A/N So the beginning of this chapter is back the day Nudge and the twins were taken; i.e. the morning after the sleepover. Then it jumps to the end of the last chapter...I hope this isn't too confusing.

Sorry for the short chapter, but this story is quickly wrapping up and I felt the end of this chapter was the perfect place to leave you hanging until after the holidays :)

Thank you to anyone who is still reading this story...you rock :)

Haruhi POV

I stepped out of the shower and sighed as I wrapped the fluffy towel around my body. It had felt good to wash away all traces of the terrible dream I had, both metaphorically and physically. I toweled myself off and wrapped the material around my body. Opening the door a crack I poked my head out and searched for Kyouya. I spotted him sitting on the bed in a fresh shirt and pants, reading a book. His hair was tousled and he looked gorgeous.

"Hey, do you have a change of clothes that I could wear?" I asked self-consciously. Kyouya looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at me. I watched as he took in my wet hair and wide eyes from behind the door. He moved from the bed onto the floor and walked over to me, clothing in his hand.

"The undergarments are my sister's, I hope they fit. I brought you one of my informal shirts and a pair of cloth shorts I found in my sister's room as well. If anything isn't to your liking simply let me know and I will find you something else to wear," he said. I smiled and reached out my free hand to grasp the clothing.

I shut the door behind me with a sigh and let the towel drop to the floor. After donning a bra and underwear I was delighted to find they actually fit quite well. The shirt I pulled on next was soft and huge, but it fit comfortably. The light tan material was thin to the touch, but was actually very warm, and I felt cozy inside it, the sleeves reaching far past my wrists; the bottom of the shirt covered the shorts.

I chuckled as I opened the door to let the cooler air into the steamy bathroom. My hair soggy and my body still not completely dry, I walked out into the bedroom and smiled at Kyouya, still on the bed reading his book. He glanced up at me over his glasses and threw me a cocky smile. I shot a threatening glare back at him and his gaze quickly, and mockingly, flew back to the pages.

I stalked up to the foot of the bed and rested the upper part of my body against it, lowering myself and letting my back stretch out on the soft fabric of the comforter. I closed my eyes and smiled, my hands placed above my bellybutton, fingers clasped together. All in all, I was in a very comfortable position, contently listening to the pages in Kyouya's book as he turned them.

I heard him close the book and shift off to the side of the bed but I still did not move. Only when I felt Kyouya's breath on my neck did I allow my lips to twitch into the ghost of a smile. I heard (and felt) him sigh, and then he pressed his lips to the base of my throat and traveled up the skin. I smiled fully then, and opened my eyes, tilting my head back into the mattress.

Kyouya's lips traveled up to my lips and he kissed my cheek. I began to anticipate his lips connecting with mine, but he stopped just as he reached the corner of my mouth, pulling away and walking towards the door.

I gasped angrily and shot a pointed look at Kyouya's back. "Come on, Haruhi. We should go find the others and eat something, least they think something is going on between the two of us," Kyouya called over his shoulder. I snorted. All the same, I picked myself up off of the bed with as much dignity as I could muster and ran to catch up to Kyouya, slipping my hand into his.

He smiled down at me and I rested my head against his arm. We walked hand-in-hand down the long hallways and to the kitchen. Kyouya pushed open the door for me and I walked in, still holding his hand. The others, minus Nudge and the twins, were strewn about the room, lazily leaning against counters and cabinets, eating.

I noticed Angel standing next to Mori, his arm around her shoulders. She smiled at me when we walked in and I returned the smile. I turned my head to take in everyone and heard a small, barely concealed chuckle. My head turned back to Angel and I shot a confused look at her. She giggled behind her hand and said something to Mori, whose eyes opened wide as he started at me.

You have a hickey on your neck, Haruhi, Angel whispered in my mind. My eyes opened wide and I pressed my free hand to the side of my neck. I turned my eyes to Kyouya and glared at him. He merely smiled and pulled me over to where Angel and Mori stood.

"You saw it!" I hissed at him as we neared the others. Kyouya's eyes flashed with amusement behind his glasses and I smacked his arm when we reached Angel and Mori. Angel laughed and Mori's eyes sparkled with something that resembled amusement.

Angel smiled up at Mori and reached up to meet his lips in a kiss. I smiled at their open display of affection and gasped as I saw a pink mark at the base of Angel's neck. So I wasn't the only one who was busy the night before.

You are also looking a little pink around the edges, I thought directly at Angel. I wasn't sure at first if she heard what I'd thought, but then she pulled back from Mori and shot me the most ungodly glare I'd ever seen, including that of Kyouya.

Angel grabbed my arm and stepped in front of me, pulling me around to face the collective as she did so. Everyone's heads picked up and stared at Angel and me. "Haruhi has a hickey at the base of her throat because she and Kyouya are dating and had a wild make-out session last night. Tamaki, chill, you know you never stood a chance," Angel said. Tamaki's jaw dropped at the comment Angel directed at him, but he said nothing on the matter.

