Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Maximum Ride novels. They belong to James Patterson and so on. Any other characters not referenced prior in the books belong to me and any other resemblances and strictly coincidental and not intended.

Canary: I am SO sorry!

Calamity: Chya… We actually planned to have this chapter up WAY earlier, but we were having complications starting it.

Canary: But now everything is worked out and you should be able to expect sooner updates!

Calamity: ALSO! I don't know if you guys watch that T.V. show called 'Heroes' or not, but I just realized the resemblance between Fang's power and Maya's power. Let me please, please, PLEASE reassure you, just incase anyone brings it up, that this is TRULY coincidence, and that I thought that up before the second season even aired. So, the only similarity, really, is that Maya kills people and their eyes turn black and they cry black tears, whereas Fang injects or summons nightmares, causing people's eyes to turn black and cry BLOOD. So, yeah. Just wanted to clear that up incase anyone had noticed or not… cause I had… Yeah…

Can't Cry: Gestört

Chapter Nine: Noo

Fang's grip on David's arm tightened. The Hebrew would have winced in pain, for the pressure was ready to crack his bone, but he was too mesmerized by the dark, menacing eyes that held him there. Still, something was happening that prevented Fang from just taking David's life… Something inside Fang's head.

Fang… You do not understand! You want him, so take him! Get rid of his stupidity and finish him! He will leave you alone, then, Fang. You won't have to worry about him anymore…

But I don't want to… I don't want to kill people just so that they'll leave me alone…

Yes! Yes you do! You are a monster! You ENJOY taking life! You enjoy it!

Stop it! You're lying!

No, Fang! You are the one who is lying! To yourself even! Give in… You know you want him… So take him…

NO!

Fang closed his eyes and ripped his arm off of David, leaving red claw marks on the young man's arm. David immediately touched his own face. Dry. He felt that familiar, huge smile grace his face. He had cheated death yet again! His thoughts halted, though, as Fang started to growl in strange and deep tones. David backed away a few steps.

"Woah… Fang, it's over… C'mon, you can win over this bitch!" he said. Fang's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he began to shake violently. David's eyes widened and he tried to steady Fang. "Shit!" Fang went limp. David glanced around the rooftop frantically. "Shit, shit, shit!" He felt Fang's neck, barely detecting a pulse. Ivan was going to kill him.

He sat up, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Time to jump into the Noo, he thought to himself. He had been in the noosphere before. It was part of his ability and also the reason he could hear Lydia talking to Fang. It was also a fast and easy way of communication.

The noosphere was the collective consciousness that blanketed the world, linking everyone's minds together. If one could enter it, such as David, it was possible to access people's thoughts, dreams, memories… their minds entirely. It was also the reason some people had special abilities. David's power also allowed him to see who did and who didn't have these abilities.

The only way someone could have an ability, such as a mind reader, was because invisible strings linked their soul and mind to the noosphere. David could see these strings. They were usually white in colour, silky, and waved gently around the person if they had powers. David had several of these silky strings, more than even people with abilities, which made his connection to the noosphere particularly powerful and allowed him to jump in a reach to people's minds, access any knowledge he needed, and so on and so forth. Sadly, it always took a lot out of him physically and left him heavily fatigued, so he didn't jump in very often.

Now, though, he needed to find Ivan Kulikov's mind and ask him what the hell was going on and how to bring Fang back to consciousness. He slowly let out his breath, concentrating on entering the noosphere.

-+-

Max set the newspaper clippings on the ground around her flock. They all looked intensely at the papers.

"These are the papers that I was telling you about," Max said quietly. She read the articles out loud, since Total's reading skills weren't exactly on the ball and she knew he'd complain if she didn't. "It says, 'Mass disappearances aren't exactly new to the world. In fact, they occur widely in third world countries. But, here in Manhattan, massive disappearances of lower class citizens have caught the eye of the Police. Deputy Jesphine says, "Our streets have always been the source of lowlifes, and disappearances are bound to happen. We try our best to protect these people, even if they are on the bottom of the food chain. They're people all the same. But, now, these abductions have skyrocketed over the past month. Just last week there were a total of eleven disappearances. Someone, or a group of people, is attacking the weak, the strong, even the old and the very, very young. No one is safe." The police have recommended a curfew to be set, as the timelines all peg the abductions late at night. Some officers expect organized crime. In any case, it would be best if all of the lower class Manhattan citizen remained indoors at night until this menace is found'." Max glanced up at her flock, waiting for their response.

