Welcome to Gaia! ::

Madison almost began to ramble on again as she looked for answers, but her mind was quickly silenced as she began to hear Maximos’s kind words. They weren’t sharp or harsh, nor were he scared of her as many people had shown her before. But if anything, she may have not realized it, the man that she was speaking too understood more than she could ever imagine about what she was going through.



Madison looked up ever so slowly and caught notice of his miscoloured eyes; she could feel the warmth and kindness trickle inside of her. It was almost comforting to know that she wasn’t the only one that was been smothered. She sniffled her button nose slightly, since with tears it was often found that there was a toll and often it came with a runny nose and puff red corneas. She was an even bigger mess, but right now she really didn’t care.



She frowned slightly as she heard the words. Now this was something she should have expected. In fact she knew it. If she didn’t know the answers, why would anyone else? All she knew was that her entire life fate had been dealing her the wrong hands. But then again, that was also another point of view, and right now Madison’s point of view wasn’t exactly a good one.



As the shadow played with her own two ears lightly with a chuckle, she too began to chuckle. It wasn’t as twisted as beforehand. But rather she was joining in his amusement. Even though there had been days that she absolutely despised the two large (very dirty) appendages with everything in her being. They were gentle, soft, and they were hers. It was something that made her who she was as a person, and no one could take that away from her. Even if Madison was offered genetic perfection she knew that would never let them go. Underneath all of the hate that she had for them, she loved them all the same.



Despite his best efforts to sound rather sincere, his hand gesture and tone caused her to giggle even more so. Humour was a definite gift from the Gods, as it managed to break every moment. She was laughing, and smiling with the occasional sniffle. It was something beautiful as her she was taking her small steps forward. But no matter how much she may not want too, she was no longer going to be the same sweet Madison as before. ..

Today Madison was something more.



There conversation has turned around, and Max was indeed very right. At this moment in time, the two of them were in a very dangerous place, and she was looking for something. And no one could tell her otherwise, not an organization, not an elf, and not even the shadowy gentleman.

Madison was quite a bit calmer now for she was trembling less and her voice wasn’t as shaky. She seemed a little hesitant at first as she wasn’t entirely sure if she should even tell him. Perhaps he would laugh? Perhaps he would think she was odd? But for some reason, something inside her told her she was able to trust him, even despite how much doubt she had inside her.

“You see, there is a part of my life that I don’t remember...and now most people have some memory of their childhood. But I can only remember some parts. But...I only remember parts of being in an orphanage...and then being adopted...and then experiments from a lab where they did surgery...and stuff...” Madison fell kinda quiet at that moment as she was recalling as much as she could. Madison had never shared these sorts of events with anyone really. Many simply assumed that she was always a rabbit and that she could never be viewed as a human being at one point. As the words passed over the words of a laboratory, she slowly rubbed the right side of her neck with her hand where the choker once was to reveal a small tattoo. This was definitely not one for style as it was slowly revealed that the small black square was actually a barcode.

“And...I want to know what happened to me before things started to fall apart...I want to know what I forget. I mean, I know that some people can’t remember when they were really really small. But, I can’t remember anything before when I was five. And even than it is fuzzy. I want to know...did I have a family. Did I have something? I just...want to know.” She sighed slightly at the end of her sentence. It was finally revealed more clearly than her insane ramblings from beforehand. Madison was simply looking for the memories that had been wrongfully ripped away from her.

“And I keep having these dreams. They are so weird...where I hear some pretty...sounds...and I hear voices saying all these words. Or that I am playing a game....with a small girl...who keeps calling me another name...the same one as you called me. And all I know is that it has lead me here to Barton, where I ran away from some years ago. Since I know that would be a start, I found the lady who ran the orphanage when I was there...and well...I caused quite a scene.” Madison laughed slightly as she thought about the events; she still had a hard time believing that she herself managed to pull such a frightening move on such an elderly lady. But she knew it had to be done.

“Well, too make a long story short. She told me that she didn’t know, but the old Police station might have something. So, I left Barton and came here.” She than nodded her head as though to agree with herself. Despite all of the growth that she had done, the rabbit still seemed to have a slight bit of innocence left in her. And now, Max had a more of an understanding on where it came from. Afterall, being a sheltered child had some costs to go with it, especially when science was involved.

Before she could continue a loud blood curdling echo was heard below them on the ground level. Madison had almost forgotten that they were indeed in this place of ruins and that they were still surrounded with much danger, and yet she had quite a ways to go. With the sleeves of her red jacket the young woman quietly wiped some of the stained tears on her cheeks. She was indeed quite a mess. She was practically covered from head to toe in some sort of dirt as well as having recent splashes from the tears that had fallen from her face. Her neck was beat red with ever line that had been engraved into her neck from her own two hands.

“What about you? Why are you here, Max?” She sounded rather concerned as she finally finished trying to wipe away the dried tears from her face. If she was in a dangerous spot, than he had no reason to be here as well, even if he had a mysterious black cylinder like item strapped to his back. This was definitely no place for either of them to be playing games.

Well that was a relief almost.

It seemed that if anyone was going to listen to her stories, than Maximos was the right person. He listened rather intently and didn’t judge her. It was a comforting feeling, considering that he actually showed some interest and even had silent responses towards her words. It was a comforting feeling...something that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

He then began to snicker only slightly as she finished her tale. Despite his attempts to try and not sound rude or laugh at her. Madison did seem to take it rather personally as she looked at him. Slowly, she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted slightly. Perhaps telling him wasn’t such a wonderful idea since the man was now laughing at her. What was so funny? However after two chuckles, the laughing did stop and he went to answer her question.



“Seeds? What kindof seeds?” Madison slowly reached for his hand and helped push herself off the ground with his help and stood to her feet. The rabbit than decided to take a look at her own attire and slowly dust them off as best as she could, she still needed to take care of her final set of clothing that she was wearing.



Madison giggled slightly as she witnessed the embarrassment on his face. He did offer quite a bit to her, from having his company to even food and shelter for a little bit. It sounded almost too nice, considering that these were all things Madison knew that she needed at some point. Everyone needed to have their basic needs met. Even creatures as inhuman as Maximos may have been, he too would have tended to those cravings at some point.

“No thank you.” It was an instant rejection. She knew that this was indeed a very pleasant offer that he was offering. But she did not want to have him carter to her like that. He was indeed a good friend, but Madison knew better than to take advantage of him like that.


“I have come too far now. I can’t stop now, I’m so close.” Madison smiled up at him, she may have been tired, she may have been hungry, and she may have been filthy. But this was much too important to even consider backing down now. Madison was determined, and she was standing on her own two feet without any care in the world. Plus, even though Madison may not have stated it, but she knew that she was avoiding sleep as much as possible. Sleep always seemed to only cause her more despair and more frustration and anxiety than she would like. For her sleep was filled with nothing more than nightmares composed by her own imagination.

“However, I would love your company.” It seemed that Madison did not completely and utterly reject Maximos’s offer, for she too rather enjoyed having him around. He was a lot more entertaining than being left to her own thoughts and demise.

“I just hope you don’t mind my disguise, it helps me blend in.” Madison used her hands to show the full display of her appearance at the moment. It seemed that the rabbit was attempting to make a joke of sorts. She may have been funny, but her statement was rather true. She was an absolute disaster. But she want to get cleaned up, for she knew that her appearance would slowly return back to this state after they ventured through and that would just be a waste of materials.

“What do you say abo-" At that moment Madison's face went blank as she heard a growl come from somewhere. It was almost monsterous, frightening and distructive. However, it didn't come from the curdling sounds from beforehand. Oh no, it was somewhere greater...

It was...

Madison's stomach.

"...Perhaps maybe something to eat would be nice..." She was blushing slightly considering that her stomach sounded as though it belonged to one of a lion. And she was definitely NOT a lion.

Maximos almost seemed rather too excited about the seeds that he was mentioning. And yet, the rabbit only looked at him in a confused manner. She had never even heard of a Rose, they sounded rather strange. Almost as though they get up from the ground and walk about like the creatures below. It sounded like something that he would like.

