Maximum Ride is property of James Patterson. Kisha, Saber, Deveann, and Lash are property of ME! Kumali is property of Jwan!

Okay! Well, sorry that the gore wasn't gory enough for those of you that read it. Really sorry. I did gross out one person anyway. This chapter will be kind of laid back. Alright, here we go.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ruler xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Deveann's POV

I buttoned up my black silky work shirt Kisha'd bought me. Today was Lash's funeral. I stepped out into the hallway with the tie in my mouth as I fuddled with the black leather belt. I heard a faint giggle and looked up from my pants. "You're a mess." Kisha laughed from the other end of the hallway. She put something in Nudge's hair and came over to me. Nudge was touching whatever was in her hair and squealing with joy. "What in the world do you think you're doing, Deveann?" She murmured, shaking her head and fixing my collar. I gulped.

"I'm trying to dress myself." She laughed spitefully, in a way that sent chills up my spine.

"You need practice. Leggo." She said, swatting my hands. I let go of my belt and it hung limply in the loops. She took the tie from my mouth and tied it around my neck. "Your socks have holes in them. You aren't even wearing shoes." I shrugged. She looked me in the eye, having finished tying my tie.

"So?" I mumbled.

"You're so naive." I felt her grab my belt but she still stared at my face. I heard it click closed and she tightened it. "This is a formal event." She told me. She pressed herself against me and I was between her and the wall. "You need to look your best." She ruffled my hai with her hands, kissed my cheek and twirled around to find someone else who needed help getting ready. I couldn't understand how she could scold me so. She herself was wearing a Gothic Lolita; black and white striped thigh highs, and black Mary Janes. Her hair was up in curls and had a black rose clippy. I leaned against the wall before letting myself sink into a sit.

"Going barefoot?" Fang asked, straitening his tie and closing our door behind him.

"Oh, hilarious." I rolled my eyes and waited for him to leave but he just stared down at me. "What?" I asked him.

"What am I going to say?" He moaned. "When I'm called up to speak about her. Am I expected to just go up there and say something stupid like, 'Lash was a kind, caring, lovely girl, it's a shame I killed her.'" I laughed meekly.

"Fang, everyone knows you killed her. We understand if you're going to be a little awkward up there. Besides, Kisha ate Backlash, what do you think she's going to say?" I replied.

"I suppose you have a point." He helped me off the ground and shoved a pair of black dress shoes into my hands. "Thank you." I watched him walk away as I slid on the shoes. Lash was dead. We'd already coped with it, now we were giving her respect and
showing that we loved her now just as much as we had then. No tears would be shed at this funeral, we were all much too adjust to death at this point.

Fang's POV

I went to find Max, I couldn't do this without her. I needed some sort of support on this. She was wearing a long black dress that tied around her neck and showed her back. Kisha was speaking with her, reassuring her of her outfit. Her eyes flickered and met my glare. She waved goodbye to Max and went to rush past me. I grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Lemme go!" She pleaded. I pulled her closer so she could hear my words through gritted teeth.

"This is a funeral, not a ball, Kisha." I informed her.

"I know, but doesn't it look great on her?" She gestured towards Max, who was staring awkwardly at a black fan Kisha'd given her.

"Yes, that's the problem." She pouted at me, when she saw that wasn't working she wrenched her arm from my grip. She put her hands on her hips and stood up straight.

"No, that's your problem. Get. Over. It." She growled and stopped off. I admit, even in a Goth Lolita, she was still kinda scary. And I'd thought she and I could be friends yesterday. I approached Max with sweaty palms and shaky legs.

"Hello, Fang." She said calmly. "Are you nervous about your speech?" I nodded wordlessly. "That's understandable. Remember when Lash met Chris?" I remembered perfectly, she was so scared she was trembling. I nodded. "Yes. That was her first day with us, she quickly proved that things aren't always what they seem." My mind flickered back to when Max was stumbling aimlessly and bloody through the woods. Then… the pants of doom… She laughed quietly to herself.

