Story time!

[Roxie !]

xD Thanks! I tried my best. Jack and Irina are among the hardest characters to write and keep them true to themselves. And Marshall is just...the best. Really, he is.

[Roxie !]

Title: Broken Wings.
Author: Moi.
Rating: PG-13ish for violence and language.
Fandom: Maximum Ride / Alias
Pairings: Max x Fang, Sydney x Vaughn, Ella x Iggy, and possible Irina x Jack.
Chapter Summary: Angel has a plan. A plan that would make Cupid proud. And when she drags everyone else into it, Max and Fang are in for a big suprise!
Notes: HEEEE FAXNESS!! It makes me smile. xD Sorry, I got excited. But yeah. Very Fax-y chapter. But very twisted ending. Watch out. AND DON'T FLIP OUT YET. EVERYTHING IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS. wowzers, I gotta lay off the coffee.. Also, hee, can I share this little quote? It just makes me smile:

Dixon: We've already prepared the mission specs. Low-risk insertion, simple alias. Who knows? Could be fun.
Sydney: That's what you say every time you show up on my doorstep, and the next thing you know I'm jumping over canals in three-inch heels while a napalm explodes around me!
Dixon: Yes...that's how I define fun.

-Alias, 5 x 17: All the Time in the World, Final Scene

=)







I was flying. I felt as high as the stars; the world looked so small below. The world was dark, and yet the city lights remained bright below. I felt almost invisible as I drifted along, catching the cold night breeze. I was alone. I was safe. I could forget everything.

And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow move. I swerved instinctively, but as soon I recognized him, I stopped. Well, not stopped—in midair, you can’t really stop. But I sort of hovered there, just staring at him. Fang.

“You followed me.” I whispered.

The moonlight caught in his dark hair, his dark wings. He didn’t reply. Not so much as a nod. I narrowed my eyes. “Fang?”

And then, his eyes glazed over. His wings snapped to his body, and his arms went rigid. It was like I was watching a slow motion video…I just…looked at him as he fell. Plunging hundreds of feet towards the ground, and not doing a thing to stop himself.

I snapped out of my chance a moment too late. “FANG!” I shouted, diving after him. Air whipped against my face as I dove—but how could I catch him now? What could I do? Why wouldn’t he save himself?

Oh god, if I lost Fang, I—

I pulled out of my dive dangerously. I managed to land clumsily on the ground, regaining my balance and looking around. Fang was nowhere to be seen. I opened my mouth to call out, but stopped when I realized where I was. Well, actually, where I was exactly was a good question. But I was surrounded by a maze of…mirrors.

I glared at my reflection, as if I thought it could give me an answer. Where was Fang?

And then, as if in answer, I heard a flutter of wings. A glint of black feathers and a familiar silhouette confirmed my hope even as he rounded a corner and disappeared out of sight. He was alright! But something told me that I couldn’t call out to him. Wordlessly, I followed him. I don’t know how to explain it, but suddenly I was on edge. Something was wrong here.

I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I knew instinctively that I was close behind Fang. I rounded corner after corner, still surrounded by countless images of my reflection. Creepy? Just a little.

And then I came to a long corridor. No mirrors here—except one large one at the end. And standing in front of it was the shadow of…

“Fang!” I called again, even as I realized that the figure was suddenly not Fang anymore. They turned to me, and I realized with a jolt of confusion that I was face to face with my sister. Ella. Except, her wings were missing.

It felt strange and unreal, but I was suddenly so happy that I didn’t want to question it. Ella smiled at me knowingly. I beamed at her, bemused.

“Ella, what—?”

But suddenly her face was pale. Panicked. She turned away from me and pressed her hand against the mirror. What was wrong with her? Concerned, I took a step towards her, and then stopped. My eyes were fixed on her reflection.

It was growing wings.

“No!” I screamed, jolting up in bed. My heart felt like it was pounding out of my…wait. In bed?

I looked around the unfamiliar dim lit room with a sense of rising panic. Where was I?! Ella—

And then I remembered yesterday’s events. We’d been moved to a different safehouse…this one was more like a fortress, actually. It was only going to be for a few more days. Suddenly, I felt really, really stupid for getting so worked up over a nightmare. I mean, it was just a dream. Though it definitely hadn’t been the first of its kind.

I grumbled slightly as I pulled myself out of bed, remembering that this was probably one of my last nights spent in a warm bed, and to appreciate it while it good. But it seemed that I was the only one who’d formed this opinion. Everyone else had already gotten up. The room was empty.

“Guess I should go find ‘em.” I muttered aloud. You know, they say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity. But hey, I don’t think me finally going nuts would surprise anyone.

I made my way sleepily downstairs. All was strangely quiet and still, and no voices came from the kitchen. That definitely should have been the first thing that told me something was up, but I was half-asleep and just a little bit grumpy.

I walked into the kitchen to find that it was already full. Iggy, Nudge, Ella, and Angel were all seated around the table, and the first three had frozen completely the minute I entered the room. But there was a mischievous grin on planted on Angel’s face that was definitely making me nervous.

