I know, it's been… four weeks since I last updated. But, this is the first time that I haven't had a ton of homework, so please don't be too mad. Trust me, I've wanted to write for a really long time, but haven't had the time or the inspiration to do so. So, without further ado, the newest and most shocking chapter yet!
Disclaimer- Yeah, yeah, you know the drill. I don't own Max Ride, blah, blah, blah.
Chapter Twenty-One: Bird-Kid Brawl
About forty-five minutes later, the Flock arrived in the back parking lot. They were not spotted by any sort of security or personnel. Well, except for Dr. Martinez, who was waiting for them the windowless, rear wall.
One by one, the Flock members swiftly dropped from the sky and landed without breaking stride. They were so magnificent, that it took quite a lot of willpower on Dr. Martinez's part to avoid applauding their graceful and stealthy landing.
Out of sheer habit, Iggy had Nudge quickly survey the parking lot for any security cameras or patrols, and she saw none. There was a single guard station a ways up the road leading to the parking lot, but he never left the guard station and the Flock made sure to stay out of the guard's line of view while flying.
"Where is she?" Iggy asked immediately. The Flock watched Dr. Martinez with grave expressions. Angel, of course, was reading Dr. Martinez's mind, so she pretty much already knew the situation. However, Angel didn't really understand most of Dr. Martinez's more advanced, scientific thoughts or the whole 'breeding' concept, but she did know that things would turn out very, very badly if Max wasn't rescued within the hour.
Angel had also discovered a shocking new revelation, but didn't want to spoil the surprise for the rest of the Flock. Angel decided that it would be better if the Flock would go in to bust Max out and discover Fang. It would be a good surprise for a change. Usually, a 'surprise' in the Flock meant something had gone terribly amiss. This time, it would be a great surprise. Now, Max wouldn't be sad and they would be a Flock of six.
Angel loved the idea.
"I'll get you inside, but you'll have to go in through a vent. I don't know how to navigate the vent system, or how you'll get out of the vent and into Max's room, but I do know that she is in the Eastern wing of the Aviatory building. There is also a vent entrance in Max's room." Dr. Martinez said with precision and accuracy.
"We'll figure out those details later, but I have a few ideas. How will we get in?" Iggy asked as he winked at Angel.
Do you think that you can find Max's thoughts? We could follow them through the vent shafts. Iggy suggested mentally, already knowing that Angel was eavesdropping on his thoughts.
Yeah, I can do that. And Nudge can use her magnetic skill to open the vent door from the inside. Angel said. Iggy smiled at her momentarily; then his expression became serious again.
"I've already thought of that." Dr. Martinez said a wry smile as she brought several, rather large, cloth bags from the trunk of her car, which was parked right next to them.
"Great. We'll be headed home, with Max in a few." Iggy said, cracking his knuckles, ready to get the rescue operation going. Gazzy grinned and mimicked Iggy by cracking his knuckles as well. Nudge bounced on her heels, excited and Angel grinned. The Flock would be back together again. Max was like a mom to her, a real one. Iggy was great at taking care of them, but it wasn't the same as having Max there.
Since Fang was alive, Max would be happy and she'd stay with the Flock. Sure, Iggy would be a little disappointed at first, since Max would be with Fang, but he would get over it.
As Dr. Martinez explained the plan, the Flock leaned in closer, loving the scheme. It was a great plan, but escaping would be kind of risky. Everyone just prayed that it would turn out better than last time.
-XOXO-
Dr. Martinez hauled the last two cloth sacks down the hallway. This time, there were unidentified objects inside the backs.
"Ow! My head just hit a wall!" whined one of the sacks.
"Shh!" Dr. Martinez hissed at the sack. "There's a guard around the corner."
The sacks immediately stopped fidgeting and silenced.
Dr. Martinez turned the corner, her sneakers barely making a sound on the waxed marble floors.
There were two muffled grunts as the brown cloth sacks bumped into another.
Standing in front of the wide, double doors that led to the Eastern wing of the Aviatory stood a burly guard sporting the Freak Fest uniform of a dark blue embroidered polo with jeans and tennis shoes. He had a pistol strapped to his belt and made no effort to hide it.
