Hallo! (Yesh I speak (some)German 'cause I'm awesome) So I was reading Maximum Ride the manga last night and I totally cried (not really, I'm too awesome to cry) at the part where Angel tells everyone about their parents. Fang is usually so stoic and I just reeaallly wanna make him cry :D Yesh I'm evil like that. So I thought I'd do a little piece about Fang and his mommy. This has probably been done about a billion times but who cares. ^^ If you already know who I am, then great. If you're a new fan, then THANK YOU FOR READING! ^^
Fang POV
"Maaax, I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat I'm starving and I feel like I'm gonna drop out of the sky. You know that feeling when it feels like there are angry raccoons in your stomach and you just can't sit up straight that's how hungry I am Oh look Max theres' a town below us! What state are we above anyway, Maryland? Oooh! I want crabs! Are we near the bay, I've always wanted to see the bay! Oohh and Ocean City! I hear there are a lot of shops there, not to mention all the Russian people. What was that bay called again? Chipspeak? Chipmunk? I think it was-"
"NUDGE! Will you stop it! My ears are bleeding and I don't want to be deaf as well as blind!"
Sigh.
"I'm hungry too Max. Can we pleeease land Max? Pleeeease?"
And there goes Angel. Lord knows Max can't say no to her when she's hungry. It has been a while since we ate.
"Alright fine. I guess I'm kinda hungry to. What about you Fang?"
Of course I'm hungry. I need to eat just like the rest of you. I wonder why Max always asks me when I'm sure she knows that.
"Yea. I could use some food."
"Alright. Everyone descend!"
A raucous chorus of approval rang out from behind Fang, originating from the mouths of the younger flock members…plus Iggy.
"Oh and Nudge," Iggy stated. "It's the Chesapeake Bay."
Heh, I can almost hear Iggy smirking.
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Is he just gonna stand there like a deer in the headlights? Maybe Gazzy's order freaked him out…
The waiter that had taken their order had been standing stock-still staring down at his order pad for a good minute and 30 seconds. The guy looked pretty weak and Fang was just beginning to wonder if he would faint when he finally spoke up.
"Uhhh, j-just to confirm your order. You'll have 2 chocolate milks, 3 Cokes and an iced tea. 8 orders of steak fries, 3 mozzerella sticks, 2 crab cake samplers, 2 bread baskets, one whole lobster with garlic butter sauce, 5 all-you-can-eat soft shell crab dinner, 2 deluxe cheeseburgers, 1 scallop and shrimp scampi meal, one seafood medley, 4 ice cream sundaes, and 3 slices of coconut crème pie?"
Oh jeez, why does this happen every time we don't go dumpster diving? I'll bet Max is getting pissed.
"Yep, sounds about right." Nudge said.
"Alright…I'll…bring that right out for you."
Jeez, I'll bet that guy's new otherwise he wouldn't have freaked out at our order. This is a local place with plenty of patrons per day. And I'd wager that they get bunches of huge orders on all-you-can-eat days.
The flock had begun to settle down somewhat. Max and Angel look like they're having a telepathic conversation, and Nudge had already begun to run her motor-mouth. Gazzy was explaining all the sights of the island outside the window to Iggy. Fang was facing away from the door, and that didn't really sit well with him. He was getting twitchy. Max saw how uncomfortable he was and shot him a reassuring glance.
Wow, I feel better. When was a glance from Max all I needed to calm down?
But just as he was beginning to calm down, he heard Nudge gasp, a sharp intake of breath that immediately drew his attention as well as Max's. Fang slid his eyes over to her and saw the expression on her face. Total shock. She was staring past him at something near the entrance to the resuraunt. Or someone. Max followed her gaze, and immediately her face became like Nudge's.
Erasers?
Then Fang saw Nudge's eyes waver. She flicked her gaze to him, then back to what she was staring at before. To him, away, back to him, away, back to him and they stayed there. Then she spoke up, and what she said sent an arrow of ice right through Fang's heart. Her voice was hushed.
