Hey, thanks for my 7 (technically 3) reviews! I guess I'll reply individually.

Pennycat11: You're a sneaky one, Pennycat! Thanks for caring! ^.^

Anon: Just posted more!

HEY: Yeah, I used to hate Dylan, but Fang is being a whiny little weirdo, so Dylan doesn't seem so bad. Your questions will be answered this chapter, and the Fang/Nudge sibling stuff, that's next chapter!

On with the show! One thing though: when Max reads the letter, ~~~ indicate things Nudge crossed out, since I can't find out how to strikethrough text on FanFiction…

Nudge was smiling so much that her face hurt. The clustered lights of cities below twinkled like diamonds in an endless black bed of coal, like oases of light in the night. The wind tangled her hair into knots, which would not be fun to fix, but it didn't bother Nudge. Flying was something that the young avian would never ever get tired of. She opened her mouth to let out a gleeful shout, but the wind just snatched it away.

Nudge felt her stomach twist. She was flying alone. Now, her ecstatic disposition was replaced with dread that seemed to make her feel heavier, which probably isn't the best when you're flying. She felt on edge, wary, and paranoid. It was dark; someone could sneak up on her. Nudge leaned forward, her wings pumping faster. A little voice in the back of the girl's head was reminding her of all the awful things that had and could happen to her in the air. She forced herself to go faster, faster.

Her wings were working overtime. She bit her lip to silence the horrible, nagging thoughts. Don't think about bad things happening. However, the thoughts were still mocking Nudge. Her teeth cut her lip, the taste of blood slid across her tongue.

Don't think, just fly. Just fly. Nudge's rational side was recovering. Just when the hybrid thought she was in the clear, something whizzed over her head. There was a mechanical screech, and the thing came back for her.

Nudge gasped and dove down, but it had her. She felt her hair pull against her scalp and let out a surprised yelp. Her hands shot up, and she grabbed at her attacker. Her fingers met cold metal, and when she touched it, the device let out a mechanical squawk. She was able to rip the bird-machine out of her hair, flinging it a good distance away before it came back at her.

She hovered in mid air, putting her hands out in front of her. The birds froze mid-flight, then started to twitch and spark. Nudge let out a joyful laugh. She had completely forgotten about her magnetic abilities. Instead of coming towards her, the machine just fell out of the sky. She let her hands fall back to her sides, watching the spinning metal bird spiral down, plummeting into the darkness. Nudge was confused. How had she broken it? Looking ahead of her, Nudge could see golden sunshine melting into the cool shades of the night. The bird fight disappeared from her thoughts. It was almost morning, and she was almost there.

"Alright flock, breakfast time, early bird gets the worm," I said. Worms were gross, and I hated that saying, but if I didn't get food into my stomach, I might be reduced to eating them. Luckily, we had a fully stocked fridge, so eating worms wasn't going to be my first choice.

There was no sign of movement, no answer from any of the rooms. Letting out an overly dramatic sigh, I pushed open Iggy's door. This bird kid is one weird sleeper. He was belly-down, with all of the pillows and blankets piled over his head. Like any rational person, I pulled up the blinds to let the sunshine in. Then, I face palmed. I'm not the brightest bird in the morning ok? I walked over and shoved the comforter off his face. He groaned, arms moving around, trying to find the blanket. I walked over to the door, grabbed it, and shoved it with all I had.

SLAM!

Iggy shot up, smacking his head on the ceiling. He was pretty tall, I realized. Ig looked at the door with his unseeing eyes, clutching his skull. "Max!"

I brushed off my hands and turned out of the room. My work there was done, now three more. I forced myself to open Dylan's door like a normal person, instead of kicking it in the way I really wanted to. There was no reason to take out my anger on a harmless door. He wasn't there.

Good thing I didn't kick open his door; what a waste that would've been.

Gazzy was going to be difficult. When I opened his door, he was laying perfectly in his bed, all warm and cozy under the covers. He looked so serene… well, time for me to end it.

"Gaz, I know you're awake. Nobody on Earth really sleeps like that." I crossed my arms, waiting. He didn't move. I tilted my head back and groaned.

"C'mon get up! I just wanna eat!" I whined. Then, I had an idea. I grabbed the fitted sheet under him and bundled it all together. His eyes shot open just as I closed the blanket over his head.

"Max!" He shouted, but the sheets and blankets he was wrapped in muffled his voice. I hauled him off the bed and dragged him out into the hallway.

I let the bird-bundle go, and he sprung out, thrashing at the blankets that still held him hostage. "Downstairs." I gave him a motherly glare, pointing to the staircase. He grumbled, then started crawling towards the steps.

"Nudge-" Her bed was empty. Very un-Nudge like, I thought. My stomach did a back flip. Clambering down the stairs, I headed for the kitchen. When I walked through the family flock room, I caught sight of the paper on the computer screen. Snatching it, I stared. It was definitely Nudges girly, loopy handwriting. My eyes flicked back and forth as I read:

~Hi~Max~

~Dear~Max~

Ok, I don't write letters, you know I don't, so you know this is important. I want you to know that I love you. You'll be my big sis, always. Long story short, I went off to do something. I can't tell you what, or else you'll probably ~kill~someone~explode~ be really really really mad. I know its right, but I don't know what you will think. I have to do this. I might be back, I might not. If it all works out, we should see each other soon.

