A/N: Ok. This chapter is SUPERINTENSE, just a warning. AHH. Oh my god, the stroy is almost done... C': We love you guys.. Well, kinda. Here's the issue. We are going to write another fanfic when this is done. BUT WE DONT KNOW WHAT FOR. SO. We neeed YYYYYOOOOOOUUUUUU to vote on the pole on our profile, and pick who we should write about! PLEASE! We have decided that if we get 7 more votes, (a total of 9) we will update at normal speed. But otherwise, we'll LEAVE YOU WITH THIS CLIFFIE. Also, we ask for 10 more reviews. Please, guys. PLEAse. We need help! Anyway.. enjoy the chapter. DISCLAIMER: We don't own Maximum Ride. Duh.
Fly On,
Lia and Kali

Chapter 21: Battle (Part 1)

FPOV

After a day of watching the erasers and "observing" the School, I'd had enough. Bile rose to my throat as I pictured my Max going through torture inside the pristine white walls, day after day. The rest of the circus was preparing for the attack. Iggy and Gazzy, our evil pyros, were working on the bomb that would blow an underground tunnel into the School. Kate, Maya, Star, and Nudge were in the weapons room, gathering things that might be useful in battle. Angel was with Ratchet and I outside the School, awaiting the arrival of the others. Then we would begin.

"Fang?" Angel asked quietly. She was sitting in the sand next to me, her head laying on my shoulder.

"Yes, Angel?" I replied. She was so cute, and sweet. Ever since I'd met Angel, she's been like my little sister.

"I'm scared," she whispered. I turned around to face her. Her blue eyes were wide and brimming with tears. "What if... What if we can't get Max out? What if more of us die?-" she broke off and looked away, unable to say anymore. Unable to say what she was thinking. What if Max dies?

I put my hands on her shoulders. "Angel, look at me." She looked up, and her eyes were red, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It's going to be OK. We're much smarter than they are, and we'll get Max out. You don't need to worry about it, ok? The erasers are big buffoons, and they're so stupid they wouldn't realize it if we walked into the basement right under their big hairy noses." She giggled a little bit at this. "Our whole plan is just to be cautious. But I promise you, nothing bad will happen to you, or Max. It will all work out. Got it?" She nodded and sniffled. kissed her forehead and stood up to go check on the girls in the weapons room. "I'll be right back, Angel. Ratchet, stay here with her." He nodded in consent and I walked away, slightly afraid of what I would find in the weapons room.

I was right to be afraid. I walked in to see Kate and Star arguing. "-don't need another sword! You're the only one who ever uses them! They're ancient, anyways!" Star was saying. Kate, who was holding a sword but obviously not thinking about it, threw her hands in the air.

"What if the other one breaks? And how do you know I'm the only one who uses them? Maybe Fang-" She broke off, realization dawning on her face. "Oh, um.. Hi, Fang. We were just..." she stuttered.

"Packing weapons!" Star forced a smile and laughed. It was not convincing.

"Nice try, ladies." I took the sword from Kate, and put it in the bag that was already stuffed with tons of knives, now three swords, five guns, two bows and 4 dozen arrows, a few daggers, and two silver whips. I walked over to the box of whips, and pulled out Max's gold one. I laid it in the bag, and the girls looked at me quizzically. Nudge, who had previously been sitting in the corner watching Kate and Star with wide eyes, spoke up. "But Fang, we already have two whips..." I looked over at her.

"This is Max's whip. She'll need it if we plan on getting out alive." I picked up the bag and zipped it closed. "Come on, let's go. We need to meet Ig and Gaz soon." I turned and left, knowing the girls were following behind me.

Kate, Nudge, Star and I walked up to the meeting spot, only to see that everyone else was already there. "About time you guys got here," Iggy said. "We've been waiting forever! I think I might have grown a few gray hairs!"

"Oh, shut up." I scolded. "I left about 5 minutes ago, and you weren't here."

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said. "Let's get this done." I dropped the overstuffed bag of weapons, and unzipped it. Countless sharp, dangerous objects tumbled out, hitting the sand and reflecting the sun's light. Gazzy clapped his hands and squealed excitedly. I glared at him. That shut him riiigghhhttt up.

