AN: Well, this is it. The very last chapter. Can you believe it?? It's kinda surreal to me, like this isn't over yet. But, alas, it is. This is your "epic epilogue," to borrow the words of Lyla Ride (told ya I'd quote it). And I think it is pretty epic. 5884 words sounds pretty epic to me.

When I was about to post the number was soo close to 60,000 words and I knew it would bug me forever if I didn't reach it. So I did.

So enjoy it!

Maximum Ride: Passing the Torch
Sequel to MR: The After Years

Epilogue: Tying the Knot (and All the Loose Ends)

Angel's Wedding, Carson City, Nevada

Angel looked beautiful. She strode slowly down the aisle, her arm hooked to Gazzy's, a bouquet of white and pale blue roses in her hands. She bowed her head slightly, looking toward the altar through her eyelashes. Max was there, Angel noted with pleasure, as well as a round Nudge, Ella, Behitha and Mab, and some close friends of hers. Her eyes found the priest and skipped over the groom, to where his friends, Fang, Iggy, Gisli, and Hawk stood. She smiled to herself. They'd all made it, just as they'd promised.

Finally, Angel lifted her face and let her eyes rest on Anthony Joshua, the groom. It took all of her self-control and then some to not gasp. His soft, loving eyes locked onto hers and neither of them let go, too mesmerized. Angel and the Gasman reached the altar. The priest said something and Gazzy responded, releasing his sister and stepping back, but neither the bride nor the groom heard. Still lost in each other's gaze, they grasped the other's hands. The priest spoke more and though all but the bride and groom knew what he was reciting, they seemed to know exactly what to say and exactly when to say it.

At last, AJ cupped Angel's face in his hands. "Ariel, you'll always be my Angel." He smiled and kissed her, sealing their vow. There was applause and Angel smiled, a single tear of immense joy trailing down her cheek, though he couldn't see it. She knew she had made the right choice to tell him her past and she was glad that her family, her flock, had helped her so much.

She loved him, everything about him, and now he was free to love her. All of her.

-_-_-_-_-

It was loud, but that was fine by me. I mean, aren't post-wedding-reception-flock-parties supposed to be? Or are those not very common? Anyway, it was terribly loud and I was helping to produce quite a bit of the loudness.

"Mab!" Gisli shouted to me over the noise.

"Yeah?" I responded with equal volume.

He beckoned to me, wanting to get away from the noise. Smiling, I followed him away from the noise and I saw Mom look pointedly at me. I smiled at her innocently and she finally rolled her eyes, pretending not to notice her daughter sneaking off with a boy.

I grabbed Gisli's hand and we exited out the back door. When it shut, all the noise immediately disappeared.

He leaned back against the ledge of the balcony that we found ourselves standing at. "Finally," he sighed, pulling me closer. "You don't know how hard it's been to keep my distance from you. I haven't seen you in two months and I finally do see you, but I have to keep my hands off because there are so many people around and we have to be all prim and proper."

I let my head fall against his chest. "I didn't get to say this in person, Gisli, so happy belated birthday." I kissed his neck lightly.

He put his hand under my chin and brought my face closer to his. "And happy belated birthday to you, too." He kissed my lips.

I wrapped my arms around tightly, never wanting to let go. "You would never believe how much I've missed you."

"Probably not as much as I've missed you," he challenged.

"You should know better than to challenge me, Gisli. You know it makes me mad." I frowned for effect.

"I know, but you're so incredibly sexy when you're mad."

I giggled and blushed a bit. "But you're sexy all the time." I pulled him down to me and kissed him again. I loved kissing him. In the two months we'd been apart, I'd dreamed of his kisses most every night and woken up sighing dreamily and smiling like a dope. How could I be expected to have one day with him and not keep my hands away? Gisli was just so inhumanly beautiful. I had no idea how he'd ended up with me, of all people.

Gisli, to my surprise, broke away. "Mab, you do know that I love you, right?"

