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NOW, ON WITH THE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!! (I haven't said that for a while)

Fang's POV

I sat outside the steel door, waiting. Waiting for the doctor to get out of the freaking hidey-hole so I could talk to Max. Or…whatever she was. I was half sure that she was gone. Dead as a door hinge. Kicking the jar…whatever.

I combed my hair through my fingers, sighing as I leaned against the wall. I couldn't hear anything that was going on. It was like a dang isolation tank. Except I could move. And feel stuff.

"They're going to be awhile, you know." I looked up. Alice stood above me, looking at me with melancholy eyes.

I turned my eyes toward the ground again. "Well, I'm staying."

She sighed, and plopped down next to me. I looked at her, completely unfazed, but then again, completely surprised. What was she doing? Then she got to the point. No preamble, no, you're not going to like this, or anything. It was refreshing. And totally messed up at the same time.

"I know you don't like us, Fang. Who we are, why we're here and everything. But don't hold it against us. It's not like it was our decision."

I looked over at her. "What? What else do you want me to do? A little dance to entertain you? Or how 'bout letting your fake daddy dissect me so he can see the wonders of my anatomy?" I snorted.

For a moment she stayed impassive, scrutinizing me. And then she said, "How do you know?"

"Know what? You're diabolical plan to invite the president for dinner?"

She shook her head, ignoring me. "No, how do you know we're not related?"

I shrugged. "Just because I don't talk much doesn't mean I don't see things. I'm not stupid like Edward, for instance"

Instantly, her expression hardened.

"Don't say that. You don't know how much he's done for Bella. Don't ever say that. Ever." Whoa. So that kitty cat has claws, huh?

I stood up. "I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, okay? I'm just trying to talk to Max—are you okay?" I asked, totally interrupting myself.

Her face became oddly blank, like she was seeing something far away. Her whole body was limp, she wasn't breathing, and she didn't even blink. And then she gasped. Her hands covered her face so quickly I would have missed it if I blinked. She stayed like that for a minute.

"Fang." She spoke in a whisper. "Do you want to see who Edward really is?" Her voice shook, as if she was crying.

"Well, yeah, but it's not like—"

"Do you remember the clearing where you stayed at two nights ago?"

"You mean the one where you almost killed me?"

She ignored my question again. "Fly there. Fly there now."

"But what about Max—?"

"Edward will tell you when to come back. If he can."

"Whoa. What do you mean, "If he can?""

"Just go!"

Looking straight forward, I walked into the living room, not looking at the rest of the coven staring at me as I made my way through the door. It was time to finally figure out who Edward really was.

And I intended to find out.

Iggy's POV

"Iggy?"

Silence. I gotta be strong.

"Iggy?"

Nothing. I will not give in. I won't say anything.

"Iggy."

"What?!" I finally yelled. Cut me some slack. It's hard ignoring an eight-year-old, okay?

"Where's Fang?" Gazzy piped.

I sighed. "He's trying to talk to Max, get her to remember who her own family is."

I heard something drip to the floor. I think it was a tear, which surprised me. We never cried. "What happened to her?" Angel asked shakily. Her voice quivered. "When I tried to get into her mind, I was pushed back…and—" She sniffed. "It was like she didn't even remember us."

I could almost feel the epic waterfall of tears approaching. I walked over to her, and kneeled so that I was facing her eyes. Max told me they were blue. I don't really remember ever looking into them. I guess I never really cared. Until now. "I don't know what happened to her, Angel." I whispered, trying to see her, to tell her everything. "But you can bet your butt I'll take care of you if things get…complicated. So will Fang."

"But," Nudge sniffed, "She was, like, a mother to us. You can't do that, Iggy; no matter how hard you try. You can't be a mother."

I smiled as I looked over. "Well, maybe I could fly by the school and ask them for a gender change..." I shuddered comically, trying to get the kids spirits up. "Then I could be a mother. " Nudge laughed shakily and walked over to me. I kissed her cheek and rubbed her shoulders.

Then I stopped. I turned my head, listening.

"Iggy—?"

"Shhh."

I heard something. Sobbing. Coming from outside. Someone was crying.

I stood up, and slid over by the window. Opening it, I listened, feeling the wind brush my cheeks.

I heard the leaves on the ground shudder. The rest of the kids came to watch. "Where's Bella going?" Angel asked, sounding confused as she grabbed my hand.

My eyes narrowed. That was an excellent question.

I waited. Waiting for her to come back. Still crying her eyes out, probably. Creating more rain here, as if there wasn't enough, for crying out loud. Ha. Get it? Crying out loud, like, you know actually crying…never mind.

But she didn't come back. And, even know I'd only talked to her for about two seconds, I got a little worried. It began to grow colder.

"Right." I said, making a split decision. "I think we need to—"

I froze. The gravel on the driveway shifted as a car roared up toward the house. "Quick, hide!" I dove toward the bed…and smacked my head against the headboard. "Ow."

"Iggy!" Nudge grabbed my hand and stuffed me in the closet. She squeezed in next to me. This was a really small closet. Especially when you have six bird kids in a freaking three by three foot hole in the wall. Very comfortable. I could feel Nudge up against me, her heart beating through her shirt. Dude, it was like, extremely cozy. No joke.

