(A/N): Well, it's finally here. The last chapter of the story! I will try to write the epilogue over the weekend, but no promises.
And to Eat. Sleep. Write. Read, no Fang doesn't sleep in a closet anymore. He sleeps in the dungeon
Fang: You don't even have a dungeon.
Me: Fine, I don't. Spoilsport. No, Fang sleeps on a cot in my room. So no need for you to kidnap him from his kidnapper.
Shout outs to: Sierra156, AnikaandAj, and Eat. Sleep. Write. Read
See you at the bottom!
When I came to, I was on a hospital bed. I felt like I had the crap kicked out of me. Which, according to my memory, never happened.
Everyone had been around my bed, but they were all sleeping on chairs.
Except Fang.
Everyone else's chair was a few feet away, but Fang's was pushing into the bed. He was leaning over me, gently stroking my hair. Anyone else would think he was calm, but I could see the worry in his face. "I love you, Max," he whispered.
I'm not sure if he realized I was conscious. "I love you too."
If he was surprised he didn't show it. He stared at me gratefully, a smile slowly creeping up his face. We sat there like that for at least a few minutes.
Finally, I asked him, "How long was I out?"
He didn't look at me. "Almost a day." He didn't have to say anything - he'd been worried about me. I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed by side without sleeping at all.
He lowered himself carefully into the hospital bed. I tried to turn to face him, when I felt the IV cord pull. I hadn't even noticed it.
I turned back and loosened the cord from the rail that it was caught on.
I held up the slack. "When are they gonna take this out?" I questioned him.
He shrugged. "Probably sometime today." With that, he gave me a short gentle kiss on my forehead, reminding me of all of the good times we'd had, back before Dylan, and the Doomsday Group, and before Angel predicted his death. Our eyes locked on to each others. I couldn't help but feel like a schoolgirl as my heart fluttered. I hadn't felt like this since Fang and I first became a "couple."
"Ahem." We both jumped, and Fang stood up. We found Iggy glaring at us - that is, his eyes were narrowed and his face was turned towards our general direction. "I hope I'm not interrupting, or anything, but you two aren't the only ones here." He stood up. "Were you really gonna leave us waiting, Maxy?"
I heard groans next to him. "Iggy, shut up," Nudge said groggily. She cleared her eyes and saw us. "MAX!" she squealed as she ran over. Of course, that woke up everyone else. Before long, the entire Flock was converging on me. Behind them, I noticed-
No. It couldn't be. No way. I saw him die.
It was Jeb.
He was standing back, smiling, letting us have our moment. When I noticed him, he walked forward. "Hello, Max. How are you feeling?"
I was still shocked. "Fine, but - how?"
His smirk grew. "You," he said, pointing at me.
I glared at him. "That didn't explain anything."
He chuckled. "It goes a long way back. As soon as the doctor clears you to leave, I'll tell you all the whole thing. I promise."
I wasn't sure I believed him, but what choice did I really have?
The doctors (reluctantly) released me 2 hours later. No sooner were the words out if the head doctor's mouth when I jumped up and rushed into the hall. The last thing I noticed was a look of exasperation.
When I stepped outside, my first instinct was to unfurl my wings and take off.
But I resisted.
No, it was time to have that little talk with Jeb.
Jeb brought us to my mom's old house. When we were all situated on the couches and chairs in the living room, he began. His words were directed at me, and his gaze only confirmed it.
"Years before you were born, Itex worked on other human-avian hybrids. Our genetic coding was flawed - few made it past infancy, and those that did were deformed. We learned very little at the time, but through these experiments, we began to perfect your "powers" - Angel's mind reading, for example.
"We stopped the human-avian hybrid project, and began working on the Erasers. Once we completed them, we went back to you. At the time, most of the scientists wanted to see how many "powers" could successfully be given to an experiment. At the time, we believed it was three.
"So we started off with that. We gave you what we'd already done: superspeed, the ability to breathe underwater, and self healing."
I objected. "But I don't-"
"The self healing, for some reason, didn't work. It was the only one we actually expected to. We found out later what the problems were. That's how Dr. Gunther-Hagen developed the self healing abilities Dylan has.
"I still don't know why, but none of your abilities were present at birth. The same goes for everyone else's abilities.
"Also, your abilities began to mutate in a way we hadn't predicted. Fr example, Nudge's ability to attract metal, or your ability to heal others, Max."
I gave him a strange look. "What are you talking about? I can't heal other people."
Jeb chuckled. "How do you think I'm still alive?" He had a point.
"As far as Dylan Janssen goes, he was the old Director's son. He blamed you for her arrest, and he wanted to continue her work. So, he began by hiring Dr. Hans to create a clone of him. However, he wanted the clone to be matured 15 years. It was believed to be impossible, but Hans succeeded. He was ordered to hide the fact that the original was still alive.
"Dylan, or the new Director, created two fronts for his work - Itex, and the Doomsday Group. They were the same thing, but Itex posed as legal.
"He began using mind control to recruit others. He concentrated on the young, as they were easier to manipulate. However, there were a few adults that he manipulated, such as your mother, Max.
"As soon as I heard about the Doomsday Group, I feigned being brainwashed. I suspected it had something to do with Itex.
"I spent time gaining the Director's trust. I did so quickly, and, by the time he had captures you, I'd completely gained his trust. He believed I was brainwashed, and left me in charge of executing you. That's when I killed him."
"So the Voice is gone now, right?" I asked for confirmation.
Jeb struggled with the question. "Yes and no. You probably won't hear from it anymore, but it's not gone."
"But the Director was the Voice."
Jeb smiled. "He was the one that first proposed the Voice. He put a lot of work towards developing the technology, right next to me. For a time, I had sole control over the technology, but Director Marian Janssen and Roland ter Borcht had access to it, and later, Dr. Hans and the Director did too. When I told you I wasn't the Voice, I wasn't completely lying - I was only part of it."
Well then. That explained just about everything.
But I still had one more question. "What happened to my mom?"
Jeb's face fell. "I have no idea whatsoever. She wasn't supposed to be brainwashed. I don't even know if she's still alive." I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. I looked over at Ella, and she was fighting tears.
Jeb looked at her. "I'm sorry."
That night, I went for a long fly over the woods to clear my head. The past week or so had been crazy.
After about half an hour, I found a clearing that cut off into a cliff.
It was identical to the one in my nightmares from right before Angel was first brought back to the school.
I landed, and walked over to the edge of the cliff. I sat down, and began dangling my feet. The sun looked like it was just starting to rise - color was just peeking over the horizon.
I didn't even hear him come up from behind me. I only noticed him sit down next to me. Fang.
We sat there, looking straight ahead for what felt like eternity. At last, Mr. Silent put his arm around me and said, "We'll find her."
I smiled. "I know." I leaned over, resting my head on his shoulder.
The One Light was dead, but the Doomsday Group was not, by any means, defeated.
Most of the mutants had broken free of the DG mind control, but not everyone.
Still, I'd never been happier in my life.
And I planned on keeping it that way.
(A/N): Like it? I thought it was a good ending, but, I'm biased. I'm excited for the epilogue, cuz I have a great idea.
Oh, and as of right now, I have 43 reviews. I would LOVE to have after the epilogue (hint hint).
Later, guys!
-MaximumX and Fang