Sorry I've been gone for a while, had no inspiration for this fic. But it's 6:15a.m.(before all the editing and leaving it alone all day so that I don't break my computer into a thousand very small pieces because fanfiction is being MORONIC) and it just came to me, so I said "Eh, what the hell," and put it up. Um, this A/N might come up slightly different, and a second time, so if it's here twice and really long, and repeatish, don't worry about it.(And that would be because fanfiction deleted all my original changes on the site, so I had to redo them, but they might come back up, because it gave me the same word count as before...whatever. It's just being stupid and annoying. I'm angry. If anything is wrong don't pay any attention. This chapter might get messed up. There could be doubles of phrases scattered around, who knows, with this website -_-) Same thing for some parts of the fic. I saw Eclipse! Who else of you Max fans are Twilighters too, like me?(Who's Team Jake, Team Edward, or Team Switzerland?) I loved it, saw it twice(The midnight premier, and another time with my friends). It was the best of the three by far, to me.(Here's a secret, I was listening to nothing when I wrote the beginning, and when it got all happy-ish, I was listening to Wedding Plans by Howard Shore, from the end of the movie haha! :D) What did you guys think? Leave a review, it's the only way for me to improve!(Did this chapter seem to Twilightish to you? It did to me, for Max and Fang at least "/) Another thing, I'm not really sure where I'm taking this. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to PM me with them! Max is really bipolar here, and Angel is...odd. For a little kid, anyway. You'll see it when you read. Maybe Max is bipolar because I don't know how I'm feeling right now. Characters reflecting on your personality and all that. Also, my writing style has changed, you'll notice it, I think. It's not as...vague? I'm not sure, it's just different. It might change again, might go back, and might stay the same. I don't really like this chapter, but it's an update, at least, and it might jumpstart me back on this fic, who knows? Anyway, I'll stop rambling. I don't normally. Review, and sorry in advance for ANYTHING wrong. With the way Fanfiction's acting up, that'll probably be a lot. Anyway, read on!

Max's eyes glinted in the firelight, her mouth twisted into a half grimace half grin. Her world was spinning out of control, and she had no idea how to stop it. She was falling, her wings were failing, and she didn't know what to do anymore. She felt like cotton was plugging up her ears so she couldn't hear. Her eyes were stuck closed, so she felt blind, like Iggy. Her tongue felt heavy, as if she couldn't form the words, what she wanted to say, couldn't be heard. Her skin felt hot and flushed, as if she was coming down with a fever. She felt like she was falling apart at the seams. So she took up her shell, the edges stained a permanent red. Blood of hers, tinting the pure white. It almost seemed like a sin to her, to color the pearl like shell something so dark and morose. But then, she thought to herself, she'd already committed enough sins, what was one more? Bringing the shell up to her forearm, she took a deep, dizzying, steadying breath.

And she dropped the shell, her hands shaking and her breaths short and sporadic. For a moment, her rational side won, quizzing her, rapid fire.

What are you doing?

You can't do this!

What would it do to the Flock, to Fang?

…What would it do to me…?

The moon's light was dimming, being covered by clouds, and Max stood up and threw the shell over the edge of the canyon. She looked around quickly, not quickly enough, spread her wings, and jumped off the edge of the cave opening, soaring into the night. With the wind rushing underneath her, she suddenly felt invincible. For a fleeting second, a burning rushed through her, as though the weight of the world wasn't on her shoulders, as if she could do anything she set her mind to, like she was stumbling through a story in the dark, but she knew there would be a happy ending.

As if, as though, and like.

Well, she decided, there would be no more of that. She would make those words the truth. There would be a hand to pull her up when she fell, arms to catch her when her wings wouldn't work anymore, a smile there for her when her own lips wouldn't cooperate. She breathed in the clouds and the mist, as it flew around her in torrents, drenching her to the bone, but she could care less. Because suddenly, she knew she was losing her mind, but in the best possible way. She was finally on the right track. She'd made a lot of mistakes along the way, btu she thought she was finally headed in the right direction. Despite all she'd done, she'd done it to keep her family, her Flock, safe. And safe they were, even though they didn't really know that they were in danger in the first place. A tingle ran through her, as her smile widened, and more mist blocked her view. Even above the clouds, she dared to fly, spreading her hands up and outwards like an eager child, wondering if she'd actually be able to touch one of the stars she saw up in the dark sky. If she'd be able to feel the burning warmth spreading through her fingertips, up her arms, Through her body, and to her heart.

Unbidden, an image of Fang popped into her head, and the feelings he brought up when he kissed her.

Brushed up against her.

Grabbed her hand.

Fought by her side.

Like a slide show, they flashed through her head. He made her feel like she was…touching a star. Like she could burn from the inside out, like she could fly without wings. Like she could walk on water and just do anything. She felt strong, beautiful, graceful, incredible, special, whenever Fang was close. A simple touch of his hand made her feel as if he was flooding her senses, overwhelming her with sensation. It was pure, raw, unbridled feeling. There were no limits, and no boundaries. There were no questions, or decisions. That was just the way it was supposed to be.

Period.

There was no other way around it. It was inevitable and irrevocable. It was easy as breathing, steadying her wobbly emotions until they were sturdy and strong. Her breathing evened out and she stopped speed flying, simply coasting on the wind, trying to figure out where to go now, what to do.

She supposed they could always go to her mother's in Arizona. She nodded to herself, deciding.

Her path was pre-determined some said, sure, but that never meant she had to follow their guidelines, and there was no way she would. It was impossible for her, not in her nature. She had a mission to accomplish, a world to save. There were things that needed to be done, and she needed to be the one to do them. Her journey was far from over, and she couldn't give up now. Max silently glided back to the edge of the cave, landing swiftly and soundlessly. Making sure everyone was still asleep, as she hadn't gone far anyway, she sat down hanging her feet over the edge of the mouth. The ledge. And she didn't plan on going over any time soon without her wings to catch herself.

Across the cave, Angel opened one eye silently, a glint in it that showed she knew more, far more, than she was supposed to. And that she remembered things she shouldn't, but she told no one, as many small children do. All the same, she smiled to herself, looking at Max and thinking that her leader was coming along well. Very well. She was strong. She would lead them through this. They would make it. And as Angel heard Max's thought about not going over the edge without her wings, she grinned to herself and thought,

Good for you, Max, Good for you.

With that thought, she promptly turned over and fell back asleep.