"I think I figured out what you are, Max."
Max, who was playing with his sisters, turned towards Alistor with slight confusion. Marionette beside him was equally puzzled, Antagonizer raised the wood over her lantern-bright eye as if to give a scoffing look at Alistor, and Kia was aroused by her nap with a grunt. The man in question slowly stood up and crossed his arms curiously.
"Oh? And, uh, what do you think I am?" He said condescendingly, but also in slight amusement.
Alistor kicked a rock on the ground off to the side and grinned, "You present as a very complex man, Max. A hero to some, a nightmare to others. Don't get me wrong, I love being your apprentice and all that, but I think you don't know just what exactly you are. But I do now."
He met Antagonizer's equally confused glare before addressing the statement. "Enlighten me."
"You are the Angel of Death."
Almost everyone there gave odd looks including Max. He had to blink a few times in astonishment before speaking again. "Wha...um...what do you mean the 'Angel of Death?' That doesn't narrow it down much first off you realize because that could be referring to a person who murders, an angel that destroys, or a creature, deity, or angel that guides people to the afterlife. Granted, I have done all three somewhat but that's beside the point."
"No, that's exactly the point. An Angel of Death can be described in many ways but each description fits perfectly with what you do. You died when you were thirteen, training aged you up but you were chosen to guide children to an 'afterlife' realm, Zeliria. You kill anybody who you deem necessary to die in your own judgement or threatens one of us like the father symbol you've become to the kids on Zeliria. You also destroy enemies and monsters alike, protecting the world from ulterior chaos and horrific devastation. You can destroy others' lives but that's more whether or not the person deserves it like pedophiles and rapists."
Marionette brought a servo to her chin in thought, "She's technically not wrong."
Max put his hands up with a scoff, "No, no, I'm not an Angel of Death. You're blowing this way out of proportion. I am just a Guardian of Zeliria which, when I die, will be taken over by someone else. There's nothing more to it than that."
Alistor shook her head, "But it fits! You bring children to Zeliria after they die! The same as a good angel does. You don't see but many children do. What do you think the role of Guardian is? Is it not the same as the term guardian angel? Someone that watches over another and protects them, then if they die escorts them to heaven? Zeliria?"
"It's not me!" He suddenly snapped.
"Then my next question is: why do you deny it?" She asked. That earned her a startling glare from her master.
She ignored it and continued, "I died in 1831, crushed by heavy machinery in a textile plant because of a few unchecked bolts. I was seventeen, just eighteen that morning on the job when child labor was perfectly okay. Who was the person I saw rescuing me, Max? What was he to me in that moment? Not a ghost, not a demon, and maybe not even a man. So, tell me, are you absolutely sure you aren't a type of angel? Specifically, an angel that deals with children and animals? You know, it mentions in a few religions there is more than one Angel of Death."
This time, Max kept silent, not happy about the criticism but was much more in thought than the moment prior.
"So, what are you afraid of by accepting that? That we'll treat you like a god or some type of deity? That you won't be Max to us anymore?"
"It's not-I'm not afraid of the title, Alistor! I don't like to remember...I'm..." Max's voice cut off and Kia gave a whimper. "...I'm dead too. I like to think I found the fabled Fountain of Youth and I live on Earth. I like to believe that I'm still a part of it. That's why I do more than just rescue children and bring them to Zeliria; that's why I spend so much time on Earth between my tasks and have gained some aging over the accumulated thousands of years I spent throughout time doing this job. I want to pretend I exist...again."
Alistor bit her lip in shame for pressing the truth out of him. It was clear now how he didn't want to tell because it did make him sound greedy but he couldn't be blamed for such an attitude and desire to live as he died.
"I...didn't think about that," she admitted. "I'm sorry but I just thought you didn't know what you were in our eyes."
Max rubbed his temples as his sisters clung to his clothing to comfort him. Antagonizer groaned and Max stared at her, "Alright, alright, I'll tell her that. Fine."
"Tell me what?" Alistor said.
The Guardian cringed and sighed, "What I was...before I died. You know what I am now but I never told you what I was, what I loved being and how I lost it."
Antagonizer and Kia looked remorseful, cowering at their recollection which Alistor could tell was painful.
"I was raised with my mother, a Polynesian slave-turned-captain, and sailed all over the world. As I grew up, so did all my knowledge of the pirate way. I took control of what is now the Indonesian islands and all its seas with my mother. I was a pirate, growing to be in my prime. Mother left the ship to me when she died giving birth to my sisters, Father was murdered for being discovered as an educated runaway slave who tricked the entire British fleet for years to get rank of Admiral, and the crew of the Antagonizer was mine to command. For three years on my own, I robbed, pillaged, destroyed and gave wherever I saw fit. I made sure no one lived to tell tales of me because secrecy gave me the advantage of surprise.