The two of them seemed almost like the best of friends as they were sharing their laughter despite the world around them. However, despite the fact that they were joking about as they were Max was still on his guard, especially once her stomach let out a fierce growl. Madison almost stumbled backwards as she witnessed Max pull out his rifle. He was ready for anything. However, despite her embarrassment the two of them began to break into laughter yet again.



“This will do nicely for a dining room.” Madison giggled slightly and wrapped her coat around her body. She was only hoping that it wouldn’t happen again. She didn’t want to create too much of a scene to give away their hiding place. Madison began to walk about looking for the perfect place to dine on the terrain that they were on. They had to eat in the right spot, or than it simply could not work. One side of the roof seemed too shady, while the other was much too dry, and another was simply too wet from all of the tears that were shed.



“That is probably a go-“

CRACK!

Despite Max’s best efforts to be sure that the roof was sturdy and safe, there were still some weak points within the concrete and wooden supports. And even with Madison’s slender body, stepping on the wrong spot could cause the entire thing to fall down. As though the roof was a tidal wave, the entire rooftop began to tumble downwards this would cause both the gentleman and the rabbit to go down with it. Since Madison had been wandering on the roof top, the two of them would tumble downwards to different parts of the building.

Madison fell along with a great deal of dust and debris; she was falling through at least two floors before finally finding a soft spot. And that soft spot was an old bed. Dizzy, the woman sat up slightly and looked around. How she managed to survive it was hard to tell. But what she did know was that she was somewhat safe now and she could feel her head beginning to throb as she could feel something trickle down the back of her neck. It was almost like a bead of sweat, except for the fact that it was a ruby red color. It seemed that despite her fall she only managed to smack her head really good on possibly a pipe or one of the pieces of drywall. Coughing, she slowly looked upwards through what appeared to be broken glass to see how far she had fallen.

“Max? You up there?” Madison’s voice echoed slightly as she tried to talk to him through the separation. Did he land somewhere different in the building? Or did he manage to fall even further than she since he was a fair bit larger than she was? She almost looked frightened considering that the two of them had become separated.

“...Max?” Madison stood up slightly and attempted to crawl on the fallen rubble. Each step was more careful than the next since she knew how fragile this building was now that she had fallen through it. And then her ears twitched slightly... she heard something. Something that made her voice twist into a knot.

It was scratching on the walls followed by heavy breathing and growls. There was at least a dozen, if not more. It seemed that the horde was investigating the sound. Wobbling almost, the rabbit moved along the floor. She was trying to move as quickly as she could, but every step was almost like her last. For fear ran through her. Finally she reached the door and began to rattle the door, but due to the added debris on the ground, she could not open it. No matter how hard she would try, nothing was going to allow that door to budge.

There was no escape for her.

And what was even more frightening was the fact that she wasn’t worried about herself, but more so she was worried about her friend. He was all alone within this building. Even though deep down she knew that he could take care of himself, she was still scared for him.

Nothing.

Finally, out of frustration of a faulty door, the rabbit narrowed her eyes and let the rest take place. There was one perk to her genetic alteration that she loved; her legs had become beautiful weapons that she could use, especially when it came to assaulting doors.



The wooden door that had kept her in quickly fell to the ground as the rabbit’s foot made contact with it more debris flying about. Once having her opening she quickly stumbled about to find what she could, how long that would take she wasn’t entirely sure.

But what she did know was the danger she was running into as she knew the undead creatures were running to find where they were hiding.

Madison did not realize how much she missed having contact with someone. It had been months since she had spoken to someone with a comforting tone. But there she was, in this misshapen place filled with both decay and the shadows of where something great once fell. Madison didn’t seem she wanted to let go as she constantly would grab a hold of the much taller man and hold him as though he was a rag doll.

This was almost too good to be true...

Almost...

Finally, he lightly grasped onto her face with her hands, not forcefully, but rather delicately as though comforting a small child. He lightly petted her face with her thumbs and replied all of her questions. Well not all of her questions, mainly only to respond to her constantly babbling. It seemed as though for Madison, that despite how shrouded in darkness that she may have felt, simply seeing him in front of her was enough.

