So, another long wait for a chapter... sorry :/ NEW STORY ALERT! READ THE BOTTOM A/N FOR MORE INFO!

This one's shorter than the others, but I like it! Lots of POV switches. After this chapter, the story is gonna head back on track with the plot. Ya know, the saving Max's family and stuff.

Quick recap: Max is still slightly... out of it. ;) Fang has to watch/babysit her. Ig and Gaz are getting explosives. Angel and Total are buying food. Nudge and Wake are getting clothes. Each pair is as as dangerous as a giant flaming hamster.

Anyway, here you go, Chapter 15!


Iggy POV

Gazzy and I browsed through your average everyday Wal-Mart, looking for things to make explosives with.

"Guess what this is!" He exclaimed, shoving a cold cardboard box at me. I didn't even have to guess. I knew what it was.

"Icecream." I tossed the bucket into our shopping cart, and Gazzy whooped triumphantly. I grinned, and then said, "Grab seven more."

After a few minutes of choosing which flavor would go best with each member of our flock (of course, Max had Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough), we moved on. Gazzy hummed lightly to himself occasionally sneaking more food into our cart, hoping I wouldn't notice.

"I was thinking," He started, "that when all of this 'saving the world' stuff is over, you can actually watch a movie with me. Or see fireworks and real rainbows." He grabbed my sleeve. "Since you can kinda see now, ya know?"

I stared down at him blindly, and nodded my head. "Thanks." It was all I could manage to say since he caught me completely off guard.

His fingers were still latched on my jacket like a little kid, and he sighed unsatisfied. "What do you want to see most? Like, more than anything in the world?"

I knew instantly what I wanted to be able to see. I had known that I wanted to see her face from the moment I first talked to her. But that wasn't something I was going to tell Gazzy.

"Anything. I don't care if I sit down and watch Dora," I mused with a shrug. "As long as she's not taking an adventure to Antarctica. I've seen enough of that place."

"Really?" Gazzy whined. "What about monster trucks or something!? Or pro wrestling?"

I smiled at his attempt at coming up with stuff I'd want to see. "Sure, Gaz." I ruffled his hair. "That sounds great."

He finally let go of my sleeve, and then gasped excitedly. Sometimes I swore his attention span was shorter than a fly's. At least a fly kept 'food' constantly on its mind. "Be right back!" He called out, his voice fading as he ran to grab something. Fifteen seconds later, I could hear wheels screeching across the tile ground.

"Rolllllllllllly chairrrrrrrrrrrs!" His voice cackled happily. I was suddenly hit with something like a foam pool noodle. "Bow down to the Chair King!" He shouted.

I laughed at his rowdiness. "Gazzy, not in the middle of-"

"BOW!" He bellowed.

I grinned. "Yes, dear royal King of Chairs." I bent over, unsure how far a bow was supposed to go.

"On your knees, peasant!"

I played along and got onto my knees.

"Now lick the floor!"

I frowned. "No way." I stood back up, only to get whacked in the face by a BLUE pool noodle. Yup, it was definitely blue.

"That's it," I said reaching for him, "it is ON! Come here."

He squealed like the eight year old kid he was. Half a second later, I heard the pool noodle hit the floor as he dropped it and ran.

I quickly grabbed the pack of Pop Rocks from our cart and dumped them into a container with some other things (the ingredients are top secret for the safety of kid shoppers everywhere). I heard the telltale fizz sound and chucked it at the floor in Gazzy's direction. A loud boom went off in the isle as the small explosive went off. It was just a small one so no harm done, right?

Wrong. Because some lady ran off screaming when Gazzy built a slightly larger one and threw it back at me.

BOOM!

Gazzy had just over done it.

But... I just had to get him back for it. Then, one thing led to another. We were in total showdown mode, and the next thing we new, the fire alarm was going off. The sprinklers over head kicked on and began soaking everything in the store.

"Oops." Gazzy whispered next to me. "Time to go." He snatched my hand and the cart, dragging me to the exit. "Throw the wad of cash at ten o'clock." He directed. I threw it and hoped two hundred dollars was enough to pay for the items we had in our cart.


Fang POV

"Max!" I called after her. "STOP RUNNING THROUGH TREES!"

But the insane child just kept on running, letting the branches slip through her arms with her ghostly powers.

"Max!" I tried again. "Please come here."

She stepped halfway into an oak and stuck her head out the other side. "Look!" She giggled. "I'm a tree with a face." She stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes.

I sighed. The others better have been getting back soon.


Angel POV

I walked with Total through the food market. I was supposed to be the only one getting food for the Flock, but I was sure all the others will have been bringing some desserts back. It just seemed absolute.

"Mommy! Look at the puppy!" A kid squealed.

Mayday! MAYDAY! Total's thoughts practically screamed. Save me!

I bent over and scooped him up just before the kid touched him. "Sorry." I told the little boy. "He's very mean and grumpy."

"RAWRRR!" Total bellowed.

The kid's eyes widened, and he turned to run away.

"Total!" I said dumbfounded. "Lions roar, not dogs!"

Total sniffed, a little miffed. "Well, I think roaring did the job."

I shook my head and put him down, continuing to search the shelves for healthy food. I gazed at nutrition facts and wondered how I was the most mature person in the entire flock. All of the others were probably stuffing their faces with candy and cookies. What was Max teaching us?

Our cart was mostly full by the time we had wandered into the pet section. I plucked a can of dog food off the shelf and waved it knowingly in front of Total's nose.

"Uhg! What is that!?" He gagged, his eyes tearing up.

"Puppy chow." I winked and placed it back on the shelf.

Total sneezed. "I don't care what Akila says, our pups will be brought up like proper beings. They will never have to face something as insulting as that."

My eyes lit up. "The puppies!" I exclaimed. "What should I get Akila for her baby shower?"

Total shrugged. "Anything except those squeaky toys. God, those are annoying."

I nodded and let my eyes drift through the items. Frisbees. Tennis balls. Tug-of-war ropes. Eventually, the shiny glint of dog tags caught my eye. I picked up the collar it was attached to and smiled.

"Not on my children." Total growled, jumping up and snatching the collar from my grip.

"No, not for your children." I assured him. "But for someone entirely different."

Total razed one of his furry eyebrows skeptically. "That look on your face scares me."

I took the collar back. Screw being mature. Everybody needs to have fun sometimes.


Fang POV

I sat still, eating my granola bar and letting Max push the tip of my nose up while she made oink noises. I'd given up on trying to bring her sanity back. At least she wasn't being loud and giggly anymore. Now, she was just acting strange and saying weird things.

She stopped messing with my nose and squished my cheeks together.

"You look like a guppy." She commented casually. "A silent, Goth, kissable guppy." She pinched my lips. "Can I kiss you?"

I pulled her hands away from my face so I could finish the food I had in my mouth at the moment. "Not right now. Maybe when you're yourself again."

She paused her constant fiddling, and it looked like she was thinking really hard for a moment. "Fang," She started.

I looked at her and saw a little bit of her old self in her eyes. "Yeah?" I asked, hoping that maybe this madness would end.

"What do you think about me dying my hair red? I'd totally get it done right now."

I choked on my granola bar. "Well... uh... you see..."


Wake POV

Clothes.

C-L-O-T-H-E-S.

Clllloooooothesssss.

I knew Nudge liked them, but I didn't know that there were so many different variables that we'd have to spend two hours looking at them.

Glitter. Color. Length. Design. What matches who's eyes.

"This would totally be cute on Max!" She said amazed while holding up a dress. Her awestruck gaze faded, and she stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Too bad she'd never wear it." Just as she was getting ready to put it back, she smiled and held it up in front of me. "Wake..."

I looked at our linked hands and prayed silently. God, I love her, but I am not going to wear this.

"No." I said. "Not a chance."

She blinked Bambi eyes and I almost lost my tough-guy will power. Almost.