"Name, and destination. I'm gonna need to see what you have in the bags." Grunted the beefy guard.
"I am Dr. Valencia Martinez and, like I said ten minutes ago, I'm going to the human-wolf hybrid building. These are a few more bags of meat I'm hauling to feed the mutants with. Those monsters sure eat a lot." Dr. Martinez sighed. "You can check the meat if you want to, but I don't recommend it. It smells awful. It nearly made me sick just dragging these things around."
The guard nodded and waved her though, obviously taking Dr. Martinez's word for it.
Just as Dr. Martinez was about to pass through the door, the guard abruptly stepped in her path; blocking the doorway.
Oh, no. He's found us out! If I get caught… Dr. Martinez didn't even get to finish her frantic thought.
"Wait a second," The burley guy growled. He didn't seem to be the brightest crayon in the box, but he was still a huge hulking thing and it would be impossible to get past him. "If you're going to the Human-Wolf building, why do you need to go into the Human-Bird building?"
Wow, great observation, Sherlock. Dr. Martinez thought darkly. One of the sacks smothered a giggle.
The guard looked at the bag quizzically.
"It's really fresh meat. It doesn't make it smell any better though." Dr. Martinez said impatiently, drawing the guards attention away from the sack and back to her.
"It's a short-cut to the Human-Lupine building. Really, I don't want to carry these bags longer that I have to." Dr. Martinez said, emphasizing for him to hurry up and let her pass.
The guard grunted and jerked his head in a stiff nod as he shuffled out of the doorway.
"Thank you." Dr. Martinez said curtly as she hurried down the hallway, the door slamming shut behind her.
Dr. Martinez rushed down the corridors, silently praying that there wouldn't be any more guards or curious whitecoats in the vicinity.
After a few short corners, Dr. Martinez saw the other two bags hidden behind a rolling cart in the hallway. This was the closest that she could get to Max and Fang's cell without getting caught. Jeb had at least four guards around Max and Fang's door at all times. Those guards just happened to be Erasers.
Dr. Martinez carefully dropped the sacks and did a quick glance at both directions of the hallway. No one was in sight.
"Okay, it's safe now." Dr. Martinez said, still carefully watching to see if anyone would appear in the hallway.
The sacks rustled as Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Iggy fumbled out of the brown cloth bags.
"It was so dark in there , I was about to go insane! I hate confined places! And next time we go undercover in cloth bags, please try to be more careful; it really hurt when…" Nudge chattered. Iggy rolled his sightless crystal blue eyes and covered Nudge's yammering mouth. He knew that she chatted when she was nervous or upset, but now was definitely not the time. He'd duct tape her mouth shut if he had to. Her constant prattling could get them all killed or captured.
Dr. Martinez's brown eyes looked at them all worriedly. This could be a perfect plan, or a horrible one. She may never see them again, and She'd grown to love the Flock like her own kids.
"We'll be fine. We've done stuff like this more than you think we have." Iggy said seriously. Dr. Martinez sort of wished that he was kidding, but she knew that he wasn't.
"You'd better hurry before someone comes. Good luck." Dr. Martinez said.
Nudge blinked back tears, as did Angel and even Gazzy looked a little teary eyed. They all gave Dr. Martinez a quick hug. Iggy nodded in Dr. Martinez's direction; a silent but sure promise that he would take care of the kids with his life and that he'd rescue Max. He still didn't know about Fang, nor did the rest of the Flock excluding Angel.
Dr. Martinez didn't tell them about Fang. She figured that Max would be the one who'd want to introduce him to the Flock.
Iggy nodded tersely at Nudge. Nudge scrunched her dark eyebrows together and squinted her eyes shut, intently concentrating on using her magnetism to unscrew the tightly wound bolts that kept the shaft entrance shut.
The door shuttered, and then within moments, the screws flew away from the shaft and into Nudge's outstretched hand.
Dr. Martinez stared in awe. For the most part, she was still oblivious to the Flocks' 'skills'. She'd known about Gazzy's mimicry and unfortunate other talent that earned him the name 'The Gasman', but that was it.
