Author's Note: Okay everyone, for once this is an IMPORTANT note, so you MUST READ!! (oh noez, an important author's note! *gasps*)

Anyway, the reason why I say this is important is because I'm mainly warning you all. If you don't pay attention to this chapter, then nothing is going to make any type of sense to you in the coming chapters.

But then again, everybody ignores warnings, like don't overdose on Ibuprofen (small things like that XD).

(Ember walks in and pushes the author out of the way): Oh, and one more thing, this lunatic here takes absolutely no credit for Maximum Ride or the awesome characters in it. Well...just the ones that she made up in this fanfic. But other than that, she's lame and can never compete against James Patterson.

(author): Hey! I'm not a lunatic! Or lame! Why would you say that?

(Ember): Because you're turning me into a sap! Jeesh, making me cry and getting me captured. I have yet to see me kick some serious butt! You know what, I'm going to take my frustrations out on you! *shoots flames at the author*

(author):NOO!!! *runs away*

Chapter 30: Extra Jigsaw Pieces

Iggy's P.O.V.

I'm her twin.

Those three words, accompanied by Melody's musical tone of voice, fluttered into my ever sensitive ears and echoed through my brain. In those few seconds devoid of sound other than the wind rushing past us, I considered that as an answer…right before I snorted and began to laugh.

"Uh huh. That's exactly what you wanted to say. So what's the real news?" I asked, amusement spreading across my face.

"I'm telling the truth! There's a reason why we have the same birthday, you know," Melody asserted.

"The same birthday yes, but completely different years. Ember must be, what, 15 years old. You are only 8! How does that even qualify as a twin?" I asked.

"I know my own birthday, and we were born the same day," Melody retorted.

"That makes no sense…" stated Angel with confusion clearly in her child like voice.

"I know it's hard to believe-"

"That's not what I meant," interrupted Angel.

"Ember said that she escaped the School when she was 13 and that you were only 6," I commented.

"What?" asked Melody, taken off guard.

"She also dreams about that night a lot. Especially the part where she drops you and blacks out," Angel added.

"Now THAT makes no sense. She never dropped me…damn it. They must have messed with her memory," Melody mumbled.

My head was beginning to hurt just by hearing her say this. I knew the School was ruthless and would do anything to get results from their experiments – hell, they grafted freaking wings onto our backs. If they could do that then they could definitely change someone's memory.

But was this all actually true?

Could Melody be the one with the messed up memory? Or maybe she was another robot-thing like Max was…

"But everything Ember said was on the laptop that she had. And it was on the internet, too," I insisted, seeing if her memory story would falter. But she only scoffed at my attempt.

"You act as if the internet doesn't lie. And where exactly did she get the laptop?" Melody asked, already knowing the reply.

"The School…" mumbled Angel.

"Exactly," replied Melody, as if that small sentence was the answer to this whole mess. Well, it pretty much was.

My brow creased together as my mind sifted through all of this. What Melody said did make a little bit of sense. If she got the laptop from the School without losing any limbs, then it was obvious that they had messed with some kind of information.

"So we've been duped," I murmured to no one in particular.

"Yep," answered Melody in the same tone of voice. "Ember and I were both taken when we were 6. But we never saw each other until now; we were immediately separated. I was placed in some tube thing without any of my senses from what I found out later to be 5 years. 5 long years without a sense of smell, taste, touch, sight, or hearing. Do you know what that's like? Those first few days you begin to scream even though you can't hear until you finally realize that there is no use. You begin to lose your mind, slowly but surely. To question your existence," began Melody in a monotonous voice, as if she was remembering those unpleasant times. "I don't know when it happened, but sooner or later, I gained the ability that I have now; basically to sit in people's minds, see everything through their eyes, and see people's thoughts and dreams…kind of like what I do with Ember. The whitecoats didn't even know about it, even though they were observing me non-stop.

"It was then that I found out what they were doing with her. They were using her as a guinea pig; forcing her to use her powers in order to increase her destructiveness…at least that's what I found out. Apparently they didn't get the results that they were after because they were complaining, but right after that, even though the whitecoats disapproved of the action, someone purposely set her free. I never found the reason why. They let me out of the tube after that," Melody finished, and I could hear the displeasure in her voice.

After a long minute of silence had passed between the three of us, Angel spoke. "So…you're not a pretty princess?" she asked, sounding disappointed. She would have loved to have a royal friend, or at least something close to one of those 7 Disney princesses that were so famous. Melody chuckled at this question.

"Ha. No. Our parents were just normal people; maybe they had some high positions in whatever they did, but that's about it. That diary thing that Ember found has nothing but BS in it. And whoever put it there knew about Ember's messed up mind," she explained.

"Then we were probably being watched," I mumbled solemnly. But then again, when are we never being watched by something? I glumly began to think. Both Melody and Angel were silent. "We should probably say something to her," I began.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" they both shouted to me at the exact same time. They were probably discussing it between themselves via brainwaves, or whatever mind readers use. I found that quite annoying at times.

"Oh, so now I'm annoying? Thanks, Iggy," thought Angel.

"I'm sorry for what I think in my head, Angel," I sarcastically replied to her thoughts. "I don't see why we shouldn't. Isn't this important? We're being watched right now, and doesn't Ember have a right to know what really happened?" I retorted to their combined "no".

"We are leaving that place today, so it doesn't really matter. And what am I supposed to say to her? 'Hey Ember, we're back. Oh, and by the way, I'm really your twin and everything that you know is a lie'? Imagine what would happen if someone told you that. And besides, her mind is totally unstable. Her power to control the elements of fire and water are already dangerous, but this might just push her off the edge and she may just lose any control that she had over it. And I have a feeling that whoever did this to her wants exactly that to happen. Therefore, if you utter even a little bit of this conversation to her, I will have to kick you," Melody said, and I could feel her gaze on me.

This threat didn't even register in my mind as danger as I thought of what Ember could do. I recalled when Gazzy had retold what had happened at the little lake with the purple hand without sparing me the gruesome details and I shuddered. I didn't even want to imagine what Ember would be like if she was capable of doing THAT while still in her right mind.

"You don't have to tell me twice," I responded.

"Hey, do you guys hear that?" asked Angel. I immediately began to tune in to what she was listening to.

"Oh yeah, that sound. It's pretty close now. Aren't they birds?" I questioned.

"Not by a long shot," replied a voice that sounded perfectly human as the muffled screams of both Melody and Angel dove into my ears.

My heart sank to the darkest depths of my body.

.^"^.^"^.^"^.^"^.^"^.^"^.

Author's Note (2): Woah, two author's note in one chapter. That's a new record for me.

Anyway, for those of you who still didn't get the chapter, here's a short summary:

Everything that Ember knows is basically a lie.

Only 3 people in our little band of heroes knows the truth (Angel, Iggy, and Melody).

They do not want to tell Ember because they are afraid that she will freak out and go berserk.

And now Iggy, Angel, and Melody are being attacked in the air while on their way home from the store (seriously, how long should it take them to get there?! XD ).

Most people are probably thinking: "Well, where the f*** does that leave Jake?"

Chillax. I'm getting there.

So don't destroy me via reviews...which I'm still waiting to get more of. XD