I gapped at Angel. In the time it took for her words to register with the others, I'd taken a hold of her own arm and held it up. "Angel has a hickey because she and Mori were doing things they should not have been," I said, still shocked but wanting to take away some of the blow from my hickey news.

Max stood tall from where she'd been leaning against the counter talking to Fang. She threw her hands in the air and groaned loudly. "What's next?" she asked angrily. "Gazzy and Tamaki hooking up?" I looked over to the two boys standing next to each other and watched with some amusement and shock as Gazzy's face turned bright red and the two shuffled away from each other slightly.

"Oh, you have got to be shitting me," Max proclaimed.

"Where are Nudge and the twins?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know. Last time we saw them, we were heading off to bed. They were sitting together; I think they may have fallen asleep together," Honey said.

"Why don't you search for their minds; see if they are awake and where they are," Mori suggested from behind us.

Angel turned and nodded her head at him. I watched her eyes go unfocused as she cast about for a sense of their minds. Her eyes refocused and she shot a worried look at Mori. "I can't sense them. They aren't here anymore." She turned to look at Max. "It's Itex, I am sure of it."

"Damnit!" Max shouted. "Where?"

"Not anywhere in Japan. Not in Asia at all, actually. Somewhere East, into Europe. Max we need to go find them! Nudge could be in big trouble. And they have Hikaru and Kaoru, I'm positive. And if they keep the two, you know what that means," she said. I saw confirmation in Max's eyes.

"What does it mean?" Tamaki asked.

"It means they are going to try a reproduction experiment," Iggy muttered.

"We can't let that happen! The last time they tried that…" I closed my eyes and shuddered. By the sound of Angel's voice I could tell that Hikaru and Kaoru were in trouble, and as such I was going to do everything in my (Kyouya's) power to stop Itex, whoever they were.

"What happened?" Tamaki asked.

Angel shook her head. "It's not my story to tell…Iggy?" she looked to the blind boy.

I watched as he took in a deep breath and began to speak. "Last time Itex tried to experiment with the reproduction of us bird-kids, I was kidnapped." As he spoke it was as if he were reliving the moment, taking us all along with him as he remembered some terrible event.

"They came when I was asleep; when we all were. The erasers, wolf-men who work for Itex to find and kidnap us, drugged me and took me to one of their labs. I was forced into a roomful of young girls. They were all scared and obviously drugged, wearing little or no clothing. I didn't want to think about what the scientists wanted me to do.

"They injected me with a serum that took away all reasoning, letting the childish part of my mind that wished only for sex and violence to take over. I attacked all of the girls and raped them without a second thought as to if it was right or not.

"Unfortunately, the scientists, when they injected me with the serum in the hopes that one of the girls would get pregnant, did not realize I would become violent. I went on a killing spree, tearing through the lab and escaping to the top of a skyscraper far, far away from Itex. Eventually the serum wore off and I was able to think clearly. Once I realized what I had done I very nearly killed myself, but Angel found me just in time and stopped me from jumping off of the roof top.

"None of the girls became pregnant, and the experiment failed. I know what I did was not my fault, but I carry it with me and will for the rest of my life. I was fifteen at the time."

Iggy finished up his story and I found myself in tears. Kyouya wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I cried into his shirt silently, then looked up into his eyes. "We have to help them. For Nudge and the twin's sakes," I whispered.

Kyouya looked to the others. "I promise you have the entire Ootori Empire, including its resources, behind you." His voice was mildly shocked, but I smiled up at him and rewarded him with a warm kiss. He pulled back and smiled at me, brushing a piece of hair away from my face.

I turned to the others. "We need to get started trying to find them," I said. "Does anyone have any idea where they could have been taken?"

"I think I might, but I'd need access to a computer to check out some maps," Angel said.

"I can help you with that," Kyouya said. I detangled myself from him and he kissed my forehead before leading Angel away.

"What is she going to do?" Tamaki asked Max.

"Angel has gotten fairly good at sensing where people are. She can sense if she is close to the people she is looking for…it's especially strong when it comes to the members of the flock because we've been around her since she was a baby. It's so strong that she can sense where we are based off of maps. I think when she was searching with her mind for where Nudge was, she picked up a bit on the general area of where they were taken," Max replied.

"We need to find them," Iggy said softly.

I watched as Max walked over to him. She took his hand in hers and whispered, "It's ok, we'll find them."

Just then Angel walked in again with Kyouya after her. "I know where they are," she said. And like that, everyone sprang into (mindless, frantic, chaotic) action.

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Nudge POV

They came for us all the day after Hikaru and Kaoru bathed me.

I'd been allowed to sleep in longer than I'd ever slept and spent the time safely nestled between Hikaru and Kaoru. Over the course of the week, the two had become my rock, my support, and I couldn't imagine what I would have done had they not been with me.

Seven erasers and two whitecoats came in that morning to get us. I was too exhausted to fight back, but I could see the tension in both boys' bodies.

I grabbed both their hands in mine as we walked down the corridors together. The erasers surrounded us, and I knew that I wasn't strong enough to fight all seven of them, though I could probably harm three or four.

