Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride

A/N

Me: Hey guys and gals! Sorry it took me so long to update, I'd say it was homework and I was busy, but the truth is, I got lazy, sorry!

BFF: Okay, onto the shout outs!

Me: Shout out to Robotic She-wolf! City of Ember was the movie I was referencing last chapter. Good job!

BFF: Nobody has guessed correctly as to what Wander's 1D crush is yet, actually only one person has guessed so far, so shout out to carnicoGalibur(Guest) for participating! Please keep guessing! Please? I must embarrass Wander!

Me: And also thank you to carnicoGalibur and everyone for being so supportive, it really does mean a lot to me.

I'll answer some more reviews at the end, but I think you guys have waited long enough due to my laziness, so let's get to the chapter!

Max's POV

I climbed up onto the fence and walked along its top with ease. Angels had a knack for being well balanced. Finally! A good trait!

Well, I guess the wings are a good trait too. I love being able to fly.

The fence didn't creak or groan under my weight. It wasn't like I didn't weigh anything and I wasn't putting pressure on the fence, it was just one of those laws of the universe. Angels couldn't interact with objects of the human world unless they really concentrated on moving them. So, since I wasn't really concentrating on interacting with the fence, I didn't.

I would make one hell of a ninja.

I got to the edge of the fence, there was a tree beside it, and a branch within easy reach. I turned and saw Iggy, Gazzy, and Fang greet one another. Fang had a giant grin on his face. These people made him happy. I smiled. Seeing Fang happy alleviated my heart. These guys were good for him, even if they were little trouble makers and full of shenanigans, even if they made bombs and pranked teachers. Iggy and Gazzy were good for Fang. Around them, he wouldn't need to drown his sorrows with alcohol.

Maybe if Nudge and I can join forces we can help these boys.

I leaped up into the tree and sat down on a thick branch, swinging my feet back and forth as I watched the boys play with their explosive toys. I shook my head. Making bombs was fine and dandy, but I really hope they never plan to use them in destructive ways towards other people.

I see Nudge walk out into the backyard, the boys' backs are to her, not that it matters because they can't see her. She spots me sitting in the tree and flies up to me while the boys have their noses stuck in the instruction manual Iggy brought out. It looks like he printed it from a computer.

Nudge sits down on the branch beside me dramatically, I don't know how someone can sit down dramatically, but somehow she can do it.

"Hey." She says.

"Hi, Nudge." I greet her. "How are you doing?"

"I am sooooo tiiiiired!"

I gave a short laugh. What she said wasn't really funny, but it was how she said it, letting her inner drama queen out. Not that Nudge chained up her inner drama queen, in fact that side of her came out a lot, it was just that, for some reason or another, it was funny at the moment. Don't ask me how! I can't tell you! I'm too flustered about what I'm supposed to do with Fang at the moment. What about when Fang isn't around Iggy and Gazzy? How will he cope? With alcohol? And that's the case, then how am I going to get him to stop?

Fang…

I sighed.

What am I going to do?

"So whatcha been doing?" Nudge asks me, knocking me out of my thoughts and back into the conversation.

"Watching Fang. Trying to keep him out of trouble. You know, the usual stuff." I replied briefly.

Nudge doesn't look satisfied. She leans up against the tree trunk.

"What happened last night? I heard a lot of commotion outside, but by the time I got a chance to check out what was going on, there was nobody there." She asked me.

How am I supposed to explain what happened? How do I break it to her that Sam's a demon?

Can I even bring myself to tell her?

Should I even tell her?

I can't decide what to do about the situation. I don't answer.

"Max? Tell me what happened, Max." She says in an authoritative tone. Or at least her attempt at one.

I still don't answer.

"Max, tell me what happened or I'll duct tape you to a chair and give you a make-over."

"The demon showed up last night, I fought him while I was protecting Fang and he knocked me out. That's where you came in I'm guessing." Man, that got me talking, didn't it? "Thanks for taking me back inside by the way, that was really—"

"What the hockey sticks are you talking about?" Nudge asked, bewildered. (Oh, and by the way if you're wondering, Nudge likes to substitute random words for where curse words would normally be. Hence the whole 'hockey sticks' thing.)

"The demon. The one that k—killed Zeph, he came over and—" I started.

"No, no. That's awful and everything and we'll talk about that in a minute, but what are you talking about 'That's where you came in' and 'thanks for taking me back inside'? I haven't seen you since assignment day."

Suddenly there was a huge explosion and a cloud of dust and dirt erupted from the middle of the backyard. For a moment I was in shock and then the panic arose. I was about to leap right off that branch to make sure Fang and the others were okay when the dust cleared and they were all whooping and hollering.

My eyes narrowed at them, but I didn't do anything. This was dangerous and stupid, but there wasn't much I could really do about it except for drive Fang away from Iggy and Gazzy, and that was not going to happen. They were good for him, even if they were horribly bad examples when it came to blowing stuff up.

Nudge on the other hand was absolutely furious.

"You little butt monkeys! Argh! You scared me half to death and you're sitting there laughing your rear ends off! I should send a herd of rainbow colored llamas after you and turn you into a pair of spider monkeys! Maybe then you wouldn't go and try to blow yourselves up! On second thought, I should turn you into a pair of goldfish and then I could keep an eye on you! Then I wouldn't have to run all over creation trying to—" I clamped a hand over her mouth. She calmed down grudgingly, crossing her arms, before turning back to me, curious once more.

"You thought I took you back inside Fang's house?"

I nodded, the sudden realization coming over me. Nudge didn't bring me back inside Fang's house.

"If I didn't take you back inside, then who did?" She voiced my thoughts.