"Pick what you like, and leave the rest. We'll divvy up the remains once everyone has chosen their main weapons." The mutants fell upon the lethal objects, attacking it like it was a giant eraser and they were crazy mutants. Oh wait, they are. Once everyone had picked their favorites, I looked back down at the pile to see only a few things remaining. The bone-hilted dagger, and max's whip. I grinned. "Great. I'll take these, and Max can use them when we find her. Now... we begin."

-LINE OF BATTLE-NESS-

Iggy's POV

Maya, Kate and I went over to the decoy hole-site- bomb in hand. We would wait for

Fang's signal before blowing the hole. I hoped it was soon... I mean, who wants to stand over an evil laboratory, bomb in hand, for an hour. Not me, that's for sure. We reached the site marked with three side-by-side sticks, and stopped. "Seriously?" I asked. "I expected it to be more... exciting. I don't know, like a battle. Like a secret mission or an evil plan, something. This is... anticlimactic. And nerve-racking.

"Iggy, you watch wayyyyyy too much television," Kate drawled. "A secret mission? Really? This is a battle, Nawt James Bond! Jeez, Iggs."

"Sorry," I mumbled. "This is sorta new for me..."

"It's ok, Iggs," Maya said, glaring at Kate, who rolled her eyes in return. "I think we're all a little nervous here, we just all have different ways of showing it. You make jokes, and Kate criticizes everything everyone else says." Kate scoffed, and said something unintelligible under her breath that sounded a lot like, "Ducking glass mole." (A/N: TMI FANS 4EVA)

Just then, I heard a bird-call in the distance. That was my idea... Just another fun way to make fun of Fang for his wings. That was our cue...

The two girls and I made a triangle around the spot. I placed the bomb on the ground, and pulled out a small can of gasoline and a box of matches. Kate took the can and poured it over the small metal contraption. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I bend over the bomb. "Stand back," I called to the girls over my shoulder. They each took a few steps back, craning their necks to watch the master at work. My hand struck a match expertly, and lit the bomb with caution. Almost instantly, it started hissing. I stumbled back, just as the ground exploded into a shower of white-hot fire and booming sound. Thrown backwards off my feet, I was pelted with a shower of flying debris. In the distance, the faint sounds of shouting erasers could be heard.

As their footsteps grew closer, Kate, Maya, and I drew our weapons. "Ready?" I asked, slightly out of breath.

"Ready, they both replied, just as the erasers came into view and opened fire.

-TIME FOR THE OTHER BOMB!-

Fang's POV

"Ready?" I asked, looking at Gazzy.

"Yup!" he replied a little too enthusiastically. Jeez. Creepy-obsessive pyro much? He removed the bomb from his "pouch of goodies," as he called it. Nudge and Angel stood by the bomb site, helping Ratchet and Star dig deep into the ground. They were looking at the map I'd made as a rough estimation as to where everything was positioned underground. Wouldn't want to dig right into a whitecoat's lab.

"Anything on Max?" I asked Angel while Gazzy set up his "workstation."

"She's alive, but I think she's sleeping or under a sedative. I can't quite reach into her mind." If you don't think that sentence is weird, read it again.

"Ok, but she's definitely alive, so that's an upside." Yup, that's me. Mr. Optimistic.

"I'm ready," Gazzy announced, walking over to the hole. I checked my watch and whistled a bird call, hoping that Iggy would hear it. Now we had one minute to prepare, then we'd light the bomb. The bombs had to go off at exactly the same time or the erasers would be able to tell there were two different bombs. Gazzy held the bomb out to me, motioning for me to hold it. The pungent odor of gas wafted into my nose. No, not Gazzy's gas. Gasoline. The whole bomb was drenched in the stuff.

"Ok, on the count of three, light it and I'll drop it," I told him, checking my watch. Everyone else had taken cover in the trees, so we were all set.

