"Fliegen auf" is German for "Fly on."

Fallen

Chapter Eleven: Fliegen auf

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"I'm tired, Fang," I muttered with a sigh, mumbling incoherent words of thanks. He ran a hand through my hair and chuckled. "Why does everyone want me dead?" I randomly asked, half-asleep.

Fang was silent for a moment, his hand still massaging my scalp. "The only reason they want you dead is because they want me dead," he said quietly.

I stared at him in disbelief. "R… Really?" I murmured softly. "I don't want you to die, okay?" I smiled faintly up at him.

He shrugged. Did he seriously just shrug my worry for him off? "I'll do my best, little Wardling," he whispered softly, smiling.

I let out a breath of relief, grinning sheepishly up at him. "Good."

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

My heart always aches whenever I see the memory of my family at the park eight years ago.

But it also makes me angry. So angry.

"Ow!" I had just been shoved to the ground by my younger sister. "Maya! What was that for?"

"You cheated again!" she shouted, a huge pout on her face. "You always cheat! Always!"

"I do not!" I exclaimed back, hopping to my feet, wiping the blades of grass off my butt. "I never cheat! Never!" I mocked.

Maya stared at me as I stood up, her hazel eyes paralyzing me. "Max! Stop lying!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The dream shifted.

Maya, now eighteen, pushed me against the wall, one hand choking me. Her other hand held up a knife, aimed straight for my heart.

"Your death is long overdue."

A smile was on her cold, heartless face, though it was horribly disfigured by the bruises and scars crisscrossing all over her skin.

It was disgusting to look at.

"Look at me, Max," she muttered, her muddy brown eyes boring into mine. Wait. Were her eyes always that muddy? "Look what you've done to me." Her voice cracked on her last word.

I couldn't think of anything to say. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Sorry isn't good enough anymore."

Maya gripped my throat harder, her other hand lifting the knife up higher.

"M-Maya - !" I moaned in pain.

"Good night, Max," she whispered before thrusting the knife into my chest.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"WAAHHH!" I screamed out loud, my fists clamping onto the bed sheet tightly. I felt like if my muscles clenched anymore, my knuckles would bleed. "Maya, I –"

A blonde head popped into view and onto my lap. "Max-chan!" called that cute little voice. "You're awake!" Angel's big blue eyes poured into mine, her face forming into that of a cat's… or I possibly imagined it.

"Angel?" I whispered softly, raising an eyebrow as cat ears appeared on her head.

"Yup!" She gestured to her left, my right. "Gazzy's here too."

"Why…?" I glanced to the right.

Gazzy shrugged and stepped closer to us. His crossed arms covered in lots of black clothing and nonchalant shrug reminded me of Fang. Speaking of Fang, where was he? "Ig said you weren't feeling so hot so he told us to bring you some food," Gaz told me, grinning.

My stomach rumbled at the mention of food. "Where?" I asked almost ravenously. Gazzy chuckled and set a tray of food onto my lap. Without even caring to examine it, I picked up the fork and spoon (fortunately not a chopperstick or whatever those things were), and started to eat furiously. "Mm!" I groaned. "So freaking good!"

"Duh!" Angel teased, bouncing up and down in my lap. I looked her over again, watching as her blonde curls moved in time with her shoulders. Did Iggy seriously have a thing for the cute little Angel? Geez, that's such an evil thought. "Iggy's, like, the best cook in San Diego! Maybe even in California!"

Earlier, I could've convinced myself that that was a hyperbole, but with the quality of the food I was eating now, it had to be almost maybe true. "Where's Ig now?"

"He's getting groceries," Gazzy answered.

"Oh, okay."

Angel looked at me in interest. "Did you need to talk to him?"

I thought about Fang for a moment and wondered where he was hidden. "Yeah," I replied absently.

"Well if you're thinking of asking him out on a date, there's no way I'm letting you do that!" Angel exclaimed in a shrill voice as she grasped both of my shoulders with small, yet firm hands.

