/screams because oh gosh jobs wtf/ Anyways, I went a little over my one-update-per-week a little /grimaces/ I swear one week never felt so short yet long in my life... Sorry!

So as per usual, I'm making up these updates practically on the spot, so forgive me if my grammar is a bit horrendous. I haven't been checking my grammar... Sighs, I really should get on that.

So like always, thank you guys so much for reading, and leave me a review or comment, and maybe even a few suggestions as to where you'd like the story to go? Thank you thank you!

Cheers~

Crack! I start to panic. I'm in a nightmare. No, not the one where I'm an experiment. That one's a different one called real life. In this one, my hands are bound behind my back and a belt is coming down on my bare torso. Cruel eyes stare down at me and a harsh laugh barks out. Cain. The belt cracks down again, and I scream in pain.

I wake to the bars of my cage shaking. I'm confused, and try to blink the dark spots out of my vision. Someone's shaking the bars of my cage. Through a confusing haze, I make out a dark shape. Is it Fang? Hope sparks deep inside me before it's squelched out. I can barely make out a white lab coat, and wonder whether it's Scientist #1 or Scientist #2. Either way, I brace myself to be dragged out of the cage and fastened onto the table, like usual.

Why is it so foggy? The usually pristine white room is covered in a grey haze that seems to stretch on endlessly. There's a pungent stench, and it shoots unpleasantly up my nose.

The bars of my cage rattle harder this time, and the hinges give way, letting the door pop off. I unconsciously back away into the back of my tiny cage. Whenever I left the cage, it always meant I would feel pain.

Two hands reach into the cage, and I bite at anything that comes close. These hands are different though. Where the scientists would have dragged me out instantaneously, whoever these hands belonged to, hesitates. Someone bends down, and I see Iggy's concerned face. His eyes almost immediately focuses on me, and he shoots me a grim smile.

My breath shoots from me in a whoosh. I fly out of the cage and into his arms, knocking him to the ground. I cling to him with a death grip and feel tears prick the back of my eyes.

Iggy. He's alive. That's all that registers in my mind, and I feel him chuckle softly, his body shaking slightly. His arms come around me, and he holds me for a few moments before pulling away.

"Hey Max," he speaks quietly, then coughs. "We need to get out of here before all three of us pass out from the smoke," he mutters. All three of us? I barely have enough time to process his words before he pulls me up and I stagger behind him, unsteady on my feet. I look around, and only then do I realize that the whole place is burning. There are bright flames crawling up the wall where my cage sat. They lick across the ceiling, and pieces of plaster started to fall.

We burst out of the room, and I see four figures engaged in a fight through the smoke and fog. One has dark wings flared out behind him. Fang. My heart stops. Even fighting three men at the same time, he was still so graceful and silent.

In a flash the three men opposing him were lying on the ground. Breathing hard, he turns to see us, and sends a small smile my way. It's him. It's really him. Iggy holds a piece of fabric over his mouth while he coughs to the side.

Fang rushes over to us, "Are you two okay?" he asks. I can't think of a way to reply. Iggy nods in my place, "The smoke isn't helping though," he says thickly through the fabric.

Fang nods his agreement and I blink. The smoke? It didn't bother me much, but I hurry through the halls with Iggy's hand on my arm and Fang leading the way, fists clenched.

"Which way, Iggy?" he asks, his voice barely making its way to us over the loud siren of the fire alarm. I frown. He's asking Iggy? I'm about to remind him that Iggy is blind when he speaks up, "Make a right at the next opening, and then take the second left. Then you should see the emergency exit signs." Fang nods and speeds up.

I look at Iggy in wonder. Did he walk down these halls often? But there's no way they would've led him to the emergency exit. He avoids my curious glances, and looks ahead of him.

Within seconds, we're out of the building, and I take huge lungfuls of clean air. I don't even know how long it's been since I've been outside. It's nighttime and the area is completely dark. It is only now that I register that both Iggy and I are bare-footed, the gravel digging slightly into the pads of my feet.

"Iggy?" Fang's quiet voice pierces into the night.

