Chap. 33

(Do you like the turn of events?)

Maddy landed in a clearing that was suspiciously circular. Too circular to be natural, in fact. The map Jeb had given them had proven to be useful after all. Dylan landed beside her, breathing heavily. He needed to work on his gracefulness. Poor boy was so worn out.

"Ugh, Mad, why is it so hard?" He paused, and grinned wolfishly.

"That's what she said!"

Maddy repressed the urge to smack him. He was lucky she had so much self control. She spoke, ignoring his pouty face. "Jeb, what now?"

He sighed, the piece in her ear vibrating from the sound of it.

She again moved the urge to rip the piece from her ear. "Maddy, how the hell should I know? Find it."

She sighed. Dylan immediatly hit the floor, searching for an underground passage. Truthfully, he looked like a true idiot. He grinned when he caught her looking at him, and she grimaced, not wanting to know the perverted thoughts running through his mind.

She walked along the side of the clearing, where the tress met up in a dense forest. She ran her hand along the trees, savoring in the feel of the rough texture. The wood met her with a dull thud, until a certain tree.

A metallic clang met her ears, and she glanced over at Dylan. He was staring at that exact tree, his brow furrowed up as well. Good, Maddy thought. I'm not going insane. Maddy waved Dylan over and he trotted forward, to the opposite side of the tree, silent as the forest around them. It was sunrise, and now the sky was in hues of pinks and oranges.

Dylan took the other side. Together they felt up the tree. Dylan hissed when a thorn form a nearby rose bush nicked him. Maddy stifled a giggle. He kinda deserved it.

After an intake of breath from Dylan, a metal door literally opened in front of Maddy. She stifled a gasp, and waved Dylan forward. They peered into the small room, wondering what to do with it.

Maddy whispered. "There's only room for one, so I'll go first."

Dylan nodded. With that, Maddy stepped into the small chamber, and immediatly felt claustrophopia creeping up on her. She noticed a button on the side, and she estimated that it led down.

"I'm going down." She said, and did a little peace sign wave to him. He opened his mouth to say something, but she was whisked away from his view. She breathed in deeply as she was going down, telling herself that she would be okay. Everything would be fine. Not to mention that if they don't bring this Max character back alive Jeb would have their heads. Yup. No pressure at all.

The doors hissed open, and on instinct, Maddy crouched down, her eyes immediatly searching for a place to hide. The room was barren. Empty, except for the solitary chair in the middle and a few doors leading elsewhere. She cursed to herself. It wouldn't be safe if she just headed in on open ground. She'll be shot, or even taken in for questioning. She couldn't risk it.

Sighing, she trudged back into the tiny elevator. Looks like they needed another plan. Dammit if they weren't wasting time.

She stepped out, startling Dylan. He spun around, and crushed her in a bear hug. "Dammit, Maddy. I almost lost ya. Next time, we're going down together."

"Chill. We actually have to think of another plan." She untangled herself from him, and quickly flew up to a high tree, pondering what to do next. He followed suit, dragging along their backpacks.

"Why?"

"...because. The first room is empty. Like, no places to hide at all. Just a big empty space. Could be a trap too. Gotta think of another way. Plus, this mission can't be known to anybody in there. We need another alternative."

Silence. The forest was absolutely still. No birds, no breeze. Just the sun as it beat down onto them. She sighed, and snuggled up the tree a little more. Now Maddy and Dylan's shoulders were touching. She nuzzled up to him almost unconsiously, not realizing what she was doing until he put an arm around her shoulder. She stiffened and pulled away, hiding her movement with a cough or two. He didn't seem to notice. As far as she could see.

This was going to be a long planning session.

Nudge sighed, and absently stroked Rose's hair again. Where was Max? Fang? Iggy? Who made her in charge of the kids? She didn't really mind. She just wanted a guy to spend her day with. Some hottie, big and pale, copper brown hair and topaz eyes. (Sound familiar?)

Rose purred and got up from Nudge's lap. "Nudge, can we go get Momma now? We haven't played in forEVER!"

Nudge grinned. Rose was using her signature slang with forEVER written all over it. Nudge stood up also, stretching out the kinks in her body. Finally, she guided the young girl outside to soak up some sun. It felt amazing outside today, and Nudge wasn't going to let the good weather pass up just yet.

The two girls spread their wings out and took to the skies. Rose was actually getting the hang of flying too. Her swoops and dives were graceful and almost angelic.

Angel. Where was she? Haven't seen her in a bit, thought Nudge.

After about an hour and a half, their wings grew tired.

They went into the house again, fixing up a few sandwiches and plopping down in front of the couch. Nudge was ready to read more manga, while Rose analyzed the detailed pictures. She loved the big eyes on the characters.

Nudge waited for the young girl to fall asleep, which she didn't have to wait long, and she stood up carefully, wiping some left over peanut butter off of Rose's chin. She smiled faintly in her sleep, and that just completely warmed Nudge's heart. She really did love that girl way too much for her own good.

