Before Angel and Nudge awoke, I crept back into the room. There was no way that I would let them know about last night's events, unless Angel probed my mind and found out. I walked into the bathroom, intending to take a shower. I made the mistake of glancing in the mirror before I got in. I touched my face, not believing what I was seeing. All of the extra hair that had been on my body a little while ago was gone. My nails were normal again and my teeth had shrunk down and become more rounded. Only the small, red scab on my finger told me that all of those things had existed. I hopped into the shower before I freaked myself out thinking about it.

I turned the shower up as hot as it would go and stood under the boiling stream, letting the water wash away all of my thoughts and fears. Outside the bathroom, I could hear Nudge moaning as she stirred awake. Angel had the TV on and was watching something on Nickelodeon. I finished my shower and dried myself off with a clean, white hotel towel. Then I put on my clothes. Thankfully, Nudge had done what I asked for once and taken all of our clothes down to the little laundry mat next door. I walked out of the bathroom, with my hair still wet, and flopped onto the nearest bed. Nudge made a mad dash for the unoccupied bathroom. I sat and watched Spongebob Squarepants with Angel and Total until Nudge had finished with her shower, which took nearly a half hour.

I got up rather reluctantly and knocked on the door that separated our room from the boys'.

"Come on in!" I heard Iggy yell over the blare of the TV. The Gasman and Iggy had hotwired the TV to allow them to watch all of the Pay-Per-View movies for free. When I entered, the Gasman was jumping up and down on the bed closest to the TV, watching two guys fight with swords and stuff.

"Hey Max." I heard Iggy say. I turned to see him sitting at a little table next to the windows. How could the blind guy tell that it was me in the room over the din of the TV? I have no idea.

"Hey Ig." I replied, sitting in the chair across from him.

"What?" he yelled, fighting the TV. I got up and unplugged the noisy thing. The Gasman stopped jumping up and down on the bed as the screen went black and frowned at me. Now that I could actually hear, I could tell that the shower was running.

"Finally, peace and quiet!" Iggy sighed. I knew what Iggy meant, but I found the statement rather humorous, since he goes nuts when there is no sound. I chuckled and Iggy scowled at me, which only made me laugh more.

Hearing the familiar sound of a door opening, I looked over to see Fang coming out of the bathroom, dressed only in a towel. Fang didn't acknowledge me, but I could tell that he was watching my every move. I blushed and looked away, tempted to fly out the open glass doors that lead outside. As a matter of fact, that didn't seem like a bad idea. What is the guy's problem? If I got caught in a towel, I run away screaming like a sissy!

"Fang is in a TOWEL! Oh my gosh! You can't be serious Max!" Angel projected her thoughts into my mind. I could hear her giggling. "What does he look like?"

I couldn't believe that a six year old was asking me about a mostly-nude guy, but I thought-answered her question. He's buff, with muscles everywhere, but skinny. He has lots of scars though.

I stopped thinking my answer to Angel and started examining Fang's scars a lot more closely. He had lots of long, red scars that ran along his back from where Erasers' claws had scrapped him. Fang finish picking out his clothes and turned around to look right at me with his dark eyes. I suddenly felt naked in his gaze, like it penetrated right though my clothes. I blushed harder than before and turned away. I kept my eyes averted until I heard the bathroom door shut, then I looked at Iggy, who wolf-whistled. I resist the urge to hit the guy and opened the balcony doors.

"Where are you going?" he asked worriedly.

"Out." I gruffly reply. There is no way I am telling him where I am going. I jump off the balcony just like I did last night, only flaring my wings a little earlier this time because it was daylight. I needed to get away for a little while. I fly on and on over the city, using my raptor vision to scan the streets below for my prey. After a while, I spot a deserted dock by the ocean. Perfect. I fly down land on the dock. I don't know how long I sat there; letting the rain pour down on me (it had started raining). The seawater was really churned up; brown and muddy.

"Hello lunch!" I heard a gritty voice growl. I jumped to my feet and spun around. Sure enough, there is a fully morphed Eraser right behind me.

"Hello stupid." I spit back at him. The Eraser growls at me. I am shocked by the fact that he is alone and unarmed. But I don't have much time to think about that. I rush forward and launch a roundhouse kick at his knees, knocking him off balance. I follow up with two quick upper cuts on the chin. The Eraser doesn't stand a chance.

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Fang came out of the bathroom in a black t-shirt and jeans. "Where's Max?" he asked Iggy.

"Gone."

Fang was starting to feel uneasy. "Where?"
Iggy turned his head in Fang's direction. "She didn't say."

Fang's brain was whirling. Where did Max go? Is she in trouble?

Max was considering going to the ocean. Angel thought at Fang.

Fang noted the open patio doors are took a running leap out of them, unfurling his wings as he went. He just had to find Max, before she did something stupid.

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I reeled backwards as the Eraser punched me in the stomach. Pain shot up my torso, my stomach felt like it was on fire! Pain is just a message. Ignore the message. The Eraser brought both fists down on my head. I had a lot of calls on hold right now.

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Fang flew through the rain, his dark-colored wings pumping as fast as they could go. He could just barely see the ocean on the horizon, a dark blob of boiling water. The rain was coming down harder and harder, making visibility almost nothing. Max, where are you?! Suddenly, lightning flashed and Fang could make out two forms fighting on a dock over the raging sea. He tilted his wings and dove towards the two fighting things, hoping that Max was one of them.

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I was having trouble seeing my opponent through the thick curtain of rain that was coming down. A furry fist slammed into my stomach, raking its claws along my hairy hide. Hairy?! I looked down at myself in shock. I had fully transformed into an Eraser! Filled with new Eraser strength, I thrust both fists into the other Eraser, whose mouth was hanging wide open. He fell over backwards, straight into the sea. I put my paws on my knee breathing heavily. That's when I saw Fang. He was standing at the edge of the dock, staring at me. Lightning flashed and I could see the hate in his eyes. Oh no . . .

"Fang!" I cried out, but my throat turned my cry of joy into a threatening growl. Fang began to advance towards me, but I didn't think that he was looking for a hug.

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Just as Fang landed, he heard a large grunt and a splash as something fell into the water. He ran towards the dock, hoping that Max was alright. But the only things he saw were a lot of blood and one lone Eraser. Fang could see the whole scenario rolling through his mind; Max fighting the Eraser when it stabbed her and pushed her into the ocean. Why else would the smelly beast be here? Fang waited for about half a minute, hoping the Max would appear from the waves. But Max never did. Tears streamed down Fang's face, mixing with the rain and being tossed away by the wind. Max was dead, and the Eraser was going to pay.