I leaned into him, breathing him in as though I couldn't get enough, and I couldn't. "Yes," I breathed. I loved to hear him say it.

"Well, I was just wondering if you…?" He didn't finish the question, but I knew what he was asking anyway.

I kissed his chin. "Yes, Gisli."

He took my face in his hands and looked me in the eye. "Mab Jackson, I love you and that will never change. It'll be forever."

I looked up into his beautiful eyes, falling into them as if they were the sky they resembled. His glasses reflected the city lights below us.

"Gisli, I had a crush on you from the moment I saw you, and when I saw your wings, I knew I was in love. I love you, too. Forever."

I kissed him and he kissed me and we just kissed the night away.

I know I was barely fifteen at the time, but I had found the boy with the wings and I was in love. Best of all, the beautiful boy with the impossible wings was in love with me too.

Sometimes, when a boy tells a girl, "Forever," she finds out that it's a lot shorter than she thought. But sometimes, like with Gisli and me, "Forever," is actually much longer than one originally thought. And it was so much longer and lovelier than I could have ever imagined.

ALTERNATE ENDING

As Angel and her lover said their "I dos," I looked over at Gisli and winked. He blushed a bit but smiled back and I couldn't help but think, hopefully, that someday that would be me up there, and Gisli would be the one kissing me.

I know I was barely fifteen at the time, but I was in love and I had found the boy with the wings. Best of all, the beautiful boy with the impossible wings was in love with me too.

When I look back on that day, I always remember it as being kinda prophetic. Maybe I was gaining some sort of psychic powers, though I didn't need any more weirdness in my life. But the point is that I saw a bit of myself that day, along with Gisli, standing by that altar, in front of that priest. And not too many years later, I would be seeing a very similar scene playing across my eyes, except that I would be the one striding down the aisle, in between my mom and dad, walking toward the most beautiful sight I would ever see.

I would think that until two years later, when I would hold a tiny, fragile baby in my arms, touch her soft hair and skin, stroke the gorgeous wings on her back. I would cry at the sight of my daughter Aya, and three more years later when our son Morgan was born, and Gisli would, too. And though I might never admit it, those were the proudest moments of my life.

And every day, every single day, I would see pictures of my life. I would see me, when I was younger, hugging Behitha, right next to a picture of the two of us on our twenty-first birthday. I would see a picture of my parents, Max and Fang, who saved the world, and always remember how much they love each other. I would see Grandma Valencia, Hawk and Ella and Gazzy, Nudge and Iggy and their daughter Aimi. I would let my gaze pause on a photo of Total, the bravest little dog I would ever meet, Angel and AJ, and one of Grandpa Jeb that I had found in my mother's room when I was seventeen. But the ones that would always brighten my day would be the ones of Gisli and I kissing each other into madness on our wedding day, holding our babies for the first time, and the pictures of little Aya and Morgan, growing older each year.

Every day, I'll be sure to tell them just how special they are. One day, Gisli and I will tell them why they have wings. Someday, we'll probably leave them at their grandparents' houses and let them tell Aya and Morgan who they really are, first generations. One day, when Behitha, Hawk, and Aimi have their kids, we'll all meet up at some forlorn hotel, with the original flock if they have the strength, and try to relive our too-short glory days. One day, Gisli and I just might tell our kids how Valencia Martinez, Jeb Batchelder, and Brigid Dwyer really died. One day we'll tell them that Total the little black dog was no ordinary little black dog. And one day, when all that is left of the first generations and their enemies is distant memory, we second generations will gather up all of our kids, and their kids, and we'll tell them the unbelievably true stories of the incredible, indescribable Maximum Ride and her invincible flock, and we'll tell them to never stop telling the stories. In that way, even when genetics say otherwise and proclaim us fully human, the flock will never truly die.

EXTRAS!!!

Okay, guys, so the first "extra" was obviously the alternate ending, which was meant to start right after the third person part of the epilogue ended. I actually wrote that first, but wasn't satisfied though, so I wrote a second ending.

