Aj: Hello my minions! I apologize for missing last chapter, as most of you probably went through the same thing, I was mourning the fact that the world didn't end. I wanted my zombies!

Anika: We wanted to get this chapter-what might be one of our best chapters-out to you guys tonight so we didn't have time to respond to reviews and give out cookies. Sorry, but we'll get those done later today. Without further ado...

Aj: What?

Anika: Oh, I was just expecting you to make some sarcastic comment about how I said ado...

Aj: Well now that you mention it...

Beep…Beep….Beep…..Beep…

Echoing silence. Loud alarm blaring. Doctors rushing, speaking a confusing language full of medical shebang. More static following. More blurred movements and surroundings dimly making their way into my subconscious. Yelling…crying…beep…beep…beep.

When did everything become so dark?

Beep…beep…beep…

I felt pressure on my body, as if arms were tackling me. Funny, I didn't know I was playing football. Or maybe it was something else. There was soft circular patterns moving in a rhythmic, soothing, pattern across my palm. Heat. Whatever was making the pattern was warm and was holding my hand desperately. I wondered what that could be, but not for long. It was only a few seconds later before I completely forgot about what I was just thinking.

What was my name again?

There were voices around me. They were really loud and I wanted the disruption to go away. Why couldn't I go back to the hazy black abyss I had just been in? There, there had been no loud noises, or anything, for that matter. It seemed that the voices seemed to be saying a name. Over and over and over. Honestly, why couldn't they just let this Maya chick have her space? There was one voice who wouldn't stop talking. Ugh, I'd give anything to drown them out. Although the voices seemed familiar…

Beep…beep…beep

Somebody turn the beeping off. It's so annoying. What was I supposed to be doing again? I knew somebody told me to do something. Oh well, if I can't remember it, it's probably not worth it. Right? Who had told me to do…something anyways! I don't like being told what to do. Hair. I'm pretty sure the person had hair…but I'm not positive. If they had hair…it would have to have a color too. Or…maybe not a color. The hair is the absence of light! So…black hair. I think.

Where am I? Why can't I move?

Annoying. Stubborn. Pigheaded. Tough. Sarcastic. Loner. Paranoid. Fighter. Liar. That's what the mysterious one with the black hair was like. Oh wait, maybe that was me. This thinking stuff was hard. And my head hurt. Actually, everything hurt. How come I was in so much pain? Maybe I was old? No, I'm pretty sure I wasn't old. I was…Maya? No that wasn't right, Maya was my sister. Wait, since when do I have a sister? And more importantly…if I had a sister, why couldn't I hear her voice among the cacophony of other obnoxious voices. But maybe my name started with the same first letter?

Why is time moving so slow? I want to wake up.

Beep…Beep…Beep

More pretentious words made it into my subconscious, making my head hurt that much more. Why can't they just dumb things down like all of the other Americans do? There were two other voices. They were crying. I wonder why. Maybe if they were the prissy type, they were crying because they chipped a nail. No, it was something else. It sounded much more serious. Maybe it involved a family member. I hope whoever their family was was okay.

Black. There was a lot of black wherever I was. Black. The boy was covered in black. Black hair. Black clothes. Black eyes. Even black shoes. However, his teeth were white. His skin was tan. He was sarcastic. Impassive. Honest. Irritating. Smart. Really irritating. Confusing. This boy was a whole new level of annoying. He was…protective? I don't even know. I don't even knoe his name. I knew it was some hipster wannabe name. T.J? No. Flash? Nope. Bieber? Hell no. Snake? No…wait, maybe I was close. Snake have teeth. Or…fangs. Fang.

"Maya, promise me. Promise me that no matter what, no matter how tired you are, promise me you won't go to sleep."

Maya? Why had Fang called me Maya? I was Maria. No, that wasn't right. Marissa? No. Margo? Ick. I seriously hope that one was wrong. May? No. Mikayla. Madison. Missy. Mavis. Megan. No, no, no, no, no.

Maximum Ride.

Beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beeeeeeeeeeep…beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep….

…..

…

"— pulse dropping."

"—lost too much blood."

"—get the friends and family out of here!"

"—there was never much hope to begin with."

"—she'll be in a better place."

"—what are you doing? Save her! Do your job or so help me I'll—"

"—somebody get the boy out of here!"

"—Clear!"

…..

…..

…..

Waves crashed against the surf of the beach, just off the coast of Catalina Island. The sun was setting, creating a plethora of purples and blues and pinks and oranges, all mixing together into a gradient reflecting across the serene waters. The wind was howling, shouting its secrets to any soul who would listen. Tiny grains of sand shifted under the weight of three grown men purposely making their way to a shack that normally would go unnoticed. However, to these men, the unnoticed should be noticed first.