"F-Fang. A woman just came in…and she looks exactly like you."
….What!
Fang didn't dare look behind him and alert the others. It seemed that Nudge and Max were the only ones who had noticed. Fang shot her a glance that said it all. Keep calm and don't alert the others. No reason to rile them up over something that could be nothing.
Fang heard footsteps approaching. There was more than one person and the footfalls were light and feminine. Four women, two of them are wearing heels. One pair of sneakers, could be the hostess. Friendly chatter, so these women are obviously well acquainted.
The click of heels stopped at the table Fang currently had his back to.
"Alright, here is your table. Your waiter will be with you shortly."
"Thank you." Fang heard the three women seat themselves and open their menus. He leaned back and listened to their conversation, closing his eyes so his hearing became more acute.
"Phew, I'm glad we finally found this place. This is the first day off we've had in ages and we have to spend most of it looking for a restraunt to have lunch. I mean how stupid is that?" The first woman to speak had a high voice and a distinct Jersey accent.
"Agreed, I thought you said you'd been here before Alice?" This woman sounded foreign, her speech had undertones of a British accent, like she had lived in Britain for the first few years of her life, long enough for her to pick up on their speech patterns, and then moved to the U.S where her accent almost diminished.
"Well it was a long time ago and I didn't quite remember the address. What do you think of this red wine Jen, you know everything about wine." This woman sounded American.
The British woman spoke up, "Well it's sweet, with a bit of a sour aftertaste."
"Hmmm"
This kind of chatter continued for well over 30 minutes. The women discussed, well, womanly things. How the men at their work were pigs, how hard it was to find comfortable shoes that wouldn't burn holes in their wallets. At one point the Jersey women, whose name was Diane, ranted for 10 minutes about how Gucci was superior to Chanel while the other two just nodded and said the occasional word to feign an interest in her tirade. Fang was just about to open his eyes when the Jen interrupted Jersey girl.
"So, Alice. I was talking to Bob earlier and he said that even if the water main in the front lobby hadn't burst then you would have taken today off, why's that?
There was a long pause, then Alice spoke up.
"Well…it's….his birthday." Fang could tell that Alice was uncomfortable, the creaks from the bench signaled that she was fidgeting.
"Whose birthday? Is it someone we know?"
Another pause, this one longer than the first. "No, no…..you guys are my friends, I guess you should know."
Jersey spoke, "Know what?"
Nothing was said while Alice gathered the courage to say something. Something that was obviously painful for her.
"Today…..is the day that my son was born….and also the day that he died."
Fang's eyes shot open. What?
"What? You…Oh God, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up-I'm so sorry Alice." Jen sounded like she was on the brink of tears. Although it was difficult, Fang beat back his initial shock and settled back down to listen again, but he was still quite tense and rather uneasy.
Alice responded, "No, it's alright. It was so long ago….I could tell you the story if you want."
"No sweetie, you don't have to." For the first time since Fang heard her annoying voice, Jersey girl sounded sincere and well, less annoying.
"No, I want to tell you. Don't give me that look guys, I'm fine. Alright, where to begin…."
And so, Alice began her tale.
"I was 16 years old when I got pregnant by my boyfriend, Chad. It was a very wrong choice on my part, he was 20 years old and manager of some software company on the rise. But at first I thought that he was the one you know? Your other half. He was so kind and caring…..but after I told him about my pregnancy he just, left. He abandoned me in the middle of the night. I woke up expecting to see him beside me but all I found was a note saying,
Alice,
I can't take care of a child. I have a reputation to keep and if my boss found out I impregnated a teenage girl then I would be ruined. I've left you some money, don't try to contact me.
Chad
"I was devastated. But after a while I realized that he wasn't the man I thought he was. That all that kindness and caring was just caution and empty words. So I made a decision to move on with my life and raise my child as a single mother. I was certain I could do it. When I told my parents, of course they cried and tried to reason with me. But after arguing with my father for the better part of an hour, my older sister came downstairs. She had been listening the whole time, and she told my dad to stop telling me what to do. Her exact words were "Dad can't you see? Alice feels scared and alone right now, but she decided to raise this baby on her own, and that is what make me think that she will be fine! She has the maturity, and if nothing this whole experience will only make her stronger! I will support her. If you decide that she is a disgrace and kick her out then she'll come live with me!"