They led us to an ominous wood door with metal accents. I couldn't imagine what was behind that door, but it looked like the door to a medieval torture chamber. I squeezed the boys' hands harder as one of the whitecoats opened the door and we were pushed inside.

I was expecting sharp metal objects and chains hanging from the ceiling. So imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw THETfjak;jdjkds;THE single, largest bed in the entire universe. Obviously, that did little to reassure me.

Kaoru and Hikaru turned to run out of the room, but a line of erasers blocked their path, standing at the ready with their arms crossed over their chests. The door slammed shut behind the blockade, leaving the three of us in the room with the giant bed, erasers, and evil whitecoats. What could go wrong?

----------------

"You want us to do what?" Hikaru exclaimed loudly. "No fucking way! Are you out of your fucking minds?!" We'd just been told we were to be a part of a reproduction experiment.

"Well we're sorry, but you don't have a choice," said one of the whitecoats calmly.

"Go to hell," Kaoru spat.

"You. First," the other whitecoat said.

"Enough of this garbage. Boys, if you will?" the first whitecoat addressed the erasers behind us, giving them their cue to carry out orders. Five erasers jumped on me while the other two grabbed Hikaru and Kaoru. I struggled against them, but the erasers were just too strong.

They dragged me to the bed and tied me down, my arms and legs attached to the bedposts by thick rope. I pulled on my bonds feebly. I raised my head as much I could and watched as the two whitecoats stalked up to my boys. Hikaru and Kaoru spit in their faces, in turn coaxing the two to slap my boys. I growled from the bed loud enough for the others to hear me. "Leave them alone, you bastards," I snarled.

The whitecoats and erasers laughed outright and held my twins harder. I watched as they were injected with some sort of liquid. Their eyes rolled into the back of their heads and they fell limply to the floor. "What the hell did you do to them?" I shouted.

A whitecoat walked up to me. "Don't worry, sweetheart. The two subjects will wake up in twenty minutes, in which time they will proceed to mate with you, producing a child within you, if the experiment is successful," he said. I spat in his face and barred my teeth. He chuckled and walked out of the room along with the others, locking the door and leaving me to wait for my twins to wake up and abuse me.

Angel POV

"Tell me we are almost there!" Max shouted angrily.

"Thirty more minutes, Maximum, and then another ten to get to where Nudge and the twins are. We're going to make it," I told her. I held on to Mori's hand tighter and he rubbed the back of mine with his other hand.

"It's going to be ok, Angel. We'll get there on time," he whispered into my ear.

"Are you sure?" I asked, although I knew the answer in his head even before I asked the question.

"Positive. Besides, Nudge and the twins are strong, they're going to make it," he said.

"They've been there for nearly a week! Why has it taken so long to find them?" Max screeched.

"We've ran into some unexpected obstacles," Kyouya replied calmly. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and regarded Max with a look that would have frozen a normal human being. Unfortunately, Max wasn't a normal human being.

"To hell with obstacles! If my Nudge is hurt in any way, shape or form I'm blaming you!" Again with the verbal abuse, Max? Gosh, enough is enough.

Fang, do something! I commanded in his mind. His eyes turned to me pleadingly and I sighed.

Shut up, Max! I yelled in her mind. She turned furious eyes toward me.

Like hell I will, traitor. She spat out.

Traitor, wow, that's a new one.

What would you rather I call you? Whore?

That's really something, coming from you.

What's that supposed to mean?

You know. All those X-rated fantasies I've seen in your head…all those that you've actually acted on. Oh, don't play innocent, I know everything you and Fang do. I'm not so innocent anymore….and neither are you, miss Dominatrix. Who knew Fang liked it rough? I raised an eyebrow at her.

Max audibly gasped angrily and was on her feet and walking over to me in an instant. Naturally, I was standing a nano-second after she was and ready for anything physical she was going to do to me. Mori stood up just as Max reached me and pulled her fist back. He stood in front of us with a hand on her shoulder and my chest.

"Back off, Asian, unless you want to get hurt," Max growled.

"That's enough," I heard a young voice sound. Mori stepped back to allow a just-barely-taller-than-me Honey step into the conversation. "Both of you sit down. We'll reach our destination shortly and then you can take your anger out on some real bad guys."

"Fuck off," Max told him.

"I think not. Now, if you won't sit down on your own, I'll gladly make you," I watched Honey say, his eyes glowing with barely-held-back fury, as if he was itching to make an example of Max.

"There will be no need for that," Fang said from behind Max. She twirled to face him and he shoved her on her chair before she could verbally abuse him. "Sit down. You are way out of line. I don't care if you think you're more worried about Nudge than we are. You aren't. So sit down and shut up, because complaining and causing trouble won't get us anywhere." Max stared at him, stunned, while I sat down smugly.

"Don't think you're off the hook. Whatever you said to Max I'll find out. You're in trouble when we get back home," Fang scolded me. I sneered at him and leaned back against Mori, taking comfort in his arms around me.

"They're strong enough to resist the School….right?" I whispered.

No one answered my question.

Ember =]