to grasp clawed hands around the other's throat. Snarling viciously, both of us struggled to pin the other to the ground. Eventually, his bigger size and strength won out and he was on top of me.

I struggled against the huge arms pinning me to the ground. His grimacing snarl morphed into a nasty grin, the smile of a predator that knows its prey has no chance of escape. A hacking noise emerged from his throat. He was laughing at me.

I snarled viciously, then twisted suddenly and sank my teeth into a massive forearm. The Eraser hissed in pain, but didn't release me. I twisted again, wrenching his wrist until I heard a satisfyingly sickening snap. The Eraser howled in agony, clutching his broken appendage. Quickly taking advantage of his distraction, I stood up and gave him a swift kick. The Eraser rolled onto his side, moaning.

Man, he was making a ton of noise. I looked around to make sure that nobody had come to investigate yet. I kicked his head, knocking him out and making him shut up. Looking around warily for any witnesses, I dragged the two furry masses under a bush and hid them from where any curious children might find them.

I chuckled to myself, imagining some little girl clinging to her mother's skirt, begging. "Oh, mommy, please? Can't we please keep him? I always wanted a puppy! I'll take good care of him, I promise! I'll clean up after him and feed him all the innocent mutant bird kids he needs! Please?"

Still laughing to myself, I checked my attackers' pockets, claiming their wallets as my own. I felt slightly guilty about stealing, but they had tried to kill me.

Well, on second thought, I didn't really feel guilty after all.

I'll try not to take an eternity and a half to get up the next chapter. PLEASE review! I'll post as soon as I get like three to five reviews and have the next chapter finished. Tell your friends about Aspen please... I'd LOVE to hit 100 reviews on part one! It would totally rock my soul to pieces.