"One day, a terrible storm hit. It was one of the largest hurricanes that was ever heard of at the time and I was in the middle of it. The crew and I couldn't get out and one wave just toppled us, just like that. The Antagonizer sank with all its crew and I was dragged below. While I could see the lightning lighting up the sky above the water, the crushing darkness overwhelmed me and, on the way down to the depths, I remember how I hardly lived. Thirteen years old and that was the end of my tale. It was the worst feeling imaginable.
"But then the dark somehow turned to light and the next thing I knew, my baby sisters, Kia and I were on an island of unknown origin. My ship popped right out of the water unscathed, liking nothing happened, but none of crew came back up. The island was sentient, it had natives, children from eras that hadn't even happened yet, and for a while, I tried to convince myself it was just a bad dream. I learned very quickly it was no such thing. Since then, I trained and did my job. Growing to the man I am today and although I like the powers I was given, the comfort of my ship being here as a living object and my ever-building family, I always wanted to go home and go back to a world that I knew best."
Alistor rubbed some tears from her cheek.
Max clutched his arms in slight discomfort. "The Angel of Death, a position no man or beast ever wants but there has to be someone to do it. I just tried to reason that it was a punishment for all the wrong I did when I was alive but all the other Guardians before me weren't bad people. So, why me? Even I can't answer that. But now you know how I died. And to clarify, I don't hate being among the children, with you or Zeliria. I just sometimes wish things could have been different."
"You were given an opportunity to be more than just human," Marionette spoke, "and the capability to teach those like Alistor a great deal more than what you could alive. True, you will always miss the past as do I, but learning to move forward with what you have gained since then is healthier than clinging to what you no longer have. You have a family of millions of kids, animals, friends, and more who all love you. Is that not worth it?"
"It...is, yes, but no matter what, I'll still be a pirate at heart," Max smirked. "An angel I am hardly but a Guardian I always will be. I guess I could live with that."
Alistor put a hand on his shoulder, "Well, we all owe you our thanks, angel, Guardian, or whatever you prefer to be known as."
"Yeah, Max," Chris giggled, "you are always going to be our protective brother too. No amount of time will ever change that either. Just think of this as a permanent vacation."
Max rolled his eyes, "Yeah no, this job is way more stressful than it sounds. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Zeliria caused the storm?"
Cade snorted, "Oh yeah, Zeliria the killer island. Ah beware, it'll take you and give you abnormal powers! What a horrific ordeal! Please, if it did, that's one hell of a gift."
Cat shrugged jokingly, "Killer island? Zeliria would have chosen better, don't you think?"
"Girls! What-never mind. I know I can't win arguments against you three," Max huffed.
Kia wrapped around him to then sit around his neck on his shoulders. He scratched beneath her chin as she gave a loud purr. Antagonizer moved side to side happily in the water, splashing about to her heart's content.
Marionette put a servo on her hip, "You do the impossible even under the most grueling circumstances where you can't rely on your powers. Do you really think Zeliria would have chosen you if it didn't believe you could do this job? It has more faith in you than you see in yourself. So what if you're the Angel of Death? It's a fearful title to all who oppose you and in the words of many children, it makes you sound awesome."
Max chuckled at that, "Yeah, it does. Just don't be calling me it every day."
"No guarantees, master," Alistor smiled.
"On a side note, quick question," the Guardian suddenly said. "Because of certain factors in what I've done, like killing people without mercy in the past and all that, legally...technically am I considered a monster?"
Antagonizer gave an odd laugh at that and the girls whistled awkwardly. Marionette could only exchange looks with Alistor before walking off. "I'm not answering."
Everyone else took that as their cue to leave as well with awkward glances at Max who lifted his arms in disbelief. "Where are you guys going? Seriously, am I considered a monster? Be honest."
As the others left in one direction, Max found himself fast walking to keep up. Even Antagonizer was navigating the dockside away from him following the others.
"Come on! Am I monster?"
"No, of course not!"
"You don't sound honest, Alistor. Girls, am I a monster."
"We're keeping our mouths shut on this one."
"Marionette?"
"That's something you have to decide for yourself."
"Goddammit guys!"
AN: He'll be seen again in other fics but he is quite a nice character. Originally, Max was a sarcastic asshole but I didn't want to make him unlikable, just more truthful. He cares, deep down he has always cared about what he is even though he comes off as uncaring. He was fun to write for.