Behind the table, Gazzy had stopped in his tracks, his expression half-hidden by the stack of plates he was carrying. Sydney was standing at the counter just a few feet away from him, looking like she was fighting a smile.

I could already tell this was going to be a fun morning. “What?” I growled at them irritably.

There was a pause before Angel spoke up. “I got my powers back, Max. All of ‘em.”

I stared at her, suddenly feeling much lighter. “What? Sweetie, that’s great! When?”
I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Angel was finally going to be alright. It was over.

“Well, actually yesterday.” Angel informed me brightly. “ ‘Cause I found out I could read people’s minds. A little bit, at least.” But her smile was a little too devilish not to make my heart sink just a little.

“That’s…that’s great!” I managed, a bit warily.

Angel giggled, and Gazzy all but slammed the plates onto the table in his impatience. “Hurry up and tell her! Fang’s gonna come back any second!”

I stared at him pointedly. “Tell me what? Where’s Fang?”

“Oh, I told him I hacked his blog and put up pictures of him in the shower.” Nudge told me casually. “Just to distract him for a minute. He’s probably gonna get really suspicious when he realizes I was lying, though, so watch out!”

Okay, this was seriously getting creepy. I put my hands on my hips. “Why would you need to distract him?” I demanded.

No one seemed willing to answer. I looked around, exasperated. And then, suddenly, Ella blurted out: “Why didn’t you tell me he asked you out?!”

Whoa. Hold on just a minute! I glared at her incredulously, my mouth hanging open. “How did you…what…” I spluttered, at a loss for words. There was no way Ella could have known about that, unless she’d been spying or something. Unless…of course. Angel. Hadn’t she just told me that she was able to read minds again? And I had to admit that, even with everything else happening, Fang’s invitation had been lingering in the back of my head. Maybe I’d been holding on to it harder than I thought.

I slowly turned to the six-year-old, wearing my best accusatory scowl. She just shrugged. “I wasn’t actually trying to do it, Max. It just…came to me.” She explained innocently.

“So what? You told everyone?” I still couldn’t really think straight, but I was beginning to get angry. Apparently, Angel sensed this, because for the first time she was looking slightly guilty.

“I didn’t tell them to be mean, Max. I told them so we could help you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Help me do what?”

“Help you get your date!”

At this point, I was definitely ready to run back up the stairs and hide in bed. But before I could do anything, a voice spoke behind me.

“Yeah. I think you guys should explain this.” Fang was stepping into sight, seemingly out of nowhere. He’d been nearly invisible among the shadows of the hall. His expression was unreadable as he stared around the room, but if I’d been embarrassed before, it was nothing compared to now.

“Alright, hold on a second you guys.” Iggy said at once. “I know this sounds stupid, but I think you should hear Angel out before you punch anyone. She actually came up with a decent plan.”

I exchanged another glance with Fang. Neither of us seemed willing to say anything, and I guess Angel took this as her cue to go on.

“Okay, listen! You don’t have to worry about leaving us, because I’m all better! And besides, Iggy and Ella can help watch me and Gazzy—and Sydney will be here! Plus all the guards—“

“And I’m going to get to go see some computers at CIA headquarters! That Marshall guy says he could show me some cool hacking tricks!” Nudge piped up proudly.

I hesitated. They really seemed invested in this. Which was great and all, but still a little bit weird. “That’s great, you guys. But even if we were okay leaving you, where would be go?”

“If we’re staying in a high-security safehouse, I don’t think we can exactly walk in to any random restaurant without about fifty body guards tailing us.” Fang agreed quietly. “Look guys, when I asked Max out—I was talking about after all of this is over. When it’s safe again.”

Iggy grinned. “Hey, we’re mutant bird kids. When is it ever safe?”

“And Sydney has a place where you can go!” Angel added, turning to look at her. “Right, Sydney?”

She nodded in response. “Actually, yeah. The CIA owns a restaurant right near the base—actually, it’s kind of a cover up for an underground lab, but it’s high security and…well, it’s safe.”

Fang’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding me."

“You guys deserve this.” Angel almost whispered, looking between me and Fang. “It’s time for you to be happy again.”

Okay, I admit they were being really sweet, but there was still something holding me back. It was like I couldn’t let myself relax. I took a breath. “Well, there’ll be time to be happy after we catch Anna. We can’t just…leave while there’s still work to be done. And…” I trailed off, looking at Ella. We still hadn’t come up with a solution, or a cure for her. I mean, we had one, but I really wasn’t feeling the risks that went along with it. I didn’t want to leave my sister now.

Sydney noticed this, and spoke again. “Hey. You can trust me to take care of things here, okay? And it’ll only be for a few hours—that won’t make finding Anna any harder.”

“Please, guys?” Angel begged. “I came up with this big plan! You can’t waste it!”

I had to laugh at that, but out of the corner of my eye I was looking at Fang. He was almost…smiling. It made me feel lighter, somehow. And then, he turned to be completely.

“Six thirty sound good?”


