A concentration of flame was unleashed as Max jumped to safety, the rock that he stood on seconds before exploded. He quickly activated his grapple and caught a tree, swinging himself up into the canopy. Running on the light branches, he tried to keep a steady distance between him and his enemy. When he lost sight of her, instead of breathing a sigh of relief, he panicked as that wasn't a good thing with the likes of Tigressa.

The monstrous tiger-dragon techno-organic burst through the canopy tops just beneath him and he narrowly corrected himself from falling through, catching a branch and backing into the shade hoping he could hide from her long enough to devise a plan.

Tigressa roared angrily as she shot through the trees, shaking her head and snarling. Red and yellow predatory optics contracted in rage trying to spot Max among the trees. Her jaws were split completely open, the line on her cheeks that connected to the edge of her black lips were now supporting hidden sharp teeth and exposed protoform jaw muscles. She sniffed and leaned over a canopy top trying to pick up his scent with a low growl.

Max only could press himself against the tree shading him from view in terror. He didn't even pick a fight this time. Tigressa had randomly appeared and remembered him off the bat, decided to try and kill him by any means necessary. None of his previous plans had worked as she managed to recognize each of his lures. What was worse was his sisters were almost killed too. He had sent them away just before she showed up. Had he not done that, there was no telling how this encounter would have turned out to be.

Before Tigressa could reach him, cannon fire erupted in the distance and the monster only managed to get a glimpse towards the origin of the sound when she was struck by two blasts nearly knocking her off the trees. She gave a bellow as Max stared in horror that now his own ship was in danger.

Antagonizer, his faithful warship, turned sharply and rumbled, firing again and managed to snipe parts of Tigressa's armor which flew off upon impact. Her flame-lit eyes were small red flares in their lanterns, the sign she was most displeased. To Max, however, she was setting herself up as a target for Tigressa's wrath...but maybe that was the whole point in attacking a being she was outmatched by. She was trying trying to protect her captain. Antagonizer kept firing all her weapons until Tigressa shook in anticipation, springing off the canopies and hightailing it straight for her.

"ANTAGONIZER, NO!" Max screamed.

Antagonizer braced for conflict and had her ship side structural ribs form into her crab-like legs, rearing up to crawl on land and lunging towards the insane Kanjian. When she got close, she lifted her first two sets of legs and aimed to impale Tigressa. The clash could only be witnessed by Max, and he was frightened.

One wood and metal limb went into Tigressa's arm as the monster bit the ship's other front leg. The secondary two limbs missed but Antagonizer pressed forward hoping to push Tigressa off balance to tip her. Her sails ruffled then spread to proudly display Max's dragon symbol and his pirate flag to make sure her enemy knew where her loyalty lies. She tried to stab with her front limb again only for Tigressa to catch it and twist, cracking the hard wood and the metal joints holding it together. Antagonizer roared in pain but didn't back down, using her many other limbs to keep steady and hold her ground.

Tigressa ripped her arm removing Antagonizer's leg that impaled her and swiftly grabbed her bowsprit and figurehead bearing boards reshaped to appear like jagged teeth. The ship's topsail broke its chains from Tigressa roughly handling the front. That lead to Antagonizer rumbling in anger and using two more legs to jab Tigressa in the abdomen to make her release. The monster did back away but didn't let go of her hold on the figurehead, attempting to break Antagonizer's makeshift jaws while using a free servo to claw at her exposed hull.

Max watched as he ran towards both of them. Antagonizer was losing her ground, and he needed to help her soon or she would be crushed. He swung from the trees down the ground and reached to his back belt, bringing out remote controlled explosives he kept for emergencies. If he could take out Tigressa's shins, it would cripple her enough to at least flee to safety and save his ship from being ripped apart.

Then the worst happened. Tigressa grunted as she pushed back on Antagonizer and with impressive strength, she forced the ship on her side. Antagonizer's limbs flailed as she tried to use them to get upright but Tigressa's pede on her gunport starboard side kept her down. Her sails and yards were digging into the ground as she snarled while the large Transformer raised her claws to strike across her entire bow.

"Tigressa!"

The femme paused and looked behind her to see Max throw something at her legs. She recognized the beeping noises and gave a startled yelp as he immediately showed his detonator and smirked while pressing the button. With a massive wail and the bright plume of fire, the bombs shattered part of Tigressa's leg and forced her off of Antagonizer. The ship was unharmed though had a few burn marks on her bow.

Tigressa whimpered and tried to regain her footing but her left leg's cabling had a few ruptured lines and sparking wires. She stumbled and limped before growling at Max who was still on edge, keeping enough distance between them so he could have the advantage of escaping if she decided to pursue. If he played his cards right, she would and he had a new plan in store. Hopefully, she acted upon it.