"My parents eventually decided that yes, I was a disgrace. And true to her word, Sarah let me stay with her in New York. She lived with a few of her close friends from High School as roommates, and through the course of nine months, we all became like family. They certainly didn't look down on me, on the contrary. They all admired me for my decision, they said that I was a very strong person for deciding to go through this and raise my child alone. But I never really was alone, I always had them.
"In the blink of an eye, nine months had gone by. Even though I didn't want to, I used the money that Chad left me on baby clothes and other things. When I went to the doctor's office for my 3 and 6 month checkup, they told me they had to perform some kind of…. test because of my age, to make sure that the baby grew properly. They gave him amino supplements through injection? To be honest I can't really remember. Anyway, that test took up all the money I had for sonograms, so I never knew what the baby was until it was time to deliver. It was totally unexpected, Sarah and I were actually at a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert when I went into labor, and everyone sitting around us started freaking out. I can tell you, at that time I was so scared, and it hurt so much. But after 10 excruciating hours, my son was born."
Alice paused. At this point Fang could tell she was battling tears, and that oddly, she was winning.
"I…..I only held him once. He was just so beautiful, staring up at me with those huge dark eyes of his. And I swear, he smiled at me. The doctor told me that newborns can't smile, but he did. At that point, I was ready to take on the world. That little boy I held in my arms had become my reason for living. But apparently, it was never meant to be. The doctors took him away almost immediately after he was born…to be tested. To see if he was healthy. I had to undergo surgery to fix the damage that was done, it required me to be put under anesthesia. I fell asleep the happiest girl in the world, thinking of names for my little boy.
"I woke up later in a solitary hospital room, there wasn't another bed, so it was….strange. Then the doctor walked in…the doctor walked in, and told me….that my son…..my baby boy had died…..from what they thought was SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome."
For the first time since her story had begun, Jen spoke up. She reached over and clasped Alice's hand in her own. "I'm sorry." Jen was crying, silent tears streaming down her face. Fang heard the soft sounds they made as they hit the table.
Alice continued, finishing up her tale of sorrow. "I found out later that Sarah had arranged for me to be put in a single room, so that I wouldn't have to hear the cries of somebody else's newborn child. I never thanked her for that; I was just, too overcome." Fang heard the squeak of linoleum as Alice got up from the booth.
"But that was 14 years ago. I've made my peace….and moved on. Thank you for listening, I guess I needed…to tell someone." She started to walk away but stopped a few steps away from the table.
"Funny, I never named him. But whenever I think of him, I always remember one thing. He had a birthmark, right here on the inside of his left wrist…it kind of looked like….a fang."
And with that said, she walked away.
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Fang hadn't realized that he'd been crying until Max reached out and took his hand. Then his world faded back into reality. He touched his cheeks and was surprised to find that they were wet with salty tears, something he had never experienced. Looking around, he saw that the rest of the flock was staring at him. Max asked him, "Fang? What's going on?"
Fang didn't say anything, only looked down at his left wrist. He stared at the one mark he thought for 14 years was….insignificant. It was a birthmark, a curved triangle that had given him his name…..Fang. It…can't be. Then an image flashed into his mind. In it he saw three women sitting down at a table. But not just any table,
The table behind the flock.
The image was focused predominantly on a raven haired woman sitting on the far side of the booth. She looked very somber and forlorn. Then there was the fact that she was a carbon copy of Fang himself.
"Go. Who knows if you'll see her again."
It was Angel. She sent Fang the picture via her telepathic powers. Fang found himself torn. This was the woman who for so many years he thought gave him up. He had hated her at one point. But now, here he was. He had listened to what had really happened and knew that she had loved him. His mother was in fact alive, and she still loved him.