I shook my head, because I couldn't actually say the word 'no' to her when she was making that face at me. "Actually, I can hear a bakery across the street. I hear donuts calling our names. See? Can you hear it?" I cupped my hand around my mouth and changed my voice to be a little higher than usual. "Nudge! Wake! Come eat us!"

At the mention of sweets, she quickly put the dress up. "Okay."

"Thank you for letting me keep my man card." I gave her hand a squeeze. "You were seriously worrying me there for a second."

She nudged my shoulder. "Your just lucky Angel wasn't here." She teased. "Double the Bambi eyes and add in the mind control..."

I gulped loudly. "I'd have been a goner. Dear lord, thank you for sparing me today." I blinked up at the ceiling.

Nudge laughed and helped me push the shopping cart to the checkout line. Just as the last of the clothes were paid for, something caught my ear.

"Nudge?" I heard a foreign voice whisper her name as though they couldn't quite remember how to say it. I looked up, knowing I wouldn't see the person since the voice came from too far away. Somewhere near the back of the store. "Nudge, from Fang's family? Isn't it her voice?" It sounded as if the boy was asking himself these questions.

"Nudge, stay with me, okay?"

She laughed "Of course, sill-" She quickly stopped speaking when she caught my intensely concentrated gaze. "Wake? What's wrong?"

I grabbed her hand, following the direction the voice had come. Who knew Nudge? Was this an Eraser scouting out our area? "Someone who knows you is here. I've never heard their voice before."

"Aye, yo! So you got super sonic hearing, too?" The voice laughed harshly. "It's a curse, dude, isn't it? People are always screaming in your ears."

"Who are you?" I asked a bit surprised. I swerved around another clothing rack that I'd passed five times earlier today.

"The name's Ratchet. Tell your girlfriend that."

I looked to Nudge, and she sent me a worried glance. I stopped us abruptly before we reached the shoe isle. "He says his name is Ratchet. Does that sound familiar?"

Nudge's eyes widened. "He helped us save a bunch of people!"

A skinny boy wearing headphones, sunglasses, and a hoodie with the hood pulled up, stepped from out of an isle. "Yup. Holden went all psycho-ninja-Starfish style on those creeps. Only he would run into bullets on purpose."

I raised a confused eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

But both seemed to ignore my questioning. "I always wondered where you and the Gang disappeared to." Nudge said thoughtfully.

"Holden and I have been sticking together, but Star and Kate went their own way when they stabbed us in the back." He sounded mostly hostile, but there was a hint of hurt and betrayal in his words. He shrugged. "Oh well, I'm glad they're gone. Star was a pain anyway."

Nudge's heart beat sped up with excitement, but she seemed hesitant to tell us why.

"Spit it out." Ratchet said with slight annoyance.

"In an odd way," I began, "it's kind of nice knowing that someone understands what I go through."

He let out a half snort-laugh.

Nudge's big brown eyes lifted up to stare at me with hope. "We could bring them back with us. They could help us save our family from the School and RAWR!"

Ratchet pressed his hands over his headset. "Calm down a little. Lower your voice. You're killing my head."

Nudge nodded enthusiastically and whispered her question to him, her eyes doing most of the begging. "Would you mind coming to live and fight with the Flock?"


Nudge POV

Max was sooo going to kill me for doing his without her permission.


Next chapter moves on with the plot! Yay! And what do you think about a Fax moment coming up? Eh? Eh!?

You all have to decide if you want Fang's Gang to come back in. This is your decision. I personally liked them. They never did anything to the flock and I loved their bickering. Of course, Maya is dead (remember, Ari the XII killed her).

Speaking of Ari the XII, I have a question: How many times did Ari die in the books (counting all of his clones)? I wish the good Ari survived to the end of the series :(

And last of all, I have a new story up here! It's a Maximum Ride/Hunger Games crossover! It's called Twisted Games, Lies, and Love. Go check it out please! And leave a review there and tell me if I should continue it, because I'm not sure if I want to yet.