Back to 3 years after the memory occurred.

I watched from my perch on the stairs, which gave me a view into the living room, as the memory became blank. Angel and Nudge were crying again. Gazzy was glaring angrily at the wall. He didn't have to cry. He had cried so much over me, that he was done. But he was just angry that he couldn't save me. They all were.

Iggy was watching him for any reaction. He was staring at the place in the living room where my body had just lain, broken, a hole through my stomach, dying. He looked about ready to kill someone, but of course his eyes were telling a whole different story.

He was heartbroken. He had come back for me, and I was gone. And not gone in the sense where you could go after me and drag me back by the wing. I was gone. Forever. There was no dragging me back, no chasing after me. No more memories to be made, no more arguments to be had. You could see all this realization in his eyes. He would never again have me.

I felt the same pain as I was dying.

"Iggy. Wh-What'd she want you to tell me?" His voice cracked. He was trying not to cry. Silent, collected, impassive as he was, he still had a heart like all of us, and it was breaking in front of him.

"She loved you, man. Always did. That day, right before the battle, Angel heard her dream. She was with you. You guys were somewhere, some place that was really warm and you both were laughing and she was truly and honestly happy. She woke up and had this smile on her face that none of us had seen for a few years since you had left. Then she entered the battle. As if it came crashing down, she realized she might never get to see you again, and she wanted you to know she loved you. She always loved you the most. We may have resented you at points for it, but we've come to learn that it's not really she loved you more; it's that she loves you differently. We're her siblings. You're her soul mate. And she… died making sure someone, aka me, was there who was able to let you know that she was always thinking of you. She told me before the fight began that if she didn't walk out of it, which I stupidly told her she would, that you were going to blame yourself for what happened. She told me, and I quote, 'Iggy, under no circumstances, do you let him blame himself for letting me die, if I die. He chose to walk away, which means he won't be here, which means he wasn't part of the fight, for which I'm grateful so he won't get hurt. I wish you guys weren't either… Ahh, sorry. And if he wasn't part of the fight, then there was nothing he could have done. He couldn't have stopped me from dying; he couldn't have stopped me from fighting. Fate weaves its own twisted web. If he was there to stop me, I would've died another, more painful death anyway. And that would've been his fault.'" Iggy laughed a little at the end, and though everyone was a little distraught, my sarcastic humor even in bad times, even after my death brought them together.

I laughed along with them.

"Fine then. It wasn't my fault. I blame the twisted web that Fate weaved, and Marian Janssen." He said, earning another small laugh from the group. I could see the shock in his eyes from the truth and openness with which Iggy spoke to him.

Then, he stood up, rather abruptly.

"Sure, it's at that field in the memory. We could fly there right now." Angel answered his silent question.

"Actually…" he muttered.

"I'll tell you where then." Angel said, smiling, drying off the remnants of her tears.

Not much later I was sitting on my grave, waiting. That's the fun thing about being a spirit: you can just appear somewhere.

He arrived two hours after I got there. He landed with his back to the grave, as if he were afraid to see where my body lay. I'd be afraid too. In fact, I was the first time I saw it.

Slowly, he turned around, and time seemed to stand still as the one person who wasn't there when I died looked over my resting spot.

He walked carefully to the marker that I was sitting on and knelt before it, staring for a few moments. I looked away, unable to watch as the one I loved but could not be with cried silently over my body.

I looked back after a few moments and noticed he was tracing the words on my marker. They were delicately chosen, simple, but I liked them.

Maximum Ride
Death: July 18, 2017
Leader, Mother, Friend
Loved so many, loved by so many
"The word impossible is not in my dictionary."
Even in death, she is invincible

He laughed a little at the quote they had chosen for my marker. I liked it. It fit me quite well.

I wanted to reach out and touch him, do something, anything, for I hadn't been able to in so long. I died two years ago. It's been two years since my spirit took to watching over my Flock, waiting for him to come and see me. That's why I'm here. I couldn't move on because my spirit was unhappy, it felt like it should have seen him first, before I died.

He sat there staring at my grave for hours. It started to get a little dark, the sun starting to set a little bit. He got up to leave, and so did I and I think that's when it happened.

"Max…?" he asked. I was confused for a second. That is my name, but I am dead. But he was looking straight at me…

"Can you see me?" I asked, hesitantly. He blinked, and then a half smile broke out across his face.

"You are invincible, even to death. It can't hold you for long can it?" He asked, suddenly solemn again. But that half smile was all I needed. I smiled back, and ran to him, and though I half expected to faze right through him, being a spirit and all, I was solid against him, and he could hug me back with just as much force as I hugged him.

"Max, I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry for everything. I know Iggy said you said I shouldn't blame myself, but I can't help it. If I had been there, we could've taken her down together. It would've been easy. I could've helped you with Omega and you would've been strong enough to fight off death. You know, Max, you know I would've taken that bullet for you." He whispered that last part. I buried my head in his shoulder.

"A Flock can rebuild without a leader. But a leader can't rebuild when she's missing parts of her flock. What happened was you weren't there. I lived on the chance you would be coming back to see us, and you did. Here you are! But if you had been there, when all the guns were going off, and you had died, you wouldn't have been coming back, and I wouldn't have been able to rebuild. The past is over with. I died. End of story. I'm in your arms right now, something that is only happening by a small miracle and chance of Fate. Stop blaming yourself, and learn to see that some things in life, though missing a few parts, are beautiful. You're going to have to leave here soon. I'm leaving. I waited two years." I murmured into his shoulder. He ran his finger through my hair and held onto my tighter, as if letting me go was out of the question.

"That's why you're here. You couldn't go until I came back…" He whispered. I smiled against him, wishing I could cry. But that's one of the not fun things about spirits. We can smile, and we can laugh. But we can't feel happiness or sadness or anything. And we can't cry.

He rubbed the spot between my wings, as if he knew exactly how I felt.

"But you came back. You came back like you promised, and I can leave now. I've waited seven years to see you again." I pulled back and ran my shockingly white fingers through his contrasting black hair. "I missed you so much. You've grown so much in seven years. The entire Flock has. I've been watching them for the past two years, they might not seem like they need it, but they need you to watch over them now."

He rested his forehead against mine, closed his eyes, and sighed.

"Why'd you have to go Max?"

"I was ready then. I'm ready now. You came to say goodbye. Say your goodbyes now, because my time has come…again." I said pulling away gently. He gripped my wrist firmly and pulled me back in a tight hug.

"I have and do and will always love you, even though you're gone. Don't you dare forget me wherever you're going! And I promise I will watch over the Flock and the world, until it's my turn to come to you. I broke a promise to you once before, but I will not break this one. But I know you have to go, and as much as it's going to hurt me to let this happen, I will not forget you, and I will be strong, and I'll try my best to not blame myself for anything, for you." He said to me. If I was not mistaken, I felt a tear drop splash onto my shoulder. I smiled and thanked the place I was going that I couldn't cry or feel sadness.

"I won't forget you. I'll always love you, even if I'm not here. And I'm always watching over you and the Flock. Remember, it's only for a little while." I said backing up. I felt myself start to glow as I grew fainter and fainter to see. I watched more tears trickle down his face, but he said nothing. I looked down, and I could see right through my hand, only the bare outlining visible. I raised my hand up in a wave, which he returned. And soon, I was gone.

"Goodbye, Maximum Ride." He whispered.

And if you were there with him, and had listened closely, you would've heard a soft voice on the wind reply.

"Goodbye Fang."

So…. what'd you think? Was it okay? I tried not to make it too sad, but sort of hopeful. I hope my action scene was okay. Review?