hiya, everybody! ok, first of all, i just want to apologize for not updating sooner. I needed more time to write the story, and i just didn't have that time, so here it is. it's pretty long, so i hope it was worth the wait!

and because i haven't done this yet, i'd also like to say THANK YOU oodles and oodles (in no particular order) to ShadowAmunet, ifurcutesitbyme, dusk3ttex01, Nellamy, FangOwns, soccerislife14, irock329, Faximum897, Readerchick, IggyLuver8, bobthytree (your user name is totally awesome), Bellaxium, and SmartA55 !! you're awesome, thanks so much for all the reviews. :)

and to all the favoriters and alert-er people who i am too lazy to name (sorry!) : THANK YOUUU!!!!

and nowww....

the long-awaited (i hope :D) CHAPTER 11!!! RAH RAH RAH RAHH!!!!!!

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"Alright everybody, let's move!" I yelled as soon as Fang and I burst through the doors of Mom's house. I grabbed my backpack from where it was waiting by the door and took the waiting opportunity to say good-bye to Mom and Ella. As the rest of the flock hurried down the stairs and said their farewells, I turned to Fang. "Ready?"

He stuffed a couple more packages of food into his bag and gave me a thumbs up. I took a deep breath. "Good."

"So," he said. "Where to? Did the Voice tell you specifically or what?"

I nodded. "Specifically. We're going to Battle Ground, Washington. There's an Itex company meeting soon, and we're going to make sure they don't get much done." (A/N: Battle Ground is an actual place. i looked it up!!)

Fang nodded slowly. "And after that?"

I sighed. "I really don't know right now. Itex is just so huge that they've multiplied like bunnies on hormone pills. They've got at least one branch everywhere. There's probably even one in Arizona."

Fang groaned. "That's not discouraging at all."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

The kids were ready. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel were looking a little forlorn, Iggy was stuffing his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt, and Total was bawling into Akila's fur.

"My darling," he sobbed. "Please, wait for me. I shan't be gone too soon. I will return one day, a hero. I-"

"Okay, Total," I cut in, annoyed. "I think she got the point."

He sniffed and swatted at a stray tear. "Alright then. I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I-I'm f-f-fine…" And with that, he burst into fits of sobbing again.

I groaned and scooped him up. Honestly. It's not like he'll never see her again…

Well, you don't know that for sure, Maximum, the Voice reminded me snottily. I rolled my eyes. What. Ever.

I thought about what had happened between Fang and I while we were flying over Nevada. I knew that I really liked him. I knew he liked me. Well. I think he likes me. (A/N: HE "LIKES YOU"???? LIKES YOU??? HE LOVES YOU, YOU IDIOT!!!!! deep breaths... phewww.... 1..2..3..4..5...6..7..8...9..10..... alright. i'm ok. )

I angled left a bit, so I was flying next to Angel and Nudge.

"Max!" Nudge cried. "Angel and I were just talking about how our clothes suck and we need to get some new ones 'cause just yesterday I found this weird hole-thing in my jeans that I never noticed before and it's like huge and maybe if I got some new clothes I could actually like get a boyfriend, 'cause that would be sooo ama-"

"Whoa!" The word "boyfriend" brought me out of my Nudge-induced temporary deafness. "Let's not be too hasty, here. You shouldn't have a boyfriend till you're…umm…sixteen!"

Nudge looked puzzled. "Why wait until you're sixteen? You and Fang aren't sixteen, and you're kind of dating!"

Whoa. What?! "Nudge," I said quickly, making sure Fang hadn't heard what she said. "Fang and I are NOT dating!"

Nudge shrugged. "Okay. I guess Angel was wrong, then."

"About what?" I asked warily.

"Oh, nothing," she said airily. That was probably the shortest sentence Nudge has ever said in her life. "So why do we have to wait till we're sixteen? 'Cause what if you find your soulmate before you're sixteen? Do you still have to wait? 'Cause that doesn't seem very fair... I don't get why you have to wait!"

I groaned mentally. What have I gotten myself into? "Because…umm…boys have these…er…"

"Cooties?" Angel guessed.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, maybe a little too enthusiastically. "Exactly! Cooties! And these cooties…they…"

"Don't go away till the boys are sixteen," Fang finished, flying up behind me. I jumped and turned around to give him this sort of glare-slash-thank-you-for-saving-my-sorry-butt look. He smirked. Oh, crap. How much had he heard?

"That's right," I said diplomatically and plastered a smile across my face.