"One...two... three!" I said, and Gazzy lit the thing, running to the trees for cover. I dropped it into our tunnel and dashed behind him- BOOOOOMM Success. Debris showered us, and we burrowed deeper into the safety of the trees. After a few seconds, I peered out from behind the trees, surprised to find the whole tunnel caved in. Apparently the bomb was stronger than Gazzy had expected. We'd have to dig a path back underground, but we'd probably blown a decent sized hole into the School.

"Ok guys, the coast is clear," I motioned for the others to follow me closer to the hole. "Dig while I check to make sure that all the erasers left." They instantly picked up their shovels, which were half buried in dirt, and began to dig. Hopefully only some of the surface had been covered and the whole passage hadn't caved. That would've been a bust. I creeped behind the trees in the direction of the erasers were stationed before. I wasn't surprised when I didn't see any erasers stationed there. Dumb dogs. Sure, let's all go to the big bomb and leave the entrance wiiiiddddeeee open. Idiots. I checked once more, then returned to my group, who had already dug a massive hole that curve towards the building.

"Good job, guys!" I applauded softly. "Star, Angel and I will head into the School to free Max. Iggy's group is whooping some eraser butt, and they'll be back soon. I want more people to stay guard, so Ratchet, Nudge, and Gazzy, you guys stay here in case any stray erasers come back for trouble. Got it? Good."

I readied my sword and climbed down into the hole. It lead all the way to a concrete wall with a small opening in the bottom. It must be some pretty strong concrete if it survived Gazzy's bomb. After check to make sure Angel and Star were following me, I hunched through the small opening, sticking my head into the room first to see what the room was. My eyes landed on rows of glass cabinets, each marked with a different animal. I peered into one of the cabinets, and instantly wish I hadn't. Inside was a preserved body of a goat, and dozens of test tubes marked with words I couldn't make out. Probably DNA samples. Nobody was in the room, from what I could tell, so I crawled out of the hole. The room was dimly lit and I rose quietly, my ears on hyperdrive to make up for the loss of sight. I couldn't pick anything up, so it was most likely safe. I motioned for Angel and Star to follow me. We tiptoed towards a white door, trying not to make any noise. I could hear Angel and Star gasp as they looked into the glass cabinets, but I ket moving forward, reminding myself that the people who did this are the same people who took Max from me.

We tiptoed out the white door into a white hall. Oddly, no one was there. It felt like the time we had broken into the other School to get Ratchet and Holden. I try not to think of that day too much because we had lost a circus member and good friend that day. I hoped today wouldn't be a repeat.

"Ok Angel, are you getting any signals from her? Is she close? Can you tell which door?" I asked. She was standing with her eyes closed and fingers on her temples. Any other time I would've laughed at how closely she resembled a fortune teller. She pointed confidently behind me, "We take a left there, and then a right. It should be at the end of that hallway. But I still can't get a clear read on her."

"OK, let's hope you're right," Star nodded, loading a arrow into her bow.

We followed Angel's directions, being careful to listen for any voices or whiecoats. Fortunately, the hallways were deserted. Or so I thought. We made the last right turn, and Angel was nodding silently, positive we were heading in the right direction. I looked up, and at the end of the hallway, looking as Wolf-ish as ever, was Dylan. Star was the first to react, shooting an arrow towards his hairy face. He dodged it at the last second, swerving to the right and lumbering towards us with heavy, labored steps.

"Go get Max," I whispered to Star and Angel, pride swelling in my heart as they swerved around the giant dog, racing towards the door to the room at the end of the hall. Dyal n growled and whipped around, I turned invisible and raced in front of him. He didn't see me as I stabbed at his chest. Once again, he moved at the last second, so my blade pierced his arm, a steady stream of warm blood gushing from the wound.

"You will regret that, stupid little bird," he charged at my general direction, but because I was invisible, he missed. Terribly. He smashed into the wall, howling in pain. I took this opportunity to side-sweep his feet, sending him tumbling to the ground. I placed my foot on his chest, surprised that he'd gone down so quickly. I thought these things were supposed to be good at fighting. Pshh... Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Star and Angel lurch out of the room, supporting a wounded Max. My breath caught as I took in her wounds, suddenly angry at what they'd done to my girlfriend. As I was distracted, Dylan took the opportunity to stand up.

