Hey guys! This is an extremely important and also one of my favorite chapters :) Keep reading to find out.

Random Fact: (This is future me writing this back in as an edit) I was in the airport when I posted this chapter because I'm visiting my parents and my brother (Ori) As you can probably tell, my parents are hippies honestly... I mean they named me Harmony and my brother Orion sooo... yeah. LOL. But yeah like I said, I go to a strict dance school and we had break for a week and a half so I decided to visit my parents because it's freaking cold in Russia right now and I could use some of the sun. So right now, I'm in my parents house in India (YAY). Also this creepy dude sat next to me on my first flight and got me sick. meh.

Anyway, here's the chapter :) (Also I just realized how close Ori and Ari are lol awkward)

REVIEW! :)

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Chapter 23

MAX P.O.V

"Maxxx, are we there yet?" Gazzy whined.

I sighed. "No Gazzy, we aren't there yet."

I looked over at Iggy and realized he had been quiet since we left. I switched positions with Fang so that he was the tip of the 'V'.

"Hey." Iggy lifted his head. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." He looked worried. "What if something happens to Phoenix?"

"I know this is scary… and you have no idea how much I just want to break down and cry but as a leader, if I break down, so will everyone else." I fidgeted with my backpack strap. "We just have to hope for the best."

"You know Phoenix is the best thing to ever happen to this Flock."

I was taken off guard. "What?"

"Think about it. Before, I was just the blind guy who built bombs with an 8 year old. After Phoenix was born, it's like I had a new purpose in life. I take care of Phoenix when you or Fang can't, I teach her how to combat, I play with her in my free time, and she calls me Uncle Iggy."

"I know she loves you… she really does. But we have to be strong for the others. The school won't harm her so soon. We know that."

"It's not that I'm worried about." Iggy looked into my eyes. "She's never experienced anything like that before. She hasn't even been locked in a cage. Anything they do to her will be doing harm."

"Yeah she wasn't brought up in that environment like us." Fang chimed in. "We were able to tolerate it. I don't think she can."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

PHOENIX P.O.V.

"STOP!" I had tears going down my face. If there was such a thing as hell, it would be the school.

"Use your powers you idiot!" Jeb yelled at me through a microphone. We were in a large arena that looked like a field. They had at least fifty erasers in a circle around me… with guns. My job was to dodge bullets. I don't know about you but there are a LOT of less violent, less scary scenarios that might NOT kill you, to test reflexes.

"I can't!" I already had 2 bullet holes. I was fending of well for the first ten minuets…then they threw in another eraser for me to fight… while dodging bullets. I was bleeding everywhere and was in too much pain to centralize my heat.

"FOCUS PHOENIX. Or we'll throw you in the pit again!" Jeb's voice rang loud through the speakers.

No please. No! Not that dreaded black hole again. I tried to focus the heat.

"Ugh!" I only saw a spark on my hands. Get out of here. Get out of here. I grabbed the erasers wrist and twisted his arm hard. I punched his face and flipped over him and to kick him in the back. He fell face first. I won. I was on top of him. The ball was in my court now. It was all in my control.

Then, all of a sudden, I felt a shift in me. I heard the bullets stop shooting. I focused my energy as I stared right into the dirt. The fire inside me got bigger and bigger until I felt like I was about to explode. The fire spread from my arms to all the way around the eraser and I in a perfect circle, with just a small space along the edge.

I heard a sickening laugh. "Good job Phoenix… guess you won't be visiting the pit today."

The door to the arena opened and in walked Jeb with his team of 20 scientists who were observing.

"You can die the fire down you know. The test is over. We need to attend to the eraser." Jeb walked forward with a clipboard.

I didn't hear him though. I wanted to pummel the eraser. I couldn't control myself.

I kept punching the eraser over and over. His blood was spurting everywhere and I was covered in his blood more than I was my own. I kicked him engulfed him in flames. I kept punching his burning body as Jeb was telling me to stop.

"Erasers, detain her!"

The 50 other erasers charged forward. I increased the fire even more. It created a dome, covering me. Even the fire extinguishers didn't to anything. I was too powerful. I glared at the team with my glowing red eyes.

"You touch me again… and I hurt you." I smiled viciously.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

MAX P.O.V

"Max, we still have about 6 hours to go." Fang spoke up.

I grinded my teeth, "We should keep going if we want to find Phoenix."

Fang looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "We need to stop… for the kids."

I surveyed the rest of the flock. They were clearly exhausted and I couldn't loose more members. "Alright. Lets go down."

We were somewhere near the border of Texas and New Mexico so halfway there. We landed in a run down hotel.

"One room please." I decided that it would be best if we all stayed in one room so I can keep an eye on everyone.

After we got in the room, we all showered and everyone except for Fang and I went to eat something.

Fang finished buttoning his shirt and walked over the bed to sit down. He pulled out a picture of Phoenix from his pocket and showed me. It was the first time she ever flew. Her little black wings with snowy white tips were spread out and her hair framed her face perfectly. She was on a cliff looking into the sky as her eyes lit up and her mouth was in a "O".

"You know I don't show emotion often…." Fang took my hand. "… but right now, I'm terrified of what they're doing to her."

"I know." I put my head on his shoulder and he rubbed circles on my back. "It's like when Angel was kidnapped all over again."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

PHOENIX P.O.V.

After I showed that I couldn't control myself, I collapsed and they put me in detainment. My entire body was a strapped but I wasn't scared… not the least. I was exhilarated. I felt my entire personality change in that moment. I wasn't Phoenix, Max and Fang's child anymore. I was Phoenix the Sun Warrior.

I was breathing hard for no apparent reason. I slowed my breathing and looked at my surroundings. I thought I heard someone walking down the hallway. I strained my ear.

"This room?" Hmm. A new voice.

"Yes. This specimen is our most successful." Jeb's voice. "I think you could be of great help to us in controlling her."

"Her? You mean it?"

"She prefers not to be objectified."

The new guy scoffed. "Oh how does it matter."

"She's not called the killing machine for no reason." Jeb cautioned. "She's more dangerous than anyone even imagined."

"Hm. Well, I'm sure I've worked with worse. I'll see what I can do."

The door opened and the new guy walked in. He was wearing a lab coat and looked like Daddy's age.

"Hello little girl." He flashed a toothy smile at me.

I focused on reading his thoughts. 'I'll just see how she responds. Hopefully, I won't need to use the Taser.'

I repositioned my face with an innocent look. "Hi!" I smiled cutely at him. "What's your name?" I could almost see the surprise on Jeb's face behind the door.

"My name is Jake." He started undoing to straps around my arms. "What's yours?"

"My name is Phoenix." I looked up at him with big eyes as I jumped down off of the slab I was strapped to. "Do you think I can go home now?"

He laughed cautiously. "Oh honey, you won't be going home anytime soon." He patted my head and took my hand. Then, he walked me to a table and sat me down. "Want a lollipop?" My mouth watered at candy. I quickly unwrapped it and started licking it.

"So, Phoenix, tell me about your powers." He cupped his face in his hands.

"Sure!" I bored my eyes into his. "I can read your thoughts, breath underwater, and I can control fire… but its not very developed yet."

"Oh wow! Well aren't you the cutest little thing." He smiled at me. "I'm here to help you control you powers… do you think you could work with me?"

"I don't know… I might kill you."

"Um... I can ensure you... that won't happen."

Don't underestimate me Jake. Don't you dare underestimate me.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

PHOENIX P.O.V

They stuffed me into a cage. I don't know how many hours I've been here now but it feels like I've been here for over a week. I was trying to get the Jake guy to trust me so he'll let his guard down.

"Hey." A girl's voice spoke out.

My heart jumped into my throat. "Who's there?" I tried to look through the bars of the cage at who was speaking.

"Neona… but I go by Neo." It was silent after that.

"I'm Phoenix but sometimes, I go by Nix."

"So you're her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone knows who you are. They've been searching for you forever and then suddenly, they capture you and you turn out to be a killing machine… like.."

"Like who?"

"Like… me."

"And who exactly are you?" I was skeptical of this girl.