Nudge and Angel nodded wisely, as if everything suddenly made sense. Yup, that's me, Master Max. I've got all the answers to the things you always wanted to know but were too afraid to ask. Like, "Max, can we stop for food?". To which my answer would be grumbling and finally replying, "Fine, we'll land soon.". Which is precisely what I told Nudge when she asked precisely that. Hey, what can I say? I'm just a misunderstood genius…

A few minutes later, we landed near a McDonalds and in the wake of three-sixtying the place, entered the restaurant. After astounding yet another poor clerk with our colossal order (it really gets old after awhile…I mean, honestly. You'd think these people had never seen a six-year-old eat seven bacon cheeseburgers, three large fries, and a couple apple pies in one sitting before), we picked out a secluded corner booth and started chowing down.

"Hey Max?" Gazzy said between bites of cheeseburger. "Can we stop at a hotel tonight? I mean, I'm sorta tired and so are Nudge and Angel, so could we stop and rest after awhile?"

Translation, courtesy of Max: "Max, every one is completely exhausted and we need to stop at a luxury hotel so I can terrorize the guests by playing ding-dong-fart-ditch so when the people open the door, they pass out and you get to explain to the manager why you and your party of seven are the only conscious people on the second floor. Then I'll order pizza and room service all night long and watch movies that I know I'm not allowed to watch, while trashing the hotel room by having a pillow fight with Iggy." Mmhmm. Nice try, Gasman.

"Sorry, Gaz," I looked at him sharply. "You blew your hotel privileges last time."

He jutted out his chin. "But what about Angel and Nudge?"

"And Total!" The little Scottie-mutt cried from the end of the table, where he was devouring a cheeseburger. "I'm exhausted, too! And I heard that the hotels on our way to Washington have excellent spa treatments, such as ma-"

"Total!" I interrupted him. "We are not staying at a hotel! We have a mission, people. We're going to stop in a secluded, forest area. Just like always."

The kids groaned, and I felt a little guilty, even though I knew we needed to keep moving.

Come on, Maximum, the Voice chided. It's alright. Let them have their fun for one night, before it's too late.

'Before it's too late'? Jeez, foreboding much?

I blew out a long sigh. "Fine. The Voice says it's okay to stop for tonight."

"Yesss!" The Gasman cheered, and snagged one of Iggy's fries. "To the Voice!" He raised his fry in a "cheers" gesture.

I grinned widely and watched as they all touched fries and started eating again. Oh, boy. I felt a mom-moment coming on…

"Max. Earth calling Max. Come in, Max." Fang's voice startled me out of my little moment. He had been silent the whole meal.

"What?"

He shook his overlong hair out of his eyes. "Gotta get moving if we're going to find a place to stay tonight."

I bobbed my head and called to the others, "Let's move it, ladies and gents!"

And once again, we were back to flying, zipping through the cool evening air. I shivered slightly, and pulled my hoodie closer to me. I saw the other kids doing the same, Gazzy and Angel huddling together for warmth, and made an executive decision. Even though we'd only been flying for about an hour, we needed some time to recharge.

A couple bright lights of the town flickered below us. A huge sign read, "Welcome to Austin, Home of the Living Ghost Town!" Oh, joy.

"Let's land here, guys!" My voice was torn away by the wind, but the flock's chemically enhanced hearing caught the fragments of speech. We came to a halting stop at the edge of the town. Nudge took one look at the sign and her eyes widened. "Whoa! Max, do you think there's actually ghosts here? 'Cause that would be like so cool if we met a ghost and talked to it and like became my BFF and I could like tell everyone that my best friend was a ghost and I'd be like a celebrity!" Right. 'Cause, you know, the wings wouldn't be enough.

"There's no ghosts here, Nudge," I said. "Sorry."

Nudge's face fell and I softened. "But, you know, there could be some...um... good, non-evil ghouls…" She still didn't look convinced. I wouldn't be either. "With…nail polish!"
She glanced up at me excitedly. Honestly. This is how much it takes to brighten their day. Good guy-ghouls with nail polish.

"Really? Can we check if there's any in our hotel rooms?" Iggy asked sarcastically. Oh. Right.

We walked around the little town, taking in all the old hotels and stores. There was even a quaint little church at the end of the street. Okay. This was getting waaay too cutesy for my taste.

With minimum prodding from me, we finally decided on a small, historic-looking hotel with a sign reading, "Coon Dog Crossroads Room and Board."

"Well, ain't that adorable," Iggy drawled, after Fang read him the sign. "Oh, no. The hillbilliness…it's…it's…contagious! Nooo!"

While the kids laughed at Iggy's antics, I peered through the dusty windows.

"Hello ma'am," called a bored voice from inside the building. I crept cautiously through the door, ready to flatten anyone who looked suspiscious. But the person I saw didn't exactly look suspiscious.
Not at all. Actually…he was—by my standards, at least. I don't really go around judging every person I see. I've got better things to do. Like, for instance, saving the world—pretty cute.

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hmm. well, at least it's longish. and i really wanted them to stay in a hotel, so yeah. and i love Gazzy's version of ding-dong-ditch! :D

later, my peeps!

REVIEWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:let's take a trip down

-memrylaine-: