GISLI'S INTERLUDE: Many thanks to Blawwmkw for suggesting I be put in charge. Oddly enough, me being put in charge was the only thing Mab and eclipsed heart could agree on. Mab got a few votes, but I think the author won overall. Anyway, being the clever author that she is, eclipsed heart managed to find a way to make sure that none of us characters can peek at the actual chapter. She said that there was stuff in the chapters to come that hasn't happened to us yet and that if we get a preview of our futures, we might try to change them, and that would cause like a rift in the space time contiuum, or some other geeky term like that. Still, I politely asked the author--

AN: Politely asked? HA! Yeah, right! He practically tortured me! He got all close and in my face (one lousy inch away!) and breathed at me and stared into my eyes and I wanted to melt! Torture, I tell you!

GISLI: Ahum. That wasn't me. That was that other guy you were hanging out with. Anyway, like I was saying, I politely asked the author if she could at least tell me a bit of what happens in this chapter, and she surrendered two pieces of information.

AN: It's not my fault! I did it unwillingly! TORTURE!!

MAB: Oh, shut up already, would you??

GISLI: Ahem. So, eclipsed heart told me that one, this chapter is in Max's perspective. The second piece of info makes me not like the chapter (or the author) very much because, apparently, I get a gun pointed at me in this chapter. Comforting, no? So, um, just read the chapter, I guess, and, uh, enjoy? You know, if you, uh, enjoy seeing me in life-threatening danger...

Maximum Ride: Passing the Torch
Sequel to MR: The After Years

Summary: Much has changed in the flock after fifteen years. At their second reunion, secrets lurk at every corner and disaster strikes, upsetting the delicate balance of their new lives and thrusting their fate into unprepared wings. SEQUEL TO MR: THE AFTER YEARS!

Chapter Twenty-One: Sudden Death

Enemy's Lair, Sammamish, Washington

BOOM!

Oh, no. What could be happening? Was Angel okay? Had something gone wrong? Was Fang dead? If he was, then how could I bear to live?

I heard voices, footsteps, on the other side of our door. Ella was finally coming to, opening her eyes every couple of minutes for a second or two, with Gazzy tending to her. Iggy was still stunned at Nudge's announcement, but he was doing his very best to comfort her. I just sat there, smack in the middle of the floor in the cold room. I didn't know what to do, and for once I let it show.

Muffled conversation. Had Brigid come back for another?

BOOM!

No more door to our prison. It had been blown to smithereens. Why did Brigid Dwyer need such a dramatic entrance? She already had total control of us; why did she insist on frightening us even more?

At first, I couldn't see the evil witch through the all the smoke. It made me cough. What if it was poison gas? No, no, she wouldn't kill us so quickly. She wanted me to die slowly, painfully, after having watched my family die, too. She wouldn't kill me like this. I wasn't that lucky.

But, when the smoke finally cleared, I found that it wasn't Brigid who was entering our prison. The first face I saw was that of Fang's. And yet it wasn't Fang. It was Mab.

I stood up so fast, my head spun for a moment. "Mab, what are you doing here?!" I yelled.

"What, you don't need rescuing? Your husband's dead and you want to just sit here and mope?" she muttered, walking toward me.

I froze. Oh, no. He was dead.

"Mab, I'm telling you, he's not dead!" Angel shouted, following her through. I looked at her with sad eyes.

You're not lying to her, are you Angel? I thought at her.

"No, Max. I'm not. He's alive, just sedated is all. And you might wanna get your bearings, because Dr. Evil is on her way and she is pissed."

"Where're the others? Where's Gisli?" Nudge cried.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm right here," Gisli said, coming through the busted doorway, followed by Behitha and Hawk. He went straight to Nudge and embraced her. I guess you can grow as old as you like, but you're never complete without your mother.

"Hawk," Gazzy said, rising from Ella's side. Hawk went to his father and hugged him.

"Come here, Mab. You too, Behitha," I whispered. Even if Fang was still in danger I was glad to see my two beautiful daughters again, to hold them in my arms.

"Max…" Angel chimed, as a clock would announce the hour.

"She's coming, isn't she?"

"Right about…now."

Footsteps.

"Gisli, give her your bag," Angel ordered. He obeyed, handing me his backpack, as well as a pack of matches. "What…?"

"Bombs. Might be of some assistance," he answered my half-spoken question.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Brigid bellowed. We looked at her wordlessly. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?"

"Actually, I think the real question here is what the hell is wrong with you, Brigid," I stated calmly.

"MAXIMUM RIDE, I SWEAR TO EVERY GOD THAT EVER WAS THAT I WILL KILL YOU OR DIE TRYING! EVEN IF IT'S NOT THE WAY I WOULD PREFER!" And with that, the charged at me, her braid a mess, her glasses askew. She was mad, insane. I had already nearly killed her and yet she was still going to try to murder me with her bare hands.

We collided, me not moving an inch. She raised up her hands to my neck, a pitiful attempt to strangle me. I easily held her at bay. She was not going to win, not after all she had done. I could practically feel the others looking on as we struggled, but they didn't help. I didn't want them to. This was my battle, and I alone would fight it, and win.

