Author's Note: Again, it's been a while since the last chapter. *scratchers head* Sorry, I've had a tough couple weeks. I know this chapter isn't very action-y and won't make up for the lapse very well. Anyway. Here you are. But at this point in my author's note that you're probably ignoring, I have to quote from a fellow author on this site, manicDROID- "To my silent readers: BOO YOU. Read and review. It's what you would want."

I'm not sure what's going through your heads, but I'd probably have more of an inclination to update if you would review.

That being said, here's the chapter.

~jennedy~

I spread my wings and flapped, sending me leaping through the air before I coasted to the ground, took a few painful steps, and repeated the process. Stella was in danger, and I was wounded. Internally, I cursed myself about a million times as I slowly gusted my way towards the sound of her scream.

Max followed me, but I ignored her. Honestly, I don't know what I thought of that bird kid. If she hadn't been lured off by that creepy little mind-controller, then I wouldn't be so far away from Stella, and I probably would be able to walk, too. But this was Maximum Ride, practically my counterpart in her own strange, avian way. And I could easily see how I was blaming her for everything that I hated in the sick, twisted School.

No time to think. I shrugged off my confusion and focused on the short, anguished yelps and cries that were rapidly getting louder. Midway into one of my leaps, my broken foot caught on a tree root and I dropped like a rock. Stars burst behind my eyes, and I almost whimpered, but then Max leapt over me and started sprinting towards Stella, and I found the will to pull myself up and shakily keep moving.

Max lunged in front of Stella just as a fist came down and clocked her in the jaw. Her eyes rolled, and her attacker launched one final punch into her ribs to bring her down, gasping. The mutant standing over Max looked surprisingly normal. She looked about 16 years old, with average light brown hair and clear blue eyes. What was so special about her? The girl was strong, of course. You had to be pretty strong to deck Maximum Ride. But that couldn't be it, because Liam could have hit the girl about four times as hard, and he wasn't even designed for strength.

"Speak of the devil," I groaned as Liam dove through the canopy of the forest and tackled the girl from behind. Or, rather, ran into her as hard as possible in an attempt to tackle her. Instead, there was a bad sounding clang and Liam yelled in pain as he collided with her. The girl grabbed his wrist and threw a round-house kick at the side of his head. He caught her foot before it touched his ear and twisted, sending her crashing to the ground.

Liam smiled, sensing his victory, and brought his fist down to punch her face in. His knuckles hit her nose with a metallic clank. The girl grinned triumphantly as Liam yelped and clutched his hand to his chest. I could see slivers of white bone between his tan fingers, and knew he was hurt.

I stepped forward to join the fight, and would have crumpled to the ground if Stella hadn't been there for me to lean on. "You're hurt, Echo," she said. "You've fractured several of your metatarsals. You can't fight yet." Though I was relieved that she was well enough to diagnose me, the part about being fractured was not good news.

"Fine," I grumbled. "But let me look at you, Stell." She allowed me to check her over, even though she probably already knew the exact severity of her wounds. She had purple bruises up and down her arms, probably from the girl's fingers. Stella's left eye was black, and she had a long, painfully fresh cut on her upper arm and shoulder.

Stella ironed her smile in place as I ran my fingers down the gash. "Well, Val will only have to give me 22 stitches for that," she chirped, as if the news was good.

I scowled as the sounds of Max and Liam getting their butts handed to them trailed into my ears. "Stella, I'm just going to-"

Stella pursed her lips, somehow seeming motherly at the tender age of six. "You can't fight, Echo." Her face lit up in a smile. "But Blaze and Jag can!" I whirled around as more members of my Colony rushed into the clearing, called by Liam and Max's obvious distress.

Blaze immediately took a flying leap (literally) and ended up with his arms around the strange, iron-skinned girl's neck, holding onto her ears and cackling like a maniac as she spun in circles to dislodge him. Jag stood behind her and kicked the backs of her knees, buckling them and sending her sprawling.

I whooped loudly as the girl disappeared in a writhing mass of Colony (plus one angry birdkid). Suddenly, a voice cried out from the trees, and a small girl with blond hair and white, feathered wings dove towards the dog pile. "MAX!"

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Angel was calling me.

I shot out of the throng of mutants and ran to her, laughing and crying at the same time as she buried her face in my shoulder. "Angel… You're okay, you're okay…"

"Max, who are they?" she asked. "The one I found isn't very talkative, and all he thinks about is finding someone called 'Stella'…" An astoundingly tall teenager with curly brown hair and silver-black wings dropped through the canopy, snapping in his enormous wings early to avoid catching them on branches. The little girl to whom Echo had been talking darted into his embrace.

"I don't know, Angel. They're like us, but they're bats. I think… Well, Liam said that the tall one was Abe. I guess that girl is his sister, Stella." Her blue eyes widened.

"Like Gazzy and me? He's a lot bigger than Gazzy." I nodded in response. The Colony was finishing off the indestructible wonder. When Echo tried to hobble towards me, her foot gave out, and Abe swung her up into his arms like a baby. She blushed so red it was as if he had splashed her with scarlet paint.

Before she could open her mouth, Blaze jabbered, "We're onleh missin' Val and Broda, Ek." In his high pitched voice, the accent sounded so out of place that I nearly cracked up laughing, but I managed to restrain myself.

Echo smiled. "I know. How did you all…?"

"They took us right after they took you," Abe remarked in a deep voice. Echo gritted her teeth, her thin body shaking with anger.

"Why can't they just leave you guys out of it?" she hissed, struggling to get out of Abe's arms. The corner of his mouth twitched as he restrained her, his long arms trapping her effortlessly. "Stoppit, Abe, that's not funny." He let her scramble down from his arms, though she leaned heavily on him to keep herself standing.

Liam chuckled quietly, earning himself a glare from Echo. Jag tugged on Liam's arm, pointing at the sky. A black shape coasted down through the trees, silent as the grave. For a moment, I thought it was Fang, and my heart soared.

"Val! Thank God!" Echo yelled. The girl landed her long black hair billowing around her shoulders, and folded her black bat wings across her back. Clinging to her neck was a small boy, golden-haired and scared half to death. Valkyrie strode calmly to us, her face blank and passive. The little boy squirmed out of her arms and ran to Echo. She scooped him up and clutched him against her shoulder, rocking back and forth and whispering comfort in his ear.

It was as if the whole Colony drew a deep breath and relaxed. They smiled wanly, took each other in, and for those few seconds just focused on being together and partially free.

"Hi," said Stella to Angel, smiling broadly.

"Hi," Angel replied. "I'm Angel."

"I know," said Stella. "You probably already read my mind, but my name is-"

"Stella Luna," chirped Angel. "But your Colony mostly calls you Stella." Angel beamed at me, obviously excited to have found a playmate almost as psychic as she was. I winked back.

Echo swung the little boy, who she introduced to me as Broda, to her hip, and looked to the sky. The giant razor wire dome was glinting faintly in the fading sun. Longing filled Echo's face. I imagined grabbing Angel and flying away, slipping right through the cage the School had around us and just leaving.

Then I mentally smacked myself. For the time being, at least, we weren't going anywhere. Echo couldn't walk independently. Stella was bleeding heavily from a cut in her arm. Liam's hand was mangled and useless, and he was in very obvious pain. I caught Valkyrie scowling, as if she wished she had the supplies to mend up her Colony.

Then Angel stiffened beside me.

"What's up, baby?" I asked. Her eyes were shining with joy as she looked up towards something I couldn't see.

"The Flock!" she yelled happily. "They're right above the dome!"