A/N: BAM. Fastest update in…a very long time, for me. That's so sad. It would have been two weeks ago, but school started. –exasperated sigh-

So, in case you were wondering, the next day didn't go any better. Actually, it sucked. Big time. Things were better with Fang, thankfully. But things with my second voice were getting worse. Much, much worse. I didn't have a moment to myself anymore. More than anything, I just wanted to be in my head, by myself.

Even though at the moment, we were flying again, it did nothing to improve my mood.

"Max?" Nudge asked. I forced myself to be calm. I was on the edge constantly today, and I could tell that the slightest thing would set me off. I took several deep breaths before I answered.

"Yeah, Nudge? What's up?"

"What are we gonna do now? I mean, we've just been flying all day. Where are we going? Do we have another plan? What if Itex comes looking for us? I'm really confused, and…well, I guess…a little nervous." She looked ashamed, as if being nervous was one of the seven deadly sins or something.

I hesitated. I didn't really have a real answer for that – for any of that. "Well…where do you want to go, Nudge?" I replied. "I'm pretty much open for anything."

She bit her lip. "It's just…can we just stop, for awhile? I mean, we're kind of tired, and Itex caught us just a few days ago, and we've been through so much in the last few days, and…can we just rest?"

I sighed. Tempting as it was to say yes to her, I knew – knew – that we had to keep moving. Itex could be right behind us. Like she'd said, we had just escaped a few days ago. Two, actually. It wasn't safe to stop right now. Not when we had just gotten away.

I have two words for you.

And that right there made up my mind.

"Okay, Nudge," I told her. "We'll stop. Land, guys!" I yelled back so that everyone else could hear me.

Why did I decide to stop, you ask? I was pretty sure that I would drop out of the sky of my own free will if that voice kept nagging me.

I made a huge circle, scanning for a good place to touch down. I scanned the trees and zoomed in on a spot below us. It looked like a pretty deserted place, and I tucked my wings in and dropped toward it.

The adrenaline rush was incredible. It was reckless, and Fang would probably kill me later, but whatever. It was so worth it just to feel the wind rushing past my face, making my eyes stream. Fifty feet from the ground, I snapped my wings out and jerked to a halt. I winced as my wings were yanked upward, but I didn't splat on the ground, so I would take that pain over death any day.

I touched down gently and tucked my warm wings in against my body. As I glanced up at the sky, I could make out five shapes coasting down out of the sky to meet me. Fang was first to touch down and immediately started towards me. "So did you decide not to kill yourself at the last minute or something?" he asked offhandedly, but I could tell just from looking at him that he had been scared, and more than a little angry.

"Yeah," I said, going along with it as Nudge and the Gasman touched down. "You know, just to see your ugly face again."

Max. Kill him now.

I closed my eyes in weary pain. "Max?" Fang asked. His voice sounded like it was coming to me from far away. "Max, you okay?"

"I'm fine," I managed to get out. "Just…just give me a second."

Kill Fang, Max. You have to.

No. I won't do it.

Kill him, Max.

No.

Do it now.

No!

NOW!

No! Make it go away, make it stop, make it stop, stop, stop…

"Max!" Fang was saying. He had my wrists in a steel grip. "Max, snap out of it!"

My eyes snapped open, and I glared at him. "Leave me alone. I'm fine," I spat out, icicles dripping off my words.

"Max, you're not, we can all see it; just tell us what's going on-"

"I said I'm fine!" I exploded, wrenching my wrists away. He stood his ground, refusing to look away from my eyes.

"You just keep on lying to yourself," he said quietly. "When you're ready to tell the truth, I'll be here."

I drew in a long, shaky breath, the anger already being replaced by shock. What the hell was that? I had done it again! I'd lost control, gotten angry and nearly violent towards the ones that I loved. If I kept this up, everyone I knew was going to hate me.

Actually, maybe that was better. I didn't know. I needed space, time to think. I had to be alone. I looked down at my hands, finally realizing that they hurt. Drawing in a sharp breath of surprise, I saw that four crescent moon shapes each were cut into each palm, oozing drops of blood. I had clenched my fists so hard that I'd cut into my own hands.

"I – I'll be right back," I choked out, and launched myself into the sky before he could say anything. I was a thousand feet up in the blink of an eye. I wanted – needed - to go fast, to feel like I was wiping away all of my problems into the air. I pushed myself faster, cutting through the air as easily as a hot knife through butter. The scenery blurred past me – trees, farmland, water, everything was there and gone in a millisecond. Thoughts raced through my head just as fast, but I couldn't concentrate on any one thing too long before something else occurred to me.

When I finally slowed down enough to get my bearings, I figured I was a hundred, maybe two hundred miles away from my flock. A wave of paranoia washed through me. What if while I was gone they were attacked or ambushed and I wasn't there? Or worse – someone could abduct me and they would never know what happened. They would think I left them. I had to get back.