Dr. Martinez regained her serious composure, internally marveling on how amazing these kids were and how urgently they needed to save Max before Jeb would somehow make Max and Fang mate with one another.
Iggy Gazzy grabbed the metal vent cover and propped it against the white wall.
One by one, each of the bird kids crawled into the vent. Their thin frames enabled them to crawl military style through the slim vent shafts. They could navigate through the air duct system like professionals.
Nudge was the last Flock member to enter the shaft. With a wave of her hand, the shaft cover clanged back into place and the screws flew into their sockets and twirled into place. It was like no one had even tampered with the vent cover.
"Good luck." Dr. Martinez whispered into the shaft, her soft whisper reverberating off the metal sides of the shaft.
With that, Dr. Martinez took the cart and put the bags on it. She walked back towards Eraser building, hoping and praying that the rescue mission worked out well.
Meanwhile, the Flock crawled through the air ducts, Angel leading the way. Angel followed Max's thoughts and Iggy followed the sounds made by the Flock.
Hang on, Max. We're coming. Iggy thought .
-XOXO-
Max laid unconscious in a dog crate. She was unaware of what had happened, or where she was. She was still in a dreamless sleep, the most peaceful that she'd been in days.
Max was in a room full of other dog crates; crates stacked in perfect rows.
In moments, she woke up in a haze, panicked. She didn't know where she was or what had happened to her.
The sounds of pitiful whining and mournful keening reached her ears. Ice gripped her heart.
I'm in the School. Max thought, barely breathing. Then, she remembered Jeb's conversation with her not too long ago. How he said that the School was in the park.
Memories rushed at her like a flood, but she couldn't remember how she got in the cage or what had aspired over the past hour.
Her brain was fully awake and functional at this point, and that's when she realized that she had no clothes on.
Suddenly feeling exposed, Max crossed her arms over her chest, as if it would help her become clothed. She couldn't remember why she was unclothed. It was like one of those nightmares, where all of a sudden, you have no clothes.
As Max squirmed uncomfortably, she felt an aching pain in a very sensitive area, unlike anything she'd previously encountered. The pain wasn't unbearable but it sure was noteworthy. She couldn't recall anything that would cause this.
The last thing that she remembered was Ari injecting something in her arm and saying, "You'd better start picking out baby names, Maxie."
Then, Max pieced everything together. She still couldn't remember what had happened the past hour, but she figured out what had happened during that time.
Max felt like howling in frustration and despair. Jeb had gotten his way. She had made love with Fang, and now life would crumble to pieces. It was all really, truly, over.
This was all wrong! It wasn't supposed to happen this way! She couldn't even remember it!
Max refused to let the tears fall, even though her soul begged for it. She would not give anyone in this hellhole the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
Max glanced around the room, looking for a way out, and maybe some clothes. She didn't want to bust out of here, butt naked, but she would if she had to. It would sure shock the Erasers, and maybe the whitecoats; or maybe not. These were some sick, twisted people after all.
Max's eyes darted past dozens and dozens of crates filled with poor little mutants. Her eyes rested on a table in the back. It was only because of her raptor vision that she could see that far in the dank, dark lighting of the room.
There were a few stacks of folded scrubs lying on the table. At this point, Max couldn't care less about what was on the table, even if it was those horrible short clothes that she'd been forced to where for a while when she was still imprisoned here the first time. She would wear anything at this point. At least until she could snatch some t-shirts and jeans.
Max took a deep breath, planning her next move. With that deep inhale, she smelled that familiar, intoxicating smell that she loved even more than she did before. She smelled the spicy, musky scent that lingered wherever Fang was.
Max looked desperately around the room, but there was no sign of the dark, winged mutant anywhere.
Max wondered where the smell was coming from.
Max encased herself with her wings, as much as the dog crate would allow. Max sufficiently encased herself with her wings when she smelled Fang's scent again. She then realized that Fang's scent was on her. It wasn't strong, but it was definitely there.
Max didn't know whether to sigh in contentment or scream in frustration. Most likely, she would resort to the second one. She liked the fact that even when she couldn't see Fang, she could still have a reminder of him. However, that would make her think of why she had Fang's scent on her, and that thought alone could almost put her into tears.
