Chapter 21

Awwww, I didn't get to force Fang to tell Max he loved her in a weird way.

Fang-Why, what were you going to do?

Me- Mwahahaha *snaps fingers and Fang is dressed in a bright purple satin can-can dancer outfit complete with an ostrich feather hairpiece and pink boa* You wear it well! *bursts into giggles*

Fang-What the-

*Max walks into the room*

Max-What is going on here?

Me-* watches amused*

Fang-*dances the can-can while sing*Max, Max, Max I love you, Max Max Max I love you Max Max Max I love you, da da da da daaaaaaaaaaaa

Max looks horrified, I burst out laughing.

R&R?

Max

I walk into the summer palace. It seemed so long since I was here. Fang squeezes my hand and I relax into him. I look around. Emperor Titus, your conscience is back so don't do anything I wouldn't do.

I find him with his wife, strolling through the gardens. He frowns as the thought sinks back in. It occurs to me that I have a Voice just like he does. I wonder who my voice is.

I look over at Fang and bite my lip. We agreed to this yesterday, after we discovered thePossessed.

We were walking through the forest yesterday. The forest was eerily quiet. No bird was singing, no crickets were chirping. The wind died down. I shivered. Something had changed in the air. I could tell Fang sensed it too by the way he stiffened next to me. Everything was too quiet.

Suddenly, out of nowhere something burst from the trees. I automatically sprung up into the air, ready to defend myself. I felt Fang's powerful wings flap behind me. It's human…. I realize. It felt human. But it didn't look human. Its skin was papery white and its dark veins showed through. Its mouth was dripping black bile and its irises were red and crazed. I'd almost dropped from the sky in shock. It crouched low, spotting us. Its hands curl into claws. With speed that was not human, it pounced at us. We dodged just in time. I look at Fang and we nod, carrying the thing to a nearby water fall. It screeched at the sight of running water. With horrible, guttural animal screams, we dipped it into the water. It seemed to be convulsing but its skin returned to normal. Soon, it became human again, through and through, its irises returning to their normal green.

"Are you sure?" I turn to Fang. He nods. Emperor, duty calls. Have Andrea stay in her chambers, alright?

Titus sighs and turns to his wife, "I have something I must finish. Go inside, love."

I look at Titus and the love in his eyes. Humans are so fickle. He "loved" his first wife as well. Humans never love only once, but what about angels? What is love to us?

I take a deep breath and go corporeal. The ground is solid at my feet. There's a rush of energy and dizziness coursing through my blood as I do so. Some angels enjoy this feeling but I hate it. l It makes me feel powerless and weak.

I open my eyes to Titus gaping at me and Fang. "Miss me, Titus?" I smile.

Fang

"Miss me, Titus?" Max says.

Titus struggles to speak. He swallows several times before replying, "Lara?"

A little part of me asks, Who's Lara? And the other part asks what Max meant to Titus.

Max smirks, "My name isn't Lara, even though I am your guardian angel. My name is Maximum Ride and I need your help, Titus."

He looks at her flabbergasted.

"Now, don't let this go to your head," Max goes on, "It's not every day I ask someone to help me. An evil is spreading, not just in Rome, but in the Heavens as well. Heaven can keep its own, but the world needs a savior. I'm supposed to be that savior. But I need help, the Lord knows that."

Titus looks at me.

Max follows his gaze and smiles at me, winking, "This is Fang, he's my… he's my-" she struggles for words and frowns, looking at me for help.

"Betrothed," I tell him, shocking her and him.

It shocks me when he kneels at our feet, "Maximum Ride, my guardian angel, I will offer you my service."

Max

I sent Titus away after speaking with him.

I squeal excitedly and jump into Fang's arm, hugging him tightly. "We did it!"

But then I step back, looking up at his laughing face, "Why?" I ask. Why did he say we were betrothed? It hurt me when he said it. We could never be betrothed, we could never be together. We are angels; we aren't as free to feel as humans are. Our emotions aren't the same as humans are.

He knows what I'm asking about, "I-I just… Max, I just meant that-," he exhales heavily and looks away.

"Fang, you know we can't," I state.

"But what if we could?" he almost shouts back, more emotion in his voice than I ever thought possible from him. He's a rock, but not lately. He's been more caring lately. "What if we could? I love you, Max. I love you Maximum Ride. And if we could, if we could choose, I would choose you over Heaven or Hell."

"Fang," I whisper.

"Please, don't say no," his face is millimeters away from mine.

"Fang…."I was cut off by something crashing down next to us.

Ari lands, his face flushed, "Max, I found you," he says a bit breathlessly. And he crumples onto the ground, unconscious.

So… what do you think? I hope you guys are enjoying the story. I'm sorry if it isn't going as well but I've been feeling so depressed lately, I don't even know why. It's just that there's so many things happening with my friends and my own feelings and it really affects my writing. I'm losing ideas for this story so if you got any, please PM me or review. I have a new story I might be thinking about writing and it isn't for Maximum Ride. I think I'll have it on FictionPress because it isn't based off anything but a dream I had two nights ago. It was a sad dream. What is it with me and tragedies? Anyways, I'll let you all know if I ever post that story. спасибо (Russian)