Just as I did a one eighty in the air, Jeb decided to chip in. Max…I have something to say. I just about jumped a million feet in the air. And yes, you can do that while flying, thanks. I would know.

God, Jeb! You scared the living crap out of me!

Max…listen to me. I…as much as I hate to say this, I have to.

I tensed up immediately. What…? I asked warningly.

It's about the second voice.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Oh, great. So what did you find out? It's telling me to kill Fang, Jeb. I won't do that. I can't.

Actually, Max…Jeb hesitated. I'm starting to wonder whether it's right.

I froze in shock. WHAT did you just say? I thought you were 'on my side', you traitor! I knew it. I knew you were lying to me. I'm not killing Fang. That's FINAL. What the hell is going on? Have you been lying to me all of this time? My mind was on Nudge mode, spewing anything and everything that went through my head.

Max, please keep an open mind, he begged. I did my best to tune him out. I think he's becoming too attached to you. You might not be able to complete your mission. Think about it, Max…. He could be a hazard.

Are. You. INSANE? I yelled mentally. I could almost feel him wince. A hazard how??

Max, he loves you. Even I can see that. He could be viewed as your biggest weakness, and that could be potentially fatal. They would use him to get to you, don't you see? It's the oldest trick in the book. Itex isn't stupid. They've already proved that. Once they see how he feels, neither of you will be safe.

I don't believe you, I hissed. So all that 'I love you all like sons and daughters' stuff was all a load of crap?

Max, no, of course not. But I am not related to Fang. You're my only daughter. I just want to keep you safe.

Well, here's a newsflash for you, buster. I'm not killing Fang. I definitely DO NOT and will not EVER view you as my father after what you just said. And guess what? Even if he was my biggest weakness, there's no way that I would even be able to function without Fang. I thought that we already proved that. I was miserable, remember? Even just thinking about that time hurt.

Please just remember what I said.

Oh, I'll remember alright. But there's no way that I'm taking your advice. With that, I poured on the speed – back to my flock and away from all the pressure that was slowly but surely closing in over my head.

0o0o0o0o0

When I finally skidded to a halt back at our makeshift campsite, the atmosphere was tense, to say the least. Angel was the first to greet me, her entire face lighting up. "Max! Max, you came back!" she cried, leaping from where she lay on the ground and rushing to me.

I hugged her tightly and stroked her hair. It was dirty and matted, but its golden color still shone through. "Of course, I did, sweetie," I replied. "Of course I did."

I glanced at Fang over her head and met his searching gaze. He wanted answers, I knew. I could tell that much from his face. I looked away. Not dealing with that now. I glanced around, taking a quick mental inventory of all my flock. They seemed exactly the same as the last time I'd seen them a few hours ago. I relaxed without even realizing that I'd been tense.

"Alright, guys," I exhaled, struggling to keep all traces of strain out of my voice. "Set up camp, since you were nice enough to leave work for me." That got a few faint smiles. They had been worried about me, and I felt a pang that I had caused them pain. I hated that, knowing that I had been the one to age their faces that much more.

Being on the run is never exactly entertaining – no freaking duh – but that night sucked even worse than usual. I felt like I was in a stupid fishbowl. My entire flock kept sneaking glances at me when they thought I wasn't looking, like I was a time bomb about to explode. Which I guess I was, actually. Huh.

There wasn't a whole ton of talking, either, even from the Nudge channel. Iggy was the only one who wasn't watching me, for obvious reasons, but I could feel that he was tense. Years of living next to him in a cage had honed my ability to read his emotions. For all those reasons – and a ton of little ones, too – I was glad when the rest of the flock eventually dropped off to sleep, one by one.

All except for Fang.

He sat next to me on the ground, wiping his hands free of grease on his jeans. For awhile, we sat in silence, staring out into the trees. Everything was silent except for the occasional cricket. So of course, being me, I had to be the one to mess it up.

"You know, I have first watch," I whispered, staring straight ahead.

"I know," he replied. He was quiet again for a few moments before he finally asked, "Max, what the hell is going on?"

I immediately stiffened. "Nothing. I told you that."

He sighed and leaned his head against a tree. "Stop lying."

"I'm not."

"Max." He finally turned to look at me then. "I've known you all my life. You're my one constant. If you think I can't tell when you're lying to me by now, you really are stupid."

This got me to hesitate. Much as I hated to admit it, he did have a point. As always. "So," he continued, "whether you want to tell me or not, I know something is going on."

I didn't answer him for awhile. In the back of my mind, an idea was forming, something to save Fang from myself. "Fang…" I said finally, barely making a sound. I had to make sure of this one thing first. I had to. "Fang, I have to ask you something."

"What?"

"If I did something…terrible…like, really bad…would you forgive me? Could you?" I refused to meet his eyes, which I knew were searching my darkened silhouette, trying to make sense of what I was saying.

"Max," he said, after a second that felt like an eternity. "You're my best friend. Nothing is going to change that, not now, not ever. Nothing you can do can change that."

