Hai there! This is my first Amulet fanfiction... I decided to do a Max/Emily story because there are all of the Trellis/Emily stories (that shouldn't even be stories) out there, and someone needs to do something about it. So, Max/Emily. Yay!

P.S. There are some spoilers for Amulet: Escape from Lucien

Chapter 1

Emily's P.O.V.

"Max, walk away from this."

It was as if something changed in Max, something I hoped would change. He had changed, and for the few minutes that he had, he was a person. Someone I could relate to.

Max stumbled to his feet, tears running down his face. I hadn't seen anyone cry this much since... since Dad.

"Emily." He said quietly, lifting his head. "I should have died a long time ago."

Relization hit me a little to hard. All the air escaped my lungs, and I barely felt Vigo place a hand on my shoulder.

"He's right, Emily," Vigo said calmly. "Let this one go."

But I couldn't. I couldn't let this go. I couldn't let anything go anymore, I had to save someone just this once. "I was able to save Trellis! I can help Max!" I snapped.

Vigo shook his head. "No, you can't. Unlike Trellis, Max is already dead."

Tremors ravaged through me, but the tears never came. There was that unberable pressure building behind my eyes, slowly edging along my temple.

"Just do it now! I'm ready to go!" Max shouts.

As you wish.

The Voice's words wash over me, and a stray tear leaks out. I wipe it away before anyone can see.

I hear a gasp; Max is dying. His hands are crumbling, looking more and more ancient by the second. The pain explodes in my head, and I nearly fall to the ground.

"So... is this it?" Max asks the Voice.

"No." I mutter. "This isn't it."

The Voice is speaking, but I can't hear it. The pain is deafaning, and black is lining the edges of my vision. I can't see or hear anything. I can't feel.

An explosion breaks through my barrier and blasts me backwards. I hit a marble column and hear something break. Whether it's my spine or the column, I still don't feel. I choose not to.

"Emily! Wake up, Emily!"

I feel paralized. Maybe it was my spine that broke. I wouldn't care at this point.

"She's alive."

Big whoop.

"Why isn't she responding? What just happened, anyway?"

I shift position, just to fall over. Was I standing?

"Emily!?"

Wait, isn't he dead?

"Emily wake up."

Fog seems to be clouding my vision, but I manage to open my eyes. No. This is a trick. The Voice is playing games, and this is just one of them.

"Emily, do you know what you just did?"

I shake my head, closing my eyes. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Emily!" Max shakes my shoulders. "Wake up! If you die, I die."

My eyes snap open at that. "What... what do you mean by that?"

Max, who was standing up, heavily sits down, sighing. "Of course, you wouldn't know."

"Know what? Where are Trellis and Vigo? Are they okay?" I pause. "How are you alive?"

"The Bond." Max replies.

I look to the side, an old habit, before looking back at Max. "The What-Now?"

"The Bond," Max says firmly. "The strongest form of Amulet power, and you just did it. You are the first one ever to complete The Bond."

The coursing pain throbs back to life as I pass out.