I'm SOOOO sorry that I didn't update sooner! I've suffered from a terrible case of writers block and I've had an unexpectedly busy weekend. Anyways, to make up for it, I'm going to make the chapter include cute, kiddy Fax.
Disclaimer: If I owned Max ride, I wouldn't have to write this fic. It would totally be in the books.
Previously…
Then a terrifying thought came across Fang's mind. The Flock had gathered around Iggy. Fang couldn't stop his hand from shaking as he slowly brushed the hair away from the back of Iggy's neck The whole Flock let out a collective gasp. Angel, Nudge and Gazzy started sobbing uncontrollably. Fang was frozen. He couldn't believe it. It can't be true. Tattooed on the back of Iggy's neck was this month's date and year. Iggy's expiration date had come.
"What are we gonna do now?" whispered Courage. The sobbing was now reduced to quiet crying and sniffling.
At this point, Fang had no idea of what to do. Iggy, the 'leader' that was filling in for Max, was dead. Gone. Never to return. He died without knowing how amazing falling in love feels. He had never even got his first kiss.
How were they gonna get Iggy's body back home? They didn't even know if the plane was coming and if so, where. They definitely couldn't fly or walk around New York carry Iggy's body around everywhere.
"What are we supposed to do, now that Iggy's gone?" said Angel quietly.
"I'll figure it out! Give me a minute!" snapped Fang. The Flock, amongst their tears, were taken aback by Fang's attitude. Wow, he really wasn't that great at this leader thing. Not like Max was.
Max always acted like she had a plan until she actually did, then the plan would usually work. If it didn't she improvised. He wished with every cell in his genetically enhanced body that Max was here. She would know exactly what to do.
Then it came to him.
"Guys, see that abandoned looking park over there? We'll stay there. We can't exactly bring Iggy in a hotel. Gazzy and Courage, lead the rest of the kids to a safe place in there. Angel and Nudge, stay in the back and make sure that no one don't get lost. I'll follow you guys in the air with Iggy." said Fang. After getting over the shock of hearing him say so much at one time, the Flock did what they were told. Fang grabbed Iggy's limp body and took a running takeoff.
Jeez, this is hard. If Courage could carry Gazzy as far as she did, I can carry Iggy. thought Fang as he laboriously flapped his mammoth black wings. Fang circled the small wooded park. Seriously, New York could take better care of it's smaller parks. However, it was good for hiding.
Fang saw Gazzy's white speckled wings come up over the tree line, and he followed. Courage had made a small fire using dry wood, which created less smoke. Gazzy managed to grab a few pans and some cans of soup from the packs and started to make some soup with the help of Courage.
Angel was talking with some of the mutants. Nudge wasn't doing much at all. She sat under a tree and looked blankly at the ground. Fang laid Iggy's body on a bed of leaves and walked over to Nudge.
"This is the longest I've heard you not talk." said Fang quietly. Nudge didn't look up or abandon her lifeless expression.
"He's gone. I love him and he's gone. I never even told him…" said Nudge as she hid her face with her wings and sobbed. Fang hid it really well, but he was shocked. He had never even noticed that Nudge had feelings like that toward Iggy. He was probably preoccupied with his thoughts about Max to really take notice.
"Shh.. Nudge. It's ok." said Fang as he put his hand on her shoulder. Nudge shrugged his hand off.
"No! How can you say that it's ok? Iggy's gone and I never got to tell him that I loved him! It might be ok with you, but it's not ok with me! You got to tell Max that you loved her before she dies! I never can have that feeling!" shouted Nudge as she ran off into the woods, crying.
Fang leaned against the tree and put his head in his hands. Nudge was right. There was nothing he could do about it.
Nudge was wrong about one thing. said an eerie voice in his head, aka, Angel. Fang was about to tell her to get the heck out of his head when Angel's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Wait, just hear me out. Um, there was one thought that I understood in Max's head. I didn't want to tell the others, because it deals with you and you only.
Well, what was it? Fang thought irritably.
Umm… Max… Angel trailed off.
What did she say? Fang growled in his thoughts.
Alright! She doesn't believe that you love her! She thinks that you ditched her when things got too complicated! Are you happy now? said Angel. Fang's dark, obsidian eyes widened. He sank into a sitting position. How could she believe that? He loves her! He had since the day that she appeared in the dog crate next to his.
*flashback*
Fang sat in his crate. He was two years old at the time and he was alone. He plucked a feather off his wing and he winced. He twirled the sleek black feather in his small hands.
