Max here with chapter six! Not the real Maximum Ride Max, for those of who might think so. ^-^ Gracias to my lovely reviewers. I love you guys! :) Onward to victory! Ok, to the story, but whatever. (I feel pretty random right now. I don't know why!) -Max
Disclaimer: I do not own JAMES PATTERSON'S MAXIMUM RIDE. Sadly. *tear* Breaks my heart. Nor do I own STEPHENIE MEYER'S TWILIGHT. *another tear* Breaks my heart even more. (You'll see why Twilight's here...)
Claimer: Blah blah blah. You know it, right? Blah blah blah.
LONGEST CHAPTER YET! 4,500+ WORDS! BOO YAH! Lol.
*Illuminate POV*
"Luuuuuumiiiiiiii…"
I looked down at Jordan. His face was streaked with tears. Vani was crying, too. He never cried before. At least, I never heard him cry.
I can't do this… Max, I need you…You're our mom. You're supposed to take care of us. I don't know what to do. I'm only ten...
"Yah, Jordan?" I asked softly. It was very hard for me to hide the fear in my voice.
"I want Mama and Dylan!"
I closed my eyes and counted to five.
How would you handle this, Max? It's not like I have motherly instincts or anything... I'm still just a kid.
"Sorry, sweetie, but they aren't here right now," I whispered, trying to be strong and motherly like Max. It was much harder than I thought. "We're gonna go to Fang's house. You remember Mama talking about him, right? He'll take care of us until Max and Dylan get back."
I hope... We only need to figure out where on Earth we're going...
Jordan nodded, somewhat satisfied. We continued walking for a little while longer. Finally we were too tired to keep going. At least we were in a small clearing. It was dark, and clouds filled the sky, so I produced light. The kids were grateful to be in the light, safe and together. Sort of.
"We'll stop here tonight, ok?" I said. Jordan and Vani laid on the ground and went right to sleep. I fished around in Max's backpack. She had thought to prepare a few bottles of milk for Tyler incase something bad happened.
I guess it's a good thing she's always so paranoid. Ty'd be starved if she wasn't...
I fed Ty and burped her like I'd seen Max do so many times. Soon the baby girl was asleep. I placed her in my lap. She curled up like a kitten would. At least, what the kitten experiments at the School would. I wasn't sure if normal kittens were the same.
Maybe one day I'll get to have a real kitten... Fluffy and black. Or maybe calico. It can sleep with me!
"You go to sleep, too, Bree," I ordered. "I'll take watch."
Bree nodded and fell asleep automatically, thankful. She didn't want to stay up any longer. She didn't have the energy.
Poor kid... If only they didn't change her, any of us, we'd have real lives... Be nice and safe and warm in a real home somewhere with real parents and real siblings and real pets...
I closed my eyes, sighing, leaning up against a tall tree. I wanted desperately to sleep, but I had to take watch. And what was I supposed to watch for? I didn't know. I just knew I had to watch. At least I had time to think and form a plan.
Now how do I form a plan...?
*Fang POV*
Angel led the way, knowing exactly where to find the kids. She told me they had stopped for the night, so there was no way we'd miss them.
"South-west," Angel called out. "Twenty-two degrees."
The three of us angled our winds slightly, changing course a little bit. Angel continued calling out directions for another hour.
"Turn north-east six degrees and angle down," Angel ordered a bit later. Iggy and I obliged, my eyes raking the woods beneath us.
I spotted a group of small children right away. There were five of them, ranging from infant to around Angel's age. They were very skinny. Each child had small wings wrapped around their tiny bodies. The oldest kid, obviously a girl, had the infant in her lap.
"I smell the mix of human and bird," Iggy stated. "Is it who we're looking for?"
"That's them," Angel confirmed. "The children are right below. Keep going, Ig."
We landed a few yards away from the kids. I didn't want them to be spooked before we introduced ourselves. They all looked to be asleep, though. Innocent, little children, forced into life not made for them.