I watch as Iggy does a quick 360 turn, then point somewhere off to our left. Fang leads the way again through a maze of alleyways, occasionally asking Iggy for directions.

When we get back out to the main road, he takes my other hand and walks briskly through the night. We are almost stopped twice by gruff looking men, but one menacing look from Fang makes them step back.

We finally arrive at an old rundown building. Fang grabs a key from inside his pocket and unlocks the door. We all fall inside.

Contrary to how the building looks outside, the interior seems much cleaner, though mostly empty. There are two beds and a few sofas spread out, as well as one long table. It doesn't look like anyone's used it in a long time.

By this time, Fang and Iggy are supporting me. My legs have gone jello-like, and I can't stand by myself. They deposit me on one of the beds. I feel light-headed, and there are bright flashes in my vision.

Fang drops down next to the bed, his eyes swimming with concern. I reach out and he lets the tips of my fingers touch his cheekbone. Other than a slight twitch of his mouth, Fang remains immobile.

Iggy comes over and rubs my shoulder. His eyes crinkle a little, "You okay there?" His voice is strained and he's lost his trademark joking tone.

I imagine that I would've, too.

I try to nod, but my body only shudders. A muscle in Fang's jaw twitches, and a shadow passes over his face. Iggy brushes a few stray hairs out of my face before leaning back.

"You should get some sleep," he says before padding off to the sofa. Fang squeezes my hand gently before covering me with warm blankets. I curl up on my side, not quite wanting him to go, but unable to voice my thoughts.

So when he smiles tenderly at me and gets up to leave, I let him.

"Off the couch, Iggy. That's your bed over there," I hear him speak quietly, a small smile in his voice. I see Iggy blink in surprise, but he nods gratefully and mutters a quick thanks before moving to crawl into the bed on the other side of the room.

I don't see what Fang does next, because the next thing I know, pain lances through my skull. I curl up more, tucking my knees more firmly into my chest, my teeth gritted against each other. It feels as though my head is splitting apart.

A tiny whimper bubbles from my throat, and before I know it, Fang is by my side. I feel his warm hand against my frozen fingers, hesitant and slightly panicked. He says nothing though, merely staying there, letting me know that he's there for me.

After a few more seconds of agonizing pain, I let my fingers loosen from my tightly clenched fists before clutching at two of his fingers and holding them in a death-grip. The pain is spreading from my head to the rest of my body, making my muscles spasm and tremble.

Fang keeps stroking the back of my hand with his thumb, a silent and dark figure next to my bed. It's almost like I'm back in the mental hospital again. The thought almost makes me snicker. So much has changed since then.

His voice is barely audible, even in the quiet room. "It'll pass. Just try to relax. Tensing up makes it worse," his voice is calm, but I can feel the tension in his body.

I do as he says, even though every rational thought screams at me in protest.

After what feels like a lifetime later, the pain gradually fades, leaving my body to shake uncontrollably. My grip on Fang's fingers loosens, and my eyes drift closed in relief. I'm exhausted. I barely even feel Fang's warm hand leave my own, when I lose consciousness completely.

…

"It wasn't anything like yours." Iggy's voice finds its way to me, as though I'm hearing things through a muffler.

"Like mine. She doesn't have wings, or enhanced strength, speed, anything like that?" Fang's voice is quiet, like it always is, but there's an undercurrent of something else in it, something dark and ominous.

"It didn't say 'Angel Experiment' on her… cage," Iggy says. I can hear the grimace in his voice as he forces himself to say the word. Nevertheless, he continues speaking, "It said 'Project Delta Arietid."

There's silence for almost a minute. Then, "Delta Arietid…?" Fang's voice is unsure.

"You've never heard of it." It's a statement, and Iggy's voice falls.

"Give me a second and I'll search it up. I might be able to find something, some clues," Fang sounds determined.

Project Delta Arietid? The name sounded foreign. I had never heard of it before, and definitely never heard the scientists mention it.

It fades into the back of my mind as I lose consciousness again, and the welcoming blackness of my mind enveloped me again.