The wind picked up, now screeching in protest, barraging against the men. The leader who was tall and well muscled paid no attention to the slight resistance, a scowl on his stubble-coated face. Just twenty yards away, the shack shook slightly from the wind, the rusted nails struggling to keep the structure intact. Getting closer to the shack, the leader reached into his back pocket and pulled out a gun. A silencer was already attached. All the man had to do was click off the safety.

Inside, a little girl, no older than eleven, sat hunched in fetal position, quivering in fear as she peeked through the cracks of the poorly built structure.

"Dad, I'm scared." Max whispered, speaking as clearly as possible into the walkie-talkie she had, clutched so tightly in her hand that her knuckles were white. It was a chore to not make a sound, let alone cry like she wanted to as she continued to stare at the men. Her eyes widened when she saw the leader pull out a gun, mimicked by the two men behind him. They were heading right towards her.

"Maximum, I order you to toughen up and carry on with the plan! I will not allow you to show weakness." Jeb hissed, his voice mixed with static from the walkie-talkie. It was easier to tell someone else to be brave when they were on a nice and cozy boat thirty miles away. Max had gotten separated from Maya back when they were running for their lives after they had been caught by the goons who were in the middle of pursuing Max. God, she hoped Maya had gotten out okay.

Breathing in to control her raging emotions, Max put her eye back to the crack, only to be met with another eye staring right at her. An eye as black as night. She let out a loud shriek and stumbled as far back as she could go.

"Hello, Princess." The man sneered before attempting to throw open the door. Luckily, the crudely built structure seemed to hold, buying Max some time to look around for a way of escape. Or a weapon.

Max was running out of time. It was obvious as the shack shook yet again from the three men using their full body weight to barrel into the shack and break down the shack. Max's heart froze as she heard a crack and felt a hairy, calloused hand wrap an iron grip on Max's ponytail, pulling her towards the wall. From what she could see while she was being dragged, only the arm had managed to get through. For now.

Forcing her panic down by biting down on her lip to keep from screaming in horror, Max scanned the room for something—anything—that could save her. A bucket, a mop, a fishing net, some bait, an almost empty roll of fishing line, a worn out Hawaiian shirt, and…bingo. Max's eye caught how a small ray of light had seeped in and reflected on something silver. A hook that seemed to have broken off of a wooden pole. Looking at her options, Max knew she had to make do with what she had. One of her dad's rules—one of his most important rules—was to be resourceful. Time to make him proud.

Max dropped the walkie-talkie and—as painful as it was—spun around sharply to release herself from the shortest man's grip. She let out a cry of pain, but clenched her jaw and quickly set to work. She would have limited time, but if her adrenaline served her well, than her plan should have at least a slight chance. Even then, Max would have to be really lucky.

It was three minutes before the walls started crashing down. They were yelling at each other, at the scared little girl inside, and at the weather that had now begun to pour, assaulting the three men with thick, wet droplets seemingly coming from mid-air. Max, now panting and chewing her lip in worry, finished tying the final knot to her sloppy plan. However, with the amount of time she was given, her plan was Nobel Prize worthy. As the wall began to give way, Max quickly pried open the soggy board that's nails were missing. It broke easily, having been reduced to driftwood over the years, and Max slipped out—weapons in tow—undetected just as the door gave in. A million things seemed to happen at once.

As the door caved in, the bucket that had been carefully placed on a shelf just above the door crumbled in on itself, toppling a bucket filled with bait—nearly a hundred muddy, squirming worms—were released onto the leader, the bucket landing on his head. At the same time, the shortest man with the hairy knuckles rushed into the shack, not realizing that a strand of fishing line had been set up as a tripwire. A mop swung on a rope made of the last of the fishing line and rushed at the man—pole first—into his delicate region. He howled, covering the area with his beefy hands and the third man with beefy muscles, in full rage—the only one who had yet to be victim to one of the little girl's traps—rushed to where he saw an opening just wide enough for the lithe girl to fit through. Impulsively, the muscular man stuck his head and right arm through the opening to try and catch Max, when a clump of sand hit him in his face, filling his mouth and scalding his eyes. He screamed and rubbed just enough sand away from his burning eyes to see a shredded Hawaiian t-shirt turned into a slingshot.