---


Okay, someone remind me to never, ever agree to anything like this again. A date is definitely not worth this kind of stress. It took me about a hundred years to get ready—I had nothing to wear. Seriously. I don’t exactly lug nice clothes around with me. They’d get ruined in five seconds flat—but that’s not the point. It felt kind of silly to get dressed up anyway, because the restaurant wasn’t that fancy and even if it had been, it was just a cover-up for some top secret operation.

But then I realized how messy my hair was and I was wondering how much make-up I should use and…ugh. It was like something had transformed me into a mindless Barbie doll.

This was a very, very, very bad idea. And by the time I made it down stairs right around six-thirty, I had convinced myself of this fact. Actually, I was pretty much ready to say cancel—I could fake sick, or say I was worried about Angel, or make some other lame excuse that Fang would see right through, but would at least allow me a way out.

But then…I saw him standing there, waiting for me. And I really, really don’t want to be cheesy here, but it was like my mind went completely blank because he was smiling. When he smiles, I feel ready to follow him to the end of the earth—let alone some restaurant.

And so yeah, we went. We were driven to the place by a couple of guards, because flying was deemed too dangerous by them. At first, in the car and everything, it was awkward. Like, really awkward. We kept struggling for conversation, but suddenly it was so much harder to talk to Fang—it was almost like he was a stranger.

I kept telling myself that I was being stupid. I mean, this was Fang! I’ve known him forever, but suddenly he’d reduced me to an airhead.

Thank God, once we got to the restaurant, things changed. I think it must have been the pressure of the burly guards lurking in the front seat of the car. Sure, they followed us inside, but managed to keep their distance. And once we sat down at the table, it was like a wall had been removed from between us. We ordered sodas from the waiter, and then suddenly we were talking about everything—first Angel and Anna and everything that had been happening, but then the conversation slowly drifted into…well, normal date stuff. Or at least as normal as anything we could come up with. All I know is that we were suddenly laughing and reminiscing, and everything felt…right.

“I can’t believe Angel thought of this.” I said at last, shaking my head and grinning.

Fang smiled back at me—well, half-smirked, really. “Yeah, she’s crazy. I think you’ve been rubbing off on her.” He replied teasingly.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Fang. Whatever.” I pretended to be exasperated, but when our eyes met again I knew we were thinking the same thing: We were glad Angel thought of this.

The thought spurred me to say something I probably wouldn’t have said otherwise. “Fang?”

“Yeah?”

“I…I’m glad this whole thing with Anna is almost over. Once things go back to normal…” I paused, praying that I wasn’t going to eternally regret the next thing that came out of my mouth. “Maybe we could do this again?”

Fang looked at me thoughtfully. The corners of his lips were quirked upward slightly, but he wasn’t exactly smirking anymore. I held my breath. Then, “Yeah. That’d be great.”—You know, considering Erasers or robots or whatever other kind of bad guys we faced on a daily basis didn’t get in the way. But I didn’t say that last part out loud, because suddenly Fang seemed really, really close, even though there was the table between us. I realized that I was unconsciously leaning towards him, and for a minute I was kind of embarrassed, until I realized that he was doing it too.

Part of me wanted to say something, to pull back before it was too late. I could feel my heart pounding; I was going to mess this up again, I knew it…

But I didn’t talk, or pull away. I just closed my eyes, and in the next moment our lips met. The kiss was tentative at first; like we were both unsure of what the other’s reaction was going to be. But then, slowly, Fang’s lips moved against mine, and then we were kissing with what felt like all the passion in the world. I leaned into him further, tilting my head. I could feel his hand brush against my cheek. This was…this was like a different kind of flying.

This was perfect.

And then…

Brring! Brring!

Of course. Of. Freaking. Course. Story of my life. I let out a sigh and pulled away from Fang, aware that I was probably blushing. Right now I was seriously hating the cell phone in my pocket that had been specially encrypted by the CIA, even though it was only supposed to be used in case of emergencies. I looked away from Fang’s intense gaze. “I’d better…”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the phone, flipping it open and answering briskly. “Hello?”

“Max! I’m sorry to call you like this, but—“

“Wait. Sydney?” I tensed, confused. What was wrong?

“Look, Max, it’s Ella. She’s collapsed…we can’t wake her up.”

I shot out of my chair, acutely aware of Fang staring at me warily. “What?! What happened? What’s wrong with her?”

I heard Sydney take a shaking breath. “They think it’s a delayed reaction—her body could be rejecting the new DNA. If that’s the case, she could die. I would have called you sooner, but everyone was panicking; I had to keep things calm. Max…my m—Irina. She’s here. The injection’s ready, and we need to do the surgery now.” She was talking so fast that I could barely understand her, especially with my head spinning the way it was.

“Max?” Sydney prompted again. I realized I’d just been standing there, and snapped out of it.

“Hold on. We’re coming right now—just…hold on, okay?” I breathed, hanging up and turning my gaze to Fang. I knew my voice was shaking, but right then I really didn’t give a damn. “Fang? I’m really sorry, but we have to go.”


