Fang didn't know how they were going to get to the cave. He was the only one who could actually fly. Sure, Brooklyn could swim, but it is not as if that would get her to the cave. And Fang didn't really know what Dolly could do; she could heal people, but that's not traveling. They stood on the beach, silent. Fang glanced at Brooklyn. Her eyes were shut and the gentle wind blew her hair. She was grinning, because this was probably very exciting to her. Suddenly, she ran to the water and went under. Just seconds later, her head popped up very far from shore. How could she swim so fast? It was impossibly fast.

Fang looked at Dolly, trying to find a reaction, but there wasn't one. Unexpectedly, her head popped up, and there was a soft click. Her hands flexed, and the fingernails blackened and grew, becoming claws. Her fingers curled into her hand, and they were paws. Her face was changing, too. Her jaw came forward, and her nose drew into her skull. It looked like the face of a big cat. Her eyes became bigger, and they rounded. Her spine bent, and her two hand-paws pressed to the ground. Dolly's clothing turned into spotted fur. Her arms and legs thickened with muscle. Her mouth opened in what looked like pain, and sharp fangs were visibly growing. A tail grew from her lower back, and her bones curved and changed. Dolly was also growing, so until she reached about four feet tall on all fours.

Fang must have looked stupid as he watched Dolly transform, because he when he turned to see Brooklyn, she was laughing and pointing at him. He frowned and looked back at Dolly. She was a cat, sort of. You could see she was some sort of leopard, but when you really looked at her, there was a human essence. She was Dolly. You could just tell, but you could not say why you knew it was her. Because you do not know why you know, you know. It was maybe her eyes. They showed…something human. Emotion? Soul? Depth? Fang could not say. But it was definitely in her eyes.

Max was sitting down on the floor of the cave. Nudge was crouched over her toes, lightly and delicately painting them dark blue. Max was grateful Nudge didn't pick some gross color, like yellow or pink. It was strange because Nudge had not spoken since she began. Her eyes were narrow, her lips pursed, deep in concentration. Why is this so important to her? It was just toenails. It didn't matter. No one was going to see them anyway; Max wore closed-toe shoes. Nudge lightly went over the dark polish with a clear color. Nudge said it would make the color stay longer. That is just what I need: nail polish to stay on my toes longer! Meh! Max thought sarcastically. She looked at the entrance of the cave. Fang left hours ago, and he still wasn't back yet. Max decided to go look for him after Nudge was done with her toes, which could be in an hour. "Hey, Nudge, I don't mean to rush you but can you finish up?" Max asked.

"Yeah, just a second," Nudge said. She put on the finishing touches, sat up, and admired her work. Max began to get up, but Nudge said, "No, let them dry!" Max sat back down with her toes outstretched, about to explode with frustration. After a couple of moments, she leaned forward and touched her nails. They were dry enough. She stood and put on her sneakers, stretched her wings, and leaped out of the cave. She free fell for a couple of seconds, and then caught on the wind. She soared upward, enjoying the gentle cool air on her face. She wanted to just appreciate it, but she had to find Fang. She flew slowly, scanning the air and the beach for him, but he was nowhere. But she did see a girl, right smack in the middle of the lake. Then Max noticed that this girl's skin was…blue. The girl surfaced, yelled something, and went back in the water.

Max turned and dove down through the air toward the girl, but collided with a large object in the air and they both plummeted to the water. It was Fang. Max swam to the surface, soaking. She turned and saw BlueGirl treading water next to her. Fang swam over to her, looking a little sheepish. And then, a large cat-thing was in the water, staring at Max.

"What is going on!" shouted Max.

"No need to yell. I'm Brooklyn, and I'm guessing you're a member of Fang's little posse," said BlueGirl, acting as if this wasn't at all strange. Fang's posse?

"Um, it's my posse. I'm the leader. What it that?" asked Max pointing to the large leopard. BlueGirl (or Brooklyn) looked a little hurt at Max's harsh tone.

But when Max pointed, the leopard was gone, weirdly replaced by a girl with scary gold eyes. She was looking at Max with a blank expression. "That can hear you. Lord, Fang, are they all this hostile?" Max's jaw dropped, for no one had ever tried to out-attitude Max.

Max shivered and realized that the water was ice cold. "Can we please get out of the water?"

"Sure. Grab on," said Brooklyn, lifting her leg out of the water, offering Max her ankle. What?

Max cautiously grabbed onto her ankle, as did Fang (!). Without notice and a sudden jerk, Brooklyn started swimming too fast. Max and Fang were being ripped through the water. Before Max could take it all in, they were at the shore, with Max and Fang lying on the sand out of breath.

Max opened her mouth, but she was too baffled to speak. Brooklyn stood, wringing out her hair. The other girl walked onto the beach, unfazed by what just happened. Max sat up and realized something. Two pretty, teenage girls stood on the beach. Brooklyn was tall and skinny, with blue skin, blue eyes, blonde hair, and a friendly smile. The other girl was also thin, but a little more muscular. Her skin was tan and her black hair was past her shoulder blades. Her eyes were large and gold. They were pretty, and Fang had been with them. Fang, who hasn't said a word to her yet, is in so much trouble.

Max looked over at Fang. He was staring at her. "You'll never guess what happened. I was flying, and this huge metal thing shot me outta the sky. I was about to drown, but Brooklyn saved me, and Dolly fixed me up. But someone sent a robot to kill me…or us. The point is we need to find it before it hurts the rest of the flock," said Fang quietly.

Dolly? That's her name? What kind of name is Dolly? Wait, what kind of name is Max? Whatever.

Max turned to Dolly and Brooklyn. "Um, thanks for helping Fang, guys. We'd better get going." Max got up.

"Fang said we could meet the flock," said Dolly.

Max shot a You-did-what look at Fang. "It's true," he said.

Max nodded. "Okay. Follow me and Fang." She spread her wings and jumped up, followed by Fang. When they were high enough from the ground, Max said to Fang, "Why did you invite them to meet our flock?"

"Look, they have a pretty crappy life, and they were so nice to me. Dolly asked if they could meet the flock and I said yes because I owe them for saving my life. Be nice to them," said Fang.

Max looked forward, a little ashamed of herself. It was true; they were nice and they did save Fang. But Max was still a little uncomfortable. Something about Dolly made Max feel…threatened.

So, my reader friends, this was a complicated chapter. Sorry if it's a little unclear. I will definitely be updating more often.