Now, here are (as best as I can put them) the original notes for the story. This is what I to go off of at first, and nothing more:

Sum: When I was growing up, my parents always told me I was "special." Everyone did. And they were right. At least, if you consider having wings "special."

For a while, this was the summary, then I changed it a couple of times to what it is now.

The original plot was as follows:

-original flock plus Ella kidnapped!

-Brigid Dwyer didn't die! (she's the culprit)

-Mab, Behitha, Gisli, Hawk, and Total set out to save them

-run into Jeb (he helps)

-Dr. Martinez also helps

Pretty short, no? Eventually, I added more and more and wound up with about a hundred pages. Longest. File. Saved. To. My. Computer. Ever!

The Characters were originally as follows:

Mab

At first, Mab was called Shane. I also at one point considered calling her "Aya," but now that's her daughter's name (because recycling is always good!). Her original description was:

-Shane, Max and Fang's kid, (2 percent "special") girl, boy crazy, meets boy along the way, 15 yrs

So, basically, Mab was gonna meet some awesome guy along the way to save her parents, which was gonna serve as a HUGE distraction for her. However, when I brought Gisli in with all his hotness, I realized that if she's boy crazy and there's a super hot guy that she's not related to hanging around, it would be impossible to keep her away. Also, she was older than I finally decided to have her be, though in the epilogue she is fifteen.

Behitha

Sadly, Behitha was not part of the original planning. I later added her because I didn't want all the flock's kids to be only children. So when I finally wrote her down, she was named Jade. Later I crossed that out and put Aimi (again, recycling. Nudge and Iggy's kid got that name). Then I settled on Behitha (or Beth) and left it at that.

In writing the first chapter, I decided that she would be a spitting image of her mother, but act just like her father, and that her sister would be the opposite. Behitha is no doubt Mab's best and closest friend (though it may not show, Mab told me herself that it's true), despite their opposite personalities. They aren't as close as Max and Fang were (are?) but still know each other as well as themselves.

Gisli

Original description:

-Morgan, Iggy and Nudge's kid, (2 percent "special," glasses) 14 yrs, girl

Gisli didn't stay a girl long though. I quickly made him a boy (*big sigh of relief*). After a bit, I thought that Morgan (more recycling) seemed more like a girl's name to me (though it works for both genders) so I changed it to Benvolio. Story behind that: I was on a Romeo and Juliet high, and Benvolio is my absolute favorite character from the play. But I already had a Mab, so I decided Benvolio was kinda pushing it.

Then I found the name Gisli. And I loved it.

I've found out that a lot of you think Gisli is amazing. Personally, I think so, too. I mean, Nudge is gorgeous and Iggy is just sexy, so their kid had to be drop-dead gorgeous and sexy. A close friend of mine (Milla, the somewhat devoted reader) said, "OMG, Gisli is perfection!" in her review after he was introduced, and when I saw her a few days later, she said something like: "…he's too perfect…every guy has a flaw…what's his?" I jumped to his defense and said that he had terrible eyesight. Besides that, though, Milla and I came up with quite a few comical flaws for the perfect guy that night, but the one I remember most clearly is the six toes. Yes, I was seriously considering giving him six toes.

But finally I decided on something a tad more realistic, and here it is. Gisli Griffiths' one flaw:

He cannot sing.

For crap.

Seriously, Gisli's singing sounds like a rabid squirrel fighting, killing, and eating a Rottweiler. Very unpleasant. So while Nudge can make your ears bleed by talking so much, all her son has to do is sing one single note.

Hawk

Okay, Hawk went through so many names till I finally settled on one. He was first Antonio, then Antonio Jose, then Ace, then Ace Jose, then AJ (recycling is good for the environment), and then finally Hawk.