---


I filled him in on everything Sydney had told me in the car. Yeah, in the car. We would have gotten there about ten times faster if we could have flown, but our escort guards were completely against it. We really didn’t have time to argue with them, and they had a point when they told us that flying could lead enemies to the safehouse—something we really didn’t want to do when Ella was in surgery.

But I swear, the drive was taking forever. Even as we swerved past cars, breaking about twenty different traffic laws, I counted the minutes ticking by. I had to be there for my sister. Especially since at any given moment, she could be dead.

“Can’t we go any faster?” I hissed at the guard driving as we sped along the abandoned road leading to the safehouse.

“This is the fastest route. We’re almost there.” Was his grunted response. I was just about ready to snap on him for his apparent lack of concern, but then I felt a hand on my arm. Fang was there. We were going to do this together.

We pulled into the driveway a few moments later. My muscles were locked, and my eyes were fixed on the windows of the safehouse. Everything was so still, so quite…something was definitely wrong.

Ella.

As we pulled in, I was vaguely aware of the driver speaking into his earpiece. “This is Agent Hawthorne, we’re pulling in now. What’s your status?”

I didn’t wait to hear the answer. I flung open the car door and sprinted towards the house, almost blinded by mix of adrenaline and rush of worry that were fighting for control.

And then I heard Fang’s voice behind me. “Max, wait. Look.”

I turned around and saw another black van. It was CIA—probably the vehicle that had transported the doctors and Irina. But it was smoking slightly.

With a rising feeling of dread, I practically leaped up the few stairs leading to the door and thrust it open. The fact that we hadn’t run into any security protocols what-so-ever should have been a big fat warning flag, but I was too distracted to pay any attention. Because the minute I opened the door, I was greeted by a sight that made my blood turn to ice.

Everything was ruined. Through the dim lighting, I could see chairs and tables flipped over, windows broken, bullet holes dappling the walls. The smell of something burning made the air sour and rancid. And the place was completely empty.

Except…except one small slump in the middle of the room. I ran over to it, terrified of what I was going to find.

Gazzy.

He was just laying there, his wings bent at odd angles, his skin charred, bleeding from the head. His eyes were closed. I bent down and shook him. “Gazzy? GAZZY! Oh god, no, no…you have to get up, Gasman! Don’t do this!”

At that moment, I was ready to give anything in the world to make sure the kid would be okay. I didn’t even here Fang come up behind me, but when I brushed beside me gently I knew he was there. My eyes were glued to Gazzy’s face, but Fang bent down next to me and pressed two fingers to the kid’s neck.

“He has a pulse. He’s alive.” He said hoarsely.

I closed my eyes and shuddered with relief. Then, slowly, I looked up and Fang. He stared back of me, but neither of us could find anything to say. There were just…no words.

And then, something moved from behind the ruined couch. In a flash, Fang was up, in full-on attack mode, but I…I couldn’t leave Gazzy. A tornado could have swept through the place, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to move. I felt like I’d been turned to stone.

But then the figure moved into the light, and I recognized him instantly. “Iggy!”

He froze, and turned slowly to stare at me with his sightless eyes. “Max?” And it was then I realized that he was bleeding from the shoulder. Bleeding, and limping slightly. He was hurt.

Fang took a step forward. “Iggy, what happened?”

Iggy shook his head, shock radiating from his body. “I…I couldn’t…all I know is we were getting Ella ready for surgery, and then suddenly I heard gunshots. And the next thing I knew, we were getting swarmed. It was like the safehouse defenses didn’t even…matter. It was chaos. I think the doctors are dead…but I can’t say for anyone else. I…” He looked ashamed, pained even. “I tried to fight them. I really did. But one of them shot me…the bullet grazed my shoulder, and that was all they needed. I heard Angel screaming…and then Ella…Max. They—they took them both.”

The wave of shock and defeat that rolled over me felt like it was enough to crush me. How could I have let this happened?! I knew I should have never left them…I knew it. I felt sick. I…I don’t even think it’s possible to explain what I felt right then, at that moment.

“Iggy.” I said, my voice coming out croaky and rough. “Iggy, we need to get help…we need to find out where…how…”

Iggy’s expression darkened suddenly. “I know how, Max. They got Angel first. Then they came after Ella...when they were trying to take her, I had two guys on me. While I was dealing with them, Sydney was trying to shoot down her captors. She was yelling at me to get out of here…and then I heard her. Irina. She knocked Sydney out, and they took her too…maybe even killed her. I don’t know. But Max, it was Irina. She did this. She gave us away.”

[{ tessa }]

Omg awww!!! Fang and Max were adorable in this chapter. Im glad you gave them their date in the end.....even if it was short-lived. lol. it's so funny that Angel planned the whole thing out. & Max freaking out before hand was too perfect!!

OMFG. That ending!! you and your cliffhangers, Rox! You cant just leave us there! all I can say is youd BETTER not kill anyone. lol but omg Irina! whyyyyy??!

[le Dawnz]

Omg! (Wtf bbq?) Max and Fang. ^^ Posted pictures of him in the shower?! xD Nudge. Ella!!!!! Iggy! Gazzy!!! Nudge? Angel! Total?? Irina why!??!? This always happens to them. They go out to be alone, and something tragic happens while they are gone. -sighs- Poor Fax.