I threw a punch, giving it all the force that my aging body could manage. "Brigid Dwyer, you killed my mother."

Her arm snapped under the force of my fist. I guess I was stronger than I thought, even after all these years. She scowled at me, looking even uglier than usual. She did not cry out in pain, as I expected her to. Instead, she raised her fist to me and attacked my jaw, knocking it into an unnatural angle. "Maximum Ride, you murdered my reputation."

I could feel blood trickling down my chin, pain shooting up to my brain, but I didn't crack. Uppercut to her gut. I swear I felt her ribs crack. "Brigid Dwyer, you murdered my father."

She whipped her head around at the hurt, her glasses flying off her face. She would die, I knew it. But not yet. She spun around with the little strength she had left, launching her foot into my chest. "Maximum Ride, you nearly killed me."

I merely flinched at the pain. "Brigid Dwyer, you tried to kill my husband." I kicked at her legs, leaving her to kneel on the ground.

"Maximum Ride, you stole my glory." She hugged my legs, forcing them to cave. I dropped the backpack and it fell out of my reach.

"Brigid Dwyer, you threatened my family. And no one does that." I stood back up and slammed her down.

She was dead. She had to be. She wasn't moving anymore. It was finished. I sighed in relief, taking a few steps back till I was some fifteen feet away from her. Now, I could go find Fang and get the hell out of here.

But I was wrong. In a split second, she was back to her feet, holding a gun, pointed straight at my heart.

That cheater!

"MAXIMUM RIDE, YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!" she yelled, screamed, shrieked, bellowed, shouted. Her voice rang throughout the prison room, echoing off the walls. She spun around, gun in hand, until it was focused on Gisli. Oh, no. Not Nudge and Iggy's kid. They would never forgive me if he died.

Brigid Dwyer pulled the trigger.

I swear I saw everything in perfect detail. I saw the bullet, soaring through the air, slicing through it. I saw Gisli's eyes widen, knowing that soon he would not be alive. I saw, more than heard, Nudge scream for her son. Iggy must've somehow known what was going to happen, because his hand covered his mouth, as if to muffle a cry.

But I didn't see Mab move. She ran at Gisli before I could stop her.

And the bullet hit her.

Mab, my baby, slumped down, gasping. Gisli caught her before she hit the floor.

And that was the final straw.

"AARGHHH!" I screeched, roaring as I reached for the backpack and pulled an unfriendly looking beast from it. Without bothering to light it, and not knowing where the matches had gone, I threw it at her. In my peripheral, I saw the others back up at Hawk's urging. At that exact moment, Brigid shot again. Her bullet hit the bomb and it exploded in her face. Survival was impossible.

I coughed at the smoke, trying not to open my eyes. I hoped the others were okay, that Mab would live and that Ella would soon wake up. After a few minutes, I squinted, trying to determine whether or not the smoke had cleared enough. It was still hazy, but it didn't sting my eyes anymore.

Brigid Dwyer was there, lying on the floor. She moved no more, breathed no more. She was bleeding terribly, an entire pond surrounding her. I took a reluctant step towards her body, where it lay in the doorway. Step, step, step, till I was able to squat at her side.

She was still alive, but just barely. She coughed, sputtering up more blood. She glared at me, her eyes barely opening.

"Maximum Ride, I am not worthy of victory against you. You took it all, but you are invincible. You are truly Maximum Ride," she whispered.

"Actually, I'm no longer Maximum Ride. Maximum Ride is a young teenager who never lost, and she will never die. I have already lost so much, and I'm older now, maybe a bit wiser, and, someday, I will surely die. I can't be Maximum Ride anymore. I'm a mother and a wife. I'm mortal. I'm Madison Martinez now."

"And yet I have lost," Brigid Dwyer whispered. "Forgive me, Maximum. No one has ever before fascinated me more than you and your flock." The gun was still in her hand, and she began to move it. I froze. Was she going to shoot me? "And now it is done."

She put the gun against her head and pulled the trigger.

Now, Brigid Dwyer was truly dead.

GISLI: *glares at author* You know, I am so ready to kill you right now. How dare you, you son of a --

AN: Now, now, Gisli. No cursing in the ANs. Plus, I'm a girl, which means that I can't be a son.

GISLI: Fine. You daughter of a blue baboon! If she dies, you'll be following her right after...

AN: Oh, look! There's Mab right now. *points*

GISLI: *frown* She's unconcious in a hospital bed.

MAB: ZzzzzZZzzzzzzZZZzzzzzzzz...

AN: Yeah, but she's alive. *innocent smile*

GISLI: *death glare at author* I'll get back to you... *cheerful tone* So, yeah, uh, hope you guys enjoy seeing my girlfriend in pain. Apparently your author does *glare*. Mab was right: she is sorta evil.

AN: Hey!

GISLI: Well, I guess I'm supposed to tell you to review or something like that, right?

AN: Yes, REVIEW for the incredibly sexy guy! You know you want to!!

GISLI:...Ohhhhhhh...Kaaaaaaaay...