It's not fair, I thought angrily. How could They keep doing this? Ruining children's lives… Stealing babies from their parents? This needs to end.
That's Max's job, Angel reminded me. For now let's just get these kids to our home. They seriously need food and rest.
I nodded and took a step. A voice rang out from the small group. Her voice, so soft, feminine, and bell-like, rang out with hidden terror, hate, and protectiveness. It pierced the silent woods like a knife.
So much like Max…
"Friend or foe?"
*Illuminate POV*
I heard them in the air. I evened my breathing, a trick I'd picked up from Max. Maybe they'd leave us alone if they thought we were dead. Or asleep, at least. That's what new Whitecoats did. Were whoever- or whatever- coming as clueless as new Whitecoats?
Silly girl, I thought. Nothing's as clueless as new Whitecaots. Obviously these... things knew we are here. They can't be stupid.
I was right, sadly. There was no way these creatures were clueless. They landed, speaking softly. There were three of them, two male and one female. One of the males took a step. It was then that I spoke up.
"Friend or foe?"
My voice was harsh. I was trying to warn them to leave. I'd fight to my death trying to protect these kids if I had to.
That was so dumb! Give away the element of suprise, why dont'cha? Ugh! Max would never do that! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
The male paused mid-step.
"Friend."
I stood. Tyler instantly woke. She looked up at me with wide eyes, knowing exactly what was happening. She's that smart.
"Who are you?" I demanded. My voice was low. I didn't want the kids to wake up.
Ok, so I'm putting my life at risk now, about to face off with complete and total strangers. Genious. Real smart, Lumi.
I stepped out into the open, facing the three new people. The boy who had moved towards us was the biggest. He had black hair like Vani. His clothes were all black. The other male had reddish hair and was way tall. His sightless eyes were looking at me. He wore blue jeans, a t-shirt, and a wind-breaker tied around his neck. The female was small, a little taller than me. She had on a pale blue dress that went perfectly with her shining blue eyes.
The descriptions fit perfectly, but it could all be a lie...
"I'm Fang," the boy called out. "This is Iggy and Angel. We're Max's friends."
It could be a trick, Lumi, I thought. Don't let him trick you...
"It's no trick," the girl called out gently. "I really am Angel. Max's Angel. And I'm so glad we found you!"
I grinned, knowing the words were true. We had been saved! Finally!
Fang? Momma's Fang?
I felt Tyler's small voice in my head. One of her abilities is to transmit thoughts, through touch. Memories, too. Sometimes she could do it at a distance, but not for long.
I nodded slightly in answer to the question. Ty cooed. I smiled softly.
"I'm Illuminate," I called out. "Lumi for short. This is Tyler. Or Ty. Come on over here."
Fang, Iggy, and Angel followed me to the other three kids carefully. I woke them up.
"Look, it's Fang," I whispered into their ears. They shot up as soon as I said that. Max always said he'd save us some day...
"This is Jordan, Vanish or Vani, and Breeze or Bree," I said. "Guys, these are Fang, Angel, and Iggy."
"Where are Max and the other one?" Iggy wondered.
"They got taken," Jordan said sadly. "I want Momma and my brother back."
I looked down at Jordan in shock. He never admitted so much before to a stranger. Well, I guess they weren't really strangers, but...
"Don't worry," Angel cooed, hugging the boy. "We'll find them for you."
Jordan grinned. He believed her completely. Even I wanted to trust her.
But can they really defeat Itex and save Max and Dylan? I doubt it...
"Can you guys fly for a little bit?" Fang asked us. "We have a car. It's only about fifteen minutes from here."
I nodded. "Bree and I can. If you can carry Jordan and Vani we don't hafta walk."
Iggy took Jordan and Fang took Vanish. We jumped into the air, flying east. In twenty minutes we were at the car.
"It took a little longer 'cuz we don't fly good yet," Breeze said matter-of-factly.
"That's alright," Angel breathed. "Everyone get in."