"You heard the paper, Max," Nudge said quietly. "It could be organized crime… It could be anyone. I mean, the signs are there… but it could be someone else." Max nodded, taking her words as lightly as she possibly could.

"Gasman?" Max asked, looking to her right. The young one had been very quiet, losing a lot of his talkativeness when Iggy had… died. Max swallowed hard, hoping that he would try his best to make it through losing his best friend.

"It sounds like him," he said through his teeth. Max set a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. The flock, even Total, exchanged weird glances.

"Gazzy?" Angel said, walking towards her brother. The Gasman sniffed a little bit, his lip sticking out. His eyes were brimming with tears.

"Why do we have to go find him!?" he shouted suddenly. Max's eyes widened as her mind slowly reached understanding.

"Gazzy! He's our brother!" Nudge said urgently. The Gasman shook his head vigorously.

"I don't care! He tried to kill Angel! Then he killed Iggy! He's dangerous!" he said. Tears spilled over his eyes and he sat on the cold, hard ground and crossed his arms. "I don't want him back! Go without me!"

Max was silent, a little astonished at the Gasman's stubborn ways. She knew he had his moments, but he had always been like her… He was always for staying together and keeping close to his family, even when the flock split for a short time when Ari was around. His newfound anger bothered her. She knelt down and pulled him into a tight embrace that he didn't return.

"I know that Iggy is gone," she said, trying her best not to choke on her words. "I know that we have been through so much and that this family is being tested all the time. With Jeb, the School…" She put a hand on each of his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Even with those pathetic, fridge-like, franken-Erasers." Gazzy couldn't help but give the tiniest of grins. He wiped his eyes, the tears glistening on his sleeve. He stared at it blankly, trying not to cry again. Max put a hand on his cheek. "We have been through way too much to start hating each other now." Gazzy looked up at her with his big, teary blue eyes.

"But, Max… Iggy," he said, the waterworks beginning all over again. Max held him again and this time the Gasman returned the hug, practically crawling into Max's lap the best way a tall eight-year-old like himself could. Max patted his head.

"I know… I miss him, too. That's why we have to help Fang. He's ill and we have to save him. What if he hurts others? What if he becomes too entirely lost in himself that he's not even Fang anymore? What if he becomes… a monster?" Max forced the words out, her eyes threatening waterworks as well. "Iggy would want us to help him… If we lose Fang and Iggy, then our family will be so much smaller… we'll be that much more alone. I don't know about you, Gazzy, but I don't want to be any more alone than necessary," Max said gently. Gazzy sniffed again, his whimpers muffled by Max's jacket. "Besides," she said, lifting the Gasman's face up. "Are you sure you wanna be surrounded by a bunch of girls?" Gazzy let out another teensy weensy grin and wiped his tears away.

After a few shuddering breaths he stood up. Nudge and Angel went to give him comforting hugs and Total jumped up and licked his face. Gazzy nodded and tried to smile when the others asked if he was all right. Max felt her heart ache as the scene played out. He was her little warrior.

Still, she knew that the pain of Iggy's death would be very hard to get over, especially for Fang. Thinking about him brought another wave of pain that she tried miserably to ignore.

It's because you love him.

The Voice. Max was almost stunned. She hadn't heard from the Voice in ages. It had been so long, in fact, that she had almost allowed herself to think it was gone for good. She was silent, waiting for the Voice to say something else. Nothing came.

She found herself slightly disturbed. The Voice had said that she loved Fang, but she already knew that. At first she had loved him as a brother, but then she fell so deeply in love with him. Strangely, though, hearing it from someone else, even a voice in her head… It made it sound so official…

For the first time in several days, she smiled.

-+-

David opened his eyes at the absence of real-world sounds. He inhaled sharply, surrounded by a field of tall grass and a night sky hovering above him. He looked around, something seeming off. Then, he laughed.

He had obviously jumped into someone's memory or mind. It happened sometimes when David went into the noosphere. Since it was made up of minds it was very difficult to jump in without entering some random person's thoughts. He chuckled again and closed his eyes, concentrating on leaving.

Nothing happened.

Now he panicked. He tried again, but nothing happened. Suddenly, a strange sense of familiarity washed over him. A voice, barely audible, hung in the air. He froze, recognizing the soft sound of the little girl.

Lydia.

He was in Fang's mind.