Originally, his character was as follows:

-Antonio, Ella and Gazzy's kid, (1 percent "special," air sacs, hollow bones) boy, 12 yrs

Because when I first wrote Hawk, Gisli was a girl, it left Hawk to be the only boy. I wanted him to kinda be the brains behind things at first, but Total pretty much snagged that role. Name-wise, I finally went with Hawk and bumped his age down a year. Though he was a bit of a minor character, I really like him. Around Chapter Sixteen (or was it Eighteen?) I realized that most of Hawk's lines were questions, and I tried to give him more speaking roles that were statements, or corrections, not just questions.

Brigid

Brigid was the bad guy right from the start. I needed someone with the potential that wasn't established as being directly affiliated with Itex, as all those people were dead. I also needed surprise and, upon reading some chunks of The After Years, I found that Max believed Brigid to be dead. It was too perfect. No one of the flock would see her being behind it, and all I had to do was give her the motive, which wasn't too hard to find.

Brgid's motives

-she was a spy, not a traitor
-wasn't saved
-out for revenge
-plans to destroy them
-she is in Washington State

Now, because I love you guys and most of you love FAX, I have decided to add this. There wasn't much FAX in this story, as Max and Fang weren't speaking for a good part of it, so I feel like I should give you guys some.

Who remembers Chapter Twelve of The After Years?? Well, here it is again. BUT! This time, Fang is gonna tell you what happened that night, so that you'll have heard from the both of them. Enjoy!

Maximum Ride: The After Years
Chapter Twelve: The Recipe for FAX, Fang's Edition

Fang's Hotel Room

I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned in the hotel bed, my head aching. She was back in my life, and now she refused to exit my thoughts. I would see her hair blowing in the wind, hear her laughter in the air. I saw her flying, though the last time I had flown with her had been ten years ago.

I was in love. I had been for a long time, but now that she was back by my side, it was as if my love for her had been revived. It was no longer something lurking in the corners of my heart; it was a living, breathing thing, and it was consuming me.

I had to tell her. Maybe, just maybe, this time she would accept it.

She's not yours to take, a dark voice whispered in the back of my mind. It was right. She was engaged. She had fallen in love with another man and she was going to marry him. Even if she was ready to let me love her, she couldn't allow it. She belonged to another and their love was marked with a ring. She could never be mine now.

Still...what harm could it be to tell her? Not bothering to put a shirt on, I rose from my bed, grabbed her cardkey from my nightstand, and left my room. I went down the hall until I found her room and I put the key in the slot, letting myself in.

She was asleep, her hair spread out around her head like a fan, resting on the white pillow and sheets, almost like a halo. She looked beautiful in sleep, but there was a frown on her face. She tossed and turned, muttering in her sleep. No, she gasped. What did she mean? No, what?

I shook my head. Now I was just being stalkerish, hanging out and watching the woman I loved sleep. I reached over and began to shake her shoulder.

"Yo, Max," I whispered. "Let's take a little spin."

Max's eyes fluttered open, but she didn't look at me. "Didn't you say that exact same thing ten years ago?" she said cautiously.

Mentally, I cringed. Yes, I had said that, and Max had broken my heart (again) shortly after that. But I swallowed my emotions and replied, "But that's not what you said."

I watched her lips curve into a smile as she closed her eyes again. Then she sat up and looked straight at me. She seemed to drink me in for a moment, and then she stretched out her hand to me, her fingers brushing the scar given to me by her half-brother. Without moving, I followed her fingers with my eyes as they explored.

"Oh my. It's still there," she said, surprised.

After a moment or two, I whispered back, "Yeah. It makes it kinda hard to forget Ari."

She grinned a bit, her eyes a thousand miles away. I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about.

Finally, I said, "Well what are you waiting for? Let's bounce."

She seemd to remember my presence as I spoke and she got up out of the bed. As she walked over to the door that led out to her balcony, I noticed that she wasn't really wearingg much. A pair of shorts were on her legs, but they were obviously made for pajamas, not public appearances. She also wore a low-backed spaghetti-strap shirt that allowed for her wings to easily be freed. She looked amazing in the moonlight, her skin smooth and flawless, her hair shimmering.

It was then that I noticed that she was prepared to take off while I still lingered in her room.

