SORRY! I know I said I'd update once a week but then I went on a ski trip and then to Melbourne and then something went wrong with my arm and I couldn't move it and then I got really sick –still am- and then I had to practise for my piano and sax exams that are coming up in august and now I'm on multimedia camp and it's been hogging my time! I've been designing banners, blog posts, web pages –I'm the webmaster of the team- and also helping out with learning how to use PROFFESSIONAL cameras and equipment for filming! I have a busy life.

In other news: I SAW THE NEW TRANSFORMERS MOVIE TWO WEEKS AGO! IN IMAX! It's epic, and I won't say anthing else because I don't want to spoil it!

I also went to see the epic Collingwood vs Hawthorne game at the MCG! Collingwood won, which was epic! Did anyone else go and or watch it? O.o

[MAX_]

I gasped and took a big swig of my water. The temperature was past boiling and it was so humid you could almost drink the air…yeah, not fun. Especially while trying to fly, key word trying. We managed to swipe a new battery for Fang's laptop, one that should run for a few more months. Currently we were all crowded around Nudge, who was trying to break into Britt Maxicom's system. She had her tongue out and she was sweating, whether from the heat or trying so hard I had no idea.

Nudge looked up from the screen, cracked her knuckles and said "It's a tough system, almost like they know how I hack. It might take a while, but I might get it eventually."

I patted her on the back, trying to look like I didn't care, but on the inside I was wound so tight it wasn't funny. Only those in the flock knew how good Nudge was at hacking, so that must mean either someone slipped or… well, I didn't want to think the other option. "It's alright sweety, take all the time you need." I then turned to the rest of the flock, "Give her some space, you'll probably know when she's cracked it."

We scattered around camp, though not without some huffing and puffing. Iggy and Gazzy went off to stock-take all their bombs, Angel and Fang were plotting something or other and Dylan was standing next to me, looking like he wanted to talk. I gave him a look that clearly said 'shoot'.

Dylan blushed and scuffed is shoe on the ground, drawing random patterns in the dirt. "Sorry I snapped at you yesterday. I was just… jumpy, I guess you could say."

I shrugged and punched him lightly on the shoulder, just enough to feel it. "Nah, it's alright. Sorry for teasing you," I grumbled. I made the mistake of looking straight into his eyes and I found myself being drawn to him. I shook my head to stop myself, and once my thoughts came back, I realised his eyes looked oddly familiar. They had a slightly different glint to them now. It wasn't necessarily bad, just…different.

'You're too trusting, Max,' Angel sent me and I turned to frown in her direction.

I thought, 'What makes you say that?'

'Have a look for yourself. His thoughts are all jumbled, like I can't read them.'

I tried reading Dylan's mind and found I could read his thoughts just fine. And they were about, you guessed it, me. Wonderful…note sarcasm.

'I can read him just fine, sweety. Are you alright?'

Angel didn't bother answering. She just scrunched up her face and tried to read Dylan. Perhaps she was sick?

I sat down, and because I had nothing better to do, I decided to talk to Dylan for a bit. It was actually quite a good conversation- I learned quite a bit about him. Like his favourite colour was sky blue, for obvious reasons, of course, he hated foods like McDonald's (but how was he going to get all the required calories?) and he was surprisingly good at math and everything else to do with education. He was actually a fun person to talk to.

Too soon, the conversation ended because Dylan needed to go and fill his water canteen. I got up and walked over to talk to Fang. The dark-haired avian-american looked pointedly at me and I sighed. "Fine, I justwanted to try and get to know him better. He's actually a decent person!" Fang looked at me like he was debating which mental asylum to send me to. "What? You know, if you got past your jealousy –yes, Fang, jealousy- you would actually find he was a pretty good conversationalist and a fun person to talk to."

"Umm…"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot you don't really like talking. You've been so chatty lately, it's almost been unlike you!" I exclaimed and I immediately went on guard. Someone in the flock acting differently was not a good sign. It usually means they either:

A – betrayed us and are selling our secrets to enemy organizations

B – got replaced with a clone (see my second volume of our adventures. It does happen!)

Or C - are having emotional or mental problems.

With someone like Fang, it would normally be C. After all, he barely ever lets out his emotions, but with Britt Maxicom knowing all of our strengths and weaknesses (see the giant metal robots), I was starting to get a little jumpy. I would just have to keep an eye on Fang, I decided.

Fang rolled his eyes and pecked me on the cheek before walking off to assist Nudge.

She however didn't need his help, because just as he was about to reach her, she screamed "I DID IT! Quick Max! I can't stay in long before the automatic firewall blocks me again!"