Then, the heavy metal doors opened. A sliver of light reached throughout the dimness of his lonely room. A whitecoat stepped in holding a crate much like his. The whitecoat was flanked by two Erasers.
The Erasers sneered at him from behind the whitecoat. Fang glared at them with his dark eyes.
"Hello there, little freak. We've brought you a little… surprise." The whitecoat dropped the crate on the ground right next to Fang with a loud bang. A pair of beautiful eyes darted around, with bloodlust and hate embedded in them.
"She's special. Be glad that you'll ever lay eyes on her. She is our greatest achievement." gloated the whitecoat. The girl in the crate hissed and snarled at the whitecoat.
The whitecoat chuckles as he snapped his fingers and the Erasers followed him out of the room. The door slammed shut.
Fang's eyes peered over the bars on the side of his dog crate. The girl was doing the same thing. Fang's eyes were looking at her with curiosity while the girl's eyes looked at him with suspicion.
Fang didn't blame her. Everything that involved the whitecoats was horrible. For all that girl knew, he could transform into something that would torture her until death.
Fang reassured her with an attempt at a smile. He' only smiled once before, when he had defeated a bunch of Erasers and he got an extra portion of food that night from the whitecoat called Jeb. Fang liked hurting the monsters that had hurt him so many times.
The girl saw Fang's attempt at a smile, which was a little more than a twitch of his lip and the girl unexpectedly burst out laughing.
Fang would have normally scowled at her making fun of him, but he smiled for real. The second real one in his life. The girl's brown eyes glimmered in the dim lighting of the room.
Fang reached his thin, malnourished arm through the bars of his cage and into the cage of the girl. The girl shot back away from his arm. Scared that he might try to hurt her. Fang looked at her. She was held in his intense gaze for a moment, then she timidly reached her hand out and grabbed his hand.
They both were amazed on how good a gentle touch felt, because they had never received one before. The girl grinned at Fang, and he swore that the whole room lit up. Butterflies danced in the pit of his empty stomach. He had never felt that way before.
At that point, Fang had decided that Max was an angel, because she was the most beautiful and wonderful thing that he had ever seen.
"Max." said the girl as she pointed to herself. Their English wasn't advanced, so they had to stick with short, imperfect sentences. The girl, Max, was still holding his hand. He never wanted her to let go.
"Max." Fang repeated as he pointed to her. Fang had never picked a name for himself. He remembered the only day besides today that he had smiled.
He had hit an Eraser so hard in the head, that it's tooth had fallen out. Fang picked up the long incisor and kept it until that night, when Jeb saw it, and explained that it was an Eraser's fang. Before then, Fang didn't know what it was. The fang from the Eraser sat in the back of his crate.
"Fang." said Fang as he pointed to himself. Max smiled as she pointed to him and said,
"Fang."
Max yawned, but she didn't want to leave her new friend. Then, she scooted her crate closer to his, so that the metal bars on the side were touching. Fang put his hand on the bars and Max did the same, so that their skin was still touching.
They soon fell asleep, with their fingers intertwined through the bars.
Before he fell asleep that day, Fang decided that he'd protect Max and stay by her side until the day that he died. She was an angel, and didn't deserve to be here.
*End Flashback*
Fang was lost in early childhood memories with Max after that.
It was well past dark when Nudge returned. Fang still sat by the tree, his eyes hollow.
"Angel?" whispered Nudge. Angel was on watch.
"Yeah, Nudge?" Angel whispered back.
"Not to be nosy or anything, but what's up with Fang? I know he misses Max and all, but he's never like this." said Nudge. For a moment, Angel was concentrated hard. Then, she smiled sadly.
"Well, do you know?" asked Nudge.
"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." said Angel.
"Try me, because I've seen a lot of…" started Nudge, but Angel cut her off.
"Alright. Fang is as broken as Max is. On the inside. You know how Max was haunted by memories and felt completely alone and shattered on the inside. Well, Fang feels the same way that she does. Except, well stronger. Apparently, he's loved her his whole life." said Angel softly.
Nudge looked at Fang quickly, then turned back to Angel.
"Fang is just better at hiding his feelings than Max is. Iggy's death may have just cracked him on the inside, and now… he's just like Max." said Angel. Nudge got up and walked away without saying anything.
She had not gotten off worse than Fang. Not by a long shot. Nudge had only started to love Iggy over the past year or so. Fang had loved Max his whole life. If she died, there was no doubt in he mind that Fang would die with her.
If they didn't get home soon, the Flock would be shattered, kind of like her heart.
Yeah, I tried to incorporate a little past Fax, but I will update later this week, and a super surprise will be revealed in it! So, if you review, I will update faster!