Antagonizer winced, her red flame pupils mellowing to cautious orange. She was still down but at least she was safe for the time being.

"Tigressa! It's you and me now! Come on, bitch!"

The tiger-dragon hissed instead of responding. Why she was being so quiet was odd. If anything, that was making her more unpredictable. But he got his answer quick enough. She leaned more on her good leg before reverting to all fours, her tail twisting in a fury. He knew what she was going to do. With a bellow, she changed.

Max ran for it again, grappling up to higher ground but this time, she got wise. Instead of clawing her way up and trying to physically hit him, she stayed on the ground and shot fire, burning holes into the canopy and headbutting trees down to give him less cover to double back to. That was fine, he didn't need the trees in a minute.

He scowled, avoiding each blast sent his way. "Alright then, you want to play dragon? Fine, we'll play dragon."

When they approached a cliff, Max instantly climbed up quickly while Tigressa hesitated in concern of straining herself per her injury. Eventually, she decided to do so and followed his lead only to find the cliff led to a small platform and then a drop-off. Max was nowhere in sight. Confused, she gave a rumble and sniffed the air. She confirmed he was up where she was moments before but where did he-?

Part of the drop-off shattered as a massive red and black dragon shot up and raised his now scaly hand to strike her. She was stunned enough to let him and his claws managed to give her an ugly scar over her right eye and cheek. She reeled back in shock from both the hit and the dragon form itself. He was now as large as her if not slightly bigger, his beastly wings spanning outward to enforce the size. When she finally gained her senses, she snarled at him and lunged.

Max quickly caught her servos and used a good portion of his strength to swing her off the rocky platform down to the jungle below. With a loud roar, he posed on the rockface and raised himself on his hind legs. His reptilian green eyes narrowed at the hole in the canopy where she fell and he gave a hiss. He hated having to use this form but it was absolutely necessary to fight on her level.

Just then, a striped orange and black wing emerged from the jungle before Tigressa leapt up and hovered above the jungle to Max's dismay. She too was now in her dragon form and pissed as he could tell. Before he could even speak to her, she let out a burst of flame at him, sending him diving off the cliff side and flying around. She bellowed and turned to watch him circle her, then she made her move. Flapping her wings, she took off after him.

Tigressa sent several blasts his way, all exploded in midair where he was seconds before. He managed to dodge them and sent a few bolts her way which she elegantly twirled to outmaneuver. She flapped her wings harder and used the air currents to flow faster to catch up with him.

Max noticed this and quickly shifted to turn on his left, forcing a sharp angle and she lost her momentum by having to recorrect her flight path to follow. It bought him time but not much. One of the problems he faced being a dragon was he didn't have as much experience flying and using flames as someone like Tigressa, a being that transforms into a dragon on a daily basis. He had strength and cunning but even that hardly made up for his lack of control of the body itself.

Suddenly, he felt her slam down on him from above almost making him lose control midflight. He quickly regained proper speed and balance, but she was already upon him again. This time, she aimed for his neck. Being big also meant being a larger target. She sank massive canines into a higher section of his limber neck and yelped. He found himself sinking lower to the jungle trees enough to touch their tops while trying to fend off his attacker. As a last resort, he whipped his head around to meet Tigressa's own jaws and his throat glowed yellow.

An explosion large enough to cause leaves of the trees to go flying off rattled the jungle. Max was pushed below the treeline and hit the ground, skidding a few times causing uneven upturned dirt marks indicating his impacts. He slowed finally and slid to a halt face first. He gave a grunt of pain and licked his lips with his forked tongue, feeling out most of his teeth in the process to make sure they were all there.

Tigressa didn't land near him thankfully but, in his state, he was open for attack if she came back to finish him. He hadn't expected the blast to do THAT up close, but it was better than having his neck chewed on.

Slowly, he got up and shook off any dirt that lingered and rubbed the back of his neck with a moan, his voice gravelly in his large form. "Damn bitch almost tore my head off."

Shifting back into human form with a brief flux of light still holding his neck, he stumbled as he regained his composure. Too much stress or physical strain made it hard to maintain the form. He could hold it longer if he really wanted to, but it would be draining and he needed to reserve some energy left so he could outrun her. Then he remembered Antagonizer was still at risk and ran out to the nearest opening of the jungle hoping to see her. Sure enough, the ship was now upright but sluggish.

"Antagonizer!" He called out, sprinting to her scratched up bow.

The warship creaked and the holes in the boards for her eyes had the wood above twisted in a concerned and tired expression. She huffed and the flames of the lanterns of said eyes turned from orange to blue at the sight of her captain. Her limbs were all but laying in mud though some of the farther ones near her rear had reverted back to being decorative ribs on her hull.

