All right, all right, so I'm probably the worst updater you know of. I get it. In approximately twenty reviews, I got told to update. Maybe I should…nah, I'll let my readers stew for a while.

Kidding. Here it is.

Ebony Moon 2

Max POV

"Oh, god, shoot me now." Natalca moaned.

"I don't know about God, but I'd be willing to do the honours." Shannon groaned, staring angrily at the red and blue blinking sign that proclaimed the building to be "CLOSED". At least that's what we thought it said.

None of us were exactly fluent in Bangla, the official language of Bangladesh. We'd been flying for hours, and pretty much eventually dropped out of the sky simultaneously. My wings felt like lead, and my head was a cinderblock. Plus, my mind was a chaotic swirl of questions that desperately needed answers. All I wanted was to sit down somewhere safe, and talk to the Voice. But apparently that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"All right, let's find another hotel." I sighed, turning away from the door just as I heard a click and the squeak of hinges-desperately-in-need-of-oil moving.

I whirled around, and was faced with a tiny little man glaring out at me through the door, which he'd opened a crack. His eyes were small and narrow, and he didn't look very friendly. And on top of it all, he was firing foreign words at me in rapid succession. It didn't even seem like he was stopping for breath. Everything was run together and totally overwhelming.

I felt like I was the condemned prisoner and he was the firing squad.

"আপনি কি চান? আপনি কে? দূরে যান!" The man asked/shouted.

(A/N Yes, I am aware the lettering doesn't show up. I used an online translator, but the Bangla lettering isn't supported on Microsoft Word or FanFiction. Deal.)

"Um…" I said uselessly.

আমরা একটি হোটেল প্রয়োজন বোধ করি। আপনি কি একটির জানেন যে মুক্ত? Say it, Maximum. Now! The Voice said urgently.

Hurriedly and messily I tried to replicate the sounds the Voice made in my head. It came out garbled and totally unrecognizable as I stumbled over the unfamiliar sounds, but the man's eyes lit up as he miraculously understood that I was speaking his language. Literally.

Quieter, slower, and friendlier, though still suspicious, he said, "সমস্ত হোটেল বন্ধ করা হয়। এইটি বাংলা ছুটির দিন আজ। কিছুইনা মুক্ত। দুঃখিত।."

Quickly the Voice told me what to say.

"আপনাকে, স্যার ধন্যবাদ জানান।." I repeated, turning away and walking back down the steps, the Flock slowly following me.

Behind us, I heard the door shut and deadbolts slide into place.

"What the hell?" A chorus of voices bombarded me.

Sighing, I told them all, "I didn't get a new power. I have no idea what I said. The Voice told me what to say, and I tried to repeat it. Give me a moment."

What did he ask? What did I say? I demanded.

He said, What do you want? Who are you? Go away! You said, We need a hotel. Do you know of any that are open? He told you that it was a Bangla holiday, nothing's open, sorry.

Okay. Where'd you learn Bangla?

I didn't expect an answer, and I didn't get one.

"It's a Bangla holiday. No hotels are open. It's a nice, comfy, cozy alley tonight. At home with the rats." I said solemnly.

Nudge shuddered at the word 'rats'. I grinned.

"Don't worry, Nudge, I'll protect you." Madysyn told Nudge wickedly.

The normally gentle African American girl gave the taller brunette a shove, making Madysyn stumble before she regained her balance and pushed Nudge back. I put up with them for a while, but then their laughing and yelling got to be too much.

I kneaded my forehead, and then suddenly adrenaline was running through my veins. I stood up straight and whirled to face the Eraser coming up beside me, my fists clenched and ready, face snarling.

But it was only Regan. Watching me with wide eyes, hands up in surrender, brows furrowed. Slowly, I dropped my arms to my sides and relaxed my face.

"S-Sorry, Regan. I don't know what that was. I don't know what's up with me lately." I shook my head as I apologized.

"That's fine, Max. I know you're stressed. And you have to have reflexes, when you live like we do. Never know who's sneaking up on you." He said, walking beside me.

I was silent for a moment, and then he broke the silence, saying thoughtfully, "I wish we had a TV handy. I want to find out a bit more about what happened to the CN Tower. It's kind of suspicious, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it is. But I think everything is suspicious. Ultra-paranoid-birdkid, remember?" I said ruefully.

"Yeah, not much different over here. Escaped runaway from the School? Check. Super weird family? Check. Reincarnated aunt? Check. Wolf DNA? Check. Paranoid? Quadruple check." Regan grinned wanly.