It wasn't like she didn't love Fang, she did, more than anything, but the timing and circumstances and emotions behind their actions were all wrong. She wanted to have kids with Fang, eventually, when they were older, and somewhat safe, and did it because they loved each other. Not because they were forced to by some sick drug. It was supposed to be a memorable experience, and now it was completely ruined; and it was all Jeb's fault.
Max listened intently as she heard a metallic clang. Then there were footsteps. She didn't hear the door open or close, and with her keen hearing, she definitely would have. Max didn't dare uncover herself with her wings to look at the strangers in the room. She would listen instead. If it was whitecoats, or anyone else, how did they get in here if they didn't use the door?
Max heard whispering voices. Voices that she recognized.
"She's here. I'll find her. Follow me." A small voice said. Max couldn't believe her ears. The Flock had come to save her, even after she'd left them for a suicide mission to avenge Fang. They would be so surprised when they learned that Fang was alive.
Max suddenly turned red at the thought of the Flock seeing her… without clothes on. For once, she was sort of glad that Iggy was blind, but she didn't want to give Gazzy a heart attack.
Max tightened her wings around her body.
"I'm here!" Max shouted. She wasn't heard over the dull roar of the other experiments making random noises at the Flock.
"She's a few aisles down! She's awake!" Angel shouted happily. Angel's heart was racing with joy. She was about to get Max, the first mom that she remembered back! Only this time, Max wouldn't be sad all the time. Max would be happy because Fang would be there with her.
The closer that Angel got to Max, the clearer Max's thoughts were. Angel could decipher complete thoughts now.
From what Angel could understand, Max wasn't wearing any clothes and Max was very sore. Angel didn't know why Max wasn't wearing any clothes. The School had always at least given them white cotton pants and shirts to wear.
Angel was stumped with that, but sympathized with Max about the pain. They had probably done awful things to her. They might have run tests on Max like they had done to the Flock at the School all those years ago.
Angel glimpsed into Iggy's mind. She wanted to see how he was feeling about the jailbreak.
Iggy was elated about the thought of Max; so happy, that it was practically blinding to Angel. Iggy was a little miffed at Max for leaving the Flock, and beneath the happiness was despair that she still loved Fang more than she liked him or the Flock. Iggy was fearful at what the park might have done to her. If they had hurt her, Iggy was going to kick some Freak Fest butt. Iggy's joy of getting Max back overcame the other emotions for the most part.
Nudge and Gazzy were just giddy with the adrenaline that the danger brought and blissful at the thought of getting Max, the newest Flock member back.
Angel then sensed the dark, foreign thoughts of Fang nearby. Angel got a wonderful idea.
While the rest of the Flock would be embracing and catching up on all that they missed with Max, Angel would go and free Fang. Angel couldn't wait to see everyone's faces when he came into sight; or in Iggy's case, range of hearing.
Angel sprinted as fast as she could past little mutants in cages, who she felt terribly sorry for but couldn't do anything for right at the moment, until she skidded to a halt in front of a large Kanine Kamper. All that Angel could see was brown and white feathers, but she knew that Max was hiding behind her feathers.
"Max!" Angel squealed. Angel was grinning. She knew that Max was grinning too, despite her mysterious pain, but not an inch of Max's skin could be seen past all her feathers.
The rest of the Flock's sneakers squeaked as they backpedaled. They bumped into each other as they came to an abrupt halt.
"Max!" They all said, almost in unison.
"Hey guys," Max said, relief evident in her voice. Nudge immediately popped the latch and opened the cage door. Max didn't move from her spot in the cage. They all looked at her strangely. Iggy even understood that something was amiss. He had heard the latch pop, but he didn't hear Max get out of the cage.
"Umm… guys? I'm… I'm not wearing any clothes. There's a pile of scrubs on a table by the wall over there." Max said.
"Gazzy," Iggy started, suddenly afraid. He had a very, very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach now. Nothing good could have occurred if Max wasn't wearing anything.