The car was literally a bus. Well, a mini-bus to be exact. We all had our own seats. Fang drove. Tyler slept on my lap.
"Go ahead and nap if you want," Iggy told us. "It'll be quite a few hours before we reach the house."
Knowing we were almost finally truly safe- Max wasn't with us so we weren't totally safe yet- I closed my eyes and let myself fall into dreamless sleep. I knew the others were doing the same all around me.
*Max POV*
"Don't touch me."
I blinked, opening my eyes. I wasn't trapped in a cage. It was amazing. I stretched my muscles and looked for the sound of the voice.
I was in a small room. A window let me see into the next room. Dylan was tied to a chair, eyes squeezed shut. Jeb was finishing tying the ropes on his hands. He left the room. A voice came on over a hidden speaker.
"I just want to talk, Dylan."
The teen shook a little, eyes opening.
"Last time you said that I ended up almost dead with wings sewn onto my bodythanks to you and Miss Merideth," he stated, voice cracking. "I don't want to talk to you again. Ever."
This was news to me.
Poor Dylan. He had a normal life before. Why, Jeb, why? He's was just an innocent child... This has definately got to end.
You were created to end it, Voice/Jeb told me. And you failed. Let's just say this is your punishment. The Voice chuckled. I'm still not sure if that was even possible. The Voice, chuckling? Showing any emmotion? No way. Not possible...
The voice, Jeb, ignored Dylan. "That man you lived with? You kept saying he wasn't your father. You told all your friends he was just your mom's boyfriend. Well, guess what. He was you real biological father. I know you knew that, though you didn't want it to be true. You wanted to know how anyone related to you could hurt you so badly..."
"Stop," Dylan pleaded. I could easily hear the pain in his voice. I looked for a way to free him.
"Remember how he always went out and got drunk?" Jeb asked. "And how he'd beat you when he got home? Do you remember your mom?"
"Please don't…,"
"She was always high," Jeb continued. "They never cared for you or your brother. They obviously didn't care for Lia."
Grief and even more pain took over Dylan's face. I frantically searched for a way to get to him. I'd never seen him so upset before.
"It's your fault she's dead," Dylan whispered sadly, a hint of anger in his voice. "You're the one who came to the house and told that man about her boyfriend."
"I needed to get her out of the way," Jeb said carelessly. "She was the only thing keeping us from having you. Besides, your dad was only too happy to oblige. He was a bit harsh in killing her, I do admit. He really wanted the money." Chuckle. "Do you remember how much we gave him for you both?"
A few tears fell down Dylan's face. I growled and threw a punch at the window. It shattered with the force. I jumped through and ran to Dylan, who was very surprised to see me.
"'A hundred dollars for the boy and fifty for they baby'," Jeb quoted. "Isn't that what we decided? And then, as an after-thought, your dad added, 'Throw in a case of beer.' He gave you up for a little money and some beer!" Jeb chuckled again.
I could feel Dylan getting madder and more upset with every word. That was bad. Beyond bad. Terrible. Horrible. I actually don't think there's a word to describe it.
"Dylan, calm down," I whispered, untying the ropes. "Don't listen to him. Don't get mad. You know what happens when you do..."
The teen looked down, embarrased at the memory, taking deep breaths in order to calm himself. See, Dylan gets a 'power' when he's super angry or super upset. I knew that's what Jeb wanted to see. I almost cringed at the thought of Dylan 'exploding' again. The first and last time it happened I couldn't move for two weeks. Almost all of my bones were broken, and I was bleeding non-stop.
But more about that later.
"And when we came for you, you turned on your father," Jeb continued. "You'd never done a single bad thing in your life until that night. When I got inside and saw you with that gun, I didn't think you even knew how to hold it. I was way off. You shot your dad. Almost a dozen times."
Make him stop, Max, Dylan silently begged. I could tell he didn't want to remember this.
Put your hands over your ears, I instructed. Think of something else. Talk out loud or something.