I laughed, and then called, "Okay, guys. We'll stop here."

I was standing at the entrance to an alley. There was garbage bags piled in one corner, which provided cover if we needed it, plus a Dumpster. At the back there was a brick wall, which would protect our backs, but we could still fly over it if we needed to escape. My little group of soldiers filed in and flopped in one of the corners, huddling together for warmth and comfort. I sank to the ground next to Fang, and he put his arms around me, hugging me to his side.

I closed my eyes, as did everyone else. We were all spent and totally exhausted. Sleep-deprived. Hungry…..I drifted off into a restless sleep, my dreams chaotic and senseless.

Then a soft yet urgent call broke through my dreaming, bringing me up into the land of the living. I opened my eyes, looking around, recognizing the voice and wondering what was going on. Not because Regan was calling my name, but because he was worried and concerned. He was calling to Shannon. I looked at the blonde, and saw that she was just wearily pushing herself to her feet, her face creased with worry. I looked where she was looking and saw Madysyn, her face sickly pale, her chest pumping up and down laboriously, and her breath ragged and shallow. At least, I thought it was Madysyn. It was dark out now, the middle of the night. Regan was holding the limp body, so it pretty mucj had to be his girlfriend. But Madysyn was always cheery and bright, energetic and optimistic. Not struggling to breath, ill and weak.

As Shannon strode by me, I started to wriggle out of Fang's arms. Shannon noticed me and shook her head, saying softly, "I'm the healer, remember? I'll fix her up just fine. Sleep, Max, you need it."

I stilled, and reluctantly fell back asleep. If I were properly awake, there was no way I would let Shannon and Regan tend to a sick Madysyn without me. I would be the leader and help them. But I was tired, and comfortable…..

Madysyn POV

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out…

I could hear a raggedy grating sound. Irritated, I opened my eyes and tried to look around for the source of the annoying noise. Then I realized that it was in time with the rise and fall of my chest, and I figured out what it was.

My breathing.

I looked up, and saw Regan looking down at me in concern. He pressed a hand to my clammy forehead, and quickly withdrew it.

"Jesus…" he muttered.

He touched my hand, and I tried to curl my fingers around his, give a reassuring squeeze. Show him I was fine, he could go back to sleep…but my fingers only twitched, and it caused my breathing to hitch and pick up. I tried to move my hand again, determined. What was wrong with me?

My fingers spastically moved upwards and then fell limply. I gasped with exertion.

What the hell?

"Shannon." Regan called urgently. When hr body didn't move, he called her name louder. She moved. Her eyes opened.

Mine closed. I couldn't keep them open anymore. It was too much, they were like lead. And I needed energy to keep breathing, which was becoming more and more difficult. Soon the only thing my slow-as-molasses brain was registering was touch and taste, and the odd distorted sound. I couldn't see because my eyes were closed. I had no desire to smell anything, because that sounded like a lot of work, and all I'd smell would be garbage. I didn't really hear anything either, because there was nothing I wanted to hear, and everything was silent except my laboured breathing, and that wasn't interesting. I didn't care if I felt anything, because all I'd feel was my burning forehead and the freezing cement under my back. And, frankly, I had no desire to taste, because all I could taste was my own saliva, and that was gross.

Slowly, all my senses faded. I felt like I was floating in nothingness. Peaceful silence. I liked it here. I wanted to stay here. Forever. I never wanted to go back to that noisy, smelly, cold, gross world where I was always on the run. I wanted to stay here, in heaven…Die and stay here forever and ever and ever, never going ba-

Die.

With painful yank I wrenched myself out of that world of nothingness and back into reality.

Had I been dying?

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with fear. I didn't want to die. I was only fourteen, for God's sake! And I had a boyfriend, Regan….

Regan. I loved him.

With that thought came a bombardment of…feeling. Once again I could feel the cold cement under my back. Hear Regan and Shannon talking urgently. See the blackness of my eyelids that wasn't nearly as black as that horrible pit of nothing I'd been falling into. Smell the pile of garbage across the alley from me. Taste the flavour of blood on my tongue. Blood? I'd bitten my cheek.

"Madysyn? If you can hear me, you're going to be all right. You'll be fine. I'm not going to let you be anything less than perfect." Shannon told me fiercely.

Forget fierce. If she was fierce, Regan was….adamant. Ferocious.