"Ow! Watch where you put your foot, Gazzy!" Angel whispered loudly.

"That wasn't me! And stop breathing on me…"

"I'm way over here!"

"Then how could I have stepped on your foot—?"

"Shut up!" I whispered frantically. I heard the door slam.

"Bella, you home?" I heard a male voice call out. Probably her dad. I smacked my forehead…or at least tried to. Why didn't I go after her? I think my two-year-old IQ jumped down to a negative seven.

"Bella?" He called again. I heard his footsteps make come up the stairs.

"No one move." I breathed.

The door opened. "Bella?" He walked toward the window. "Bella!" He yelled. I heard him go toward the door again and run down the stairs. I heard a click, I heard him talking frantically. "Jessica? Is that you? Yeah, it's Charlie. Have you seen Bella anywhere? Is she at your house?" A pause. "Well, can you call me if you see her? Yeah, thanks. Bye." He slammed the phone on the receiver, and picked it up again. I heard him dialing.

"Get out! Get out!" I pushed them out as the door flew open. "We got to find her, "I said as I strained to hear the guy, Charlie.

He was talking again. "Billy? Have you seen Bella? I don't know what happened—is she down by the reservation? Well, I'm going out to find her, but look and see, will you? And if I don't call…yeah, that's a good idea. Bring them all. Thanks, Billy. Bye." The phone slammed on the receiver again.

"Let's go!" I yelled. I ran toward the window, and jumped off of it. I snapped open my wings, and I descended toward the ground. There was no way we could fly in that forest. The trees are so close together it was almost like they were making out.

And without a thought, I walked into the forest. "OW!"

I hit the tree square on. Again.

Fang's POV

You know, once on this T.V. show, one I watched when I was a kid, there was this documentary called, "How Stress Can Kill." Of course, if stress really puts you six feet under, I'd pretty much be in a six by three foot hole in the ground, you know?

I scanned the horizon, looking, searching, for the clearing Alice told me about. Keeping my wings extended, I glided on the air currents, and sighed. My life was so god-dang complicated.

How the heck am I supposed to talk to a fourteen-year-old deranged, mutant bird kid vampire? Do you think I'm a talkative person? Does your little, human brain understand my situation? No. But I'm trying to help you understand. Fat chance, right?

Is there even a chance for her to be Max again? After what Edward did to her…I'm not sure of it. I'm not sure of anything anymore. In my world, there were experiments ran by the school that either turned horribly wrong, or lived long enough to be killed in the future. It's pretty simple. But now, I have to deal with genetically deranged vampires that are probably planning to kill us all. A fly in the ointment for you.

My eyes locked on a wide-open space in the middle of a bunch of huge trees, and within seconds, I landed on the spot and shook out my wings, trying to get the kinks straightened out. I decided that maybe it was better for Edward, you know, not to see me when he's doing whatever he's doing, so I shifted behind a tree and waited.

While I was watching out for the pale freak, I ran conversations in my head. Which were all pretty stupid. Hey, Max. How's it going? You remember me? The guy you almost freaking killed while on your hunt for blood? You don't…well, can't say I haven't tried, heh heh. Got to go—I'll bring you some nice, tasty whitecoats in the morning, and we'll try again…no, wait, stop, stop. Don't do it! I'm too young to die! DON'T EAT ME!

Yeah. Real smooth.

A twig broke from far away, barely making a sound.

My head swiveled so fast it cracked. My eyes locked on something. It was getting closer…

And suddenly, Edward burst through the trees, skidding to a halt. His eyes darted around, looking crazed, his fingers clenched into fists, and he was half-crouched, as if ready to kill someone. His whole body vibrated, like he was having a seizure. My eyebrows constricted as I looked closer. His eyes…there were something about his eyes. The look…I couldn't recognize it.

For a moment he just stood there, not breathing; his eyes weren't darting around anymore. For a second, it looked like he was marble, like a sculpture in the middle of freaking nowhere.

And then, he snapped.

He shot out his arm, and with a pained yell, he uprooted a tree as thick as my waist and hurled it so far that I couldn't even see where it landed. His hands knotted in his hair, as if he was trying to pull his hair out. He uprooted another tree, and, with a great tremor, broke it clean in half. He chucked one away, and with the other one, he smashed another trunk to pulp.

My eyes widened. What was with this guy? I think the men in white lost a patient…

His rock-hard fist collided with a huge rock by the river, and the boulder cracked. He then, fell to his knees, and covered his face, his shoulders shaking.

I looked down. Seriously, this guy was an one hundred and five on the-totally-messed-up-men scale going from one to ten. Something must have happened. Did Bella…no; he was too much of a coward. But maybe…

I don't know how long I stayed there, watching him. It was kind of painful to see.

I remember the day I buried Max. Though only a couple of months, it seemed like a lifetime ago. I hurled the shovel into the tree, I was yelling at nothing; the flock thought I was crazy or something. Edward was acting the way I did. He looked just as crazy as I might have.

And then he spoke. Without looking up, without taking his white hand away from his face, he said, "Enjoying the show, are you?"

Haha!!!! Haha!!!! Man, I just love these cliffhangers.

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