Full summary: After their escape from death in the streets of Paris, Maximum Ride and her flock find themselves close to the end of their long journey. And Fang and his gang of enhanced humans uncover a clue in the subway tunnels of New York City- one that could connect Fang's dark past with the Doomsday Group. And after nearly being killed by a tsunami, both groups realize something: the end is near. With the apocalypse approaching fast, Max disappears after a rescue of her half-sister. But why is she still haunting Fang's dreams? Soon everyone's secrets are revealed, and no one is just who they say they are. Everyone has an agenda, and no one can trust anybody- let alone each other. Soon it's a race against time to figure out who is behind the Doomsday Group and the dangerous, lingering question: Who is the One Light?

I'm back finally! I know, it's been forever since I've updated, but I got grounded and I was swamped with stuff to do for the end of the year. That's right: I'm on summer vacation! And you know what that means: More updates! Yay! I'm just happy to be a freshman now.

Sadly, I have summer homework for my AP Human Geography class. T.T I'm not looking forward to it. I haven't even seen what I have to do yet. Oops. I'm trying to get a jump start on this story because I'll be doing JROTC (junior military stuff). I might be on their Brain Brawl (academic) team, so I'll have even more work, 'cause when you join you have a seventh period. And for that class, you go on tons of field trips, so I'll be busier than ever before.

Anyway! Enough of my ranting. (BTW, I'll be starting a new story that's basically me and Crazy aboutbooks13 ranting about random crap. We came up with it during our first period PE class about a month ago.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. The plot, however, I so own. It'll be epic. Just trust me.

The Maximum End: A Maximum Ride Novel

Chapter 1

It felt as if I couldn't breathe. Like I was being held underwater by God himself. (Of course, I have gills, so that wouldn't work.) I knew I was alive. I had survived the explosion, after all. I was breathing. I could see, hear, and feel. I was just… numb.

It had been two days since the explosion in Paris. Two days since I'd nearly been choked to death by a psycho mutant who wanted to eradicate the entire human race, also known as Mark. Two days since nine-year-old Gazzy had mostly disabled the bomb that would've destroyed all of Paris, maybe even more. Two days since Fang, my ex, had once again left, this time with his group of enhanced humans, Ratchet, Star, Kate, Maya, and Holden.

Two days since Angel, my baby, had been killed.

That was probably why I was so depressed right now. But not nearly as much as Gazzy. Angel had been his sister. I mean, all of us are like family. We grew up together. But Gazzy and Angel were real, honest to God blood siblings. Gazzy hadn't spoken more than three words since the bomb had gone off.

Right now we were on the coast of Ireland, getting ready to fly back to the United States.

And when I say fly, I mean it quite literally. My flock and I were all genetically engineered to have wings and fly. We have other assorted powers other than that, but more on that later.

"Ella disappeared here," Dylan, one of my flock, said, pointing to a specific little chunk of a map of Arizona. Ella, just in case you didn't know, is my half-sister. She had gone missing several days ago after we'd rescued her from a group of psychopath mass-murderers known as the Doomsday Group (DG for short), of which Mark, as mentioned above, was a part of. He claimed to be a servant of something that they called the One Light. We were still unsure of what that was though. "And we know that we weren't that far from the facility, so that's probably where she was headed."

I was leaned against the wall of the hotel room, listening as my flock discussed where we should look first for Ella, then my mom, and then Jeb. Jeb was the man who had broken us out of the hellhole science lab we had grown up in known as the School. Later on, he'd betrayed us and put us back into them for a short amount of time. He then proceeded to tell me that he was my biological father. Despite all that, I still didn't trust him. I could never trust him. But I still felt obligated to save him, even though he was lying jerk.

"What do you think, Max?" Nudge asked, her brown eyes wide. There were dark circles under her eyes from not sleeping well. She was only twelve, but she looked like she had aged about ten years in the last forty-eight hours. She needed rest. We all did.

I looked over my tired, dopey flock. Everyone had dark circles under their eyes and was pale. Well, except Dylan. Somehow he never manages to look bad. I was going to make sure that they all got some real sleep before heading out. "I think," I said, my voice raspy and weak, "that we should first find Ella. If anything, she has the better chance of surviving this apocalypse, whenever that is."

If she's still alive, I added mournfully in my head. "And then we'll see if we can find my mom and Jeb," I continued. "Even if they've been working for DG and the One Light this whole time."

Everyone put on their bravest faces and nodded, despite the imminent fear that maybe they were dead. Iggy's unseeing eyes (he's blind) were full of unspoken fear. I knew that he and Ella had been crushing on each other when Ella had disappeared, and this was probably the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. I also knew that if Ella really was dead, I would never forgive myself for letting it happen to her and also to Iggy.

That night, I flew out to the farthest part of the coastline I could find, lay on my back in the cool, damp, knee-high grass, and just thought.

I thought about all that had happened to me and my flock in the last year. How Angel had been kidnapped. How I had learned it was my destiny to save the world. How Fang and I had fallen in love. How I finally had learned about my parents and half-siblings. (Ella was my only surviving one. There was another, Ari, who was Jeb's son. He died a while ago, though.) How everything I had ever known had been turned on its head and twisted around.

"Thought I might find you here," came a voice seemingly out of nowhere.

I sat bolt-upright, my fists clenching, and whirled around to face the speaker. But I stopped dead because it was Dylan. "Oh," I said, my voice quiet. "It's you."

A small frown crossed his unearthly good-looking face. "Yeah," he said, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. "Didn't mean to disappoint you or anything."

I instantly felt just a little bit guilty. I mean, it wasn't his fault that Fang had ditched me for the third time. (It was his fault that he left the second time. If you're curious, see book six. The first time it was half my fault, but mostly because Ari had joined up with us after trying to kill us several times.) "Sorry," I muttered. "You just surprised me." Like Fang used to…

I couldn't really identify what emotion crossed his face next. It was like… hurt mixed with longing mixed with confusion and love. Sort of like the feelings I used to get when Fang kissed me those first times.

"What's wrong?" Dylan asked, sitting next to me in the cold, dewy grass. I realized that I'd been absently touching my lips, like I could still feel the sensation of Fang's mouth pressed against mine.

I blinked several times rapidly. My hand automatically returned to its former position, behind me so it could hold my torso up as I leaned back slightly. "It's nothing. I was just thinking."

Dylan stared out at the ocean with cold blue eyes as he said, "About Fang." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

I thought a couple of nasty swearwords. I hated how he did that.

"You know," Dylan continued. "It's okay if you still love him. I get that. I mean, if I loved somebody a whole lot, and they were around for my whole life and had my back twenty-four/seven, I would still love them even if they left me."

I glanced up at him. He was staring at me earnestly. I turned away, trying to control the fierce blush that burned my cheeks. I thought for a moment before saying, "It's not just that."

"Then what is it then?" Dylan asked, his voice full of suppressed frustration. "Tell me, Max, because I seem to have no idea!"

I felt tears prick at the back of my eyes. I shut them down hard. I wouldn't cry. "Because he…" I muttered, then trailed off.

"Because he what?" Dylan practically snarled. He hated talking about Fang. He hated everything about him. I knew that Fang's feelings for Dylan were mutual. "Because he loves you? Because he's your best friend?"

Something inside me snapped. Like, all the anger I had seemed to come out of hiding just then. Everything in the past year that had ever got to me seemed to come roaring back in vivid color. I stood up and faced Dylan, my eyes glistening with tears and fury. "Because he freaking promised never to leave me!" I nearly screamed. Dylan blinked in surprise. "He left before, and when we got back together he promised he would never leave me again! And he didn't! Until you showed up that is, claiming to be my 'perfect other half' and being made for me! Now we're like strangers and…" My voice broke just then. I hung my head, my hair falling like a curtain around my face, concealing my blush. That, my friends, was the most I'd ever admitted to a fellow bird kid other than Fang.

Silence.

Then Dylan stood and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Max," he whispered. "I didn't know."

"Yeah," I muttered, laughing bitterly. "You didn't know." Then, with almost no warning, Dylan hugged me. It felt good to have someone's arms around me right then. God knows I needed it.

I don't know how long we stood like that, but finally I couldn't escape the chill my body felt and started shivering. Dylan pulled away, took off his leather duster, and wrapped it around my shoulders. "Come on," he said, unfolding his wings. "We should head back. You need to rest."

I nodded and followed him into the clear night sky, glad that at least someone was here to take care of me.

So… yeah. Trust me, after this chapter, it get very, very interesting. Especially when I switch to Fang's POV every once in a while. He's got the most interesting story to tell in this fic.

Fang: Can't I just tell them what happens?

Me: No. That would spoil everything I have in this story. It thickens the drama between you and Max! (As if it wasn't thick enough already.)

Fang: Darn.

Percy: *laughs*

So remember to review! They bring me great happiness. Flames are not accepted, but constructive criticism is.

Peace, Love, Happiness, and Maximum Ride.

-A$h