[Roxie !]

Hehe Tessa, actually I've been debating on whether or not to kill one of the characters, but I'm not sure yet. But I don't think I'd have the heart to, so don't worry.

Omg Dawnie, I KNOW. You'd think they would have learned by now. xDDD And oh, Nudge is at HQ.

“And I’m going to get to go see some computers at CIA headquarters! That Marshall guy says he could show me some cool hacking tricks!” Nudge piped up proudly.

But she'll be around. xD But yeah, I kind of DID leave out Total, didn't I? Poor guy gets that a lot.

And I won't say anything about Irina. Yet.

[Roxie !]

Title: Broken Wings.
Author: Moi.
Rating: PG-13ish for violence and language.
Fandom: Maximum Ride / Alias
Pairings: Max x Fang, Sydney x Vaughn, Ella x Iggy, and possible Irina x Jack.
Chapter Summary: Syd's world is turned upside down when she is captured by Anna's forces, and the twisted truth is finally revealed.
Notes: Quick warning to you guys: this chapter is a little...darker than I originally planned. It does contain mention of torture--but nothing graphic.




“shit. She’s not moving.”

“Would you shut the hell up? You say that every five minutes.”

Vaguely, as if from far away, I could hear voices. I think I’d been hearing these dull mutterings for awhile, but right now I was only just becoming conscious enough to register that these people were talking about me.

“I think she hit her head too hard when we were trying to get her out of the truck. What if she’s dead?”

“Relax. Look, she’s breathing.”

The voices were deep; both men. One sounded skittish and distinctly American, while the second, lower voice carried an unmistakably Russian accent. They were close. Close enough that I could jump up and hit…

Oh. Oh no. My hands were tied. I couldn’t really move except to lean forward a little, but I felt thick rope scratching against my wrists. Okay, don’t panic. Think about this. You need to find out where you are. There’s always a part of me in these situations that manages to stay calm, thank goodness.

I strained to listen to what was being said by my captors. They had to eventually say something that would give me some kind of information…

“And anyway,” The Russian voice was saying. “I do not see why Ms. Espinosa needs her alive. We have the two children.”

“Are you crazy?” The American replied. “She’s part of the prophecy, isn’t she? Page forty-seven. The woman here depict--”

“Alright, enough! That Rambaldi stuff makes me nervous enough as it is.”

I was beginning to think that these two were just your run-of-the-mill stupid, brainwashed goons. But they’d told me one thing: Anna was behind all of this. Of course. But then…what had happened?

I remembered Ella going pale; collapsing. I remembered the chaos that had ensued. The Flock had completely panicked without the guidance of Max or Fang—only Iggy had been relatively cool-headed, and I’d been able to convince him to help me move her to the operating room. I’d called the L.A. base for help…and then…what? Everything else was a blur.

But before I had the chance to recall, a third voice spoke—this one female, and distinctly familiar. If I could just clear my head, if I could just think straight for even a moment, maybe I could make sense of all this…

She gave the other two a sharp command in Russian, and then I heard their lumbering footsteps retreating. I wanted to see where they were going; what was happening, but I didn’t want to open my eyes. I didn’t want to face what was happening.

But then the woman spoke again, to me this time, and all of that changed.

“Sydney.”

I remembered now. Slowly, I opened my eyes and glared into the guarded gaze of my mother.

---

EIGHT HOURS EARLIER

---

Medically trained agents rushed past me, carrying the unconscious thirteen-year-old girl into the room where they would operate. I clicked off my cell phone—Max had hung up seconds earlier—and followed them in anxiously.

“And there’s no way this can wait? No way she can hold out?” I wanted to make sure. I knew Max would want to be here for this; be here to comfort her sister. But one of the agents was already shaking her head.

“We’ve already injected her with the reverse serum. The longer we wait, the less chance she has of surviving.”

I sucked in a breath. “…Alright.” I watched as the rest of them filed into the room after her. The last was Irina, escorted by two guards. I stopped her. “Mom—“

“I know what I’m doing, Sydney.” She smiled at me reassuringly, still so calm. “You can trust me.”

There wasn’t time to question that. I nodded, and then stepped forward as Iggy, Angel Gazzy appeared behind the guards. “Hey,” I paused, trying to sound as cheery as possible. “Maybe you guys should stay out here…it…it won’t take too long.” I knew I sounded completely fake, but I didn’t want either of them to have to experience what it was going to be like in there. And if there was a chance that Ella didn’t make it…

But Iggy was already shaking his head firmly, his mouth open and ready to argue.

He never got the chance. Because right then, there was a sudden ear-splitting crash. The sound of a door caving in. I didn’t even have half a second to react before all hell broke loose.

“GET DOWN!” I heard someone shout, before another agent threw me to the ground. The next thing I knew, gunshots were being fired—so many that I could barely hear myself think.

But this…this was impossible. We had taken every security measure possible; we had made sure this place was safe. How...?