"Stay with me. Stay right here. You're not going anywhere." He whispered icily.

I felt a hand on my forehead. Not Regan, I knew his touch. Shannon. And I could feel a channel opening in my head, something flowing inside me…energy. Shannon was using her talent. Healing me.

Or trying to. If I tried, I could feel her emotions behind the flow of energy she was channelling into my mind. Frustration. Anger. Determination to make that which will not work work.

"Please, Shannon…" Regan pleaded.

His voice was broken up with pain and worry and fright. Over me. I could hear Shannon grit her teeth, and there was a tidal wave of energy crashing inside me, warring with whatever was making me sick. Compared to this, before had just been a trickle of energy.

"Come on, Madysyn." They said together.

Maybe if I just dove into the current of energy…instead of standing in its wake…what could it hurt? So I gathered my swirly mess of thoughts together and thrust my mind towards the energy.

It felt weird. I was embracing it instead of letting it wash over me.

And it helped. I felt better. It was easier to breathe, I felt like I could move if I tried.

But not enough. Yes, I felt better. But I could also feel the flow of what felt like tar swirling through my veins. The poison that was killing me. Or trying to kill me. It was painful. I'd been too focused on trying to breathe before, trying to stay alive, that I didn't notice the pain. Or maybe it was the fact that now there was something fighting the poison. Anyways, it hurt like hell. It was incredibly painful. Possibly more painful than anything I'd ever felt before. It wracked my body, toes to the roots of my hair. I felt like screaming.

But then, besides the pain, there was intense pleasure. The pleasure of energy being freely given (Actually, more like forced) into your body. Shannon's healing was a great thing to experience, and would be even better if it weren't for the small, inconvenient fact that if Shannon was healing you, it meant you were hurt and in pain. And she didn't bother healing tiny little scrapes. She healed knife stabs. She healed broken bones. She healed deathly illnesses.

It was another syzygy, I thought with an internal grimace. Revisiting that darker era, the one where Shannon was dead and everyone was hurting inside, wasn't something I loved to do. It meant thinking about the stupid prophecy that all but condemned us, and made us all so irritable and headachey. But I couldn't help thinking that pain and pleasure were another powerful syzygy. One that I was feeling right at that moment, and I wasn't sure if I loathed it or loved it with all my heart.

But the pain was beginning to slightly overshadow the pleasure. Shannon was tiring. Or weakening herself, taking too much energy and giving it to me. Anyway, it wasn't enough to stand up to the pain anymore.

I was on fire. Every limb, every artery, every vein, every capillary, every single cell in my body was on fire.

I heard a sharp breath, and then Shannon croaked urgently to Regan, "It's not enough. I'm running out of energy. Get Natalca. She knows…she can help."

I heard Regan get up, and I tried to focus on the sounds of his footsteps instead of the overpowering pain in my body.

"Natalca!" was accompanied by the sound of Regan shaking the sleeping girl.

"Regan? What the hell are you- Holy crap!" Natalca cried.

I'm pretty sure she saw me right then.

"You've gotta help Shannon…you have to…I don't know what." Regan said, frustrated.

"I know, I know!" Natalca knelt on the cement, and there was a silence while she…did something to help Shannon.

I was losing hope of anything changing, when suddenly the torrent of energy Shannon had been relentlessly pouring into me doubled. It was a hurricane, a typhoon, a waterfall, a tidal wave….there are no words for how powerful and strong it was. Shannon's energy alone was a torrent to be reckoned with. Shannon and Natalca combined (for that must be what they were doing) was unimaginably stronger. It crashed into my mind, obscuring everything in its path, delving into every corner of my mind, and then, satisfied it was done with my mind, began to flood into the rest of my body. It poured through my arms, legs, chest, throat, everything. It washed away the pain of wherever it touched.

The poison inside me could never even be compared to the power of the sister/friends. As their energy continued to purge me of the poison, I realized I could hear their thoughts.

How long were you doing this without me?! You're wasted! You know we're stronger together! Why didn't you wake me? Natalca.

I did! Shannon.

Yeah, after you exhausted yourself.

Well, sorry.

You are not sorry.

And? I almost had the…whatever was killing her…beat. Almost. Once I knew I couldn't do it alone, I got Regan to wake you.

You're barely conscious. As soon as I leave your mind, you're going to pass out.

Will not!

Will too!

Oh, as if! I'm no cream puff. Expending a little energy-

A little?! LITTLE?! You almost killed yourself! AGAIN!! Natalca went off again.