But would she still love me, even if I've got wings?
"I'm sure she will Fang"
Angel again. Fang looked up and met the eyes of each of the flock's face. They all said the same thing, "Go. We understand." His eyes lingered the longest on Max. She had that look on her face, the same one she had when Angel was kidnapped. And when she decided they would go to New York, and WashingtonD.C. That look said that the next words that came out of her mouth were law, and that Fang better listen to her unless he wanted to end up in the bottom of the bay.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go on." And she stood up, "But f you think that you're doing this alone, stop thinking. We'll be behind you, for better or for worse." Fang met Max's smile with a smirk of his own. And with that having been said, Fang, followed by the flock, leapt up and ran out the door in hot pursuit of the woman whom he was convinced was his very own mother.
"H-Hey wait! What about your food?"
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Fang had to push aside quite a few people in order to get out of the restaurant, but once he was clear of the building and out onto the street, he paused and scanned the crowd frantically for Alice. It wasn't that hard considering that it was 1:00pm on a Monday and most people were at work. He caught sight of her as she was rounding a corner and sprinted after her. Falling into step about2 yards behind her, Fang matcher speed and began to silently shadow her.
I wonder where she's going. There isn't any development around here….
True, Alice was headed towards a part of St. Michaels that had little to no housing developments, however, there were a few places of interest in this area that Fang had seen on a map in the restaurant. There was Main Street, the harbor, some old museum,
And the cemetery.
Alice passed both the museum and Main Street, and continued all the way to the Cemetery. It was a beautiful place, despite its morbid nature. To the right was that Bay, and to the left, the grounds were ringed by huge oak trees. The land was dotted with headstones, stone spires and a large mausoleum far off in the distance. Alice did not stop at any of the conventional graves, and instead continued to the center of the cemetery, where she finally ceased her march beneath the largest, most beautiful weeping willow Fang had ever seen. She knelt down in front of the tree, and just stayed like that.
The wind blew, rustling the leaves on the trees and blowing Fangs hair sideways. This was it…
Should I do it? I mean, she already has a great life, with friends. Friends who aren't mutant freaks. I knew it, this was a mistake. Who am I to ruin what she has now. It would be better if she just forgot me and moved on.
Fang turned around to leave. Goodbye…..Mom.
But something stopped him. There was a sound coming from Alice's direction and it stopped Fang dead in his tracks. Crying? His mother…..was crying. Quiet sobs emanated from her delicate frame, her shoulders shook and she wrapped her arms around herself. Fang could hear her mumbling something under her breath while trying to stifle her sobs.
"I-I-I'mm…sorry. I'm so s-sorry. I couldn't…protect you…It's been 14 years since you died, but I….still can't forget you. I-I'm sorry….I love you."
Fang froze. They both stayed like that, a mother sobbing over her lost child, and the lost child, frozen by the mother's words. They stayed like that until the sun began to set in the distance, casting a brilliant sparkle of colors over the water. Fang might have been aware of the flock's presence while he was shadowing Alice, but now he was only aware of his own pounding heart, his inability to move, and Alice.
Alice…..Mom. All these years, you've been hiding your pain from others, even the people closest to you….you endured through 14 years of pain, do I have any right to prolong your suffering?
All of a sudden, Alice stood up, breaking her vigil. She turned around to leave and spotted Fang, who was still rooted to the ground behind her. She looked shocked, and maybe hurt.
"Hey! Didn't you mother ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop?" She was blushing slightly.
Fang found that her words directed at him had released him from his frozen state. He took a moment to collect his thoughts.
Think carefully about what you say next Fang.
"I….I'm sorry, never had a mother to tell me that." Fang said, casting his glance to the ground beneath his feet. He looked up again, Alice's fierce expression had softened and her light blush deepened.
"Oh. Sorry, now I should be apologizing." She waved her hands around as if to dismiss her earlier comment, "Why else would somebody be in a place like this…" She looked at Fang, only this time fully taking in his features. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized his face. Fang held his breath, he still hadn't quite figured out what to do…
"Hey….do I know you from somewhere?"
Great. Now she's recognized me, what do I do? What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?
Fate….is a curious thing. It runs the world, deciding the outcome for each and every one of our futures. It decides whether or not you will live to 100, or die before you turn 2. If you work hard, you can change the course of Fate….In this case, Fate decided to answer Fangs question for him.
"Yes." Fang said, before he could stop himself, Fang met Alice's eyes. "I'm your son."
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Time froze. Alice and Fang were locked in each other's gaze. Nobody spoke, nobody moved. Alice's eyes were filled with shock, and a multitude of other emotions, some of which Fang could place and some which he could not. There was shock, and anger. Love, and relief. But mostly shock. Fang stared at her, willing his eyes to convey some sort of message, It's true.
"I-It's not possible….The doctor told me he was dead, he even showed me a body."
Fang had thrown this woman the bone, now he had to back it up. He slowly walked towards her, shrinking the distance between them until it was little more than 3 feet. She stared at him in the dimming light as he rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and showed her the splotch of dark skin on his wrist. The fang birthmark. Her child's and his which are one and the same. Her eyes widened as she stared at the birthmark. He could tell that she recognized it as her baby's. Then she looked up at him, with eyes so wide.
"W-Why? How could it-? I mean, you were-! I…I..I saw you! The-the doctor showed me a-a-a body….an-and it wa-as you…."
"The doctor lied to you. I was sitting at the table behind you and I heard your story. I couldn't believe it at first, but it all makes sense."
"Wha-what makes sense?"
No use trying to hide it now. She knows who I am, I can't just leave her hanging.
Fang lowered his arm and clenched his fists at his side.
"I was taken away from my mother at birth, to be a part of an experiment, to form recombinant life forms. The doctor wasn't giving me amino supplements, he was grafting me with avian DNA. That's what makes sense."
And then Fang did what he thought he would never do in front of a human, he gently shook out his wings behind him, extending them into her field of vision.
She collapsed to the ground, openly sobbing now. Her small pale frame violently shook with the strength of her sobs. She held her face in her hands and wailed like there was no tomorrow. She showed no signs further acknowledging Fang's presence in front of her. Fang, he took this as his cue to disappear.
This was a mistake, I should have never told her. Not only did I reveal our secret…I probably ruined her life.
Fang turned to leave, "I'm sorry, I caused you all this pain." But as he was about to take a step, he felt a strong hand grab his wrist and pull him down to the ground. He fell down to his knees, awestruck, and turned around to face his mother. She stared at him for only a fleeting second with eyes full of tears, before yanking Fang toward her and wrapping her arms tightly around him.
Wha-?
"I don't care! You were going to leave because you thought I hated you, what you are! I DON'T CARE! I don't care if you're a bird I don't care if you're a frog, I don't care! I love you! I love you s-so m-m-much!" Alice was screaming now. She wailed over and over again, "I love you!" "I don't care!" She screamed so much between her sobbing that Fang didn't remember when he wrapped her arms around her torso and held onto her for dear life. He didn't remember when he began crying with her. He didn't remember when the flock appeared behind him, the rest of them crying as well.
All he remembered was staying like that, embracing his mother until the light disappeared from the horizon, and the sparkles faded from the water. And the warm feeling spreading through him.
So, He thought. This is what it's like….
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TTATT. Everyone reading this, tell me your crying too? I am so insanely proud of this work, I could just scream it out loud! (But I won't do that because I'd wake up my family) So! Fang found his mother…..I'll leave the rest of the story to your own imaginations ;) I hope you enjoyed this story, I work hard to bring you respectable literature. Reviews would be much appreciated, they are the only form of fuel for a writer of my caliber (Which is fairly low, I'm certain there are people out there much more accomplished than me ^^") Thank you a bunch, and don't forget to read some of my other works as well! (And if you're a diehard AkuRoku or SoRiku fan, then check out scarletrose93, she's awesome as Prussia!) Auf Wiedersehen! ^^