She crept up into Gazzy's room first, to find him fully clothed in bed, a slight drool on his lips. His room was a mess, with Legos and clothes strewn everywhere. Now to mention the rotting food in various places. Nudge winced and shut the door quickly. Where had he been lately? And how does he possibly live in those conditions?

Next was Angel's room. Nudge opened it quietly, and was surprised to find her sleeping on the bed. Where had she been, too? Her room was soft and pink, with stuffed animals all in a corner. Nudge silently padded over to her, and rubbed her shoulder. Which was ice cold to the touch.

Nudge shrank back, completely startled. What the...?

"Yes, Nudge? I'm sleeping, btw. Why are you in my room?" Angel spoke, opening her eyes. She sat up stiffly, and Nudge swore she heard metal creaking. Maybe it was the bed?

"Angel? Are you alright? You're so cold..." Nudge started, but was cut off by another one of Angel's harsh comments.

"I'm alright." The girl lied easily. "I just needed to warm up under the covers." And she lay back down, turning her back to Nudge again.

"...But it's almost noon, Angel. Did you eat anything yet? I can-"

"Nudge. I'm alright. Just freaking tired, that's all. Please leave."

Furrowing her brows, Nudge nodded to herself and walked away. Why was Angel being so wierd? And mean? It's noon, and usually she was one of the first ones up. What the hell was going on?

She trudged down the steps, and sat next to Rose's sleeping figure. She really had grown, no longer the small baby she was when Nudge first met her. She had a small frame, and curly ringlets of silky hair that now hung to her waist.

Nudge settled in comfortably. A nap wouldn't kill her. Plus, she wasn't expecting anything or anybody anyways. Maybe this would turn out to be a big, wierd dream...

Iggy opened his eyes. The blinding light hit him, and he shut them immediately.

Wait. Light? Iggy can see light?

The joy within burst out, and he opened his eyes again, eager to SEE everything.

The light met him again, and he winced, but kept open. His eyes adjusted, and he saw. Everything. The metal room, the spotlight object pointed at him, and the monitor that showed his thoughts.

He still couldn't believe it. He could see.

He let out a scream of ecstacy, and struggled with the wrist straps that were holding him down. He needed out. He needed to see the world. How the sun looked, how the Flock looked! Oh god, this was his dream!

"Enjoying your sight? Mr. Iggy?" A woman spoke. She had a sweet voice, the kind made you tingle on the inside. He stared at her, and marveled at her beauty. The first woman he'd seen since...forever. And she was stunning. Long, golden hair ran down to her waist, and bright eager eyes met his. She walked with an air of confidence, and Iggy immediately knew he wanted to see more of her. Who knew she could pull off a labcoat like that?

"Who are you?" Iggy asked, unable to keep the happiness from his tone.

"I'm Anastasia. Ana. I did the surgery on your eyes, and again, how are you enjoying them?" she batted her eyelashes at him and smiled, flashing her pearly whites. He beat down the urge to walk over to her and-

"Thank you, this is a miracle." He whispered, not wanting to close his eyes. He knew it was silly, but he didn't want to miss out on seeing anymore. At all. No chance. Not one second was he going to be in Darkness anymore.

"Did you figure out the other modes yet?"

What? He was confused...modes? "Huh?"

"Okay, close your eyes and think the word heat, over an over again. Heat, heat, heat. Now, open your eyes. What do you see?"

Oh god. He saw heat. As in, thermosvision. The woman before him was a flaming yellow and red, while the rest of the room as a bright blue. There were a few more yellow figures up in an invisible window, in the corner of the room. "Oh, god..." He murmured, amazed beyond anything else.

He looked at the woman, blinking rapidly. It hurt his eyes a little to keep in this mode. She gapsed and spoke. "Your eyes...the whites are now blue, and the pupils are neon yellow. I think, to change back, just think normal vision. With colors and shapes, darkness and light. Think it and close your eyes."

Iggy obliged. The rest of his evening was spent with this Ana woman. By the end of the day, or whenever their session ended, Iggy had accomplished multiple modes. Thermovision, UV, black and white, negative, none, and, his favorite, X-Ray. Of course, he could see through walls now, and even clothes if he wanted to. His eyes changed with the mode he was in. And, also according to the woman, his normal eyes changed color with his mood. Red is anger, blue is despair, green is serenity, and pink is passion. So far, black was hate. Literally.

Personally, Iggy thought this was a pretty badass situation.

Question was, how could Iggy persuade this, Anastasia character, to let him go? Will he have to use his new eyes to dare her into something she'll regret? He had to find a way out of this hellhole. He needed freedom. Needed to see the world now. But, how to persuade her?

Time for some serious seduction.

(Ha! Do you guys want me to describe how he seduces Ana? Or can I just leave it at that? Ahh, this is soo amusing to write! Please comment and tell me what I should do next, or just to give me tips or whatev you like. Thanks for keeping up with me so far! :D)