Whoa. Possessive Angel? Mindfuck…

"Iggy's mine!" she continued, shaking my shoulders roughly.

WHOA. Possessive Angel to IGGY? COMPLETE SHITBRICK.

"Okay, so I really, really don't want to ask Iggy on a date," I assured her, stopping her from shaking my shoulders off. I'd rather date Fang, Heart-Fang Max, Irrational Max and Hippie-Max said at the same time. "But… Aren't you guys like, seven years apart?" I ignored my voices. There was no way in hell I'd ever want to date Fang. You'd have better chances trying to freeze hell than change my mind.

Angel starting bouncing up and down in my lap again. "No! Noooo! We're only six years apart! SIX!"

I blinked at her response and started giggling. "Angel, firstly, six years is still a really big age difference."

"Not to mention it wouldn't be a good idea to fall in love with your brother," Gaz added, rolling his eyes.

"Brother – right, right foster brother. Wait, that's still wrong!" I patted her head with a sigh and hugged her close. "If you guys seriously consider each other siblings… that's wrong. So wrong. All incest-y." I shuddered at the thought. "Ick."

Angel frowned at me and hit my shoulder softly. "But I love Iggy."

Gaz sighed. "Yeah, no kidding, sis."

"But does Ig love you back in that way too?" I asked her. "Or does he just love you like a younger sister?"

Angel pouted and wouldn't talk to us. Her cheeks puffed and she crossed her arms, turning away and trying to look stubborn. It didn't work. All she did was make herself look even cuter than before, which seemed impossible… but it apparently wasn't.

Gaz frowned and patted Angel's head, smiling. "Oh Ang! I know you love Ig, but come on. You should rethink this… um… Crush."

"Nuh-uh! Iggy promised me he'd marry me when we got older!" Angel squealed, bouncing up and down again, making me nauseous.

My eyes nearly bulged out of my head and I almost threw up. HOLY SHIT FUCKING CRAPGASM ON FIRE, ICE, WIND AND WATER. "WHAT?" I ended up shouting instead. How could he have made such an irresponsible promise? "IGGY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, momentarily forgetting his absence.

"Yup!" Angel continued innocently, not noticing my outburst. "Iggy pinky pwomised me and did a Scout's Honor," Angel explained, grinning cheekily.

"Oh Angel," I muttered under my breath with a loud sigh.

"Ang," Gaz started, "Iggy's very –"

"CAPTAIN IGGY IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!" I heard him shout at the top of his lungs, the door slamming open. "WHOOOOSH!" He sprinted into the room and stood for a few seconds by my bed. Iggy then grabbed then Angel by the hips and lifted her up with no warning whatsoever before he bolted out of the room just as quickly as he had come.

I stared in confusion while Gazzy started laughing, doubling over. "What just happened?" I asked.

"Maxie-poo, Angel isn't the only one who has a thing for their sibling," he explained, a smirk on his face.

"Incest?" I gasped in confusion. God, Iggy and Angel – the age difference was… sickening. Ick.

"…Yup." Gaz bowed. "Now excuse me. I vill now go devhour ze Snickuh bahs," he murmured in a… European accent. He disappeared after speaking that, slamming the door shut.

"'Ze Snickuh bahs,' eh?" I tried to mimic his amazing accent, but epically failed. "Hmm. I kinda want some now," I said out loud, licking my lips.

"I'll go buy you some if you'd like, Wardling," came a familiar whisper.

I tensed in surprise, but gradually relaxed as I realized that it was Fang that had said that. "Um… Yeah, that'd be nice."

"Actually, I can't. I'll tell James to buy some for you," he amended, chuckling as he appeared next to me, taking the tray from my lap and setting it down onto my computer table. I had nearly forgotten it was there. "Why don't you rest, Max?"

I looked down at myself, staring at my belly. "I'm getting fat." I glanced back up at him. "Would it be so hard to shove me off the bed and make me run a mile or something?"