Who did take me back inside? It wasn't Nudge. It couldn't have been James or Angel. James was out on duty in Africa and Angel was in Heaven right now. Who was it? A random angel walking down the street perhaps? But why would they take me inside Fang's house, they wouldn't know I was his guardian, would they? But it's the only lead I have, all other possibilities were impossible.

"It must have been a random angel." I reasoned. Nudge nodded, thinking over the possibility.

"I don't know of any other angels in the area, but I guess it must have been one traveling through town."

"I guess."

I looked down and watched as the boys assembled another explosive device. I rolled my eyes and sighed. Why did humans have such an obsession with getting so close to death? I've been told it was for an adrenaline rush. Somehow it makes them feel more alive. I don't really get it, why would anyone risk life to somehow feel 'more alive'? How can you feel more alive than you already are? Beats me. But I'm an angel, I'm not supposed to understand everything about humans and their strange behaviors. After all, I'm not a human.

"So, you fought the demon?" Nudge said with obvious curiosity.

"Yup."

"What exactly happened?"

"He showed up and threatened Fang, so I fought him, got knocked out, and mysteriously wound up in Fang's spare bedroom." I told her, keeping it short.

"Did you beat the demon up?"

"I got knocked out." I replied, my voice a bit colder than I'd meant it to be.

"Did you at least get a hit in on him? I hope you did. Would serve that disgusting little banana peal right."

I gave a tight smile, my lips curling a bit at the ends. "Yeah." But then it faded as I remembered who the demon was—no, had been.

"Nudge?" I asked nervously. I didn't want to tell her, but I had to. What if he showed up and caught her off guard?

"Yeah?"

The back door to the porch slammed open, startling us both. In the doorway stood a slight, but strong-looking woman with striking pale blue eyes and bright blond hair. To say you could see the steam blowing out her ears would be an understatement. This lady was livid.

"That's Iggy and Gazzy's mom." Nudge whispered to me.

I glanced at the boys' faces, their eyes were wide and frightful.

"Man, they are gonna get it." I let slip, not bothering to recover the comment, it was true.

The woman marched right over to the pair of blond boys.

"Mom, I can expla—" Iggy began.

"Not a word out of you, young man." His mother snapped, grabbing both Iggy and Gazzy by the ears. The boys yelped in protest. "Now, both of you, go into your rooms and take out every bit of bomb-making materials out of there and bring it back down stairs. I'll have a trashcan waiting for you, and if I go up there and find anything afterwards, anything at all, I will double the amount of time I will ground you for each and every piece." She let go of their ears. "Oh, and before I forget. Iggy, give me your keys, and Gazzy, I'll need your phone."

The pair groaned in protest as they handed over the items. They then headed upstairs to clear their rooms, leaving Fang in the yard.

The woman turned to Fang.

Uh-oh.

"As for you, young man, I will be calling your mother about this." She said, and then turned, heading back inside the house.

I both heard and saw Fang sigh. This was going to suck for him, but hey, if you're going to go behind your parents' backs, be ready to face the consequences of them finding out.

Nudge and I sat there for a moment, just absorbing what had happened.

"Max?" My friend asked, grabbing my attention.

"Yeah?"

"What were you going to tell me earlier, you know, before Iggy and Gazzy's mom showed up?"

I bit my lip, and turned away, when I said it I didn't want to see the look on her face. I knew what it would look like. At first it would be confusion, denial, and then it would change to shocking acceptance. Following that would come the look of betrayal and then anger mixed with sadness.

I didn't want to see what I had already experienced. I didn't want to see her go through the stages.

I said it quietly, just above a whisper. Nudge leaned in to hear what I said.

"The demon, it was Sam."

A/N

Me: So what did you guys think? I know it's still not much in the ways of action, but I know that I find it much more interesting than the last chapter. I promise that there will be a Max/Fang chapter next, I've got a sketch as to where I want to go with this story on a couple pieces on notebook paper to keep me loosely along the storyline. But the story will probably veer away from some of the stuff I've planned out, because all of my writing is kind of spur of the moment stuff. I have an idea of where I want to go, and then I just write what comes to mind. And now I'm rambling again. Okay, let's go on to those reviews. Thank you, by the way, everyone for your reviews! AND GUESS WHAT!? 106 REVIEWS! I'm like holy crapola right now! EEEEEE! *breathes out* Okay, okay, I'm good now, oh no wait. EEEEEEEEEEEE! This is awesome! *breathes out again* Okay, now I'm good.

BFF: *looks doubtful* How about I do the review responses? You look like you are going to have a I'm-so-ecstatic-I'm-gonna-pass-out moment.

Me: Okay! *screams out happily and passes out*

BFF: Wander? *shakes Wander, trying to wake her* Wander? *sighs* Ah, well, whatever. Let's get onto the reviews shall we?

BiteMeBro522 that sounds like a really cool idea! But I can't really tell you whether or not you're warmer or cooler in relations of your idea to what's actually going on, since I myself don't know what's going on. Wander's been real secretive about what's going to happen next and what's happening behind the scenes, she really wants to keep up any mystery or suspense she can.

Crazy Insane (Guest) not cool. Just not cool. Me freaking out is not funny. It is absolutely not funny.

Me: *wakes up and sits up* Actually, it's really funny. *falls with a thud and falls back asleep*

BFF: *scowls* No, its not!

Peanut gallery: Yes, it is.

BFF: Run, peanuts before I eat you.

*peanuts go running off in terror*

BFF: I'm kind of sad that you don't like 1D, Wander probably doesn't care either way. She's a bigger fan of Shinedown, Evanescence, and Flyleaf. I introduced her to 1D, she's not as into it as I am. I would deny that 1D only sings about girls, but when I think about it, they really do only really sing about girls.

Well, see you guys next chapter! Please review and tell what you think as well as your guesses!