"Coming?" she asked, looking at me pointedly, as if she was trying to decipher my thoughts.

"Of course." I walked out to join her. "I just got distracted for a moment," I told her, and then I plunged into the darkness of the everlasting night.

-_-_-_-_-

I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her. I had to tell her, I had to tell her, I HAD TO TELL HER.

My mind was like a broken tape recorder, reciting this over and over. I had to tell her, I had to tell Max how I felt. I had to tell her I loved her.

For an hour, I tried to get the right words out. For an hour, I failed.

And then, as we came back toward the hotel, I thought I had a way to tell her. We stopped at the balcony outside Max's room and perched on the ledge. Well, she did; I stood, leaning against the ledge right beside her. She looked up at the stars and I looked at her, absorbing her beauty and the courage I knew I would need in order to tell her the truth. She looked at me just as I began to speak.

"Max, do you know what my biggest fear was in the past ten years?"

She searched my eyes, confused by my question. Then she shrugged. "Erasers?"

"No." I almost slapped myself. Maybe I'd worded things wrong.

"Flyboys?" she guessed again.

I shook my head in reply.

She thought for a moment. "Itex kidnapping you in the middle of the night?"

My lips twitched. "Surprisingly, no."

"Well then what?"

I sighed, looking away from her searching gaze. This was it, the life-changing moment, and whether the change was for better or for worse was all up to her.

"My greatest fear was...that I would never see you again." I glanced at her briefly to gauge her reaction. She surrendered nothing, and I continued and the words were suddenly flooding out of my mouth. "That I would never be able to tell you what a great leader you were, never let you know how much I looked up to you, never say that I thought you were the most beautiful girl to grace the planet, never tell you that you were such a great friend, never..." I stopped, resting my face in the palms of my hands. I didn't dare look at her, for fear of what I might see. This would be the hardest part. "...never be able to tell you how much I loved you." Finally, I looked into her eyes, opening myself to her.

She looked horrified. For the longest time, too long, she just sat there, staring into my eyes and saying nothing, her mouth a flytrap. She looked away then, leaving me hanging, wondering what would happen next.

After a few minutes--or an eternity?--she caught my gaze and took a deep breath, as if she were about to dive underwater.

"Fang," she whispered before going silent again. Then her mood seemed to change, her tone becoming light. "Do you know why I never told David about the wings or Maximum Ride?"

"No..." I said plainly, though I was utterly shocked. I had just confessed my love to her and she had changed to subject to the man she was engaged to!

She closed her eyes and breathed again. "I never told him because I knew that if you ever came back into my life, I would immediately choose you over him, that I would follow you, do anything to keep you around. And I knew he would never like that. If he had that kind of information, he would automatically use it to his benefit if he thought it would make us even, make me come back."

She looked at me sadly and I tried to understand the meaning of her words. "So you didn't trust him."

She sighed. "No, more like I didn't trust me." She paused, then her tone became serious. "Fang, if I had to choose between seeing just you and seeing just the rest of the flock, I would choose you without hesitation. If I had to choose between your life and everyone else in the flock, I would choose your life. If I had to die to save you, I would without a second thought."

I cut her off. "That wouldn't really work, because the moment you were gone, I'd find a way to follow."

She shook her head. "Well, the point is that I don't trust myself where you're involved, because the outcome is too predictable.

"And every day in those ten years when we were apart, I thought of you, tried to imagine where you were. Every time I kissed David, I really wished it was you. When I started getting close to him, I couldn't help but think that he was like you. I fell in love with his Fang-like qualities, not him.

"So I guess that that was all just a super long way to tell you that I love you."

I started smiling, and then I just couldn't stop. She loved me. Max loved me. I was the happiest man in the world, all because she loved me.

"So where does this leave us?" I asked.

"I don't know," she responded, looking confused.

I elaborated. "I'm in love with you and you're in love with me, but you've got David waiting for you back in Arizona."

She froze, as if she had forgotten something important. She looked at me sheepishly. "Actually..." She held her hands out for me to see. "Like I said, I knew I would end up choosing you."

