AAH! I am in fact, still in existence. So, finally, here's an update. I know, I know, I stink at living up to my updating promises but I can't control when the creativity flows enough to get a chappie written! So please, enjoy.

And my thanks this chappie go out to Kimsa Ki-Lurria and Waoka, for their ever-so generous reviews. This chappie was really fueled by those! (even though it took so long to get this up!)

Chapter Four: The Explanation

The sky was brilliantly clear, dotted with bright stars in a black velvet expanse. Iggy sat nervously on the front steps, his right eye sealed to the world, as the serval paced before him. For some reason, the feline was agitated, a low growl throbbing in his narrow chest.

Iggy finally narrowed his eyes at him. "Would you stop fidgeting?" The serval stopped, checking for strangers who might overhear a cat talking, then faced his semi-human friend.

"You're asking me to stop fidgeting? Take a look at yourself!" he growled, eyes indignant. Iggy looked down and realized he was bouncing his knee and tapping his fingers in a wave on the steps. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm fine," Iggy replied quickly, his gaze trailing upwards. There was no way he could tell his friend how terrified he was. Yes, the flock would be happy for his sight but even he didn't know what his mechanical eye was capable of. It still burned when he tried to see through it, though he knew his body was almost adapted to it now.

Would his sight be normal in the eye? Fat chance. It was mechanical. Surely it would have some crazy features that would freak his family out. Maybe it could see through walls, or shoot lasers. Iggy shuddered, remembering that day so long ago when Erasers had found him and Gazzy at their mountain home. The Gasman had told Iggy about the Eraser's laser eye putting a burn on his chest. Iggy could still smell the distinct scent of smoldering cloth and hear Gazzy's sharp yelp at the moment it reached his skin.

Iggy felt dark, fearful thoughts riddle his gut, and he found his deepest fear, one he knew had plagued Max when the voice first came to her head. Could this eye somehow control him? Make him betray the ones he cared for most?

As Iggy put his fears into thoughts, he nearly moaned in despair. He'd never be safe. The flock would never be safe. Everything, he heard, everything he saw, everything he thought- it would all be relayed to the School and they'd track the flock down wherever they went and it'd be all his-

A distinct flapping carried across the cold air. Iggy's head shot up and he became completely still. The street before the library was deserted, save for a boy and a large cat.

"Iggy!"

Gazing upwards, Iggy felt a rush of warmth. Diving towards him from high in the air was the flock. The Gasman led the charge, tackling him to the ground. Angel squirmed under his arms as Total leapt about, talking in excited yips that were hardly understandable. Nudge sat behind him, hugging and rocking her lost friend, crying with happiness. Max, scrubbing her eyes, kneeled beside him and attempted to squeeze his life out of when he came up for air. Fang hovered nearby almost hesitantly before sitting beside Iggy, slumped with relief.

Iggy closed his eyes and felt around him. Sitting across his chest crushingly were the slight bodies of Gazzy and Angel. Angel's feather's were soft as kitten fur, probably white as snow (even though he'd never really seen snow before). The Gasman's feathers, though Iggy would never tell him, were only slightly less soft than Angel's and only a bit longer. Iggy felt them brush his fingertips and he was surprised to find them a bit rough, unkempt. In fact, as he felt all of their wings, Max's smooth and stiff, Fang's coarse and strong, they were all a bit bent out of shape and wilted.

They missed me, he realized with a heart-wrenching lurch. They missed me until they were sick.

Suddenly he felt stiff whiskers against his ear. "Are you going to open your eyes?" Iggy stiffened, hating the serval at that moment for bringing it up. Why ruin this moment? Why shatter this perfect reunion? After another heartbeat of drilling the sensations into his memory, he opened his eye.

A gasp rippled over the group before they could stop themselves. Leaning forward, Gazzy, sitting in his lap, held Iggy's face in his hands, as if holding him still so he could get a good look. Iggy stared in wonder at his friends around him, looking them in the eye individually. Max's stern face, Fang's dark eyes stunned, Nudge sniffling and for once speechless, Angel looking distressed and confused but, most upsettingly, the Gasman's eyes suddenly flinty.

The leader in Max took charge, putting some control on the situation. "Iggy, can you ... see now?"

Iggy felt a quiver of emotion. It had been years upon years since he'd actually seen Max talking. "Yes, but I don't know what's wrong with my other eye. It hurts to open it." Iggy paused. "I don't think it's a natural eye. It might be ... mechanical or something."

Silence hung over the flock. The Gasman looked about worriedly, knowing that everyone was troubled by Iggy's guess because they knew Iggy was almost never wrong. Summoning up his courage to pierce the quiet, he looked Iggy in the face and held up his arm.

"Look, Iggy," he said, pointing proudly to a dark, jagged line on the back of his arm, "I got this at the fight where they took you." There was a soundless, collective sigh as they relaxed, all of them silently thanking Gazzy for restoring a bit of peace. Hovering in the back of Fang's and Max's minds was the fact that they had to be wary around one of the people they loved most, starting right then. They knew the most trustworthy person could be the betrayer, and they might not even be aware.

Seeing their sibling with his newly-given sight, looking over his friends, so shaken with emotion, they hardly wanted to believe that he could hurt delicate Angel or innocent Gazzy. For a heartbeat, Max's imagination was filled with violent darkness, maybe with Nudge the victim or even Total, and cold seeped through her blood.

No, she didn't want to see her brother become the betrayer but she'd never live with herself if one of her flock suffered because of the School. Looking at all their scars, Max knew they'd all been hurt, but that had always been because of an outside force, from outside the flock. There had been the scare when the voice had begun to speak to her but this ... She had no idea of what was going to happen.

"Ahem, Iggy?"

The tall, lanky boy sat up quickly, looking around till he found the serval. Elegant and stiff, ears twitched back in annoyance, the feline slowly stood and approached. His eyes were bright and intelligent, drawing the flock's gaze to his own. His dark spotted fur, sleek and well-groomed, flashed dully under the moon's light as he settled above Iggy on a higher step. He waited in silence until Iggy realized he was shy.

Iggy motioned him over and he hesitated, then got up slowly and padded down to Iggy's side. "Hello," he said quietly, acting nothing like the fiery wildcat he'd been in Iggy's company, "It's a pleasure to meet the flock." As they gazed, waiting for some sort of explanation, the cat ducked and flicked his ears in embarrassment. Iggy knew when he was crying out for help by this point in time.

"Um, well, he doesn't have a name yet but he broke the lock on my crate and somehow arranged it so we could escape. I carried him here and we've kinda been looking out for each other." Iggy reached out and laid his hand on the feline's shoulder.

Max realized that Iggy was asking if the cat could stay. They already had to worry about carting around Total and making sure he didn't get hurt in fights. If this cat couldn't fend for itself, she wasn't sure they could afford to have it around.

But since when did they do anything that made sense or increased to flock's chance of survival? She thought it would be Angel to find another mutant for their motley crew.

"Angel?" Max prodded but she was already working on it. The serval and the girl stared at each other and the air grew thick with tension. Angel's brow creased and the cat's eyes narrowed as if looking at a bright light. Then Angel swooped forward and wrapped him up in her arms, the cat shaking and fighting tears.

"How did you do that?" he whispered, as she just held him close. "Do you know now ... about her?"

"I won't tell anyone," Angel promised as solemnly as a six year old could, leaving everyone else, including Iggy, lost. Then she released the cat, letting him curl up under Iggy's arm, as she turned to address Max. "He's coming with us."

Max sighed in defeat then smiled her best in-flock smile. This cat was one them. He could be trusted with knowing what Max looked like when she smiled at someone she considered family.

"Welcome to the flock."