"Way ahead of you." Gazzy said, his cheeks a cute shade of crimson. Gazzy couldn't run away from the clothes-less Max any faster.
Nudge giggled timidly amidst the awkward turn that the events had taken. They didn't notice as Angel slowly edged away. Angel then headed off in the direction of Fang.
"Max." Iggy said evenly, trying to cover the unstableness in his voice. "Um, is there any particular reason that you're not wearing… um… any… clothes." Iggy's face turned red at the thought. Nudge was internally glad that Iggy had the decency to feel embarrassed for Max instead of cracking some sick jokes at her expense. At least he had enough common sense to know that Max was already embarrassed and ashamed and emotionally stretched as it was, and she didn't need aggravation at the moment.
Max inhaled a shaky breath. Iggy's heart constricted. He knew that when Max's breathing hitched like that, that she was either crying, or about to; and both of those options didn't make the situation look any more optimistic.
"Are the little kids around?" Max asked softly. Even over the noise that the other caged experiments were making, both Iggy and Nudge had heard Max's words.
"No, Gazz's still gone to get scrubs and Angel probably went over there to help him get the right size. He's clueless when it comes to clothes, I remember when…" Nudge burst out, unable to contain her nervous prattle any longer. Iggy swiftly covered Ndge's mouth in one smooth, well practiced movement.
Max didn't say anything for a minute.
"Jeb, the park owner, really wanted me to have a baby. Really, really bad. I wouldn't though. There was no way. So he had us injected with this hormone stuff and we…we… I didn't have a choice! I can barely even remember what happened! I just know that… that… I didn't have a choice!" Max said; her voice cracked. She really didn't want to talk about it.
Iggy clenched his fists in anger. Max's sentences were broken and somewhat confusing, but he understood what happened. He was more furious than he had ever remembered being.
"You said we." Iggy growled through clenched teeth. Max flinched at his tone.
"Who was the other person, Max?" Nudge said softly. She scowled at Iggy. She knew that Iggy was mad, but he didn't have to speak like that to Max. She was already terrified as it was.
Max shuddered, trying to contain her sobs. She couldn't help it. She just had to cry, but she struggled to bottle it until she was alone. She didn't want to worry the Flock more than they already had.
Iggy was gritting his teeth; his fists were now a deathly shade of white. He was irate. No one, no one, no one could do that to Max; nobody. He silently swore with every explicit word that he knew mentally. He would kill the person who raped Max. There was no other word for it.
Gazzy was back with the clothes. Iggy was too enraged, Gazzy was too busy blushing and Nudge was too shell-shocked to wonder where Angel was.
Gazzy quickly handed Nudge the pale blue scrubs and immediately turned to look in the other direction. Nudge slid the scrubs into the cage.
"Okay, Max. We won't look. Just put these on and then we'll get you out of here." Max immediately wiped her eyes. She peeked over the edge of her wing to see if they all had really turned around. Everyone but Iggy had turned around. Iggy was standing still as a statue; his face uncharacteristically angry.
As if on cue, Nudge elbowed Iggy in the gut, hard by the looks of it.
"I'm blind!" Iggy practically shouted.
"No, really? I would have never guessed! Now turn around!" Max managed. Iggy mumbled something unintelligible and made a show of rolling his eyes, but he turned around. Max had to get out of the cage so that he could move around enough to put on clothes. She slid on the shirt and drawstring pants faster than she ever had before. She would have to cut slits in the back if they were expected to fly out of the park.
Without a word, Nudge handed Max a pocket knife, which was a must-have for all Flock members, even the fashion-frenzied Nudge. Max cut long slits in the back of her shirt, the sharp blade cutting easily through the thin material.
"I'm done." Max said, her voice quiet. She wasn't feeling like her normal self. It hurt to stand and she thought that Iggy was mad at her for letting that happen to her.
The Flock turned around and enveloped Max in a hug. Angel was still missing and Iggy stood stock still, not moving at all.
Max smiled, but the short flutter of happiness in her heart soon faded. She was hoping that Iggy would understand that she didn't have a choice. She didn't want to put the Flock in extra-danger now that she could have a baby, but Max had really wanted Iggy to not be mad at her.
