AN: This story has some spoilers for the new book, so if you haven't read it, I suggest not reading this.

Although, if you do read this, I don't think it would spoil the book for you. It's your choice, but you certainly won't understand various things.

Also, we're going to pretend those giant fish that (spoiler) helped break the glass don't exist and Dr. Martinez wasn't inside Chu's facility, all right?

Disclaimer: I like blueberries. I like concerts. I like imagining Fang shirtless. I don't own Maximum Ride.

Which one does not belong, children?

Truth be told, the submarine sirens were eating at my nerves. I needed to hear, damn it, and those stupid wails kept going on and on and on. Captain Perry was shouting orders to the various members of the crew that were in the immediate area.

"I want Sector Five to clear those… robot things off my sub! Now!" Perry ordered and then turned to the Flock, John Abate, and Brigid, "If my men can't take down those robots, we'll all drown."

"But we are this close to the Chu Corporations building!" John exclaimed, motioning to the scope, which showed the submarine about two hundred feet away from the underwater facility. Captain Perry sighed, shrugging his shoulders at John and the rest of us.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Abate, but like I said before, the crew and my safety come first, before any old Chinese psycho fisherman." Gazzy bit back a laugh at the new name for Mr. Chu. The hull was silent for a moment, everyone's brains working overtime as running footsteps slammed hard against the metal floor outside the doorway. I noticed Max's facial expression flicker for an instant and I pressed down the smile that was threatening to unfold. Of course Max would have a plan.

"What about the Triton? That little mini-sub you have attached to the bottom of this submarine? Couldn't we cram some of the crew and all of us in there?" Captain Perry thought this over for a moment, before his face scrunched up, apparently finding a flaw in Max's scheme.

"What about my other men? There are over one hundred of us on here. What will they do?"

"Don't you have oxygen tanks for everyone on board?" Nudge reminded the older gentleman. We all watched his jaw lock, nodding shortly, quickly, before stepping out into the hallway and barking another round of orders to the crew. I glanced over at Max, lifting one of the corners of my mouth, and she beamed back. My brain shorted out, much like it did when we had kissed earlier in the day…

Max stood next to me on the pier, overlooking the waves crashing upon the slimy poles. Truth be told, it wasn't as romantic when you thought about it, but I pushed those thoughts aside. Max was here, I was here, and my arm was tight around her. The submarine had docked next to a navy battleship, U.S.S. Minnesota, and Captain Perry had allowed us a few hours to explore the famous island of Hawaii. Off on the horizon, I could barely make out the silhouette of a sailboat and a group of seagulls, heading east. My gaze shifted back over to Max, who must have felt my stare, and glanced up at me with those brown, russet eyes.

"Enjoying the view?" She grinned and I gave her an I-could-care-less look, which gained me a new bruise on my arm that was wrapped around her shoulders.

"Is this what they call 'tough love'?" I smirked as she rolled her eyes at me.

"Oh, shut up and enjoy the sunset," There was an unnatural pause, and I waited for her to continue with whatever witty remark she was going to- "And keep those cheesy romantic lines to yourself."

See? I know her all too well. I followed her orders, though, and made myself comfortable next to her, leaning against the railing of the boardwalk. The sunset seemed to be fast-forwarding itself and suddenly we were cast in the glow of the tiki-torches that littered the boardwalk.

"Ready to go back and fight crime, my lady?" Max sighed, knowing that my amorous jabs wouldn't end. Trust me, Iggy had filled me with enough of them, when I told him about Max and I kissing one time. That was when she ran, when I thought she hated me with every fiber of her being, and I had waited patiently for the supposed hatred to dissipate, before finally taking the plunge.

"Fang, I swear, you and your-" Her retort was cut short as I planted my lips on her sweet ones. My hands floated up to the back of her neck, pressing her softly against me. Time was of no essence as she slid her arms around my neck, tugging me closer. I backed her onto the railing, limiting the space between us even more. Our kisses slowed, each one savoring the last. With what senses I had left, the ones that weren't surrounded around Max, I could detect the faded roar of the ocean waves. Rolling in and out, in and out they came, tasting the soil of champions, before retreating home.

I broke the last kiss, my eyes reverently searching hers.

"Max?" Her name came out hoarse. Oxygen was of no essence, either.

"Yes?" Her brown eyes flickered upon mine, watching my face intently, waiting… waiting. At first, I didn't think I was going to be able to say it. My voice was somewhere in there, I knew, but every time I tried to speak, it would roll in and out, in and out, before retreating home again.

"I lo-"

"Fang, snap out of it!" Max cried, shaking my body feverently as the rest of the Flock rushed out of the hull.

"Wha? What's going on?" I barely managed before Max was shoving me out of the door.

"Those robots are ripping off parts of the sub," Her eyes were whirling this way and that, darting off to the side, then back to me, "If we don't get off here quickly, we'll drown or smash into the building below us." My expression remained the way it always is, stoic and rigid, but truthfully, my heart was pounding inside my chest. Max and I trailed Captain Perry, John, and the Flock closely. I think Brigid was going up with the crew in scuba gear. The robots outside rattled the sub, making walking seem like a dangerous task. Our shoulders slammed into the metal walls, our ears rang from the sirens and loud banging noises occurring from the exterior, and our bodies dripped from the water sifting in from cracks in the sub's outer shell. Finally, finally, we reached the chamber that led to Triton, the bright yellow submarine equipped to hold a maximum of thirty people. The crew filed in first, along with the captain, then John, and the Flock started on in. My hand found Max's and I held on tightly to her, an uneasy feeling pooling in the pit of my stomach. Gazzy hopped in, eager to start pushing buttons, and I could hear Max's voice from my right, reminding- threatening- him to not touch anything.