This is not for you to stop, Maximum, Voice/Jeb thought/said to me. I was starting to get a headache from all the voices in my head.
He already knows what he did, leave him alone, I commanded Jeb. I moved to untie Dylan's legs.
You need to listen to me, Voice/Jeb thought/said. Dylan needs to hear this. I won't let you stop him from hearing it. It's only an experiment. We're trying to get another power to work.
I won't let you hurt him! I cried silently. Dylan flinched at the harshness in my thought-voice. He's not... We're not some toys for you to play with! We're still part human! Just leave us alone already!
You should learn to quit while you're ahead, Maximum, Jeb thought as a sharp pain hit my head. I cursed Jeb before going unconscious yet again.
*Angel POV*
We pulled into our long driveway and drove up to the house. It was well-hidden, almost five miles into the thick forest. I loved the location. It was far from any city, town, or house. It had a lake, a giant garage, a stable (Nudge and I had convinced Fang to let us get some horses!), and quite a few tree houses. And then there's the actual house. It was ginormous. Nudge and I had chosen its look. The boys had built it. The house had four floors. The outside was made entirely of white marble and glass. The house was a larger version of our newest friends' home. We'd met them three years after Max left. They weren't human, like us, but they had once been. The Cullens were so nice when we stumbled into Forks. Doctor Cullen fixed us up after some Werewolves attacked us. Can you believe we were attacked by something that wasn't from the School? But that's a whole another story…
Ok, back to the present. Fang parked the bus in the garage. I woke the kids up. They all sprung up, tense, and inched away from me until they remembered where they were.
"Is this you house?" the little girl named Breeze asked. I giggled.
"No, this is the garage," I answered. "It's where we keep our cars."
The little boy named Jordan suddenly broke into teats. The oldest girl, Illuminate, hurried over to him, baby Tyler in her arms.
Cars…? I want my brother! Jordan was thinking. Dylan! He likes cars! No…
Oh, Jordan, calm down, Lumi thought frantically. Why'd she have to say 'garage'? Oh, man! How'd Max used to get him to calm down..? Oh, I remember!
"Shhh," Lumi cooed. "It'll be ok. We'll get your brother back." Max too, she added in thought.
Jordan sniffled, nodded, and looked up at me shyly. "Sorry…" I grinned.
"There's nothing wrong with crying, Jordan," I whispered, petting his head. "Everyone does it."
"Let's go inside, kids," Iggy called out. We all followed him out. The kids oohed and ahed their way through the house.
"Anyone hungry?"
Fang grinned as Meri came out of the kitchen, a light yellow cooking apron tied around her waist, wiping her hands on a towel.
Max's picture-perfect mom... I narrowed my eyes and looked down.
Look at all of them…,Meri thought. What was Jeb thinking making so many of them? Didn't they realize the first one was a mistake? Foolish... What a waste. The more there are, the harder to get rid of them. I hope he realizes that.
I gritted my teeth. She was pure evil. Stupid, too. She didn't know I could read her mind.
"Fang!" the witch called out with false cheerfullness. They kissed. I almost gagged at Meri's fakeness. I'd tried telling Fang who she really was once, but he didn't believe me. Gazzy's the only one who did, at first. It took some convincing, but Iggy and Raz finally believed me, too.
"Angel!"
I turned and was tackled by both Nudge and Gazzy. I hugged them both.
She didn't try to kill us, Gazzy thought to me. She spent a lot of time on her cell phone and laptop, though.
Thanks, Gazzy, I thought back. My brother nodded.
"Let's get something to eat," Iggy said. We had decided to play dumb, at least until we could find a way to expose the traitor. "Meri, did you follow my recipes?"
"Word for word," Meri replied. I rolled my eyes. How fake...
We led the kids to the dining room. Their extreme joy was unexpected
"Look at all the food!" little Jordan exclaimed.
"Dig in, guys!" Fang called out.