"I'm sorry, Iggy. I never wanted… Please don't be mad at me." Max said; her voice almost inaudible against the clamor in the room. Iggy's head snapped in her direction, a shocked expression replacing his livid one.
He stepped toward Max until he was right in front of her.
"I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad at you." Iggy said to Max in a softer tone. Max hugged him fiercely. She'd missed that.
Iggy momentarily stiffened, not used to the affection from Max, but was contented with it. His arms wrapped around her in an embrace, allowing himself a small smile. He took a deep breath, but stiffened.
Iggy had enhanced senses, even more so than the rest of his Flock. It almost made up for his lack of vision; almost.
Iggy smelled a scent that didn't belong on Max. Amidst her normal scent, there was a thicker, definitely masculine scent clinging to her. She practically reeked of another guy.
There was only one explanation of why she smelled like another guy, and the scent being so strong. It was the scent of the guy who had made love with Max. Iggy's mind went almost blank with rage. He recognized the scent. He didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be possible, but it had to be. The nose knows and he was not mistaken.
"He did this to you!" Iggy hissed as he immediately broke free of Max's embrace. Max stumbled back, afraid of Iggy. He couldn't know that Fang was alive and would be the father of the baby, if she had one.
"I… who are you taking about?" Max said, feigning stupidity. She had hoped that he really didn't know. She was planning on telling Iggy after he had cooled down and they had brought her, the rest of the Flock, and Fang back to somewhere safe.
"You know who I'm talking about! Fang did this to you!" Iggy spat. Max's heart practically stopped. She'd never seen Iggy so angry. This was very bad. If she didn't explain things before they saw Fang, Iggy would try to tear Fang to shreds.
"Well, yes, but…" Max was instantly cut off.
"You!" Iggy said venomously. His head turned towards the right.
The Flock looked and gasped in astonishment. Max's heart dropped into her stomach.
Farther down the aisle, clad in blue scrubs, stood Fang, and he looked twice as scary as Iggy. Angel stood behind Fang, her mouth open in shock.
"Don't talk to Max like that." Fang said in Avian to Iggy.
Iggy cursed at Fang in Avian, not worried that the younger kids understood Avian as well.
Without warning, Iggy lunged at Fang. Max knew from the beginning that Fang was going to win if any fights broke out. Iggy was still her friend, and she didn't want him to get hurt. He was being thickheaded, but he didn't understand the whole story.
Iggy's fist whistled as he threw a blow to the side of Fang's jaw. Fang easily blocked the blow. Iggy spun, undeterred. He used the momentum to fuel a rib splintering side kick. Fang fell to the ground, and in an instant Iggy had his knee on Fang's chest, keeping him pinned to the floor.
Max was surprised, she couldn't believe that Iggy was actually sort of winning the fight. Months after living with Iggy had taught her never to underestimate the blind bird-kid, but she never expected him to gain any footing against Fang, who was the best of the best in hand-to-hand combat.
Iggy punched Fang in the nose, snarling maliciously at Fang as blood spurted out of his nose. Fang stared at Iggy, his eyes coldly furious, but it was all lost on Iggy, who couldn't see Fang's paralyzing glare.
Iggy had Fang's arms pinned to his sides, and then reached for Fang's exposed throat.
Fang growled so venomously, that it made the hair stand up on Max's neck. Fang swiftly threw Iggy off of him. Fang was on his feet again instantly, and kicked Iggy hard on the chin. Iggy's head snapped sideways; it looked like Fang had snapped Iggy's neck.
Nudge stifled a shriek.
Iggy hissed in pain, so everyone knew that he was still alive and conscious. Then, Fang was on top of Iggy, just like before, only the roles were reversed.
Coldly emotionless and not uttering a sound, Fang grabbed Iggy's throat and squeezed, steadily increasing his force.
"Stop it!" Max shouted angrily from the side, tears blurring her vision. She couldn't lose Iggy. He had come to save her; he was her family, like a brother. He would die, never hearing the whole story. Iggy couldn't die.
