A/N: It's finally finished! (Okay, in all honesty it's been done for quite awhile, but I'm just now getting around to posting.) For those of you who don't know, this is kind of a mini-series based on, you guessed it, the flock's worst fears. First off is Max. I'll be posting in age-order. They take place after Jeb "died" but before TAE. So here you go.

Disclaimer: (before I forget this) I don't own Maximum Ride. But, you know, if somebody wanted to sell Iggy... or Fang... I'll take either one.

Gone

I rolled over in my bed. Something had woken me up. A noise. What was it? Was the flock already awake? What time was it? I rolled over and looked at my Mickey Mouse alarm clock: 7:26 a.m. None of the flock ever woke up this early. Not even Fang. I sat up and looked around my room. It was completely dark save for a few rays of sunlight peeking out from behind the cloth that served as a curtain over my window.

Slowly I got up, shivering as my bare arms and legs left the warmth of my quilt; I was wearing shorts and an oversized t-shirt. My bare feet were nearly soundless as I walked across the room to my door and pulled it open gently to avoid making it squeak. Anything louder than my footsteps and my breathing would wake Iggy. And at 7:26 a.m., he would not be a happy camper. I know his sensitive hearing is a big help to him, but it can be a huge pain in the arse for the rest of us.

I tip-toed further down the hall. Fang's door was slightly ajar. He wouldn't be awake already, would he? Then again, it was Fang. Anything was possible. I pushed the door open, silently praying he wasn't getting dressed.

He wasn't. In fact, he wasn't in the room at all. Frowning slightly, I walked into the kitchen.

"Fang?" I called. Nobody answered.

I walked back down the hall to Iggy's room. I knocked softly, then let myself in. He wasn't in his room either. Strange, I thought. I went to the Gasman's room, and then to the room shared by Angel and Nudge. Nobody.

"Fang?" I called again, louder. "Iggy! Nudge! Gazzy! Angel!" I walked through the entire house. I was the only one inside.

By now I was thoroughly confused. Was my alarm clock broken? Was it later in the day than I thought? If the flock had gone somewhere, they would have told me first, wouldn't they?

I was beginning to get nervous. Something wasn't right; I could feel it. But I took a couple calming breaths. As I always say: no use panicking until you need to. They probably just went out to pick strawberries or something. And they would be fine; Fang was with them.

I walked outside into the bright sunshine. I did a 360, looking for my flock, but I didn't see them.

"Fang!" I hollered.

'Fang! Fang!' My voice echoed off the canyon walls.

Panicky feeling aside, I was really getting annoyed. Why wouldn't they have woken me up? I didn't know whose bright idea that was, but they were going to be in for it. I decided to get a better view. An aerial view.

I unfurled my wings, and, with a bit of a running start, lifted off into the air. I got the familiar rush I always get when flying as I scanned the ground below for my flock. A sinking feeling formed in my stomach; they were nowhere to be found.

"Fang!" I yelled again. "Iggy! Guys, can you hear me?!" I was screaming as loud as I possibly could, but the only answer I received was the echo.

Suddenly, I caught sight of something on the ground. Even with my raptor vision, I couldn't be sure what it was, but it was about the size of a mutant bird kid, and it was all black. Could it be Fang?

I descended in a wide arc above the figure. As I got closer, I realized that it was Fang. And I realized something else too: something was definitely wrong. I came to a running halt in front of him. And I gasped.

Fang was sprawled on all fours, panting heavily. One wing was bent awkwardly behind his back; I knew it must have been broken. Parts of his shirt were shredded, and sticky dark spots indicated the places where wounds had been inflicted. He was covered in blood. Blood dripped from his head, his nose, his mouth, and who-knows-where-else.

"Fang!" I practically screamed, and ran to his side. "Fang, what happened?! Where are the others?!"

Fang looked up at me through fluttering eyelids. He took a shaky breath and swallowed before saying, "Gone."

"Gone where? Talk to me, Fang!"

He shook his head. "Gone," he repeated. "They're just… gone."

"Who took them?"

"Nobody. We were attacked… by Erasers…" he trailed off in a violent coughing fit, retching as he spat out mixed blood and bile. He pitched forward and I caught him, laying his head in my lap.

"Look at me, Fang," I said. " What do you mean, nobody took them? Didn't the Erasers…?" The truth hit me like a ton of bricks. "You don't mean… the Erasers didn't… they're not dead?!"

Fang coughed again and looked up at me with sad, dark eyes. Then he said, "Max… you have to understand… I tried my best… to save them… I tried, I – " Another coughing fit cut him off, and he convulsed for a moment before falling into my lap once again. His eyes rolled back and he seemed to be struggling to breathe.

"Come on, Fang," I managed, my voice thick from crying. "Let's get you home. You need help."

Fang blinked slowly and said, "No. It's too late for me. I'm sorry Max." His voice had dropped to a hoarse whisper. With a trembling hand, Fang reached out and pulled me closer to him, so that he was whispering in my ear. "You have to get out of here. They'll be looking for you. They'll kill you too. You have to escape. Go…"

I shook my head, my vision blurred with tears. "No. No! I won't leave you! Fang! Fang, look at me! Don't give up! Fang!" I sounded helpless and plaintive and I knew it. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that Fang lived. If he died, if the flock died, I knew I would die too.

Fang looked up at me one last time. "I'm sorry… Max." He seemed to sigh. His body went limp and his eyes, still open, stared unseeingly at the sky.

I couldn't believe it. Fang was dead. Just like that. He had died in my arms.

I screamed. I screamed loud and long. I screamed for the unfairness of it all, the way they all had to die while I had to be alive. I knelt there, with Fang's lifeless body in my lap, and I just kept screaming.

I was still screaming when I woke up. At first, I didn't even know where I was. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, making it impossible to see anything. And then I heard running feet, and a voice.

"Max! Max, are you okay?!"

Fang.

Within moments, he had bounded into my room, the rest of the flock on his heels. He ran over to my bed and grabbed my shoulders, demanding, "Max, talk to me!"

With a gasp of indescribably intense relief, I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. It didn't matter that he was taken completely by surprise. It didn't matter that I was bawling like a baby. It didn't matter that the rest of the flock was staring at me in shock. All that mattered was that Fang was here, that he was alive.

"You're alive," I whispered. "You're alive. Thank god, thank god, you're alive!"

"Yes, I'm alive," Fang said, sounding confused and slightly embarrassed while still sounding calm. All in all, sounding very… Fang.

He didn't hug me back, but he didn't make me let go, either. Slowly, the rest of the flock joined us on my bed.

"She had a really bad nightmare where we were all dead," Angel explained, looking close to tears herself.

"Oh, Angel," I said, and started sobbing harder, if that was possible. I let go of Fang and gave her a squeeze, then hugged the rest of the flock too. Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy all hugged me back. Iggy looked even more awkward than Fang had. I let go of him and turned back to Fang, who stiffened slightly as if preparing for another hug.

I calmed down some then, and my face reddened as I began to study my quilt with great interest.

Fang reached out and cupped my face in his hand, so that I would look at him. He tenderly brushed my tears away with his thumb.

"I'm not going to die," he said softly. "I promise." He gave a half-smile. "I'm the Invincible Fang, remember?"

I smiled.

"The Invincible Fang? Is that kinda like the Invincible Hulk?" the Gasman asked.

Iggy shook his head and sighed in mock-exasperation. "That's the Incredible Hulk, Gazzy," he said.

"Well, isn't that the same thing?"

I couldn't help it: I burst out laughing. We all did. Even Fang grinned and chuckled softly, he teeth glinting in the dim moonlight.

"Alright, back to bed everybody," Fang said when we had caught our breath.

The younger kids cast me smiles over their shoulders, and I smiled back to let them know that I was really okay. I lifted Iggy's hand to my face so that he knew too.

As soon as they had left, Fang shifted his gaze back to me.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asked. His voice was calm, but his eyes were worried.

I smiled at him. "As long as you all are okay, I'll be fine," I promised truthfully.

"I'll hold you to that," he said. He turned and left the room, as soft and silent as a ghost.

I lay back down on my bed and closed my eyes, confident that I would be having better dreams.

I could still feel Fang's hand on my cheek.

A/N: Yep, lucky you, you get two this time. There's the Faxness for all you Fax shippers out there. Personally, I was quite proud of Fang's "death" in this one. A little mushy, perhaps, but on the whole, I liked how this one turned out. Let me know what you think. Next up is Fang. -GG17