And then, over the screams and rain of bullets, I heard a faint mechanical voice echoing overhead:

Warning: security system breached. All defensive measures compromised.

They had attacked when we were most vulnerable. Somehow, they’d known. And I swore to myself that if I got out of this alive, I was going to find out who had done this to us.

I couldn’t see any of the kids, but I could hear Gazzy’s enraged shouts somewhere nearby. None of them can get hurt. That needs to be my first priority. I looked up, trying to figure out what was happening around me. The woman I’d spoke to earlier had fallen—by the looks of things, she’d broken her leg. I crawled over to her. “Stay still. I—“

Behind me, I heard a familiar, high-pitched screaming. Gazzy had been knocked to the ground, and a number of goons were struggling to subdue Angel.

It all happened in a matter of seconds: one of them lunged at her, but then stopped in his tracks, as if he’d suddenly forgotten what he was doing. Two more barred the six-year-old’s path, but judging from the fiery look in the six-year-old’s eyes, I was willing to bet she was more than capable of handling them.

But then, out of nowhere, a man dove at her from behind. The force of his weight threw her violently against the wall—I heard a loud crack, and then Angel slumped to the ground.

A wave of horror and disgust almost rendered me immobile. What could possibly possess anyone to treat a six-year-old that way? I whipped around frantically to face the woman with the broken leg. “Give me your gun.”

“What?”

“Your gun! Give it to me now!”

She fumbled the weapon from her belt and clumsily handed it over. But by the time I was on my feet, the man was already half-way across the room, Angel thrown over his shoulder. I darted forward, aiming carefully at them, but then hesitated. What if I hit Angel?

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of movement, and then my mother was beside me. “Sydney, get out of here now! I’ll take care of it!” She hissed at me.

Just as I was wondering how, exactly, she was going to do that, I saw that she was armed with her own gun—she’d probably taken it from a fallen agent or goon. Somehow, I felt that this could not be good, but before I could argue she was already half-way towards the man and Angel. I considered going after them, before I heard another shout behind me.

“ELLA! NO!”

Iggy. He was being restrained by several goons while a few others were roughly lifting Ella from the operating table in the room.

shit. shit, shit, shit. I hesitated, looking from the door and back to Ella. The man carrying Angel was no longer in sight, but neither was Irina. I took a breath and turned around, heading straight for the unconscious girl.

“Iggy, run! I’ll get Ella—“

And then I felt the hard slam of metal against my head. Stars burst through my vision; my mind was screaming at me to stay conscious—or maybe I was getting it confused with the screams and shouts that still surrounded me. But then I had dropped my weapon, and I was falling, and all I could see was a blurred figure standing over me. Yet somehow, I knew exactly who it was.

“Mom.”

And then everything went black.


---

“It was you.” I snarled through gritted teeth. “All along, it’s been you betraying us. That’s the only reason you wanted to help Ella. That’s the only reason you let the CIA catch you in the first place—”

“Shh.” Irina whispered, casting a wary glance over her shoulder. Then, she took a step closer to me. “Sydney, I need you to listen—“

“No, you listen!” I cut her off violently, struggling in my chair. “Dad was right about you. He’s always seen right through you, and he tried to tell me, but I wouldn’t listen to him.”

“Sydney—“

“I fell for your lies. After everything you’ve done, I still believed that there was some part of you that was trying to do the right thing.” I drew a shaky breath and glared at her with all of the hatred I could muster. “I won’t make that mistake again.”

Irina looked somewhat like she’d just been slapped in the face—or maybe that was part of her act too. Either way, I tried in vain to block out her words when she next spoke to me. “The reason I brought you here,” she sighed heavily. “Is so that you can stop Anna Espinosa—look around you. This is her base of operations. This is where you’ll find everything you need to bring her down.”

I narrowed my eyes. “And I’m supposed to do that tied to a chair? If you really wanted to help me, you could have told me what you were planning—“

“I couldn’t do that!” Irina cut me off yet again. “I had to gain her trust, just like I had to gain yours. Yes, I’ve been in contact with Espinosa, but before today I had no idea where her headquarters was…or who her mole was.”

I paused suddenly. “Her mole?”

“The one who’s been leaking information about the whereabouts of the winged children this whole time.”

“It…it wasn’t you?” This had to be a trick. She had admitted she’d played a part in the attack, but now she was denying having leaked the information that led to it?

Irina shook her head almost sadly. “I wish I had more time to explain things to you…but I don’t. There will be time for that after this is over. Right now, I need you to trust that I know what I’m doing—and Sydney?” She paused. “You should know…Anna’s mole, the whole time—“

“Ah. Irina Derevko.”

I froze, and my mother quickly backed away from me. Anna was standing in the doorway of the room, smirking smugly. “So wonderful to see you again, after our weeks of …collaboration.”

Irina cast her a calculating gaze, and then, finally, an icy smile. I glared between them suspiciously, until both of their gazes fell on me.

“No success?” Anna eventually asked, her tone almost mocking.

There was a second of silence. Irina was still completely blank, shaking her head in response to the question. Anna turned away from me, sizing my mother up.