Oh, shut up. Shannon groaned.

Almost killed herself? Internally frowning, I moved on, diving deeper into their minds. I discovered that besides hearing their thoughts, I could see everything they'd ever thought. Their memories. Their secrets. Everything. Nothing was hidden from me, it was like we'd been joined. With a start, I realized that meant they could see my mind, too. It was on display for them, as theirs were for each other and me.

I would never look at the two of them the same again. I felt I had a new understanding for them, the way they operated, the way they saw the world. I allowed myself to look through Natalca's eyes for a moment, looking over her memories in comparison to how I had seen them. It gave me a very strange sense. Like I was looking in a funhouse mirror. Not that everything was exceptionally skinny or fat, or upside down. It was simply the same thing as I'd seen, but seen differently. It was something you could never understand unless you experienced it yourself. Eagerly, I tore myself away from Natalca and tackled Shannon's memories. I looked at the same memory, and saw that it was different from Natalca's and mine. It was…hard to explain how it was different, but trust me on that it was immensely contrasting to my perspective, and Natalca's. I continued looking at it, feeling kind of nosy, like I shouldn't be looking through her private things, but I was enjoying myself too much. The way she saw me, the dependable, bright, cheerful sister. The way she saw Natalca, the eternal friend/enemy/sister/rival. The way she saw Max, the reliable, strong, indomitable leader. And, best of all, the way she saw Iggy. The way she could hardly think about him without smiling. The way he always made her laugh and brought her so much happiness, and the strange way she was…attuned to him, to his presence.

Enjoying yourself, are you? A sharp voice asked me.

Nosy little spy. We save her life, and she thanks us by snooping about in our heads. Another voice said icily.

Maybe we should stop giving her energy. Let her die. As revenge. The first voice suggested angrily. Shannon.

I think that's a good idea. On three. Natalca.

And you know the scary part? They were completely and totally serious. They were going to let me die because I snooped in their minds. How was I supposed to know they'd be so mad? I was just curious!

I panicked.

I'm sorry! I didn't know you'd be so mad! I won't tell anybody anything.

That's what they all say. And two days later, everybody's talking about you behind your back…. Natalca rolled her eyes.

It's so inconvenient. I have no urge to go through it again. Shannon said.

I couldn't believe it.

Shannon! Natalca! I didn't-

There was a half-suppressed snicker, and I couldn't even tell who it was before they both burst into laughter. For a moment, neither could speak.

Boy, you are gullible. Natalca giggled.

Laughing, Shannon asked, You didn't really think we would kill you, did you?

When I didn't answer, she sobered a bit.

Madysyn? We'd never let you die. Honestly, I really don't care that you looked in my mind. We were just joking around.

Are you mad at us?

Somehow, in some unfathomable way, they managed to give me the bambi eyes. I could almost see the hurt no their faces. I found that it was impossible to stay angry.

No, I'm not mad. But how…you were serious! I looked at your mind, you were totally serious!

Poor, naïve, Madysyn. Natalca smirked.

I gave her the equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

We're shielding our minds. Not entirely, you can obviously see memories and thoughts and emotions. But the truth is that there's a lot more to the human/avian mind than that. If you could see our whole minds, we would be able to hide absolutely NOTHING from you. Like this.

And then I felt like a F200 tornado had touched down in my head. Whirlwinds of thoughts, emotions, subconscious, memories, and what felt like bits and pieces of Shannon's or Natalca's soul. If I reached out with my mind and touched one, I felt like I was touching a piece of Shannon or Natalca. It had their essence, their most powerful traits, their charisma. But I could hardly think above it all. Was this what Angel went through every day? But I was only connected with two minds. Angel had everybody around her…

HOLY SHIT!! I yelled.

The girls laughed. Then tornado receded, and they through their half-shields up again. I still felt like we were three exhibits on display.

Nice comparison. Natalca frowned.

I have a few questions.

Shoot. They said together.

Well, Shannon told Regan that Natalca could help, that she knew something…why Natalca? Wouldn't Regan work just fine? I wondered.

It might have worked with Regan. Probably not, though. Whatever was killing you, and I still don't know what it was, was something in your mind, Madysyn. Not body. It's a very good thing I had shields up when I linked with you, when I gave you energy, because otherwise we'd both be dead right now. It would have flowed right from you into me. I know from experience…Shannon shook herself. If I had used Regan, it probably would have infected him because he probably doesn't know how to make the kind of shield Natalca and I have. So I got Natalca.