I almost used super-speed to get over to Nudge. When I got to the screen I saw a blank home-page, with weirdly labelled links. Nudge handed me control and I clicked the cursor at a name that looked interesting.

PROJECT: KIRA

DESCRIPTION: failsafe. Disposes of threat, little hassle, cause 'natural'

STATUS: activated. In Progress.

I frowned. "That was vague."

"Only the people who needed to know would be told in person, in case of a security breach. This is probably for documentation purposes only," Nudge replied logically.

I nodded and pressed the back key. I clicked on another link. The name was familiar and even if it was as vague as the last one, it was probably worth knowing.

PROJECT: OMEGA

DESCRIPTION: mental transfer, skills and cunning. Re-vamped, able to make own decisions, though only if it was for the better.

STATUS: complete

I sat there blankly. Omega was that experiment that I faced in Germany, one that was good at everything but following movement. It was a little odd that they were bringing him back up all this time.

"Hey, Max, isn't that the-"

"Yes, Angel," I answered, cutting her off before she could finish voicing the question.

"Quick Max, you don't have long. I calculated you only have another minute and a half before it figures out your presence," Nudge said quickly.

"Right, chief," I said sarcastically but in a way, also seriously, as I clucked the back key once more. I clicked on a random link, and this one had a bit more info than the others. That didn't mean it was any less vague.

PROJECT: EXODUS

DESCRIPTION: see ITEX 'BTHP'. Release 'Morte Mark IV', 'Garras' vaccines. Dr T.B head. Activated only by SS desktop, security codes in place.

STATUS: standby, ready for deployment.

The computer was then blocked out, with error written all over the page in funny gibberish.

"What was…that? That last one was just odd," Gazzy said. "I mean, I'm no good at reading but that one obviously had a lot of missing word."

"I know. I'll write down what was on the screen, so we don't forget," I said, 'though it I very unlikely we will' I added silently. Something fishy was going on here, fishier than normal for evil companies, anyway. I mean, why have all that on the web for everyone to see? Mind you, it was encrypted and we were lucky to have Nudge, but…

"Nudge, does the internet on that brick still work?" I asked and she nodded. "Then google Britt Maxicom, find out their specialities. You know how ITEX was supposedly so good at genetic engineering? Something like that."

"Alrighty, boss!"

"Fang, Angel, Gazzy and Iggy- see if you can try and brainstorm what ITEX BTHP means. The ITEX part is obvious, so don't go looking too far in the wrong direction. The BTHP part rings a bell, acronym for something."

"What are you going to do then?" Iggy asked and I shrugged my shoulders, but then I remembered he couldn't see.

"Dunno, I guess try and get in touch with Ella, and then try and get the voice to help us" I said. The answer must have been good enough because he turned and sat down with the others.

Dylan came back with a full canteen, and noticed the others working together. "What's all this…?" he asked.

"Nudge got through briefly to Britt Maxicom," I said and some kind of expression that I couldn't read came across his face. It was like a mix of surprise and scepticism. "We didn't get much other than mumbo-jumbo, just some really vague info. You can help Nudge research Britt Maxicom, try and look for weaknesses." Dylan agreed and went to help Nudge without argument.

I sat down underneath a shady tree, trying to ward off the heat. I grabbed the charm around my wrist and activated the com-link. "Ells? Are you there?" I asked.

"Yep, and I can hear you loud and clear. Something big happen?"

"Kinda, just thought I better update you. After all, you are part of the flock."

So I told her about everything that happened since I last saw her, including the parts with Reaper.

"I don't get it! If she wasn't evil, then why was she taunting you at mum's funeral?"

"I have no idea. I think she was being controlled. I dunno, now I think back on it, it did seem a little fake. Hey, speaking of mum, where have you been staying?" I asked. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because I could hear growling on the other end.

"With my dead-beat dad. He lives in Baja, so a different change of scenery. I have a new school, but everyone teases me, and the apartment we live in is dodge, along with the surrounding area! And he keeps glaring at me, like it was my fault I got dumped with him! He even said so once when he came home stoned. I have to do all the cooking, cleaning and more! He is a slob, leaves beer bottles everywhere and he comes home from the bar with a different slut every night!"

I frowned. It sounded horrible. "He hasn't hit you?" I asked, because that would probably be the last straw.

"No… well, not yet. He's getting more demanding, and emotionally abusive, but so far he hasn't hit me…"

"Say no more. I'll come and bust you out soon-"

"No Max! You have more important things than me! You need to figure out-"

I cut her off, as was fair. "Oh, stop being a frikin' martyr, that's my job! Just give me the address, and I'll get you the hell outta dodge as soon as I can."