“There were rumors that your time spent in CIA custody several months ago softened you, Ms. Derevko. I’m surprised to learn that they are accurate. But that doesn’t matter. Leave us, please.”

I held my breath. As Anna had drawled on, Irina hadn’t so much as blinked, but now there was an unmistakable flash of anger in her eyes. She whipped around. “Don’t forget, Ms. Espinosa: I don’t work for you.”

Anna dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement. “Of course not.” She paused, a familiar smirk creeping over her features. “And yet, I owe you my thanks all the same. It’s because of you that the raid on the safehouse was so successful.”

I stared determinedly at the floor. I didn’t want to hear any more of this. This was typical: Anna was clearly trying to provoke Irina, while taunting me at the same time. I didn’t intend to satisfy her with a response…and luckily, I didn’t need to. After another moment of thick tension, Irina turned and quietly exited the room.

And just like that, I was alone with one of my worst enemies. Face to face with the person that the CIA had relentlessly hunted for the past few weeks. The only problem? I was tied to a chair and more or less unable to move. So, I did the only thing I could do in my situation: mustered my best death glare, and scowled coldly.

Anna arched an eyebrow and smiled condescendingly, as if she’d just invited me to a tea party. “Sydney. It’s been too long since we’ve had a chance to catch up, hasn’t it?” She pulled another chair from its spot against the wall, and sat down across from me. “You know, all of this about genetic research makes me miss the good old days.”

“You mean like when you blind-sided me in a tunnel, stole government property, and shot my partner in the chest? Yeah. Good times.” I retorted scathingly.

To my annoyance, she pretended to look exasperated. “Always one to hold grudges. Lucky for you, I’ve learned to forget and forgive. As long as you cooperate, you have nothing to worry about.” The Russian chided.

I rolled my eyes. Did she think I was that gullible? Rather than play her silly games, I cut straight to the chase. “What did you do to Angel and Ella?”

“That doesn’t concern you.”

“No, actually, it does.” I struggled a little against the ropes, which still wouldn’t give. I had to find a way to reach something sharp…if I could just keep Anna talking for awhile. “I don’t understand you, Anna. You told those kids that Angel was never meant to be part of Rambaldi’s prophecy, but given the chance to take any of them, she’s the one you go after. Why?”

For a moment, Anna looked as if she didn’t plan on answering me, but eventually her pride seemed to get the better of her. “You never could see the bigger picture.” She mused quietly. “It’s true, that child is not part of the original prophecy regarding the winged children. No—Angel is part of something much, much bigger.”

I hesitated. I wasn’t sure that I actually wanted to hear what insane theory Anna had come up with. But regardless, she continued:

“The serum I injected her with was not meant to erase all traces of her abilities, despite what you seemed to think—which is why you were able to reverse the effects. It was merely meant to subdue her abilities into a state which could be harnessed.”

“Harnessed?” I repeated blankly.

“Yes. A power source like hers is one of the few things strong enough to power one of Rambaldi’s greatest inventions: Le Ali. The Wings.” There was a light in Anna’s eyes that I didn’t like—it was dangerous. “This invention, when properly assembled and powered, would mutate the DNA of the human-bird genetic experiments to an even further extent. It would complete what Rambaldi’s research was originally supposed to achieve for these beings: unimaginable strength. Impossible endurance. And eternal life.”

There was a long pause as I stared at her, bewildered. At first, I had absolutely no idea how to respond to this. Then, slowly, I dropped my head and let out a long laugh. Maybe I was finally losing it; I can’t say. “You’re crazy.”

Anna rose to her feet, and slowly walked over to a machine a few feet away from me—one that until now, I hadn’t even noticed. “I hope,” She said slowly, “You won’t feel that way once we are finished here.” And the next thing I knew, she attaching what felt like wires to the sides of my forehead, but I knew, from experience, what they were. Electrodes.

I took a shaky breath. “What do you want from me, Anna?”

She glanced at me. “I understand your disbelief, Sydney. This particular prophecy of Rambaldi’s is somewhat obscure. You wouldn’t know that the construction of Le Ali requires the hand of the Chosen One. But…I suppose you do now.”

“Chosen— You actually believe that I’m the one that Page Forty-Seven refers to? That Rambaldi made a prophecy about me on a wrinkled little sheet of paper hundreds of years old?” I spat incredulously.

Delicately, Anna turned the knob on the machine until it hummed lowly with surpressed voltage. “To put it simply…yes, I do.”

“You’re insane, Anna. You’re fuc—“

But before I could finish, a tingling sensation shot through my body that immediately escalated to searing pain. I felt my body convulse uncontrollably, and—I couldn’t help it—I let out a screech of pain. And then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over. I struggled to sit upright, panting slightly.

“Now, that was on one of the lower settings.” Anna announced lazily. “I hope you won’t make this too hard on yourself. All you need to do is cooperate in building the device.”

I was still trying to feel something—anything—other than the slowly dulling stinging, but I was well-aware of Anna’s gaze trained on me. There had to be something I could do…but everything I’d had, any weapons or devices I’d had on before the raid, had been confiscated. No one knew I was here. I had no means of contacting the CIA. It didn’t look like I was getting out of this one.

