I decided Angel sounds cheap and OOC, but how to change it? I found that I just couldn't. Maybe next time. For now, she's going to be weird.
Nudge tried to catch up with Fang as he flew down the hall. Questions raced through her mind. What was going on? Were Max and Angel okay? Where were Iggy and the Gasman?
But she didn't speak. Instead, she just hurried after Fang, forcing air into her lungs.
Suddenly, Fang stopped dead at the corner, and Nudge almost ran into him. She propelled herself backwards, making her sneakers squeak on the polished floor.
The sound echoed loudly in the corridor. Nudge froze.
"Who's there?" a sharp, cold voice asked. Nudge knew that voice. Angel.
But she didn't understand what it meant. Was Angel fighting someone? Why did she sound so… vicious?
Fang held a hand in front of her mouth. He stared at her. The meaning was clear: don't speak or we're dead.
But why?
Nudge gasped. Surely, surely, Angel wasn't… on the dark side?
She looked at Fang with wide eyes, then at the corner, then at him again. He gave a silent nod, once, and her heart sank.
It couldn't be. It just wasn't possible.
The sudden sound of footsteps, loud and powerful, reverberated through the hallway, coming closer and closer to the bend in the corridor. Fang tensed beside her.
A girl about Nudge's age rounded the corner and almost bumped into her. Her cruel expression relaxed into a bright smile, but not before Nudge could notice it. Who was this? What did it mean?
"Ooh, Fang," the girl said. "Come to join the party? I must say, you look positively delicious."
Fang swung out, sweeping her legs from under her and catching her by surprise. Unfortunately, the girl managed to catch herself and spring to her feet, teeth bared. Fang aimed a roundhouse kick at her head, but she ducked and came at him.
Nudge was stunned. What was going on, who on earth was this girl, and most importantly, where was Angel?
Her question was answered when she took a peek around the corner.
Angel's expression, hard and calculating, didn't change as she watched Fang and the girl fight. She just stood there calmly, next to…
"Oh my gosh!" Nudge shouted, forgetting Fang's rule about quiet. "Gazzy! Iggy!"
The Gasman met her gaze with sorrowful eyes. Nudge wondered what was wrong.
Iggy, on the other hand, brightened. "Good," he murmured, smiling. "At least the band's back together."
Nudge frowned. What was that supposed to mean? But, right now, she had other things to deal with.
"Nudge."
Nudge turned her attention to Angel, who still looked impassive as ever. A million thoughts raced across her mind. What was Angel thinking? Why, why, was she doing this?
Angel furrowed her brow. "Nudge," she said again. Her voice was soft and pleading, not matching the expression at all. "Please. I don't want to fight. I just want Angimum. I just want to fit in."
Nudge took a step back. "Angimum? What are you talking about? What's going on?"
Angel took a steadying breath, keeping the irritated look off her face. "Angimum is the bird girl over there. Now, please listen to me, Nudge." She tried to look like a young, innocent girl, the person Nudge had thought she was, but it didn't work. "I just want us to have a better future."
"Yeah – yeah, right!" Nudge snapped, sounding very un-Nudge-like. She took another step back, trying to fight the tears.
Angel sighed, shaking her head sadly and looking at the floor. "I'm sorry, Nudge." She raised her head and met Nudge's worried gaze. "It's time to play."
Yeah, yeah – I know, cheap line, "It's time to play," sounds like "Time to die," Angel's most famous quote. But whatever. We'll see.