"This reminds me of Titanic!" Nudge cooed, glancing at Max and I holding hands, before slipping into the submarine behind Gazzy.

"Do we really resemble Jack and Rose? Why do I find no comfort in that?" Max laughed and shoved me in after Iggy and Angel.

"Just no spitting on the sexy, rich guy, all right, Max? I would rather not have anything from your mouth ruining this perfect face," Ig smirked and I punched him in the chest, enjoying the satisfaction it brought me. Max rolled her eyes- one of her favorite bodily functions, apparently- and took a step into the Triton.

"Actually, you remind me more of Romeo and Juliet," An odd, thickly accented voice announced, and it's owner yanked Max back into the submarine. Before I could even react, Mr. Chu, the leader in all the pollution going on under the sea, had sealed the air-lock chamber's door shut, and locked it with a clank.

"MAX!" Nudge and Angel shrieked from behind me as I struggled to yank the door back open.

No, no, NO! This can't be happening, this can't be happening…

Unfortunately, the only way to engage the Triton down was for someone to hit a button outside of the air-lock chamber. And I was betting that Mr. Chu wasn't going to play good cop, so to speak, and press the button for us once Max was inside. I needed a plan.

"Sadly, Max will be staying with me," Chu grinned disgustingly at her, and I felt my knuckles about to break as I cracked them.

"Touch her and you'll die!" I snapped, slamming my fist against the glass of the chamber. Even with my almost-Superman abilities, the glass barely budged. For the first time in my life, I felt the overwhelming feeling of… needing to cry. Chu cackled at my display of power that failed to achieve anything besides a throbbing wrist.

"Angel, zap his mind and make him press the button!" Iggy yelled as the submarine sank lower. The crew was desperately trying to maneuver the mini-sub away from a crowd of robots, produced by the raging psychopath that was holding my girlfriend.

"He's blocking me! I can't get in!" Angel sobbed, jumping down from Nudge's side to mine, "Max, no! You can't do this! Please come with us!" The uneasy feeling in my stomach grew to pure terror as I grabbed Angel's arm.

"What is she thinking?" Angel didn't meet my eyes, her lower lip quivering as she glared at the floor, "Angel, what's Max going to do?!" Hysteria littered the words pouring out of my mouth.

"She's going to send us away! Max is going to press the button and bring the sub down into Chu's building, so it will destroy everything!" Angel reeled again, facing Max, who averted my gaze as I pleaded to her with my eyes, "But you can't, Max! You can't!"

Angel fell to the floor, head in hands, and wept on Nudge's knee. I stood, facing Max through the glass, carefully watching as her fingers danced across the green button to let Triton go.

"Max… let me out. Let me in there with you," I spoke smoothly, not wanting her to have a knee-jerk reaction and hit the button. Her eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Fang, I won't let you. You'll just switch our places and I can't do that."

"Why not?" I wailed, my voice shattering, "Why won't you let me save you, Max! Why are you doing this? To the Flock? To me?! Why the hell are you killing yourself for us?!" My breath came out in pants as I glared at her. She swallowed and wiped away her tears on the arm of her sleeve.

"I'm the leader, Fang. It's my duty."

"Fuck duty!" I swore and reared back, cracking my fist against the glass, "It's not your duty, Max! You don't have to do this. We can find another way… please," I collapsed onto my knees, tears making trails down my face, "Please don't do this…"

"I'm sorry, Fang. I'm so sorry," Her brown eyes flickered to the Flock and the rest of the crew. Even the toughest of the tough, the Navy Seals, were crying. I knew it was coming. My fingers curled around a handle on the floor, bending and twisting it, until I shattered it altogether. The metallic flints dug into the walls, into my hand, where tiny drips of blood began seeping out onto the floor. Outside, the submarine was about fifty feet away from Chu's base, who was currently incapacitated on the floor thanks to Max.

"I love you," She whispered, her eyes deeply searching mine as I wept. How long had I waited for those words? Now I only wished that she didn't love me. It would make this parting so much easier, so much simpler if I didn't love her… if she didn't love me back.

"I love you, too, Max."

My hearing barely caught the slightest tap of the button as we floated away from her. I collapsed onto my side, my eyes glued to a sign, just below the door that read "We live, we die, cause you can't save every soul."

At my last moments of consciousness, I could recall listening to the main submarine's last moments, through a communicator that had been left on. One sailor had been left behind and was screaming in terror. The whole crew, including the Flock and I, watched as the sub sank lower and lower, finally crashing through the giant dome of Chu's facility. Starting at the bow, the submarine plunged into the fire and smoke, as the domino effect continued to the very tips of the propellers. Soon, I could see no more of what had held my Max. The submarine had vanished into the thick clouds of underwater smoke, debris flying past us as we made the trip to the surface; every beat my heart created reminded me that Max's would never beat again. I would never touch her, or hold her, or kiss her precious lips, or tell her I loved her. I would never hear her announce her love to me. Max's whole existence, her smile, her laugh, her kicks to the gut and her voice… they were just… gone.

Shattered.

Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on…

AN: So… I'm not exactly sure I liked how this one turned out. It was kind of rushed and I kept changing around the storyline, so the beginning and middle are kind of different from what I had originally thought up.

There may be a sequel to this, so look out for it. Maybe I'll make it a happy ending after all, since I think this sad ending came so abruptly.

Well, review it and tell me if you like it.

Song: My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. Hopefully, you already knew that though. Haha.