*Illuminate POV*
The food was delicious. I'd never had any of it before. There was chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans, fruit, turkey, stuffing, and lots of other stuff, most of which I didn't know but ate anywat. We ate so much we were full! It was amazing.
Angel took us outside after we ate. Bree and Jordan jumped into the air and started flying. Vani climbed up a tree and nestled into the branches, disappearing from sight within minutes. I knew he was napping. Angel and I sat by a small lake, Ty on my lap. I stared out over the lake for a while before Angel spoke.
"How old is she?" Angel asked, motioning to the baby.
"Only a couple months old," I answered softly.
"Too young to be separated from her mom," Angel noted. "Max, right?"
I looked up at her in shock. "How'd you know?"
"I can read people's minds," Angel informed me, tapping one finger against her skull. "Like Dylan can."
Neat. So she knew everything, then. That's good.
That's howcome I could trust her so easily, I realized. She knew my thoughts. Even though I didn't know this at the time, I sensed it. Sweet! I think I just got a new power! Or did I already have it, only know realising it? Hmmm...
"I can't read the baby's mind, though," Angel said suddenly. "I'm not sure why. It's probably because Max can make mind-blocks."
I wanna talk to her, Tyler told me. I nodded.
"Here, Ty wanted to talk with you," I said, passing the baby girl to Angel.
"She can talk?"
"Not exactly. She talks through touch."
"Ah," Angel breathed. "Like little Renesme."
"Renesme?" I questioned.
"Oh, you'll meet her in a few days," Angel said. She closed her eyes as Tyler started speaking to her.
I turned my head. In the sky were five flying kids. Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy (the Gasman- What a funny name!) were teaching Jordan and Breeze tricks. Across the lake Meri and Fang were walking slowly, holding hands. I sighed, feeling bad for Max. I knew how much she loved him.
Angel's eyes were narrowed, now following Meri's movements. I could tell she didn't like the older girl.
"You don't like Meri much," I noted. Angel nodded.
"She works for Jeb," she explained. I nodded, suddenly remembering Meri from my childhood.
"I know," I growled. "She used to work at the School. She's pure evil."
Dylan will kill her when he gets here...
*Max POV*
I woke to a beeping noise. Cool metal pressed against my back, arms, legs, and middle. I was in a white hospital-like room. I was hooked up to an IV and various monitors.
"Good afternoon, Maximum."
I growled weakly. Jeb came and stood over me, a smile on his face.
"Look up at the screen, Maximum," Jeb ordered. "You'll see something interesting up there."
I looked up. Right away I knew what I was looking at on the TV. It was my stomach, or better yet, the inside of my stomach. There was a small thing in there. It was tiny, though obviously having been magnified in order to be seen, and had two tiny feathers sticking out of it's back. I gasped, then groaned.
"Why do you keep doing this to me…?"
"They grow so fast," Jeb said. "This is only after a few days. It should be fully grown in a month or so."
Great. I'm pregnant. Again. I don't think they'll make the mistake of letting me escape for a second time, though. I think they really really want this baby…
"This baby, Maximum, is the reason for you being alive," Jeb told me. "This baby will do what you couldn't: Save the world."
I was right.
I think this might turn out to be a bit of a Maximum Ride/Twilight crossover... For the next few chapters anyway. Maybe. If that's ok with y'all. Otherwise I'll change it so that there's no more Twilight. I just started writing the next few chapters and somehow the Cullens got involved... I don't even know what I'm writing half the time! Ok, so tell me what you think please! Feel free to review! I love hearing from y'all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's rather long, dont'cha think? Now I feel like Nudge... Sorry! Incase I don't post again within the next few days: Merry Christmas! Happy Hannakah! Happy Kwanza! Happy New Year! Happy holidays! Happy Boxing Day! Happy... Winter break! No school! Yah... That should be all. Oh, and I hope it wasn't too confusing with all the POV changes... I just had to do that so the different scences will be seen. :) Ok, that's definately it. Reviews, por favor! And ask questions if you're confused! Good night/day/afternoon and God bless! -Max