A/N: now celebrating 70 reviews! WHOOOO!!! Okay, back to business. For those of you who were confused about the time glitch...let's just say to prepare yourself for another slap in the face. The flock has finally arrived! EnJoY!

Nari Streeter

Chapter Fifteen: Maximum Ride

Angel padded her way along the subway tunnel, humming quietly to herself as she weaved between the people. The tunnels were dirty, and the rats in the corners gave her the creeps, but this little trip had been Max's idea. And anything Max says, is an automatic law.

After Itex had been destroyed, Max said it would be 'humbling' for all of them to visit the places they had stayed during the long trip to save the world. Personally, Angel just thought that she was getting sick of staying in Dr. Martinez's small house where they had somehow managed to cram six genetic experiments, a white-coat that no one trusted, a teenage girl, and her veterinarian mother.

Angel snatched up Max's hand when she got in range, "Max, can we have pancakes for breakfast? Like the kind Dr. Martinez makes with all the fluff and strawberries?"

Max sighed, tapping her foot impatiently but allowing herself to smile. Angel could do that to you. "Of course, sweetie. Just hang on a minute, Fnick lost his shoe."

Fang glowered at her, tugging on his boot and smoothly getting to his feet.

"All right," Max said, her voice dripping with forced excitement. The trip had been her idea, so of course she had to support it every stupid step of the way.

"Maybe Nickoli can come too," Angel suggested innocently, hugging her bear tightly, "I think he could use some pancakes."

Max glanced down at her warily, "Nickoli? What…did you make up another imaginary friend?"

Angel shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing, "I did not make him up. He's one of us, and right now he's really angry because he lost something really important…so I think pancakes could cheer him up."

Iggy brushed his hand over her hair, "One of us?"

Angel sighed, wondering why it was taking so long for them to catch on. "Yeah, you know…one of us," she lowered her voice, "one of the experiments from the School."

Max knelt down and placed her hands on Angel's shoulder, looking her firmly in the eye, "Angel, honey, this is really important. Are you sure you're not making any of this up? Nickoli is real? He's here?"

Angel nodded, cocking her head, "Do you want to meet him?"

Nickoli spun around in the crowd of homeless, frustration building in his chest. She had been right there just a second ago, and now she was gone. He ran his hand through his hair, gritting his teeth to keep from screaming.

Where the hell had she gone?

"Hi!"

He jumped, turning around to face six kids packed close together, all eyes fixed on him. The little girl from before smiled at him radiantly, her hand clutched around a larger girl's fingers.

"See," she said, obviously proud of herself, "told you he was real."

The girl holding her hand shifted to her other foot, eyeing him suspiciously, "Are you Nickoli?"

"What if I am?" Nickoli said carefully, his eyes sweeping the tunnel for all possible escape routes. There was no way in hell he was going to die before he knew Nari was all right…at least, not without a fight."

"Relax," the older girl said, "you can call me…" she hesitated, as if unsure giving out her name was completely wise, "…uh, Max. Call me Max."

Nickoli froze, his heartbeat pounding around his ears. No way. There was no way this could be happening. After all the days they'd spent looking for her…coasting for hours over the Great Plains, tramping endlessly across New York's sidewalks…only for her to show up in the subway tunnels they'd spent the night by mistake?

"Maximum Ride?" Nickoli asked, watching her face melt into suspicion, "the actual Maximum Ride?"

Max took a small step back, tensing as she narrowed her eyes, "How…"

Nickoli sighed, "We…I've been…looking for you…for a long time…"

Nari gut wrenched as Wolf's face twisted into a sleek muzzle, his ears elongating into neat points on top of his head, his shoulders broadening as white fur tore free from his skin.

"I'm sorry," he said, his eyes slowly painted yellow as his nails shaped themselves into sharp claws, "but I've been keeping secrets from you, Nari Streeter. Secrets that you were never meant to know."

He almost looked sad as he lurched forward, unfurling his wings in a high arch over his head, a hint of his former smile playing over his animal-like lips, "I had it all planned out you know. After Max was dead…we were going to go away. Just the two of us. We'd never have to deal with white-coats, or the School, or anybody every again."

Nari took several steps back, wondering how long it would take before people started noticing two oddities holding a death match in the middle of a toy store. "They lied to you," she said slowly, trying to make him understand, "there was to greater plan. The School lives only to destroy…to kill everything in its path."

"They're just trying to help!" Wolf shouted, tears pouring from his lamp-yellow eyes, "Why can't you see that?" He extended his clawed hands, "Please…Nari…please don't do this…"

A woman from across the isle dropped the plastic truck she had been holding, a shrill scream rising from her throat as she caught sight of Wolf standing just a few shelves away. Three seconds was all it took before all hell broke loose.

Nari gripped the bar tightly in her hands; lunging forward and snapping her wings open in one fluid motion. She felt the cold pipe make contact with the soft side of Wolf's muzzle as she sprang into the air, letting her jacket drop to the ground below her.

Wolf howled with pain, clutching the side of his jaw where the pipe had taken off a large section of skin. His pearl white fur was splattered with bright blood as he spun around, all mercy gone from his eyes as a roar ripped free from his throat.

Nari pumped her wings hard, skimming as close as she could get to the high ceiling. This was it.

This is where it was all going to end…

Nickoli crouched on the ledge of a high building, leaning forward on his toes in a perfect balance, his wings wrapped loosely against his back.

Max leaned on the ledge next to him, her eyes fixed on the rest of her flock that was lounging on the rooftop several feet away. Out of earshot but not out of sight.

"I don't know how long it took," she said, carefully choosing her words, "we were on the run for what seemed like forever. Everyone kept telling me to save the world, when all I wanted to do was save my family. It was like…one thing after another, just kept getting thrown in my face."

She twisted around, resting her elbows on the concrete ledge, "The flock was split up. I went across seas…went to go find Itex, to see if I could finally put an end to all this."

Nickoli stared down at the cars moving below like ants, "Itex?"

Max nodded, tearing a hand-nail from her index finger and sucking the blood away, "Itex was a branch off of the School…or, at lest as far as we could tell. They were bad, okay? So we took care of them. Finally saved the world, just like everybody wanted me to do."

A slight breeze blew at Nickoli's feathers, "So…now what?"

Max shrugged, "I thought a trip to New York without running for our lives would be fun for the kids. After this…I don't know. I guess we just…go back to normal. Live out the rest of our lives…try not to cause too much trouble."

A chill crept up Nickoli's spine, "That all?"

"Yeah," Max nodded, looking tired, "that's all. I did my job. Now…I just want to…I don't know. I don't want to do this anymore, that's for sure."

Angel squealed with hilarity as Nudge swooped her up in her thin arms across the roof, smiling widely as she hugged her bear closer to her chest. Gasman attacked Nudge's feet, sending all of them tumbling to the floor.

Max smiled, watching them with something beyond love in her eyes. Nickoli rubbed his hands together, his eyes smarting as he thought of Nari. Is that how he looked when she was around? Happy, caring…free?

"Max," he muttered, "I hate to ask this of you…especially after all you've been through. But I need a favor."

Max turned to face him, the living breathing symbol of leadership, "What?"

"Help me," Nickoli whispered, "help me save my world…"