Fang was tense, his obsidian eyes staring hard into mine.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Your stomach. Have you been getting any cravings? Did your period come? Did… you feel anything?" he suddenly questioned, his voice raising a few octaves.

Realization struck me like a bolt of lightning. "…N-No! I haven't!"

Fang's icy cold hand pressed hard to my stomach. "Are you sure? We could go right now and check you for pregnancy –"

"Fang, I'm going to be okay."

"…No, we should make sure. Come on, we can –"

"Fang, I said I'm all right!" I shouted louder than intended.

He pulled away, his body tense in shock. "O-Oh. Right. Sorry. Excuse me." Fang tried to smile.

I grabbed his shoulder and forced him to hug me. "I'm sorry. I know you're worried." With a reluctant sigh, I pulled back, staring into his warm onyx eyes. "Okay. Let's go to the doctor's." I froze in surprise. "My motorcycle –"

"- Is totally fine. I have it covered. I did all the spending, picked it up from Mrs. Dubose or whatever that old hag is named and it's sitting in the parking garage," he explained quickly, ruffling my head. "Come on. Let's take the thing out for a spin." He took my hand and pulled me to my feet, supporting me with his arm. Fang pulled my arm over his shoulder and slumped forward to accommodate our difference in height.

"What about the kids?"

"James has that covered."

I recalled the memory. "Was it that Captain Iggy thing?" I asked, wincing when he grabbed my hip too hard.

"Sorry." He opened the door with his free hand. "But, uh, yeah, that whole Captain Iggy façade was just so he could get Angel and Gazzy out of the room so I could talk to you," he explained, pushing the door open even further.

I moaned softly, limping out the door. "W-Where are they now?" I asked, hoping to get my mind off of the pain.

"James said he'd bring them to the beach. I had a conversation with him while you resting," Fang clarified, smiling as we left our apartment.

"Err… Does Iggy really have feelings for Angel?" I randomly asked while still on the topic of Mr. Iggster.

Fang laughed quietly, the sweet sound filling up the silence. "Oh Deity. Angel and James are complicated to say the least. Though, I'd say yes, they've got a little thing going on here and there," he told me, rubbing my hip gently.

"But Angel's only twelve!"

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, she is. But the interesting thing about her is that… well in short, Angel's a very smart and wise person for her… years."

I shrugged as we stepped out onto the stairs to the ground floor, Fang still supporting me. "If someone saw us now, what would they see?" I wondered.

"They wouldn't see me, so they'd probably just see you limping," he answered with a shrug.

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything smarter to say.

We were quiet as we made our way to the ground floor, Miss Anne Walker waving at me as she talked to what looked like another client.

"Enjoying your apartment, Miss Ride?" she asked, smiling.

I nodded and limped along. "Thank you so much for selling me the room, Miss Anne! I seriously appreciate it," I told her honestly. "It's amazing. I love it."

She grinned and gestured me along. "I hope you feel better. That leg looks pretty ugly."

I nodded again and giggled under my breath, nudging Fang with my arm. "Move faster, Fang," I hissed, trying to avert my gaze from Anne. "My ass hurts!"

Fang reached down with his hand supporting my hip and nonchalantly squeezed my rather soft and sensitive buns. Yeah, I said it. Buns. "This help?" he asked softly.

I yelped in surprise but held it in. "Fang!" I scolded quietly as we exited the apartment.

He chuckled and went back to holding my hip. "Hand slipped," he murmured softly.

"Yeah right."

"Heh, believe what you will."

We walked in calm silence as Fang strode to the parking garage of the apartment which I hadn't actually seen before. He held me tightly, trying to support me to the best of his ability. Fang stepped into the garage and it looked like any other parking garage – nothing mysterious about it… I hope.

"Walk with me," he said softly, adjusting his grip on my aching body. Fang nonchalantly walked over to one of the white parking lines. I stared in shock and awe. A blue Kawasaki motorcycle with white stripes sat in between the lines, shiny and ready to ride. "It's yours," he said with a smile, handing me the keys.