"What?" I sputtered forgetting not to talk. She gave me a quizzical look but discarded it.

"The pants…" I smiled, we were thinking the same thing. She soon sighed. "This should be a sad occasion." I laughed spitefully.

"Yeah, obviously, black or not, some people are trying to lighten the mood." She rose an eyebrow. I put my hands on my waist and drew them outward, outlining an imaginary skirt. Max laughed.

"It's not nice to make fun of Kisha like that. You two were getting along so well yesterday." I nodded reluctantly. Truth be told, I had nothing against Kisha, she was nice, I liked her but her hatred of me was so fierce there was no point in even trying to be friends. The whole fiasco could have been avoided if I had just treated Max with more respect is the sad bit.

Max's POV

I took my seat on a bench outside. I was sitting between Fang and Nudge. My whole flock sat together whilst Kisha's flock sat on the adjacent bench adjacent to ours. The speeches began. Most of the people here hardly knew Lash and shook their heads disdainfully at certain parts of stories and comments. Finally, I came. I gulped down my uncertainty and went to the front. "Erm, hi." I waved, a low murmur of chuckles and laughter rang in my ears as several hands shot in the air to wave back at me. "I was very close to Lash. You see, she has nearly killed me twice now. I know it sounds odd but I'm actually rather happy that I was able to be attacked by her that first time. Through that she opened up more to us and she was allowed to see that I did truly care about her just as much as anyone else. I regret not having brought her to Dr. Washington. I cannot neither say that I blame Fang for his actions nor can I say that I blame Lash for any of the events that took place. From where I stand, if that son of a gun, Ter Borcht, hadn't been born none of this would be happening. But at the same time, I thank this horrible, sick man for bringing us all together and I trust that God will take good care of our precious Lash." That night we stayed outside and ate snacks, ignoring the bugs that bit at us.

"Max?" Angel's small voice snapped me out of my trance.

"Yes, sweetie?" I turned to face her. She handed me a stack of papers.

"I printed out that site." She said quietly. I was wondering where this was going. "The one where Lash's history is." I nodded, still
waiting for the point. She sighed and shook her head. She pointed at a picture of a pregnant woman with very rusty brown hair. I read the passage and put a hand to my lips.
Mrs. Church has been grieving over the loss of her daughter, Natalie. "It's horrible, everyday she would come and listen to my stomach. She'd trace her finger across my blouse and the baby would kick at it. Sometimes she'd put headphones on my stomach and turn on her favorite music for the baby. One time she surrounded me with baby toys from her child hood and told the baby that all that would be hers. This baby was, no doubt, the best thing in Natalie's life. Natalie devoted all her time to fixing up the nursery. Natalie desperately wanted the baby to be named Elspeth. Her father and I had already decided to name our second born daughter Marquette. Now that Natalie is… deceased we've reconsidered. Our daughter's name is going to be Elspeth and we'll call her Ellie, just as Natalie would have wanted it."
I shook my head as a few tears touched my chin. "She was going to have a little sister…" I murmured. Angel nodded solemnly.

Kisha's POV

Max told us the news, it was really a touching story, I had to stay but I had such a powerful feeling of impending doom that I couldn't
shake that I hardly heard her words. The next morning I heard a ruckus outside the front door. I sprinted to the door and looked outside. "(censored) it…" I hissed, choking back tears.
Erasers…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ruler xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wow, I started crying a little righting what Mrs. Church said. I was thinking about my own little sister though. I can't imagine… speaking of my little sister I hear her crying rather loudly in the next room right now. She's not even two and lately she's been going, "One, two, treeeeeeeeeeee!" It's sooo cute! Anyhoo, so then, bad cliffy, I know, prepare to hate me again next chapter. Beth, my old computer, died and Jackie, my current computer, is a hunk of junk so my updates might start coming later. Domo Arigato! Kisses!