Roaring in anger at his team being made fools of, the leader ripped the bucket off of his head and shook the worms off of him as best as he could, trying not to let any get in his mouth. All he could see was red. Turning around, he rushed through the door before bouncing back and regaining his balance just before he fell on his butt. Focusing on what was an open doorway just a minute ago, the leader clenched his fists as he saw a net strung along the entrance, blocking off the doorway. The girl was running as far as she could as fast as she could. Pulling out his gun from the waistband of his slacks, he fired as best as he could, not even bothering to aim to his best ability. He was too angry to aim. The bullets did nothing but hit sand near her, causing her to run away faster. Tired of being bested by a little brat, the leader ripped away the crudely tied net that was only loosened by his attack on it. Knowing he could use his anger to his advantage, the leader tore through the sand and the rain. After all, she had stolen something from him that he wanted back.

Max didn't know where she was running—where she could run—but she knew she had to put as much distance between her and the three men as possible. She had managed to buy herself some time, but only a little bit of time. When they went after her, they would be mad. She just hoped that she run fast enough, run far enough that they would give up searching for her. Max clutched her stomach, where there was a rectangular bulge from whatever she had stolen that had gotten her in this mess. It would have been smarter to just hand over what she had taken back at the shack. Maybe then they wouldn't have hurt her. But now, there was no chance that they wouldn't get revenge after her little Home Alone stunt.

Max let out a scream as she was tackled from behind. The leader had managed to catch up with her and now, there was obvious bloodlust in his eyes. Max's eyes watered and she choked down a sob. It wouldn't do her any good now. It would only give the man who was going to hurt her more satisfaction by showing weakness. Sticking out her chin, Max tried to remain emotionless and brave as the leader tossed to gun off to the side, somewhere behind him. What was he up to? Wasn't he going to kill her?

"Do you know what you stole from me? It was very important, but I'm sure you wouldn't understand. You're just a child. But trust me, you will. You're very clever. And very annoying. I doubt anyone would care that you would by my first test subject, of many. Congratulations, little girl. You're going to change the world." He sneered, causing her eyes to widen with undisclosed fear. Her brave act was good, but it wasn't good enough to hide this fear. To think, just a few weeks ago, she had been with Fang and Nudge, on yet another of their adventures.

Bang!

Max's blood froze and the leader had a confused look on his face. He gazed down at Max once more, seeming to memorize her face, before slumping over on top of the small girl. There was no way to describe the turmoil possessing the small eleven year old as a body lay on top of her, blood staining her clothes in a thick, never ending, red liquid. She choked, knowing that she would have to breathe soon, but not knowing if she remembered how to. Slowly, the small blonde raised her head to see herself, shaking, while still clutching the man's own gun. It was Maya. Maya had just shot a man. Had Maya—Max's eleven year old younger twin sister—just…

"Maya." Max squeaked, finally coming to her senses and scrambling from under the body, fighting the growing urge to puke.

"Did you just—is he…Maya?" Tears began to fall as Max stared at her identical twin. Maya was staring at the ground, her shaking hands let the gun fall to the sand. The girls both winced as the sound seemed to echo, as loud as a thunder clap.

"I—I don't know. I—I just wanted to save you. I didn't mean to—"Sobs wracked Maya's body as she collapsed onto her knees in the now bloodstained sand. Max went down to her sister's level and put an arm around her, whether to comfort her sister or comfort herself, she would never know.

"We—we need to go." Maya whispered, sobs still wracking her body.

"I know. Dad will be here soon. All we need to do is—"

"No, Max. We need to leave Jeb. We can't keep doing this! We need to run away, to a safer place where he can't find us. Where he can't make us hurt anyone, or steal, or lie every second of our lives. One of these days, it's going to end up so bad for us that there's no going back. One of these days, it's going to kill us. Or worse. C'mon Max, you're my sister and I love you. We made a blood bond to always stay with each other. Let's go." She urged, trying to control her sobbing, although she was still shaking violently.

"Maya…no, we can't. Where will we go? We'll die! Maya, please. Dad…we can tell him we've had enough. He'll understand, after all, he said this time was the last time." Max begged, starting to get a feeling of dread that everything was going to change. A dread that was unstoppable as soon as that gun went off.

"Yeah, he's said it's the last time for everything we've had to do for the past two years. Max, we aren't going to get out of this life as long as we're with that man! We have to go." Maya retorted, desperation filling her tone. Max looked off at the water, deeply considering listening to her sister and just running. Starting a new life; a better one. As Max looked at the water, even past the heavy rain that drenched both of the sisters, she could see a boat heading their way. Jeb.

"It's now or never, Maxie."

"No…Maya, we can't leave, not now at least. We have to plan or think this through. Just wait a little longer, Maya. Please." Not looking at her, Maya settled into a stony silence, staring at the still body just feet away from them.