"Neona. You are known as the bird of the sun. And I am the bird of the moon. We're born from the same mother. I'm your sister."

I couldn't believe my ears. "What?" I tried to peer further into the darkness. "You can't be my sister. I'm an only child."

"Believe it or not, it's true. We're twins. The only difference is that you were born with a family, but I was born here…. I'd hardly call this family."

"But how do you know… and how come I never knew…"

"Nobody knew." She sighed. "I was a test-tube baby. You were born from my mother's stomach. This is all part of their experiment. They want to test who would raise a better fighter: Maximum Ride or the school."

I scoffed. "I can't believe this. I hate them so much!" I started to control my breathing. "This is not fair! It's not fair that you were stuck here for 6 years of your life! They can't do this!"

"Yes they can. It's all they do." She cleared her throat. "I knew you're entire family existed but I never got to look at you. I wish I had a family like you."

"If what you're saying is true, that you really are my sister, then you do have a family. My entire flock is coming to break us out… and you'll finally be free."

"It's not that simple." Neona protested.

"Hold on." I illuminated the room with a simple fire in the middle of the room. "There. Now I can see you."

The girl was in the cage directly across from me. Even with the bars in the way, there was no doubt that she was my sister. She was identical to me.. as if I was looking into a mirror.

She gasped. "Phoenix Ride." Her eyes widened in awe.

"Neona… we look… the same." I examined her closer. "…But our eyes are different... how is that possible?"

Ever since using my power more often, the red flecks in my eyes had become more prominent but they were still light icy blue. But hers were flecked with deep, ocean blue, which made the icy blue look even more menacing than mine.

"Wow… never thought I'd live to see my sister… ever." She breathed out. "Our eyes... they reflect our personalities."

"What do you mean?"

"Yours are speckled with red…anger and uncontrolled nature. Mine are speckled with blue…serene and cunning. You give a quick painful death out of anger. I, on the other hand, control my power. I give a slow, painful, agonizing death." She stared at me. "Funny how it is."

Then, a sharp pain pierced my skull. My eyes glazed over and I could see my flock. They were in a hotel. They were discussing about me. They were coming. Just as quickly as the picture came, it left again.

Neona was looking at me with worried eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I- I don't know what that was… I'm fine… I think."

"Don't be alarmed. I get them too. It's how I know what your flock looks like. But the strange thing is… I was never able to see you."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

NEONA P.O.V

Phoenix was exactly like I'd imagined. She was even better than I imagined. I finally get to meet the sister that I never had.

"You said your flock is coming…. But it won't be easy to break in. I hope they know that."

"Oh they do…. At least I hope they do…" Phoenix looked down at her hands. She focused on the fire to make it bigger so the entire room was lit.

"I sense that you're scared." I was very naturally intuitive to emotions…. But weirdly, I couldn't read her mind. It was like it was clouded or something.

Phoenix set her jaw. "How can you tell."

"Because I know."

"Something is wrong with me. I feel like I shift into a completely different person sometimes. I can't control my powers and it's scary."

"Don't dwell on what happened. Think about what you can do to fix it. You can control your powers if you really try."

She cupped her face in her hands. "I just want to go home… I can't do this anymore… I thought I was strong but I'm weak… I'm even weaker than the dumb whitecoats." She started to cry.

"Stop crying." Why was she crying? Her flock was coming… what was the problem? "I've wanted to meet you for a long time. Everyone described you as strong… and I believe that too. But you have to believe in yourself. I think your fear is holding you back."

"It is. But I don't know how to stop. I was sure this would never happen to me. I thought beating erasers would be so easy. I can't do this anymore." Her eyes started to well up with tears. "If I make a mistake, I could die here. I almost -"

"-Phoenix." I made her look at me. "If you're afraid to make a mistake… then you've already made one."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

NEONA IS MY FAVE. She's so badass. She's kind of speaks like Luna from Harry Potter... she's kind of the opposite of Phoenix. In a way, she reflects Fang, like how Phoenix reflects Max (with the hot headedness and all). If you haven't guessed already, Neona means moon.

Review and let me know if you liked this chapter :)