Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. That's good ol' JP's job, and he does it well.
In my sleep, I had these terrible dreams. All of these images and names kept swirling about, like a snowglobe.
Itex, Re-evolution, Jeb Batchelder, Anne Walker, Ari, Ella Martinez, Dr. Martinez, Sam, Lissa, Max II.
I suddenly remembered all these people. How they've helped me, how they've hurt me, and how they have affected me throughout my life. But Asch and Lily were still an enigma to me.
I forced myself awake. It was morning, the sun shining through my window.
I got out of bed and quickly got dressed, not bothering to take a shower. I quickly ran downstairs to my mother who was in the kitchen. She was making breakfast again.
"Mom, do you know who I am?"
She kept working at the counter like she didn't even hear me.
"Mom!?"
No response. I went to touch her shoulder and then the most disturbing thing happened. My hand went through her, like she was a ghost. As my hand went through her, her body around her faded.
I quickly pulled my hand out. I was so freaked out. What was happening now?
I ran out of the house and flew into the sky. Quickly, I flew to the treehouse. I flew right on in.
"Guys," I cried to them, "something strange is going on."
Jacob, Celia, and Kevin all seemed to be pre-occupied with something. They were laughing about something, but I couldn't hear them. Then all of a sudden they ran towards me. But they ran through me like ghosts and climbed out of the treehouse. They were just like my mother.
No, she wasn't my mother. My mother was still out there somewhere.
And those people weren't my friends. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel were my friends. And our dog Total.
This whole town wasn't real somehow. Everything always worked in my favor. I can't believe I never noticed it before.
I knew who I was. I was Maximum Ride. Two years ago, me and the others stopped Itex in a huge explosion. But then all of a sudden, it just went from that to me being here in Roland City.
I jumped out of the treehouse. I needed to find my way out of this town somehow.
Suddenly I heard a strange noise behind me. I turned around to see a rift, Lily's rift, but instead of Lily coming out, it was Asch.
"Maxie," he said, "look at what it's coming down to. I'm gonna have no choice but to kill you if you don't come back with me."
"Wait," I said, desperately trying to remember him from my past, "We're best friends, right?"
"Well, yeah, but I'm not about to let Itex use you for their project just because… wait a minute, you remember me now?"
"Uhh, yeah," I said weakly. I still didn't remember him.
"That-that-that's great… but, aww, I gotta make sure, so uhhh, uhmm… I know. What are the names of the rest of our flock?"
I tried to remember. I really tried, but they just wouldn't come to me.
I just stood there, not saying a word, not being able to remember people who were supposed to be my friends.
"No?" Asch sighed. "Dammit, I can't believe this. Sorry, Max."
He unfurled his wings. They were a dark brown color. But they were different from mine. They were skinnier, almost like a hummingbird's.
Wait a minute. Hummingbird?
It started to come back to me. Asch was special, he had hummingbird DNA put into him rather than from normal birds or hawks. Which meant-
Suddenly, Asch was a centimeter from my face, his fist even closer. POW! I must have flown back five feet before I landed on the ground.
That was a detail I could have remembered two seconds earlier. Asch has super-speed. But unlike mine, he can control it way better than I can.
I got up, ready to take him on again, when suddenly a familiar voice called out, "There she is; get her."
I looked to my right. It was the Erasers from before. They found me again. When they came, they began to morph into their wolf-like form.
"Erasers?!" yelled Asch.
He charged one of them. He landed a kick in one's stomach and then he kneed him in the jaw. Then he spun around and landed an elbow in another Eraser's face.
The one who tried to strangle me approached me. "You know," he said, "you're becoming a real pain in my ass."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you. Choking a person out can really get on one's nerves."
He took a few swings, all of which I ducked. The other came from behind me and wrapped his large arms around me. But I mule kicked him in his groin. Then I delivered a kick right to the other one's chest, knocking the wind out of him.
"How does it feel to have the air cut off from you?"
I got in some punches on the one behind me, and then I jumped in the air and gave him a straight kick to the face, knocking him out.
I looked over to Asch who was giving the last Eraser a roundhouse kick to his neck, snapping it. The Eraser slumped to the ground.
He turned to face me. He charged at me again. But then he suddenly stopped, as if he was frozen in time.
Oh, no. It was happening again. A large voice came booming from the sky, "Max, go to the abandoned manor at the north end of the town. The time has come."
The voice sounded like that old man from the dance competition. I knew where the manor was that he was talking about. I figured I should probably go. I may have been able to find the answers I was looking for.
I flew off towards it. It only took me a few minutes to reach it. I landed at the doorway. What I was looking for may have just been beyond it.
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Asch went through with the attack, but Max suddenly disappeared.
"What the-?"
He looked around to see that Max was nowhere to be found.
"I don't believe this," he said to himself, "he's luring her in. They're just using her and there's no way I can stop it. I got no choice, I've got to take her out."
Asch knew where Doc was operating from; the old manor in the north. He started flying towards it.
"Fang, I'm sorry."
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