For a second, I was puzzled. Then I realized that there was no engagement ring on any of her fingers. I took her hands in mine, stroking them.

"What happened?" I couldn't help but ask.

"He didn't like the idea of me leaving, so I told him that if he wasn't ready to accept that I was a free-spirit, then he wasn't ready to marry me. I kicked him out and he took back the ring."

"Why didn't you say so before?" The fact that she would keep something this important from me was frustrating.

Her cheeks turned a light pink. "I forgot."

She turned around to face me then, looking into my eyes. I was still smiling.

"Well now that you remembered..."

And I pressed my lips to hers, enjoying the feeling of them against mine.

She loved me. Maximum Ride loved me. And I was finally ready to keep the promise that I'd made so many years ago on that little beach...

"Don't ever leave me again."

"I won't. I won't. Not ever."

Disclaimer: Those last two lines are from Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. Hope you enjoyed that peek into Fang's head!

(Please excuse any spelling and/or grammar mistakes. This portion was done straight on FF. Thank you.)

Well, that's about all I have for the extras. Except for this piece of news: I am so not done frolicking around in the Maximum Ride fandom. So you'll be hearing from me again, hopefully quite soon. But just because I stick around here doesn't mean that I won't go traipsing (that's an awesome word, don't you think??) around other fandoms, such as PERCY JACKSON!!! Great idea going for that, though it's kinda similar to this fic…oh well!

As for the MR random, I have a fabulous idea started for that one. If you've read the top portion of my profile, I am currently referring to the terribly depressing fic mentioned there. Even though it is a terribly depressing fic, I think it is also GREAT. The first chapter should be posted this weekend, if you're interested in checking it out. Here is a summary for your entertainment:

If Only: It's been exactly seven years since a terrible battle involving the flock played out in a forlorn forest clearing. But what really happened that day can only be told by revisiting the bloody past and unlocking the secrets of the flock's sole surviving member...

So the title is If Only, and the rating on it will be higher than the rating on any of my other fics so far. Definitely not high enough for an "M" rating (never that high!!) but BEWARE! This fic will be rated "T" for: thematic elements, teen drinking, implied drug abuse, brief (implied?) sexuality, blood and gore, perilous situations, and (possibly) brief language. Are some of you wondering where all of this is gonna come from? Well stop by and drop a review over there if you're interested. ;)

Anyways, REVIEWS are somewhat like…huh…what's something I haven't used that's actually relevant in this context??...AH!...no, wait…I already did endings…Umm...ideas was done...uhhh...OH! I've got it: REVIEWS are like EVERY POSITIVE ADJECTIVE KNOWN TO MAN. That's an awful lot. So REVIEWS are wonderful, amazing, stupendous, lovely, praiseworthy, awesome, great, fabulous, cool, smart, beautiful, ingenious, marvelous, magnificent, incredible, outstanding, perfect, fantastic, terrific, excellent, extraordinary, brilliant, splendid, outrageous, spectacular, astounding, dazzling, grand, remarkable, sensational, prodigious, stunning, wondrous, astonishing, impressive, exceptional, miraculous, prominent, significant, glorious, illustrious, delightful, divine, pleasurable, renowned, honored, heroic, heavenly, venerable, notable, superb, sublime, super, resplendent, enjoyable, admirable,attractive, superior, choice, superlative, select, incomparable, invaluable, exquisite, exemplary, premium, supreme, transcendent, priceless, sterling, desirable, phenomenal, special, unique, fine, good, striking, supernatural, awe-inspiring, peachy, pleasant, swell, dandy, exalted, facsinating...and all those other positive words (if there are any left). Now, don't you think if someone had all those positive words thrown at them, they would feel just so...light? And optimistic? You know, like nothing-bad-can-happen-to-me-because-I'm-walking-on-pure-sunshine. So...if you guys REVIEW, I might just feel that way? Four hundred is a lovely number, and with your help, this story can reach it. REVIEW!!!