It almost seemed as though even though he was speaking, his words were not filling the insides of her long snow white ears till the two of them fell into embrace once again. They were laughing; they were smiling, as soft tears and the smell of soap echoed in the air.
Maximos Wrote:
Yes, yes I certainly am.

And equally softly, although tinged with a tone that said his forthcoming question was serious and not jest, he said.

Why wouldnt I be?


Finally...

It seemed her joy almost faded.

It almost seemed as though the warmth that she had blown away and was only replaced with the ice cold sensation that a broken heart could have. Slowly the young girl, no, woman pulled away. She wasn’t staring up him right away, but rather at his chest which was the only thing that was eye level for her. She could only see one thing, his dark purple shirt. She wasn’t moving. And it almost looked like she wasn’t breathing.

Madison was thinking.

Her mind began to wonder away from the world around her into her own thoughts. For that one moment, she was standing all by herself as she attempted to recall the answer that he was seeking. The smell of decay had finally disappeared as well as the sounds of shrilled cries that often came along with starving hordes of undead creatures. Her lips slowly began to move as she began to think about the issue further followed by a low murmur. She was trying to sort the facts straight, or at least the facts that she did have. And what she knew, were only faint memories that she had tried to lock out of her head.

And then it came...

Slowly, Madison witnessed only bits and pieces of what had happened before hand. It was a verbal argument. The two of them were constantly having a word for word chat. And then something inside her snapped, and the worst was yet to come. The brawl. And then the death. Yes, that is what had happened. She remembered it now almost vividly as it began to constantly replay in her mind like a broken record; playing it once through and then skipping back to the beginning once the scene had finished.

But...

That wasn’t right.

It couldn’t be right.

Madison was at a loss. For now everything that she had thought was real wasn’t. She was positive that had actually had happened. It hurt too much to even consider that it wasn’t. Madison knew what she felt. She knew it with every inch of her, or at least she thought she did. Her mind began to wonder and try to search for the truth. But it seemed that no matter how hard she was even thinking about it, the truth wasn’t coming. And to her, it never would.

Chuckling slightly, she looked up at him and smiled. However, her smile wasn’t as gentle or sincere as he normally would have witnessed. It was dark and almost twisted, as though it belonged to someone who had lost their way. Her eyes almost began to water again as she stood before him. Madison was having an emotional overload it seemed. First there was fear, than there was joy, and now she was filled with fear again. But no, she was laughing.

“I-I.-I...Don’t know. Hahaha. I don’t know anymore...” She continued to laugh as she slowly than began to mutter to herself again almost aimlessly. Slowly, it appeared that whatever she had left of her innocence was being ripped away from her with every moment that she was existing. Slowly, she turned away at that moment and began to mutter even more so, looking down to the ground as though she had lost a contact or even maybe her last remain piece of sanity.

“I came at you...yes, I did. I had to have. I had to. And I had a knife..no...it wasn’t that...it was something else...and...I killed you. Yes. I witnessed it all. I know it happened. I had your hat...I held onto it...Cause I was sure...” Her voice was louder as she continued to talk to the ground. She couldn’t make eye contact with him at this moment, for her face felt heavy with the amount of tears and guilt that was looming inside her.

“...I killed you...but I couldn’t have. Cause...you are here. Now...Alive.” At that moment she looked up at him as she removed her own black rimmed glasses. Madison never took them off, she was always seen with them on as though they were a trade mark that she had to go along with her ears. And without a miss of a beat she began to laugh again.


“But...it was real. I had everything when I woke...everything...Everything that that...boy gave me. It had to be true. But it’s not...How could it. You are here. In front of me. You...here....Now...You wouldn’t call me that...no you wouldn’t. You call me...Madison... Right?” At that moment, the rabbit slowly advanced towards Maximos. They were very slow, and cautious. But she slowly advanced, almost as though she were in a daze of some sort. About half way, the woman stopped again. She frozen in her own thought. And than finally, she fell again. Her black boots were becoming dirty from all the dirt and dried blood that she kept falling in. But for some reason, in the state that she was in it almost suit her too well.

