Sorry about the wait! I intend to do better from here on out, things have just been a bit wild the last year. And for those who are wondering about Out of the Heart of Darkness, I have the new chapter for that one in the works (nearly done!) and it will be up as soon as it's finished and fixed up by the story's beta reader, my ever faithful AM83220. Until then, I hope you enjoy!

"She retired the equine girl."

The air was clean and beautiful; Max took a deep breath of it and exhaled, watching as the sunlight rippled across the grass while the wind combed through it in waves. Wildflowers sprung here and there in the colors of spring. At the bottom of the hill began the woods, alive with small wildlife.

"She…killed her."

The amendment drew Max's eyes to the side. Omega sat with her in the grass atop the hill, where down the slope was the electric fence between them and the forest. He kept his eyes fixed on the treetops in the distance, his face unreadable.

It had been five weeks ago that she woke up strapped to a table, and now she sat companionably with her warden in a sun-kissed field. The small light on her collar still blinked in warning, but his company was no longer violently rebuffed.

"Why?" she asked. Omega's brow twitched, a flash of a frown.

"She was too willful. That coupled with her muscle mass made her a liability."

"So as soon as she wasn't convenient to have around anymore, no more Charlie."

She saw something flash across Omega's eyes at that. Her main focus in teaching him how to interact with people was to teach him right from wrong, in part because setting him against the Director would serve her better, but also because she couldn't stand him waltzing around the facility feeling invincible. Reality would cut him in half if she didn't get through to him.

Finally he looked at her. There was something there she couldn't place, but Max hoped it was sense, that he was really beginning to see his mortality rushing at him if he didn't take action. Instead of admitting that, however, he stood and offered her a hand.

"It's nearly time for your lunch. Will you come with me to the cafeteria?"

Max felt her mouth quirk at the side. Slowly acknowledging his creator's crimes, asking instead of demanding; their time together was proving to be worthwhile. He was learning, and she hoped soon he would even open his eyes to the thought of a world outside of secret laboratories and genetic anomalies. He would have a chance at a real life.

And she would have a chance to escape.

Her hand clasped his. He hoisted her to her feet easily, and together they crossed the field back to the facility. Omega's hand held onto hers a moment too long. She gave it a reassuring squeeze, and eventually he let go.

It had been too long. A part of Fang wanted to give up, and the worst thing was he recognized it as his own common sense. The other part, the ridiculous and nonsensical part that ran on instinct and love, kept on going. For five weeks it kept on going, kept telling him to push on, but that encouraging voice was beginning to fade.

Sam's friend could only offer so much. He told them Sam had headed west with his family and could offer nothing else. Fang left the little ones and Iggy with Max's mother, Valencia, and resolved to skim over every state west of Virginia he possibly could.

Dylan, of course, had invited himself along with the argument that two birdkids were better than one, that his eyes could see across time and space, and that Fang could not possibly hope to stop him. Jeb even stepped in to help. He told them what facilities had shut down after the world wide riot Fang's blog had caused a while back, where they were most likely to see any smaller locations maintained for such emergencies, and was able to pry enough information from former colleagues to rule out any foreign sites before being cut off.

Dylan scouted out the Kentucky and Illinois facilities Jeb mapped out for them in the time it took Fang to travel west and take a glance around New Mexico. Now they were outside Socorro with a shady hotel room and empty stomachs, and Fang was beginning to wonder if there was any real point in their aerial searching. What if Max's prison was underground? What if it was disguised as a museum or something?

"Sir?"

What if the whitecoats had already killed her? The thought was like a cold hand closing around his heart.

"Sir?"

Fang blinked the world back into focus and saw a girl watching him from the other side of the counter. Other customers were staring at him, too. That wasn't good. Attention was never good.

Clearing his throat, he stepped up to order himself and Dylan some food. The other boy could starve for all he cared but those stupid eyes of his were too useful to let go.

He stood to the side while his food was being prepared and tried his best to shirk the attention he'd gained before by looking completely ordinary. It wasn't easy, being tall, thin, dark, and unsmiling, but eventually the other costumers seemed to lose interest in him. Fang rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and waited, listening to the chatter around him by habit.

"You should see the flowers she picked for the ceremony, they go so well with the dresses-"

"-Gotta get it checked out before that trip, you don't want the serpentine snapping-"

"-Mixed up with drugs, I couldn't believe what I was hearing."

Just the usual chatter. A teenage girl, an old man, and a middle-aged woman, none of them worrying about whether their driving force had been murdered or strapped to some machine with tubes jammed through their flesh.

"Not my Sammy, he was always so sweet."

"He does seem like a nice boy."

"And having to move all the way out here, I miss the Virginia weather so much."

Fang felt his body tighten and his heart flutter. His eyes shifted to the side where the middle-aged woman sat with her friend. He could barely see her in his peripherals, but there she was: shorter, looking weary and heartbroken, with the same wavy brown hair as that life-ruining, girlfriend-kissing, cowardly rat bastard.

It couldn't be.

"But if those dealers were threatening you all like he said, it's all you could do."

The mother shook her head and clutched her cup in her hands.

So, then. The little liar had convinced his family they were in danger with some drug ring he'd gotten mixed up in and had them move. Fang supposed it was better than telling them he was involved with an underground genetics lab that kidnapped and tortured small children.

"I thought," the woman went on, "that if anything, we could go to Oregon. It's so lovely there, and we could live seaside, you know? But you should have seen how pale he got at that idea, like I'd invited his dealers in for tea. He said that would be worse, that they had contacts stationed there."

Her friend sighed. "Well, with all the kidnappings that happen there too, I'm sure it's best. I hear kids are disappearing in Oregon all the time."

Heart racing, Fang slammed through the exit and made for the hotel, food forgotten.

"…Wasn't convenient to have around anymore…"

Those words echoed through Omega's head incessantly for the rest of the day. Max had eaten and retired to her room-no, her cell; she was always telling him to face the truth-after leaving him with such a dreadful promise. His headway with Max was creeping too slowly, and Marian Janssen was not renowned for her patience.

He strolled the halls with his fists tightly clenched. Would she soon dub Maximum's presence no longer convenient? Would she give up on Omega's desires and snuff Maximum's life as easily as she did Charlie's?

The thought of it drew him to a stop in the middle of the hallway. He should go back to her cell and corner her, not let her resist or delay anymore, take what he'd intended to have at the very beginning. Omega could imagine the way her moans would sound in his ear, throaty and reluctant at first, but soon hungry and wanton, surely, after all the progress he'd made in her eyes, he could see it when she looked at him, in the curve of her lips when he took her view into consideration and saw things for what they were-

He shook his head and brought a had to cover his face. It had grown warm. His body felt torn into two directions. Go. Take her.

She'll hate you.

A shuddering breath escaped him. Satisfy the Director and break the avian girl, or satisfy Max, tread slowly, lightly, earn her genuine affection, and risk her life being forfeit?

Fists clenched, he turned and strode back down the hall.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are always welcome and appreciated, and I apologize again for the lag with my updates.