"Do you think he's dead? Do you think I really—" Maya trailed off, unable to say the words that would make everything real.

"I dunno. I would check, but Mrs. Aelsfirth hasn't taught us how to…you know." Maya nodded, not really paying attention, just continuing to stare.

"Let's go. Jeb will be waiting for us." Maya said, no longer shaking.

"But don't you want to find out whether he's alive or…don't you want to see if we can help him?" Max suggested, her voice high as she became desperate to find a way to fix what had happened.

"No. Now let's go." Maya hissed, her face stony and her fists clenched. Maya turned her back on Max and walked on, but Max looked doubtfully at the body, before turning to face Maya who was wiping her prints from the gun, with no trace of emotion. Max shivered, knowing that after this, none of the two would be the same. Max just hoped that she hadn't lost her sister for good.

As the two boarded the boat, a few hundred yards from the coast due to rocks near the shore, Jeb turned to the two expectantly. Max noticed how his eyes lingered on the blood, but said nothing about it. He never questioned why there was blood. He never questioned what the two had gone through that would forever decide the fate of their entire lives. He only asked one question of his two daughters. His two pawns.

"Did you get what I asked?" His eyes shimmered with hope, which seemed foreign to the two. Max nodded silently, taking the files out from where she had secured it under her grey sweatshirt. Max forcibly slammed the files into his chest as hard as she could as she saw his eyes fill with greed.

"I hope they were worth it," Max spat, before adding, "Jeb."

His eyebrows rose slightly, at the sudden change in Max. It was obvious that he thought nothing of it at the time, just passing it off as a phase. Max never called Jeb her father ever again.

"—the girl showed a slight response."

….beep…

"—Clear!"

…beep…...beep…..

"—did anyone else see her finger twitch?"

….beep…beep…..

"—Clear!"

beep…beep…beep

"—she's waking up!"

"You are such an idiot, Max!" My sister chastised me, pacing across the room I had been assigned to. My headache seemed to be growing by her presence and I longed to just lie down and rest for just a little bit. I mean, what could the harm be in resting for just a teensy weensy second.

"Max! You know that you aren't supposed to sleep I mean, come on, you would think that after going into a four day long coma by ignoring everyone telling you not to fall asleep last time, that you would at least remember to stay awake. Honestly, I don't know why I put up with you. Just be glad that you're pretty or else everyone would get fed up with you and you would be forever alone because you're so stubborn. But…I'm glad that you're okay. You have no idea how worried everyone has been. And you'll be happy to know that Ari was locked in a mental ward and is going to face a trial soon, so everything is turning out to be a super duper happy ending!" Nudge squealed, too close to my bed for comfort. Oh yeah, did I mention that she was in here too. No? Well, be glad that you don't have to deal with the serious headache I have from just listening to these two. It's just my luck that these are the only two that know who I am.

"Just be lucky that mom isn't here to yell at you, then hug you, then yell at you again, then give you cookies. Oh, btw, Mom was so freaked out over what happened that she's signing you up for kickboxing so that you know how to protect yourself, although from what I've heard, you don't need any help in that department. Although, maybe you've gone soft since you got totally pummeled by one guy." Ella added. Isn't it great that I have such supportive friends?

"Hey, as much as I hate to admit your most likely crying and hugging mushiness that girls do, but it's our turn to keep Drama Queen over here awake." Iggy burst in, obnoxiously as per usual, with Gazzy at his heels.

The girls huffed, while I silently thanked any and every god in existence for the two girls leaving, meaning my headache would go down. Finally, the gave me big hugs, not quite understanding that I nearly died so bear hugs are a big no, no.

"M'kay, by Ma—" Nudge's mouth was covered just in time by Ella who promptly dragged Nudge out of the room before she accidentally said my real name in front of two of my friends that weren't in the loop about the whole me really being Max impersonating my missing sister.

"Bye Maya, good luck." Ella winked, before shutting the door behind her.

"So, your highness, were you having dreams about me while you were being lazy and not waking up for almost a week? Don't do that again, okay. Everyone was so boring, just moping around waiting for news on you." Iggy drawled, grinning at me as he strutted over to my bedside. Okay, maybe I might want the girls to come back.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Igster, but the only dream I've ever had with you in it was you falling in a hole." I retorted, up for some healthy banter after so long with just myself.

"But you were dreaming about me." Iggy pointed out, grinning like a mad man.