I glanced up at him hesitantly. "So is that a yes?"

Half a smile crossed his face for a fleeting second. "Max, what did you do?"

"Nothing." Yet.

He reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. His fingertips lingered on my cheek, brushing against it slightly and tingling where they touched. "Max," he whispered, halfway to himself, and shook his head. "You're really weird sometimes, you know that?"

I could feel a sob rising up in my throat. How could I take this away – from him, from me? I couldn't. I wouldn't. No.

Max, don't do this. I forbid you. My second voice decided to chip in.

Shut up, I shot back at it, and hugged Fang tightly. I could feel his surprise at my sudden change, and before he could wrap his arms around me all the way, I turned my face to his quickly and pressed our lips together.

He was obviously surprised, but he responded all the same. Before too long, he had twined his fingers through my hair, effectively binding me closer to him. There was no way that I was able to pull away, but at that present moment in time, I didn't really care. My mind had just about blown up.

When we broke apart, breathing heavily, he stared at me for a few seconds before dropping his head onto my shoulder. "Max…" he breathed. "Max, I think…" He seemed to steel himself to say something, and I waited with bated breath. Was there something wrong? What was going on?

"…I love you," he finished. Shock emptied into my veins and made my eyes widen. He looked up at me again, and more emotion was in that one gaze than in any look he had ever given me in nearly fifteen years. He grinned, a brilliantly blinding smile that knocked the breath out of my lungs. He kissed me this time, exultantly, deliriously happy in his new discovery. He held me as tightly as if he never wanted to let go.

I didn't know what to think or what to feel. I was torn between being so happy I could nearly sing and just wanting to run away from this new thing threatening to change my life forever. Then something else popped into my head, vying for attention. Jeb had been right. Fang did love me. How had he known? Had it really been so obvious that everyone but me could see it?

Don't answer that.

Fang pulled away after a time, resting his forehead against mine. "Max…" he murmured. I could hear the question in his tone and knew that he was wondering how I felt, if I would run away. He would never ask that outright. Our gazes met, and now I could see his emotions clearer than ever. I had always been able to tell what he was thinking, but now it was almost as if we thought with the same mind.

"Fang?" I whispered into the darkness, trying to make sense of everything going through my head. I felt his silent acknowledgement of my half-question. "I think…" I started, and then stopped. I wasn't sure I wanted to do this. It wasn't something that I could take back, ever. Maybe that was a good thing. "What you said…I think…I feel the same. No matter what happens, that'll never change." I fervently hoped that he couldn't hear the fear or sadness in my voice. I was starting to figure something out, and I didn't like it or want to face it. I let the idea lurk in the back of my mind, tainting my thoughts.

"You love me?" It was a question. He still wasn't sure.

I nodded, and picked up the courage to look at him. "I'm not sure what love is. But whatever the heck it is, this is the closest thing I'll ever get to loving anybody." I looked down again, still afraid, though of what I wasn't sure. It wasn't like he would reject me. He had confessed first.

He touched my hand gently. He wasn't perfect – he got angry, he could be a little rude sometimes, and he wasn't exactly America's idea of gorgeous – he was scarred everywhere. But he was Fang. My right hand man. And - as I was just realizing – I loved him. It was way too Twilight Zone for my taste.

But I couldn't turn back.

Fang got up after a few moments. "Good night, Max," he said. "I love you." I could tell that it would take him awhile to get used to saying those words.

I half smiled. "Love you too." Now that right there – I was never going to get used to saying that. Not in a million years.

When I was sure he was asleep, I closed my eyes in weary acceptance. I should be happy, I knew. Fang had told me that he loved me. Everything should be perfect. Except for in my life, nothing was. Instead of making me happy, the knowledge that he loved me made it harder to do what I knew I needed to.

I had a plan now. I knew what I had to do. I knew that it would hurt the Flock terribly, and that it was probably going to kill me. I had come up with a similar plan back when we were saving Angel, but thankfully I had never had to actually go through with it. Now, I knew that unless I did, sooner or later, I was going to snap. One girl can only take so much mental pressure.

I love you, Fang.

That's why I had to do it. No matter how much I would hate myself later. It was the only thing left to do.

Anything would be better than losing Fang.

Even death.

A/N: -looks nervously around at her readers-

-readers crowd FantasyFan5 with torches and pitchforks-

What? WHAT??

Oh, yeah. Cliffie. Sorry.

I really hope I did the whole 'I love you, mush mush, blah blah,' scene right. They had to say it, but the whole scene has been done so many times and is now so cheesy I hated to put it in. I'm happy with it, but with scenes like that in MR, it's almost impossible to be ENTIRELY happy with it. Feel free to flame it. BUT, it is there for a good reason, which you will find out in a few chapters.

The last chapter is the end of part two! I'm debating on making the story complete after that and then just writing a sequel, since part three will be like a whole new story…you shall see. :D What do you guys think?

Um, there's something else to say…oh yeah. REVIEW!