How'd you learn how to make these shields? You know it would flow into you from experience, what experience? I asked her.

Silence. Feelings of sadness emanated from both minds. Then Natalca spoke.

You remember… no, you won't, you weren't there. I guess this has never been explained to you, either. Shannon and I haven't been with the flock since birth.

You haven't?

No. Definitely not. We were born in Canada, kidnapped and taken to a School at ten years old.

Oh, yeah, that's what Serena said! I never linked that together. I interrupted.

Shannon tensed at Serena's name, but Natalca forged on.

We had two friends there. One could read minds. The other didn't have a power. And he got a disease like this one. The mind-reader was forced to link with the sick one, but wasn't strong enough to save him. It started killing them both. So the whitecoats made the mind-reader make a link between all four of us, in the hopes of the two of us being able to save them both. We were ten years old, almost eleven. We were young. We didn't know what we were doing. So when we got linked, we had no shields up. Our minds, our whole minds, dove into both of them. We got confused. We were scared. Worried for our friends. Panicked. We understood that we had to channel energy into them, so we tried. But there were too many thoughts, to many memories, too much of everything. We got overwhelmed. Instead of aiming out energy at the invalids, we just let it out in bursts, letting it go wherever. We lost track of who was who. We didn't know what mind was whose. So when we actually tried directing the energy, it didn't go so well.

Originally, we were right about who was who. We aimed at the two boys. But we didn't know that. So when our energy automatically tried to shy away from the poisoned minds, we, not knowing what was going on, let it do what it wanted.

In the end, we wound up sending energy to each other. By the time we figured that out, by the time we managed to sort through a tiny amount of the chaos that was the four of us and our minds, it was too late. We couldn't do anything.

That was when she shuddered and went silent. Shannon swallowed and bitterly took up where she left off.

Desperately, we threw ourselves at them. And guess what that did? It killed them. They were barely clinging to life before we attacked them, but we severed that tiny connection and killed them.

She was quiet for a moment, lost in memory and letting me digest this. Of course, being linked to their minds, they weren't just telling me this. They were showing me. I saw and felt the panic they'd felt, and the horrible realization that they were dead. I saw the limp bodies as whitecoats pulled the girls away from them, and felt the grief and guilt.

And then we got a new friend. Another mind-reader. She showed us how to make the shields, and she told us about the prophecy and the flock. She brought us out of our grief-induced depression.

I shook my head. These two had been through a freaking lot. And I could identify with that. But I'd tell them about that some other time.

Anymore questions? Shannon asked.

I wanted to yell Heck yes but I was satisfied for now. I'd gotten one secret out of them. That was enough for now.

Good, because Regan thinks we're all dead and is going to scream for the others to wake up in about 2.4 seconds. Natalca announced.

Crap! Shannon and I cried.

I was going to ask how to get back to…reality, but they were gone. I had my head to myself again. I could feel the ground beneath me, and my eyes shot open just in time to see Shannon and Natalca shoot up and tackle Regan onto his back, covering his mouth. Slowly I sat up, then got to my feet and stood over them.

"Now I will kindly ask you both to get off from on top of my boyfriend, please." I told them.

They grinned up at me, not moving an inch. Regan made an annoyed mmph, and they got off. Regan sat up and then stood, promptly pulling me to his chest and holding me tight.

"Nice to see you, too. Now please don't break my ribs." I wheezed.

He loosened his hold, but didn't let me go anywhere.

"Are you okay? What happened? Do you feel all right?" he asked into my hair frantically.

"I'm fine, thanks to them." And then I went into the lengthy explanation of what happened. I skipped the part about Shannon and Natalca and the boys from the School. They mouthed thanks from behind Regan.

When I was finished, another voice asked, "Anybody care to explain what the hell is going on?"

I turned around. Max was walking over to us, Fang at her side.

I sighed and explained again, editing the same part out.

Just as I finished, there was rustling, and J.J. asked, "Uh…did I miss the wake up call?"

Seconds later, Iggy wondered, "What's going on? Why's everybody up?"

Seriously? I had to explain again? God damn it.

Lol. That was kinda fun. And confusing. Did I confuse anybody? If so, just tell me and I will explain again. Except if your name is NOtalka. You don't get an explanation, because you read every fifth sentence and would understand if you actually READ it.

Bye bye!