Fang opened his eyes blearily. Pain shot through his head, and hot breath whooshed into his face. The stench of it made him gag. He was tied to a chair that the flyboy had placed in the cave.

"Ah, good. You're awake." His captor said. The voice was not at all robotic, but it looked for the entire world like a flyboy was in front of him. Fang remained silent, glaring at his torturer. "I don't believe we've been introduced." The snide voice went on. "I am Kieran, it means 'little dark one'. Though, I must say, I'm far from little, especially in the mind. You see, I'm the most successful eraser. I'm the only one that escaped the expiration. I am the only well designed eraser they have produced, and I alone survived. Now, tell me, who are you and where did your friends go?"

"Like I'll tell you." Fang spat.

"Oh, you'll tell me." Kieran whispered. "I have ways, you know." One clawed finger ran down his neck, pricking his skin and drawing warm blood.

"Nothing you do to me is going to get me to tell you." Fang said, his face as expressionless as always.

"Just wait, my caged bird. You will sing, I promise you. Even if you don't, I'll find your friends eventually, and you will watch them die, one by one. Saving the one you've selected leader last. Why you chose her, I'll never know. She's rather…plain. Not to mention lacking."

Plain? Buddy, Max is far from plain. You wait until I get outta here, I'm going to bust your head wide open. Max lacks nothing, and there isn't a single plain thing about her!

"Well then, enlighten me." his enemy spoke softly, surprising him. "How is she not plain? Certainly you can't mean looks."

"Shut up, dog breath." Fang told him. Why on Earth did those sicko scientists need two mind-reading mutants?

"Silence, insolent bird!" the Eraser struck him, and Fang could feel blood running down his rapidly swelling face. "Tell me more about Max, why don't you?"

"Fine. Let's start with her strength. Plain and simple thing is: She's strong enough to beat you. Onto what she lacks: Weakness. Next, I'll cover her 'plainness'. She's the farthest thing from 'plain' you will ever see, and she will probably be the last thing you see, Dog Breath."

"Now, I thought that I had given you my name. In case you have forgotten, my caged bird, it is Kieran. You never told me your name."

"And I won't tell you my name. Well, I might, if you let me the heck go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I'll tell you what I can do, though. Your mind will have more information to yield to me than anything words can say." With that, Kieran grabbed Fang's head in his claws, causing his temples to throb. Then, suddenly, every memory he had was whizzing past his eyes, through his mind. He tried to stop them, but it only caused searing, unimaginable pain. Then, slower, memories of Max. Memories of watching her as she flew gracefully and perfectly through the deep blue sky. Watching her fight for her life, where she was beautiful, but terrifying. Watching firelight flicker across her face in a cave as she laughed about eating rat.

No, no! You can't see that, it's mine! Fang fought against the rough hands, struggling and attempting to bite Kieran. The Eraser released him, with a snarl.

"Resistance will do you no good, whelp!" He strung Fang hard across the face, raking his claws across his cheek. More blood trickled down to stain Fang's shirt.

"Then keep out of my head, you flea-bitten cur! Get the information out of me the fair way and make me tell you. Not like a coward." Fang yelled.

"Do NOT call me a coward, you lab mistake!" Kieran hit him again, harder. Fang's head snapped back, and he fell away into nothingness.

Kieran grabbed a handful of feathers from Fang's limp wing. He rubbed them in some of Fang's blood, staining them red.

"Now, let's set some bird bait." He whispered. After seeing the memory from Fang of the cave, he knew exactly how to get Max and the rest of the flock here. "The trap is set, and waits for its prey." He jumped out of the entrance to the cave that was his hiding place and back to the barn where he'd set his first trap to set the second.