"Sorry Maya, but he's not going to stop bugging you. He hasn't been annoying all week while you were in la-la land. I think he set a record. Of course, we worked on a bomb to kill Ari with, but we decided to wait for you to be there." Gazzy interrupted, making me smile a little. As homicidal as the bomb suggestion sounded, I couldn't help but think about how sweet it was that they built a bomb just for me. I might just be old fashioned though.

"It was awful. I suggested we do something from the list to lighten everyone's mood, but I got shot down. I thought the girls were going to permanently end drought with all of the crying they were doing. And Fang was crying even worse and blowing his nose into his doilies. I, of course, was the strong one forced to comfort everyone. You'll be happy to know that I am the reason everyone survived to see your awakening. I should get a medal. Maybe a parade. Perhaps Iggy Day." Iggy rambled. Has he spent a lot of time with Nudge lately?

"That's not what happened at all." Gazzy argued, causing Iggy's smile to drop and his eyes to grow wide with panic.

"In fact, you were crying the most. We thought you were going to kill yourself or something." Gazzy added, causing me to smirk as Iggy looked down, embarrassed.

"Awww, did Iggy miss me?" I cooed, enjoying his discomfort.

"Well…who else am I going to make fun of? You're like my little sister." He retorted, trying to defend himself. I smiled, feeling slight pride at that for unknown reasons. Whatever, Iggy's weirdness was just rubbing off on me, I suppose.

"So where is Fang? I questioned, trying not to sound too eager to see him. Although, I don't know why I would care if I sounded eager or not, seeing as everyone thought he was my boyfriend.

"We forced him to go home. He's practically been living here to make sure that you aren't attacked in the middle of the night by ninjas or something." Gazzy explained, not noticing the tiny, almost imperceptible, smile that had appeared. I'm not even sure I noticed myself.

"Angel went with him to make sure he got some sleep instead of sneaking back in here. We should probably tell them you've come back to join the world, though." Gazzy said, considering whether that would be the best option.

"Nah. Let's torture them a little. You up for making your boyfriend cry, Maya?" Iggy retorted, glancing towards me for my opinion.

"Oh, always." He grinned, already planning on the best way to torture my boyfriend—my fake one, that is—and Gazzy's little sister. As much as it ashamed me, I couldn't wait to see it.

It was dark and the others had long gone home. The doctors had decided that I still couldn't sleep, but they hadn't considered having someone here to entertain me. Or at least give me a TV for crying out loud! So here I was, in the dark, with nothing to entertain me except my own sarcasm and wit. I bet by the end of the night, the doctors would find my body. My tombstone would read: Maximum Ride. Loving daughter (for the most part), awesome fighter, killed by boredom.

"Hello, Max." I turned, swinging my head to see Jeb standing in my room, nearly shrouded by darkness. I would know that voice anywhere.

"Jeb?" I asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you were the one always obsessing about not doing anything to blow your cover. Someone could see you!"

"That's the thing, sweetheart. The cover isn't as important what I've found out. I'm sorry about this, Maximum, but it has to be done. But remember, everything I have ever done has been to protect you and your sister." He intoned, scaring me a little.

"Jeb, what are you talking abou—"I was interrupted by a sharp prick in my skin on my neck. I struggled, but I couldn't move my head. His hand was holding my head in place, so I wouldn't struggle. What was going on!

"Jeb! What are you doing!" I cried out. He didn't answer, but I was aware of a burning sensation throughout my body.

"Help!" I wailed, only to burst upright, tucked under the blankets, with the sky a little lighter than it had been just a few seconds ago. I had been asleep the entire time. I cursed myself for being such an idiot, but in the dimly lit room, I didn't notice the white feather that had been placed on the floor, the exact spot Jeb had been standing on in my dream.

Anika: How dramatic was that? I don't think it can get any more dramatic than that unless we went to cheesy soap opera levels of dramatic. Which we will DEFINITELY never go to.

Aj: Amen to that. *Shudder*

Anika: So, do any of you guys know any good fanfictions? It seems like they've all disappeared and been replaced by Oc's (cough *Mary Sues* cough) and other various cliche plots. This story is living proof that we don't really like cliche stuff, so if you guys know of anything good, tell u in your review or PM us. Oh, and review for a super-ultra-mega-super-duper giant cookie.

Questions:

1) What did you think of the flashback?

2) What is the dumbest cliche you have ever seen? (Besides vampires, we all know that's played out)

Aj: We wanted to add Fang and Angel in this chapter, but the ending ended up kinda rushed because we wanted to get this to you. Don't worry, Fang and Angel will have a big part in the next chapter. But for now, goodbye my minions and remember to REVIEW!-Aj.