"FANG! WATCH OUT!" I heard Max scream, and I turned around, only to see Dylan swinging something silver at my back. I moved just in time, and he hit my side, cutting in deep. Instantly, I felt dizzy with blood loss and nearly collapsed. My shirt was soaked in blood, and it was dripping around my feet. I swung my sword clumsily, and he dodged it with ease.

"Is that the best you can do, little bird?" Dylan laughed, and swung at me again. But this time, I was ready. His sword collided with mine, and we pushed against each other for a little while. I broke off, stepping back so his sword would come down on thin air, and lunged forward, stabbing at his stomach. He cried out, and dropped his sword. He stumbled backwards, and slid down against the wall.

"This is the last time you will ever hurt my family, Dylan. You're so stupid, y'know. The whitecoats never wanted you, anyways. Whatever they told you," I kicked him in the face, and his nose began to bleed, "was a lie. They never had any use for you. You are a tool, Dylan. You always were. They used you to hurt Max, because you had a reason to. You have an expiration date, just like everyone else. There is nothing special about you, except your overwhelming desire for blood and death. You let your emotions consume you, and never think with your head. That's what got you here. And now... you're dying. And you have no idea how much I want to leave you, and let you die in pain. A slow, agonizing death." My voice broke, and I advanced on Dylan, who was looking at me with a plea in his eyes. Not asking me to spare him. Asking me to kill him. I slashed my dagger down the side of his face, and he choked back a sob, blood pouring down his pale skin onto his neck. "I'm not like you, Dylan. I won't leave you to die in pain. So now I'll kill you, but not because I hate you. Because I feel sorry for you. If I leave you here, the whitecoats will come, and whatever they do to you will be ten times worse than what I'm going to do." He looked at me for one more second, then closed his eyes. "Goodbye, Dylan. You don't deserve this. But I'll save you anyways." And I plunged my dagger into his chest. Blood pooled around his dead body, and stained his shirt red. It trickled out of the corners of his mouth, poured out his ears, dripped from his nose. Dylan was dead. And I'd killed him.

"Star, take Angel ahead, I'll carry Max up" I said to the others, who were staring at me in shock. Something like a "holy crap you just killed Dylan" look. They didn't listen to me, just kept staring blankly at Dylan. I sighed, and jogged towards Max, scooping her up and holding her close to my chest. "Star and Angel, go ahead." I repeated.

"No. I'm going to help you carry her," Angel retorted.

"Angel we don't have time, just go with Star," I urged. She shook her head stubbornly, and I knew she would never budge. "Fine. Star, go tell the others we're on our way."

"Ok, see you guys soon," she took off running in the direction where we came from.

Max was heavy, but I carried her by myself, relying on Angel to lead us back to the tunnel we dug.

"You're safe," Max breathed a sigh of relief as I kissed her quickly.

"You're one to talk, Max. You were trapped in a maniac's fun house where they enjoy mutilating anything that stands in their way."

She laughed shallowly, then put a hand on her ribs, wincing.

"Come on, Angel," I called, "We're not safe ye-"

As soon as those words left my mouth I heard a loud popping sound. A sharp dart pierced my arm. A tranquilizing dart. My mind suddenly turned to mush and I distantly heard Max scream as I tumbled to the ground. I heard another one of the popping sounds, and then a net encased Max and me. I faintly heard Angel scream and rush towards us. Then I blacked out, with Dylan's blood on my hands and Max's head on my back.

Maya's POV

Star emerged from the hole, breathless. "What happened?" I fired questions at her. "Where are Max and Fang?"

"Fang... is down.. there... he killed Dylan..." she said, and Iggy handed her water. I looked at her, waiting for her to finish. "The whitecoats heard the noise, and.. The whitecoats... We had Max out, but they came. They know we're here. They're sending people over here." Everyone froze. A deadly quiet settled over the small area around the hole as everyone stared at Star.

"All right, guys. It sounds like we're gonna have company pretty soon. Draw your weapons." I said. In the distance, we could hear erasers approaching in tight lines.