Fang didn't relent. Iggy could feel himself growing weaker as he fought for breath. His thoughts started to get more and more hazy. He accepted the fact that he was about to die. He was just mad at himself for not getting Max out of there safely. He loved her, more than a sibling or friend would, and she would never really know.
Iggy was strangely aware of the hot liquid steadily dripping on to his face. Iggy knew that it was blood from Fang's damaged nose. Iggy was glad that he had at least injured Fang.
Iggy tried with all the energy that he had left to throw Fang off, like Iggy had been thrown off a moment ago, but couldn't budge Fang. Fang only tightened his death hold around Iggy's throat. Iggy's skin got a bluish tint to it.
Max couldn't let Fang kill Iggy. Max tackled Fang. Max and Fang tumbled away from Iggy, who was gasping for air.
Max pinned Fang to the ground, tears distorting Fang's confused stare.
"Hey, hey." Fang said softly speaking in Avian, the only language that he knew. With one free arm, he reached up and brushed Max's tears away. She tried to smile, but to her disappointment, she started to sob uncontrollably. She couldn't have a baby. They had a hard enough life as it was and she didn't want a baby; not now. She loved Fang, more than anything. She couldn't do this to him.
"It's alright. Everything's alright." Fang murmured. Max got off of him and Fang embraced Max, letting her cry on his shoulder. He gently rubbed circled in between her wings, the way that she liked. The Flock was gathered by Iggy, making sure that he was still alive.
Max chuckled amongst her tears. Fang loosened the embrace enough so that he could see her face.
"What's so funny?" Fang said in Avian, puzzled. Max did manage to smile.
"This isn't how I wanted you to meet the Flock." Max replied in Avian.
"He started it." Fang retorted. Max laughed; something that she thought she would never do again.
"What the heck is going on here?" Iggy wheezed, his sightless blue eyes narrowed in Max and Fang's general direction.
"Fang's alive." Max said in English. She didn't know where else to start.
"No freaking duh." Iggy said with dark humor.
"It's a long story!" Max shot back. "I'll tell you when we're not in the middle of a cesspool of evil!"
"Escaping would be nice." Fang said in Avian. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He rarely talked to anyone except for Max. Max felt horrible; Fang had never even seen the outside world, not once. She had been free for months until recently. Max silently swore that she would show Fang all the amazing things that she had seen and learned.
"You'll explain later." Iggy ordered to Max. She glared at him. Iggy would get an explanation, but he was not allowed to boss her around.
Fang and Max walked over to the Flock. The Flock, except for Iggy, looked at Fang as if here some mythical creature come to life. They couldn't believe that the Fang, the Fang that Max always thought and talked about, the Fang who was supposed to be dead was now right in front of them and very much alive.
Fang looked at them, his emotion undecipherable. Fang then stiffened and his face instantly contorted in pain.
He struggled to step back a few paces.
"Go." Fang ordered in Avian. Max watched in horror as Fang morphed into a pure black Eraser. Nudge shrieked. Iggy tried to step in front of Max protectively, but she shoved him aside.
Iggy stepped in front of the kids instead. He didn't know what had happened, but it couldn't be good.
"What happened?" Iggy whispered irritably.
"Fang's an… Eraser." Angel whispered in fear. Angel's heart hurt for Fang. He loathed himself. He wanted to tear himself to shreds for what he had become, even though it wasn't his fault that he was an Eraser.
"Oh yes, and the party has just begun." Ari cackled from behind them. Max and the Flock swiveled to look at the door. In the excitement, no one had heard it open.
Behind Ari, stood a few dozen Erasers.
"You're never getting out of here." Ari sneered. The Erasers growled in agreement. The Flock looked at Fang who was stepping farther and farther away from the Flock.
Now let's see a real fight! Let's watch Maxie's little lover here eat the little blond boy!" Ari said with relish as he revealed the horrid little remote that controlled Fang's actions. Ari's clawed finger tapped the 'kill' button. Fang's eyes looked desperately sad as he had no choice, but to charge toward the Flock, his intentions intent on killing Gazzy.
That took a ridiculously long time to write, but I really don't have time to write anymore. Keep that in mind as you review.