“But...is that who I am? Alice. Madison. Alice. Madison. I...Don’t understand. Why don’t I know? Why doesn’t anybody know? Why...” Her voice was quiet as she could feel the sobs coming on again; however it seemed this time she was trying her best to hold it in. She was tired of crying, but no matter how hard she wanted to fight it...the pain kept coming back. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and held it for a moment. It hurt. And there was nothing she could do about it. As she held herself, she felt a small flat surface within her dirt ruby red jacket.

Without a word she took it out and held it in her right hand as her left returned her glasses back to her face. With the lack of sunlight that the world around them had, the small green stone that she had found glittered ever so lightly. It was the gift that she was given from Shin, a gift she thought she had lost when she had been running away from the horde. Her thumb lightly grazed the top of it as she continued to look at it. Till finally she slowly began to shake her head. The sight of it did not make her happy, nor did it make her even more upset. The only thing that she felt was a small fire growing inside of her.

Madison had no real reason to hate it. But the thoughts of the pain that it had brought her only caused the sickening feeling to grow in her stomach. She was tired of being alone, she was tired of never being able to be with him. Always having to wait for him. She was always alone, even when she needed him most. Bitterly, she tossed the stone out of her hand towards the edge. As she witnessed it make it’s journey over the edge she felt the restriction on her neck grow. It was almost as though she couldn’t breathe. Almost clawing at it, Madison went for her neck where a small choker sat that she had once worn ever so proudly as a small cherry blossom emblem dangled from it.

GUARDIAN.

It was the entire reason why she could not see Shin. But more importantly it practically controlled her life. They did not want her to even go on her journey, but yet they never wanted her to do anything. She was kept out of the loop on most details from missions to even just the latest news. She never did anything, except practically be locked up under their eye. Always making sure that she was doing the right thing. Madison was always left in the dark. Because of these two, Madison was always alone...and Madison was always in pain.

She was practically clawing at her neck in order to get the symbol off, causing large red marks to form on the sides of her neck. She couldn’t feel it. She was finished with everything that had to do with them. And with that, the necklace had finally popped off. Like with the stone she tossed it over the edge as best as she could... Madison was finished...Madison was finally free. However, despite this overwhelming sensation...she felt herself beginning to fall again. And she nearly toppled over and fell face first into the ground.

“Why me? Why does everything bad happen to me? I...am in the dark...always in the dark...alone...My mind is always...filled with shadows...I...don’t know who I am...cause I don’t remember... ..I don’t remember before....why can’t I? I just...want to know...was I loved? Did I...have a family? Did...they not want me? What happened to me? Why did I become this...” She was whispering to herself with her arms around her stomach again. As she locked her arms around each other, she could feel her nails slowly piercing through the fabric and into her flesh. She had forgotten that Maximos was there, and she only knew that she wanted this to all finishing. For it seemed that despite her efforts of getting as far as she did, finally the amount of sanity she had left was catching up with her...

Leaving her alone in her own insanity yet again.

((Oh gawd! Its entering our posts backwards!))

You could feel it in the air. It was a tangible thing. A palpable sensation that made every breath tingle. They were coming. With every breath they crawled scraped and rushed closer and closer. With every moment the intensity grew and Maximos' smile stretched further and further. It was almost hard to concentrate on her reactions, but the woman did fine. Max was only doing what he enjoyed, he didnt expect a round of applause or for anyone to go dropping to their knees. He expected, only, that she would use and enjoy them. And of course offer the obligatory "Thank You". Which she did, manners were always important.

The bunny offered him a nod, Maximos cocked his gun and then offered her a very formal bow with a wave-like gesture toward the door.

"Ladies first..." He said with a toothy grin. All he could hear now was the moan and roar of the crowd and the war drum of his own heart. And then the door flew inwards, and it began.

Madison was a door guard if there ever was one. Where the horde burst through as a single mob, Madison divided them. Zombies were shoved back by zombies falling back making a clot of awkward flesh. Her swings were wild, like a cornered animal and each one was tempered by a swirling spot of black Maximos saw gleaming in her soul. A void. A small see of madness that seemed to be consuming innocence like a fire.

