"Wither!" Max glared at the God, who had just hit the man over the head with a spade. "What was that for?"

"He was untied."

"So? I could've handled it." Max said as Wither pulled chain from the air.

"He knew your name," Wither pointed out, wrapping the man in the newly created chains. "And when I woke up, you told him your mother's name." He frowned at the expression on His friend's face. "Which, I'm guessing, you didn't know you told him."

"No." She mumbled. She had been thinking about All and why the Evil part of It wanted to burn the man when the neutral and good hadn't given her anything to harm him. That meant he wasn't a threat. "All." She spoke suddenly, startling Wither, who had begun to pack up their things.

Yes?

"I didn't want to talk to you." Max pulled her bag onto her shoulder.

Then why did you call for me, hmm?

"I mean I don't want to talk to this All."

Too bad.

Max growled in frustration, then sighed in defeat. "Fine. Who is this man?"

A man out of his time, with hair that looks like a carrot, into a world with a new crime, he is a very important parent.

"Riddle me this, riddle me that, how many blocks does it take to go splat?" Max replied, very annoyed with the so called 'evil' part of the universe. And she thought his blonde hair looked more like a bush.

Touche.

"I really don't have time for this." Max sighed and followed Wither out the alcove, she paused to wait as her friend inspected the two separate tracks that she made when she dragged the man and God into the small shelter.

You better make time, then.

Her eye twitched in annoyance as she scowled. Wither looked at her warily, and shifted Charlie so he was laying on the shoulder facing Max. She glared at Him for using the mortal man as a shield from her wrath. "Cowards, the both of you."

Hey! I am not a coward. All said this at the same time Wither replied: "Better him than me."

Max's scowl deepened. "All, you refuse to tell me about this man. Which most likely means you fear my reaction, therefore, you are a coward. And Wither, I'm disappointed in you. You're immortal, so you wouldn't die if I stabbed you. Your fleshy protection however, would."

"That's not nice." He pouted, trying, and failing, to lighten her sour mood. "You realize that he would do the same if our positions were switched, Max."

"And how do you know that?" She glared. She had no idea why she seemed to scare Him so much, as she had said, He was immortal, and couldn't die by her hands. Well, hand and stump.

"You have to like someone to want to protect them. As you've no doubt noticed; no one likes me. So, when faced with their own safety or the safety of someone they do not hold any like for-"

"With, not everybody dislikes you." She interrupted, irritated by His words.

"Pfft." He snorted. "And who would that be?"

"I for one, like you."

Wither wondered how the small creature from the lake had entered his stomach and why was it moving around so much. He realized there was no possible way for the creature to get into his digestive system without Him knowing, which meant it was Max's words that made His stomach feel so... fluttery. He knew Max liked Him, she had to like Him if she didn't kick Him out of her home with Kreaya sticking out of His ears. But, why did her confirming what He already knew, make Him feel so strange? He wasn't sure He liked the feeling; in fact, He was almost positive He didn't. Then how come He never wanted it to leave?

"It's not that surprising, With." Max said, wrongly guessing the reason for His face filled with confusion. "You're funny, a good listener, and only occasionally annoying." She grabbed a bag off the ground that had fallen from His shoulders, and swung it onto her own.

He didn't even notice the dropped baggage, He was so preoccupied with His stomach.

"Now then, All. Tell me who this man is or I'm going to leave him here." Max remembered their previous conversation.

You know, I was planning on telling you. After I teased you a bit more, of course. But I don't think I'm going to now.

"All..." Max growled. She had every intention of leaving the strange man behind if It didn't tell her who he was. She might have brought him with them for sure when she was younger, but now that she was older and more hardened... his chances of survival didn't look too good.

Fine. Venom laced the word. He's not a threat and is mentally unable to harm you. That is all you need to know.

'So he's important.' Max thought. The evil All had wanted him dead before. Well, not necessarily dead, but It wanted him to suffer. And now It wanted to keep him alive, why? If the darkest and most vile part of the universe wouldn't let the man die, than maybe she shouldn't leave him to the cold icy environment. But then again, if the before mentioned evil All wanted him to live, then he might be bad news. Max shook her head; bad news or not, she would let him live until she at least finished her interrupted interrogation.

After a few hours had gone by, they left the taiga and entered a new forest biome. Wither had decided he was hungry, so he stopped at a giant red mushroom, and climbed.

"What are you doing?" She asked the God, curious as to why He randomly stopped at a mushroom, one like all the other mushrooms they had passed, and why He had began to scale the huge fungus.

"Hungry." He grunted as He pulled himself onto the mushroom's slightly squared cap.

"So you're going to eat that thing?" Max was not impressed. They still had a lot of ground to reach... she still wasn't sure yet. Actually, she wasn't sure if they were headed in any specific direction. But she knew that this stop wouldn't favour them time wise. "Wither, the sun is setting. We need to find shelter for the night."

"Already found it." He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her up next to him on the mushroom cap. He had put down all the bags He had been carrying, and had propped their prisoner up on them.

Max slid her two bags off as well while she asked, "What's so special about this mushroom? Why not a tree?"

"This has a flatter surface than a tree, and we're less likely to fall out and become lunch to the Mobs." He started to pull things out of one of the bags.

"Mobs?"

"Monsters Of 'Brine. I know He hates it when I call them that, so I always do." Wither grinned devilishly, and His grin grew wider when He found what He had been searching for. "Besides, the view from up here is amazing." And He was right. The sun set against the horizon made up of more trees, every now and then a giant mushroom (much like the one they were standing on) or bunch of flowers would pop out, accenting the forest which seemed to almost glow as the sun disappeared. Purple, pink, black, and blue faded in and out above their heads, showing off the twinkling stars that had burst to life in the never ending darkness of space.

Max was breath taken. She had never seen a sunset before, well she had, but those were watched from the ground, or her tree-house where other jungle trees blocked her view. But she had never seen one like this.

Wither smiled at the look of awe on her face, she seemed so vulnerable. Her face, normally hard and stony, had softened in the slight light offered by the dying sun. She had relaxed, and a true smile had formed, not a smirk, not the confident smile that hid her away, not a grin, not the evil grin that she sometimes got; but something calm and sensitive and free from any and all worry. He silently offered her a cookie, not wishing to break this rare moment where He could see her without being alert or stressed or ready for battle.

As she nibbled on the chocolate treat, still watching the sun announce it was time for bed with its colourful light reflecting off any clouds that drifted across the sky in wonder, and He watching her with that same sense of wonder, a third and forth observed them. The third was supposed to be unconscious, laying against the packs full of supplies. He saw them sitting and remembered his wife, Em, and how they used to watch the sun ready for sleep every day at their mountain cottage. He stayed silent, letting them have their moment. If the girl was truly Max, his Max, then he would prefer not to ruin anything she had, he wanted to give her every moment of happiness she could get. And even if she weren't the person he thought she was, this point in time was personal between the girl and the... strangely alive grey man.

The forth watched without anyone even knowing It was there. I thought I told you to leave. It blocked these words from Max, as to not disturb the Akroatis. I do not like being observed. Yes, I suppose that does make me a hypocrite, but I truly don't care. Leave. Now.

I'm a Beta Reader now, yay!

How do you people think Charlie is connected to Max? And will Wither and Max get together? Or will I fail at the romance like always?

No reviews? Okay, now I'm sad D: