Author's Note: This has light spoilers for the begining of the Final Warning and if you haven't gotten it yet, you should, it is worth your money. In this, Ari is a ghost and comes back during his funeral to comfort Max. Slightly Max/Ari, but not really. I hope you like this. I'm not so good at writing in prose so any suggestions are exceedingly welcome. I always felt bad for Ari, never understood how it happened, but whatever.

Disclaimer: If I had written this book, I would have not read it in two hours and called James Patterson a moron at certain parts (like when I thought he'd killed Akila). So yeah, don't own.

Ari's Chance

Ari was there, but he wasn't there. He watched them. They couldn't see him, couldn't sense him, because he wasn't there. He could feel things that he hadn't been able to feel ... before. He felt Angel's sorrow. Max's anguish and misery. He felt her tears ready to consume her. Nobody could ever get her to wear a dress, or even a skirt, but her clothes were clean her hair almost brushed.

The dirt blew away from Angel's hand, onto his grave and he knew his chance would soon be gone. He drifted down on some soft currents. Not flying really, just floating. He drew close to her and her watery eyes. Ever so gently he reached out a hand - a hand like before, not clawed, furred or mutilated - and placed it comfortingly on her thin shoulder. She didn't seem to notice, but subconsciously, she leaned into his warm touch.

The tears closing in on him, he wrapped both of his arms around her and let the warm tears flow down his chubby child's cheeks. Resting his head on her shoulder, he stared at his own grave. He wished more than anything she'd hug him back, but he was barely there so she couldn't. Even in death, the feelings he felt for her were real and confusing.


Maximum Ride fought the tears as she stared at the seven-year-old's grave. Gazzy was walking up to it with a handful of dirt, but the words he spoke didn't reach her ears as warm arms wrapped around her. She half-turned expecting Fang to be there - or maybe Iggy. But instead she saw a face she almost recognized, faint and young, tears falling from his eyes. It was Ari. Completely human - like before he'd been Eraserfied. Slowly his image faded and Max started questioning her sanity (again), when a voice that wasn't The Voice whispered to her, "Don't regret it. I love you, Max. I always have and always will. I never resented you. Please don't forget me."

The voice was a more childlike - more innocent - version of the voice who had several times sworn to kill her. Ari's voice. At least in death he'd be human. The rather ridiculous thought struck Max sharply.

She whispered the words to the dying wind as she felt his presence that wasn't fade away, "Goodbye, Ari."