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Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.

I rocketed down to Earth where, far below, Nudge stood terrified in the hands of a white coat. He had hooked her wings together with some kind of giant, unbreakable rubber band and had gagged her so that she couldn't warn me. I snorted. How typical, I thought. Pick on the young ones to get Fang and me to willingly bring ourselves back here.

I skidded to a halt right in front of the now-terrified white coat. As I was about to fight him for Nudge, Jeb came out of the shadows.

"Now Max, we wouldn't want to do that, would we?" Anger was seeping out my face in huge red blotches, and my breathing became more labored as I attempted to control my rage. Attempted being the key word.

"Cut the crap, will you Jeb? Just give me Nudge back and I'll do what you want." Nudge's eyes grew wide and she quickly and harshly shook her head, but I ignored her for the moment. "I know you need me to complete your plan or whatever, so just let her go and I'll come with you."

Jeb's face clearly displayed shock-he thought I would be a much tougher nut to crack-but he obediently clicked a button on Nudge's wing-sling-thing and it fell to the floor. Nudge ripped her gag out and immediately punched the lights out of the white coat that had kept her captive. "Nudge, whatever you do, make sure you get out of here. No. Matter. What." I gave her my leader face as I said this, so she knew I was serious, and she nodded slowly.

I said all this as I was racing towards Jeb, ready to kick him where it hurts. I made a roundhouse kick to his chest, but he caught my foot with his hand. Damn, he's fast. I struggled to fight free, even when I saw the Erasers swarming around us, aiming tranquilizer darts at pretty much every part of my body.

"Nudge, U and A, NOW! Go to where we planned to meet!" I screamed as loud as I could. "I'll be right behind you." That last part was a lie, and we both knew it.

I heard a loud beep from the gun, and felt the sharp sensation of the tranquilizer needle sink into my shoulder. As I fell limp into my captor's arms, I sought solace in seeing a small form flying up in the sky. Nudge got away.

I breathed a sigh of relief as unconsciousness took over my being.

I woke up in yet another white room. Gosh, don't these guys have an ounce of creativity? The only difference between this and the other rooms that I had woken up in was that there were crowds of people swarming around me. Apparently, I was a celebrity around here.

One face stood out prominently in the sea of wolfish Eraser faces and nerdy scientist faces. Jeb. He had knelt on the floor right in front of me, and was saying something.

"Max, can you hear me?" When I responded with a nod, he dismissed the crowd of people with a wave of his hand. Guess we know who has the power here.

"So, Max, I guess you already know why you're here." This was obviously difficult for Jeb to do-to kill his own daughter. His paled, blue eyes were locked on his worn out sneakers as he shuffled his feet across the bleached linoleum with a squeak. "If it's any consolation, you're saving the lives of millions of people, not to mention Fang's life. If there was any other way to solve this dilemma, we would have done it in a heartbeat." I scowled at him, but a part of me believed him when he said this. He sighed and continued.

"You were never the one I wanted gone, Max. You're my daughter, even if I'm not always the best father to you." I snorted at that, but let him go on. "This is the hardest thing I have ever done, but it has to be done."

I stared at him, this man who had fathered me to four years only to abandon the Flock and turn against us. He truly did care, now, and he regretted that he had to do this. I almost felt…sorry for him.

"Okay, Jeb, I get it. But, I'm getting my questions answered before I die. Think of it as a last request, kay?" His eyes finally met mine, and with horror I saw that they were beginning to fill with clear liquid. He was crying! He simply nodded, waiting for my questionnaire.

"First off, what was going to happen if Fang and I could…live? Why isn't there another way to solve this? And doesn't Fang have to kill me to end all this?" The questions just fell off the tip of my tongue. "And what company are you working for, anyway, Jeb? I thought you were the good guys."

Jeb sighed indignantly. "I told you Max, we are the good guys. If you and Fang had continued to live as you did, one of you would have eventually reached your full potential and gotten all of your powers. The other would, as well, but in a twisted way. You see, the world can never have two heroes, but it can have a hero and a villain. To keep the world in balance, an evil force must be created with every good, and vice versa. And that is why this is the only way to save the Earth. Eventually, one of you would have killed the other, and if the malicious one prevailed, the Earth would be in ruins. This way, one of you can continue on with the Flock and save the world.

"As for Fang killing you, you assumed that on your own. We don't want this to be any more painful than it has to be, Max." At this, Jeb stopped, and his body started shaking with the silent sobs he was desperately trying to hold in. Now, I'm not so good with emotional stuff, so I just kinda sat there while Jeb grieved over losing his daughter and all that.

Once he composed himself, he put on a false smile and turned to me again. "Okay, Max, are you ready?" So soon? I couldn't even say goodbye to the Flock…to Fang…

I had to stay strong. I would not cry. Maximum Ride does not cry. Well, not normally, but under these circumstances, I think some waterworks were acceptable. I freely let my tears flow as Jeb led me to my doom. Was the hallway getting longer, or was it just me?

Jeb opened the door for me. How polite; showing some chivalry for his daughter, who happens to be condemned to death. That's just great.

Before I disappeared into the room, unsure of what would happen but sure of the outcome, Jeb whispered something in my ear. "Max, now you can finally save the world."

Fang's Point of View

I sat at the mouth of the cave, my legs dangling over the side of the steep cliff. I strained my eyes out into the horizon, wishing, hoping that two figures would be flapping their way toward the Flock's hiding place. It had already been 4 hours, plenty of time for Max to rescue Nudge and be on their way here.

She will come, I kept telling myself. Honestly, I think that's the only reason why I didn't go insane. Sure, I was worried about Nudge, but that wasn't who Jeb was after. Nudge didn't have my heart caught in her hands, she wasn't my soul mate, the one who understood everything with just a single glance; Max was. And I didn't know if I could handle losing her.

I heard footsteps, and a lithe figure sat down on the hard rock next to me. Angel grasped my hand.

"Fang, you have to be strong. For us." she whispered into his ear. Suddenly, she sat up straight. "Nudge!"

I saw her dark body floating toward us, but no matter how hard I looked, there was only one form. Max wasn't with her.

As soon as she alighted onto the entrance of the cave, I grilled her. "Where's Max?" She looked at me guiltily and swallowed.

"Fang…she told me to go. And leave her there. I think she wanted to be the one…to go. She felt that she needed to, to, you know, save the world. And I tried to convince her, but she just kept telling me to go, and I didn't want her to get mad at me, cuz you know how she gets when she's mad, and oh, Fang, I'm so sorry!" With these last words, Nudge burst into tears, and I remembered that she was still only 11, still just a kid.

Iggy gathered all the kids up for a comforting group hug, but I just couldn't join. I needed to handle this alone. I stormed back into the cave where Max and I had had our first kiss. Maybe, if all this hadn't happened, we could have been something. I sighed, all the moments that I could have taken a chance but didn't regretted.

I'll never have her again, I suddenly realized, and hot anger coursed through my veins. I pounded a fist in frustration and felt hot tears gather around the corners of my eyes. I didn't know how Max did it, keeping it together in front of the Flock. I couldn't keep this inside of me.

Maybe Max wasn't gone yet. Maybe there was a chance that she was still alive, and there would still be a moment for me to see life in those gorgeous chocolate brown eyes one more time before they became dark. Maybe I could tell her I loved her one more time and kiss her soft lips before her last breath was drawn through them. Maybe I could convince her that the Flock needed her more than me.

Maybe there was still hope.

Enjoy? Then read and review! Pwetty pwease??? And new chapter coming before I go back to school! (hopefully :])