It was quite an amazing thing to see, but sadly the oh-so-very rude zombie horde just would not give him a moments peace! Undead. They were truly a disgusting thing. As enemies of the Reaper go, undead were the many expendable pawn of the cheapest violators. Undead were the mud you had to trudge through to get to the castle. They were too slow...they always made a mess...the stains never came out.

Max ducked, dodged, and slid through the crowd as nimbly as his namesake. At times, he even took to the walls, his boots inexplicably sticking to a sheer surface leaving only what appeared to be a black stain in its wake when he kicked off. His right arm seemed to swing with a brutality all its own, his fingers pushed together like a spear, or claw, swiping off a zombie head with all the efficiency of a bat, or even piercing a vicious hole through as many undead as he could impale before a bolt of indigo glow tore down his arm and sent the rots splattering into a far wall. If one was watching from outside they would have seen the white glow of Maximos' right eye cut a zig-zag trail in front of a black blur moving up, down, and through out the room with seemingly no regard for gravity, and leaving in its wake pools of red, splatters on the wall and sudden fleshy explosions. A room of this size was entirely too close quarters for too much gunfire, though that didnt prevent the occasional close range blast to the brain of an unsuspecting rot after a well placed melee gun swing. And after swath of corpses dispatched Max turned back to the bunny in question, what Max saw was more of a slide show. A step by step progression.

Eventually the swirling madness reached out across Madison like a hungry octopus and her swings became savage, her kicks more brutal. Something in her eyes was lost, as if Madison was seeing but not actually seeing. The tentacles were wrapping around her soul, tightening and choking their grip. It wasnt only innocence they were burning now, but reason, sanity, and fear.

That, was the power and price of darkness. Light eases pain and leaves you comfortably numb, lending your strength to others. Darkness gives you strength, but eats away at you in payment. It is the nature of evil to turn you against yourself. It is required of everyone and everything that dables in the black to understand the balance. To not be lost in the strength, and freedom of madness. To walk with in the darkness, but not be lost in it.

Madison, it seemed was becoming lost. With every sickening crunch of flesh, Max saw a red flash. Himself with soulless black eyes. The undead she fought were once people, women, men, even children and it was those people Max saw. Sharp teeth cut their flesh, his over-sized sword forged from his own madness reduced them to splatters and shreds. Should he charge across the room, or let her face down her own personal Destroyer.

Would it stop at undead? Oh this rampage would, but what about the next time Madison was pushed just a bit too far? Who then? How many? And what happened when after the end of it all the bloody trail you carved is lined only with your loved ones? Max walked this road. The proof of his dark talents marked the walls, windows, and himself. Viscera, gore. For someone such as Maximos there was no other road to walk than one lined with the dead. And those very dead were the rotting reminder that lingered between him and everyone he loved. Maximos' fist clenched around his gun, leather squeaking. His teeth sunk into his lower lip turning it a pale pink.

Misery loved company but...

"Fleeb..." In a few long strides Max was over a couch, past a table and across the room. A wide right swipe crushed the skull of zombie with a metallic "dong!". Max's left found its way to Madison's shoulder, gripping tight and pulling her back. It wasnt a kind motion, it was a jarring sort of motion meant to snap her back to reality.

"Madison!" Another shake. "Madison!" And another until she gave some sort of hint that she was back in the real world. All the while Max leveled his gun aiming to pick off any rot that got too close with bullet or swing. It didnt occur to Max that he might not have given her enough time to actually respond, only that the zombie horde was not giving him enough time to handle this properly. Finally out of desperation if nothing else Max did what he knew he shouldnt have. He used a name seen on the face of his very special watch.

"Alice!" He shouted, jerking her back and putting himself between her and the horde. "Wake up!"