We all stood, waiting for the erasers. It was weirdly calm, and a strange atmosphere had steeled over us. Max and Fang were gone, troops of erasers were coming for us, and we'd have to fight them. The people we were standing with had been our family for years, and now we just might lose them. But if we went down, we'd go down fighting. Together.

The erasers were just visible over the horizon, coming closer and closer. Iggy cursed under his breath, and there was no need to wonder why. There were tons of them. Hundreds, probably.

I called back to the mutants who stood behind me, ready to risk their lives for a girl we'd only known for about a year. "Ready?"

"Ready." Came their reply, all in unison. And with that, the erasers had reached us, and we dove headfirst into a battle. I lunged at the nearest eraser, striking out with my dagger. A red line bloomed across his chest, and he growled at me. He swung a punch, and I caught his fist. I swung his arm, and the rest of him followed. I knocked out several other erasers with the one I was holding, and then threw him as hard as I could. He hit the ground, and stopped moving. I whipped around, sensing another eraser at my back. There were two, each holding a knife. I pulled out mine, and the two advanced. One held his knife in his left, the other in his right. Perfect. That would make this a whole lot easier.

They extended their arms at the same time, and I dodged, swinging my knife out and into their side-by-side arms. They screamed in agony and both dropped their knives, not like they had a choice. They had each lost several fingers due to my beautiful dagger-skills. One of them bared his teeth, and the other lunged, swinging to hit me in the face. I ducked, and he lost his balance, not realizing that I could. He landed flat on his face, and I stomped on his neck, hearing a satisfying crack. The other eraser looked at me, eyes wide, and scampered off. Coward. I looked around quickly, to see how everyone else was doing. It was absolute chaos. There was blood all over the ground, though whose it was could not be told. Erasers battled mutants, and mutants struck with immense power, despite any injuries. We were stronger, but they were greater in numbers. There was no telling who would win, because even as erasers were killed, blood was shed, and limbs were severed, the erasers kept on coming. Each time one dies, two more would replace it. It seemed endless.

I turned around, to see two more erasers approaching me. Before they had a chance, I swung my dagger and plunged it into the first one's chest. He screamed as I dragged it down, creating red line from his chest to his naval. I stumbled back, disgusted with myself. What was I doing? I'm not a killer... No. I told myself sternly. This is what must be done. We have to save Max. While I was staring at what I'd done, listening to the agonized screams of erasers, I didn't notice the second eraser coming up behind me. Before I could duck, he thrust his fist in my face, and my nose exploded in pain. Blood poured down my face and into my mouth. I yelled out and threw my dagger at the eraser, and it buried itself in the side of his neck. His eyes went wide, and he began to cough. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth and through his nose, and he fell back and hit the ground. Dead.

The sounds of battle assaulted my ears, and ran over to Iggy, who was struggling with four erasers. I pulled out a second dagger, and killed two erasers from behind. "Thanks!" Iggy shouted, and and I nodded to show that I'd heard him. I continued on, until I'd reached the hole we were supposed to be protecting.

"Not so fast, shit-face." I said, and the eraser bending over the hole jumped and turned around, only to meet my knife with his face. He went down at my feet, and was dead before he hit the ground. I kicked him aside, and was about to turn away, when I heard a noise from inside the tunnel. Someone was coming up. I bent over, extending my knife. "Who's there?" I called down.

"It's me... *cough* Angel..*cough*"

"Oh, Shit!" I dropped my knife and reached down for her hand, hauling her up into the open air. "What happened to you? What's going on down there?" She broke out into sobs. "Angel, honey.. shh." I pulled her into my chest, and wrapped my arms around the young girl. Her curls were caked with dirt, and blood was streaked down her face and stained her clothes. She sobbed harder, shaking me. "Angel, you need to tell me what's happened." I said gently, and pulled away from her. "Angel, look at me. What's happened?"

"It's... the Whitecoats." she said in between heavy sobs. "They... We.. We had Max, and Fang, and he killed Dylan, and then..." she let out a heavy cry, "They came, and they took Max and Fang. Maya, they took them. And I can't find them in my head. They're gone, Maya. Max and Fang are gone."

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Love and dead erasers,
Maya