Max put his hand on the lower hull beneath her figurehead mouth. The boards making up her teeth and jaws moved as she gave a purr as he pet her.

"You'll be okay, Anta, you're going to be okay. Good girl," he whispered. "You are the best ship a captain could ask for...even in your most reckless moments."

She gave a grunt which he understood as a laugh and rustled her sails.

Max kept comforting her, muttering poems softly in his deceased mother's language of Mangarevan to keep her happy. But then he paused. His senses started to grow haywire as something was screaming at him inside to be cautious. His eyes went wide when a peculiar scent overwhelmed him and he turned just in time to see Tigressa land out of the blue in front of him prepared to crush him.

With quick reflexes, he dodged her servo and Antagonizer roared in fury at the sight. With her remaining strength, the ship forced herself up, all her limbs reluctantly obeying and standing. To Max's surprise, she loomed over him like a protective mother, staring down the monster.

Tigressa growled, tapping her claws on the ground in warning. Antagonizer did the same, ready to throw down for round two.

"Tigressa, this has gone far enough! I'm not one to run like a coward but you can go rot in Hell alone. I will not let you destroy my ship, and you are not taking me down today!"

The tiger-dragon reared just as Max activated the gem on his ascot, alerting Zeliria and Kia to open a portal home. To her outrage, Zeliria quickly answered and a portal opened behind them. As it did, Antagonizer's front cannons opened fire. It was enough to catch Tigressa off guard. Antagonizer backed into the vortex still bombing Tigressa while Max fled into it.

Jumping inside, the scene changed from the unspoken jungle to a much more familiar, vibrant outpost of vegetation. Zeliria's jungles and the tree top town kids he, as well as previous Guardians, rescued lived in were a sight for sore eyes. He panted as Antagonizer roamed backwards through and the portal shut. He swore he could hear Tigressa's voice just beyond it yelling his name in frustration.

Many children rushed to him, all wearing different era clothing from all sorts of cultures expressed throughout time. They all held concern while Antagonizer turned herself away and tiredly dragged her stressed limbs to the nearest source of water. Some kids followed her instead to check if she needed repairs while he had the unfortunate task of reassuring all of them he was fine. One particular child was most insistent who he couldn't help but smile at.

"Are you okay, Max?" Alistor asked.

Max cracked his neck, still feeling the pain of the bite. "I've dealt with worse."

"We don't need to take you to Sharpsteel, do we?"

"NO! No, you do not!" He half chuckled, half grimaced, "I'm still good enough to function. We don't need him."

One girl from Ancient China commented, "Who do you run into? Were they scary?"

The other children began asking numerous questions on top of that one. Max closed his eyes and sighed, "Okay! Okay! Guys, I will tell you but not right now. Let me get a little off-edge first, then I'll tell you."

A boy from 20's New York scoffed, "I bet it was Tigressa or Springtrap. No one gets him that peeved except those two jobbies."

"Was it Tigressa, Max? She scares me alright," an Indian boy said.

Max once again gestured to the town, "Guys, please, rest first. Talk Later."

Alistor then glanced at Antagonizer, noticing all her new scars as she reverted all her limbs back into hull ribs and rested on the sea just yonder. "I take it, it was a rough ride?"

He sighed, "You have no idea. Antagonizer needs to rest a while as well. She's been through a lot. In all fairness, she's the real hero today. I would have died without her there."

Suddenly, Max was launched off his feet by a black blur and rolled a few times before settling with Kia now in his lap. She purred and rotated around him as he connected their foreheads before laughing.

"Nice to see you again, old friend."

After a few minutes of comfort, rather forced as Kia refused to let him stand up to cuddle with him, he stood and walked back towards his home.

Out of all his enemies, Tigressa was the most loathed and horrifying, rivaling Springtrap and Bermuda for being a murderer, shaming Circus Baby and Mama Lamia for destroying lives, and beating out Tamatoa and Xibalba as a cruel monster. The others he could handle aside from a few snafu moments, but Tigressa was the worst of them all.

He may have gotten lucky today, but it was only a matter of time before he would meet her again. He already had scars from her "missing" once and this time managed to not get struck under life-threatening circumstances aside from being bitten roughly. He feared the next time they did meet, he wouldn't be leaving alive. If he could take her with him though, that would be just fine with him. Another Guardian could learn to protect the world from the many monsters it had.

Until his fate was sealed and as he still stands now, he would fight on. There were plenty of adventures left for him, and he intended on being there for each and every one until his time was up. Monsters beware, the Guardian of Zeliria is coming for you.

AN: I didn't give her any lines to keep her more beastly nature up front. As a deranged monster, Tigressa slowly slipped into being a nightmare more so than ever before. It was also high time I brought her back anyways.