I gripped them in shock, using both Fang and the motorcycle as support. I stared at it, running my hand over the shiny finished paint. "Wow," I gasped. "This is awesome!"

The keys were snatched from my grip.

"For now, I'm driving 'cause I don't really trust you'll be able to get us to the doctor's in one piece. Or alive. Not to mention you don't even know where it is," he said with a laugh.

"Can't we just, um… Fly?" I asked, nodding at his now visible wings. I wondered why they disappeared at times but it was probably just because Fang willed them away or something of the sort… I guess.

He shook his head roughly, a faint smirk on his face. "There's no way I'm going to fly you there. There's too many factors in what could happen when I have someone else as a passenger."

"Why?" Wow, Max, smart responses.

"Variables. The wind speed, your weight, my strength at the time, the weather… There's a lot left up to chance and I'd really have to think about it," he replied casually. "Not to mention you're utterly terrified of heights." I blushed and watched in silence he straddled the hog after making sure I was holding the motorcycle carefully. "Come on," he said, patting the seat behind him.

With an annoyed sigh, I pulled my leg carefully over the motorcycle, watching in amusement as he struggled to start it. "Wait, here, lemme show you," I told him, leaning over, not realizing how awkward it would be for the poor guy. I reached over him and took the keys, sticking it into the ignition and turning it hard. "See… Uh, you gotta be more forceful."

Fang chuckled and I felt his laugh vibrate against my chest. "Forceful, eh?" he repeated. "Shoving in a key –" He leaned forward, chuckling again. "And pushing hard?"

I hit him hard on the head. "Don't be such a pervert!" I shouted, smacking him with my fist again.

"Sorry," he muttered with a laugh. "Wrap your arms around my waist, okay? I don't want you to fall."

I felt myself blush and put my arms around his hips, resting my head against his back. "I'm good," I said softly, nuzzling my face against him.

"Okay… That's good," he muttered as the motorcycle roared to life.

With a sigh, I gently closed my eyes as he kicked off the floor. My arms tightened around him and his legs pressed against mine. The motorcycle growled again and soon we were off, zooming along the streets at what felt like a breakneck speed.

"Hang on tight, Fräulein!" he shouted above the roar of the hog. "Fliegen auf, my ride, fly on!" More German? Come on.

I groaned into his back, squeezing him hard.

About seven things popped into my mind at that moment.

1) My old friends are Fallen Ones?

2) I was stabbed by my sister?

3) FANG IS SO HOT.

…Wait, scratch that.

3) Fang can speak German… and I understand it fluently.

4) I was kidnapped? WTH.

5) I was saved by Fang while being kidnapped? WTFIGOH. ("WTF is going on here?")

6) IGGY AND ANGEL ARE LOVERS? WTFIGOITPCWILIWTIH? ("WTF is going on in this pathetically crazy world I live in where there's incest happening?")

7) Fang looks ab-SO-lutely hot with long hair tied up in a samurai knot.

…Again, ignore that comment. (Damn you, Heart-Fang-Max and Irrational Max!)

7) What's with these random scenes popping into my mind?

Why the hell can't I stop thinking about Fang? And why does it seem like I know him?

Sorry, that was eight… er… Nine? Wait, I told you to forget that comment.

It's eight, just eight.

But anyway, Fang was right when he said that I've known him before.

I felt like I've known him all my life – and more.

Could that be a coincidence?

Was my mind closing off memories that I didn't want to remember?

Or, more importantly, were those memories ones I wasn't supposed to remember?

(end of chapter eleven)

READ+REVIEW=UPDATE!

Yup. You know what to do.

-Sketch

She's not as slow as some of you might think.

Thanks to: Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute for the beta.

Not gonna have any Iggel references anymore 'cause I know how much Bunny-chan hates it. XD But yeah, no more Iggel.

Edit: some fixes