To a being such as Maximos fear was every bit as potent a thing as the scent blood to a vampire. It was a drop of vitae in shark infested water. Even the tiniest inkling of it could be sensed from impossibly far away and when it was senses, instincts came into play. The instincts that made him the predator he was today. Madison reeked of fear but not of monsters or men or even the undead, a fear of herself. And her fear was laced with something that Maximos knew all too well. Guilt. Guilt was a poison, it made one question their every action, it made them doubt who and what they were.

It made them back away in uncertain horror. Guilt was just as much a piece of this new darkness as insanity. Guilt tells the human heart that what it is doing is wrong, and yet Maximos and Madison were divided from these sentiments by one singular detail...

...They were not human. Over time, one learns to accept what they are fully. They learn not to let guilt overcome them, but to let guilt and or the healthy respect for guilt, guide them into controlling themselves. Over time, one can even learn to love what they are and treasure the gift of experiencing life like no other but...that took time, and time was a commodity the Shadow and the Bloody Bunny did not have. Maximos was quite the defender, but even his skills were far from perfect.

No...

He said softly, soft enough that no one else would have been able to hear it but Madison attempting to if anything draw her attention to his words by making her listen.

Reapers do not usually deal in defense. Never has a mission including saving anyone. Reapers deal in death. The mission must be completed, the only life that need continue was the Reaper's as he was needed for more missions. Even Maximos' own fighting style was designed to quickly and efficiently end and opponent with little or no concern for the Shadow's own safety, only his survival. But this was different. Here he was a guard, protecting someone else. Saving a life reminded him of his old days as a hero. And when the zombies broke through the new windows in his defense caused by reaching a swing out too far, or having to turn around to shoot a rot that got to close, when the zombies bit or claw...The pain reminded him of what it was to be hero as well.

...what we do here is necessary, we cannot hope to save them now. Nor can we hope for forgiveness, this is our burden to bare. All we can do is offer them rest.

Could she hear the bone crunching sounds? Could she hear his gun crack across a skull, or the sizzling pop of an arcane explosion scattering brains and bits across the walls and floor? Could she hear Maximos' feet detail a crazed drum beat bouncing, flipping and darting across the crowd? They were too close...there wasnt time to erect some massive shadowy wall and even if he could there was more...there was always more...

Despite all she could hear, there were things she never would. Every time teeth sunk into his pale skin, every time broken and ragged nails raked red furrows down across his arms or back, Maximos never made a sound. He wouldnt, he couldnt. That was not something he would ever have put her through. All Madison would hear from the stately shadow was the sound of his even breathing as it seemed through his teeth. Teeth that were sunk deep into his lower, deep enough to stain a trail of red down his lip.

It seemed like a small eternity, but nothing would rush her. He would not have it. Maximos' right arm tore left to right across the horde, his hand slicing through them like soggy meat leaving a streak of black ichor where it passed. With a snap of his fingers the ichor ignited pushing the ruined meat back on its co-horts, who then fell back, and back again. And then, Madison was beside him dispatching a few that had escaped the small blast.

She smiled, and there was a small pause from the man in black and a faint glow from his right eye, his lips stained red from where his teeth had sunk in, blood stained his clothes in such heavy amounts it was hard to tell what was his and what was not. Wounds in his right arm were leaking black instead of red, the deepest of which gave glimpses at something other than white bone. But none of it mattered after a good enough look at her. She was afraid, she was guilty, but she was in control. He returned her smile in kind.

“Max...” She practically gasped, the horde were straightening themselves out now, standing or being trampled by another wave. Max looked at her with a hopeful smile.

“If we make it out of this alive, you have some explaining to do.” His smile immediately flipped into a frown, the expression lasted on his face no more than a second before he turned to face the encroaching zombies then smiled. Something about them made him smile, it was the sort of smile you give when your holding something behind your back. It was the same sort of smile that laced this entire encounter and yet seemed to have no place.

"Fair enough, I suppose I owe you that much." He said with a barely noticeable hint of reluctance on his tone. His voice had not quite caught up to the level of disguise his face had. Of all the things he had said that slipped unnoticed into the madness, that had to stick. He cocked his gun, at least he had time to think. But first... "You wouldnt happen to have any ideas as to how to accomplish that afore mentioned miracle would you?"