But hell if I going to let Anna win.

I glared up at her, smiling in a way that was more of a grimace. “Come on. You can do better than that.”

Her expression darkened, and in the next second I felt the spasms of pain associated with electric shock again—this time stronger, almost blinding. I felt it come on wave after wave, and I tried—I tried to block it out. I’d been through worse than this before. But it just wasn’t stopping.

Then, finally, when I was bordering on losing consciousness, the machine turned off. I heard footsteps; knew Anna was right in front of me, but I couldn’t look at her. I could barely keep my eyes open.

“This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works: bind them with fury, a burning anger. Sound familiar, Sydney?” I knew what she was reciting. The prophecy that had been drilled into my head a thousand times since it had been discovered. But Anna wasn’t done: “Want to finish for me?”

“Screw you.”

She smirked. “Unless prevented, at vulgar cost, this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation. This woman, without pretense, will have her effect, never having seen the beauty of my sky behind Mount Subasio. Perhaps a single glance would have quelled her fire. You see, Sydney. Rambaldi knew you better than you know yourself. With him, you have a place. A purpose. A meaning. Without him, what are you? An over-worked government agent who puts everyone she cares about in danger just by doing her job? Playing mother to a group of winged freaks and lying to your friends on a daily basis?”

I stared determinedly at the floor.

“It’s touching, really.” –God, I was willing to do anything to get Anna to shut up. “How you cling to your naïve ideals and pretend to be righteous. How you neglect the people you claim to love and instead help the supposed innocents of the world who will never even know who you are, let alone thank you. It must be hard, being trapped in a life like that. But help me with this, Sydney, and you get a way out. Rambaldi will give you a way out.”

I said nothing. I was trying hard to ignore her words, but whatever I did they seeped into my mind. If the torture didn’t push me over the edge, this sure would.

Anna leaned in a little closer. “Well?”

Slowly, I raised my head to look at her. “Go to hell, you evil bitch.”

SMACK

I felt a sharp pain in my cheek, and realized a second later what had happened—Anna had hit me. I was seething, almost shaking with rage. She was a coward. But there was nothing I could do to stop her.

Anna straightened up. “I see. I’m sorry I couldn’t make you see sense. But perhaps a more friendly face can.” Her tone was now brisk, almost robotic. Before I could ask what she meant, she was walking over to the door, and disappearing through the exit of the room.

I took a couple of deep breaths, using the little time I had to recover from what had just happened. I looked around the room, but it was mostly empty. There were only a few cleaning supplies in sight, and none of them were in reach. But maybe if I could somehow move the chair over to the sharp stone of the corner…

I gritted my teeth as I tried to stand—tried to move in any way possible. But my limbs were still throbbing from the shock, and I wasn’t having much success. Still, if I could move the chair even a little…

“Stop.”

I froze. Slowly, I turned to the doorway where Anna had just disappeared. But it wasn’t her who had returned—and it wasn’t Irina, either. I stared in disbelief into the familiar face as the final piece of the puzzle clicked.

I knew who’d been leaking our secrets this whole time. But I couldn’t even begin to believe it.

[{ tessa }]

OMGGGGG!!!! WHO HATES ANNA RIGHT NOW?!! ugh PLEASE kill her off Rox! Just do it! Poor Syd but her callin Anna an evil bitch was sooo in character lol. she always gets so sassy under torture! Like that guy pulling out her teeth, and she was like "okay, I'll tell you...youre gonna want to write this down. E-M-E-T-I-B. now reverse it." lmao. AND IRINA YOUR DAUGHTER IS GETTING TORTURED. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

you better write more soon! I cant stand these cliffhangers!!

[Roxie !]

Anna is...deliciously evil, huh? In hindsight, I'm not really sure why I picked her as the main villain. Maximum Ride villains change like, every book. And then, Sloane is just too...sophisticated(?) to be this downright nasty, Sark's too lazy to come up with a plan this big, and Irina's only really a "bad guy" part of the time(would you actually consider her one pre-season 5? I guess maybe at the end of season 2, but that's a matter of opinion). Lol. Easy there! I'm writing the next one! Only a few more chapters left, actually.

[le Dawnz]

Omgomgomg! Who is it?! I MUST KNOW! -shakes Roxie- TELL ME!!

Amazing by the way, totally awesome!

[Roxie !]

Omg I'm totally guilty of not updating this in like three months xPP. Sorry! In my defense, I had started writing the next chapter back in December...actually, I got about 3/4 of the way done. AND THEN MY COMPUTER CRASHED AND I LOST THE DOCUMENT -.-. So yeah...that's kind of drained my muse for awhile.

[le Dawnz]

Hey!!! I don't know why I started digging around these old threads, but I did, and I'd like to point out that you're also guilty of pulling a Kyle XY - leaving us with a cliffhanger and never telling us what exactly what happens next. It's cool if you don't want to write anymore (although you should know you were doing pretty amazing work here), but could you at least let us in on one thing?

... who was the leak?!!