I could hear her sigh of relief. "Thank you Max! You are the best sister a girl can ask for!"

"Don't thank me yet, he could start before I get there. And I have no idea what I'll do with you once you get out. You can't wonder on your own, because I'm sorry to say this, but you wouldn't last in the real world for a day, you have zilch survival instincts and to top that off I have people hunting me, and now probably anyone I have connections with."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

I was about to say good-bye but I remembered something. "Hey, Ells? Do you still have that Barretta mum gave you?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because, if he gets to close and I'm not there, don't be afraid to shoot. Keep it on you at all times."

"…Alright. Love ya."

"See you soon, hopefully," I said and ended the connection. "Hey, Fang," I said to the boy who had been standing behind me for the past few minutes.

"Hey." He sat down beside me and started rubbing circles between my wings. I tensed up but then relaxed into his touch.

"Oh! That feels so good right now!" I groaned. I just got a slight smirk in response. "Hey, how long do you think it'll take us to get to Baja, Cali?" I asked, "Because I wanna get there quick."

"I honestly have no idea. Ella's father sounds like a jerk. I agree, we need to get her out quickly," he agreed.

"So next stop: Cali. What will we do after that?"

"Why are you asking me? You're the boss. Besides, we need more info. Perhaps Cali might give some insight," he replied quickly, seeing me glare at him for the 'you're the boss comment'. Ah, I have him whipped good.

"HEY MAX!" Nudge called.

"Yeah?" I asked her loud enough for the others to hear me.

"We found some info for you!"

I groaned when Fang stopped rubbing my back. He stood up and offered me his hand, which I gladly accepted. I was almost tempted to drag him back down on the ground with me, but he must have head my thoughts because he stood strong. And when I say strong, I do mean strong.

We walked over to where Nudge and Dylan were with the laptop. "Shoot," I commanded.

"Well apparently Britt Maxicom is like ITEX in the way of having claws in every corner of the business, medical, media and retail worlds, Jeb was right about that. Did you know there's even a Britt Maxicom channel on TV? Anyway, in sciences and lab, they specialize in robotic sciences and nanotechnology, which I don't get because nothing about those robots was nano if you know what I mean," Nudge rambled. I nodded slowly as she talked, cataloguing the information as she spouted it in speed-talk.

"Great, you did good to begin with. See what else you can find." Nudge nodded enthusiastically but Dylan glared slightly, like he didn't like researching. Suck it up, princess. Fang and I walked over to where the others were goofing off.

"What about you guys? Come up with anything interesting?"

"Interesting? Yes. Relevant? No." Iggy answered.

"Butt-head Technology House Project? Big Trees Hate Progress? Buying The Hole Planet-" Gazzy started.

"Wrong whole," Angel said simply and Gazzy scowled.

"Whatever. I was only in school for a few weeks!"

Iggy stopped the fight before it started. "See? Interesting? Yes. Relevant? No."

I shrugged. "I guess you tried." Voice? Any ideas? Ok, I was getting desperate.

By the Half.

What? Come again.

By the Half Plan.

My eyes widened. It fit, and it kinda fit the rest of the description thing in the file! Thanks voice! This one time it helped, rather than spurting off fortune cookie crap!

"By the Half Plan," I said loud enough for the whole flock to hear. Iggy, Gazzy, Fang and Dylan looked puzzled but Angel and Nudge nodded in understanding.

"Of course! It fits!" Angel said, voicing my thoughts.

As Angel and Nudge updated the clueless boys, the only thought going through my head was don't they learn from other's mistakes?

[REAPER_]

Ok, I admit it: I'm still following the flock.

Specializing in nanotechnology? That makes no sense unless they were actually genuine and are going through on their promise to cure cancer. Somehow, I just don't see them doing that. This was a puzzle, but one with limited time. Max's lifespan just dropped dramatically, and I intend to find out why.

So, what do ya think?

Chancey: …

Dylan: hey, are you actually starting to like me? *hopeful*

Me: nah. I have plans. *insert maniac laughter*

Chancey: *backs away slowly*

Me: Im actually kinda depressed- one, my midnight tickets to the final HP movie were nicked by another avid fan (long story, don't bother asking) and 2- the fact that it's the LAST of the LAST! HP is at an end! :(

But on a more random note: I have a new fave cartoon! Give it up for Danny Phantom! I watched the whole series in 36 hours. Lets just say it involved me, sickness, boredom and a laptop.

Anyways, please review! Toodles!