~Sincerely,~Nudge~

~Love,~Nudge~

Nudge, forever.

No. The paper fell from my hand, sliding across the floor until it met Iggy's foot.

"What's this?" Iggy said. Gazzy thudded down the stairs.

"It's a note Ig, and you're holding it upside down." The blond bed head said, flipping the paper over in Iggy's hands.

"Oh! Now I can read it so much better." The blind bird kid replied sarcastically. Gazzy took the note and started reading it aloud. His eyes grew wider and his voice grew smaller as he read, finishing with a whisper.

He started up at me with terrified blue eyes, scared not because of Nudge, but because he knew what I was about to do. "Max-"

I could barely hear his voice. I snatched the note, spun around, then stormed into the kitchen. Dylan was sitting at a table in front of an open window. Golden sunlight made him glow, his aquamarine eyes shimmering.

Any other day, I would have been dazzled.

But today was not 'any other day.'

"Good morning Ma-"

"Don't you 'good morning' me!" I yelled. Judging but the shuffling of feet the rest of the flock (AKA Iggy and the Gasman) came for nosebleed seats in The Max VS Dylan Smackdown. I shook the note in front of the avian's face, well, I held it, but my hand was trembling. "Tell me you didn't know." I seethed.

"Max," Dylan stood, "I did." He said calmly. On instinct, I lunged at him, slamming him onto our lovely breakfast table, my hand enclosed around his throat.

"YOU LET HER GO?" My voice shrieked. I felt like something had control over me, something that wasn't me. Dylan locked his Bahama-blue eyes on me.

"She had a good reason." Dylan replied. I tightened my grasp, feeling every detail of his trachea.

"Where. Is. She?" I said with a tone of false calm, my jaw clenched so tightly that I thought my teeth might shatter.

"I don't-" Dylan was cut off by me squeezing his windpipe again.

"Don't lie to me. You do know." I hissed in his ear. Dylan's face was flushing.

"Max-" It was Gazzy. The eight (or so) year old's voice barely registered in my mind. One side of me, deep down, like, way down there, was telling me to stop this, but the other side of me, the Maximum side, didn't like that idea.

"WHERE IS SHE DYLAN?" I shrieked, lifting his head up then slamming it back down. Dylan's face was a funny shade of purple, going on blue.

"Can't… tell…" He rasped, clawing at my hand.

"Max!" Gazzy cried.

"WHERE IS SHE?" His clawing was making my hand bleed, but I didn't even feel it.

"Stop it!" Gazzy yelled in a futile attempt to make me stop choking Dylan.

"You don't have to go all Batman on him!" Iggy exclaimed, arms flying up into the air.

I ignored them, getting onto the table and digging my knee into his stomach. I could feel his chest pulsing unevenly, searching for some way to get air. His face was blue as blue could be, and his eyes started rolling into the back of his head.

Max. Enough. Suddenly, I let him go, backing away as Dylan crashed to the floor, coughing and hacking and gasping, doing anything to get air back into his lungs. Voice! I thought angrily. No response, as expected. I looked down at the floor to where Dylan was laying.

If you take shock, blend it with a plentiful heap of terror, add a dash of oxygen deprivation, and stir it all together with a beautiful azure blue, that is describes-exactly-the look Dylan gave me.

"Max?" Gazzy was staring up at me, half hidden behind Iggy. The blind teen stared too, mouth slightly agape, eyes blank.

I stormed out of the condo that we were borrowing. My wings opened and positioned myself to run. Max, where are you going? You can't run away. Voice pointed out. Good question, I thought snarkily, but who cares? I sure don't. Taking a running start, I launched myself into the air.

Nudge needed to hurry if she wanted to land in the city. The sun was almost peeking over the horizon, and people were starting to move around. She could not be seen. She had hacked Fang's account to see where the signal was coming from and typed the address into Google maps, remembering the building. Her raptor vision allowed her to see the street signs from high up.

"42nd on Cass… there it is!" Nudge exclaimed, diving for the apartment building. She touched down on the roof. Nudge realized that she had no idea what room Fang was in. She groaned, walking over to the edge of a building. It dropped into a secluded alleyway, and, after she made sure the coast was clear, jumped down, using her wings to slow the decent.

She touched down without a sound on the concrete, folding in her wings. Smiling at her graceful landing, Nudge made her way to the street. Sunlight hit her face as she stepped out. Suddenly, a shadow crossed over her, and the avian stumbled back. A man stepped around the corner, blocking her path. Nudge whipped around to run, but another figure blocked the other side of the alley.

"What are you doing?" Nudge asked, struggling to keep her voice from shaking. The men just edged closer. They wore black clothing and shades, and their faces were sharp looking, mean, no doubt ready to spill blood. Nudge clenched her fists. She looked up, poised to take off, when she saw more of the men on the roofs.

Nudge knew immediately that these guys were no ordinary street gangsters. "Fang?" She called out timidly. The men laughed. "Fang!" Her voice grew louder.

"We know about you little girl," The first guy smirked. "You're not getting away." Nudge heard something above and looked up to see a net falling towards her.

FANG!

Wow, 2,000 words! I didn't really mean for this chapter to be so long… but whatever! R&R!