Ira, towering above Max, was far gone. This was no friendly beast in love.
"Ira?" asked Max again, his voice shaking. With a low growl, Ira raised a large fist. Cowering, Max shielded himself in vain with his arms, knowing that he would be crushed.
"Ira, stop!" ordered K.W. Ira slammed his fist to the earth with a gnashing of his teeth. Barely missing Max, Ira had destroyed the skeletal remains of Max's boat. Lowering his face to meet the face of Max, Ira's eyes bled tears.
"You can't leave Max." He said. "Not until you save my Judith."
K.W. came before Max, acting as a guard. Her arms spread wide; Max could barely see the defeated looking Ira. Sobs carried across Ira at this point, his entire figure shaking. With a wave of his mighty claw, Ira tossed K.W. aside. K.W. howled as she was sent digging into the sand, her arm absorbing the impact with a sickening sound. The path now, cleared, Ira approached Max.
"You can't just leave." He pleaded. "You're the king, you can do something."
"What can I do? I'm just some kid. I don't have powers or anything like that." Max argued, feeling for his wild former friend. Knowing he was no match for someone of Ira's size, Max took calculated steps away from Ira. It was the end; Max prepared for his demise and regretted his choice to return to his long forgotten hide out. Ira raised a great and ragged claw, wishing it would allow Max to see the light, but not realizing how it would surely do away with the former boy-king.
"Stop!" came a desperate cry. It was Alexander, with Bernard in tow. When Ira ignored him after a short pause, Alexander became frustrated, tired of the usual way of things. K.W., taking advantage of the quick distraction, took her place in front of Max once more, serving as a shield.
"Bernard, stop him." Bernard looked to Alexander silently, and then obeyed, running towards Ira with surprising speed for someone of his size. Having much more strength than Ira, Bernard made quick work of his deranged friend. Crashing to the ground, Ira let go of his aggressive stance. Seeing this, K.W. yielded and allowed Max a better view of Ira. The feeling was incredibly cold on the beach. The small patches of smoldering wood left from the boat did nothing to stifle the chilled air. No one said anything for a long while. The sky, cleared of its previous clouds, was a deep violet where stars wearily winked at them. Reflecting on the distant memories, it was K.W. who decided to speak.
"You're the king Max, you do have magic. Why else would you be here? There's something bigger than us at work here."
"Like what?" asked Max, still full of doubt. K.W. shook her head.
"You don't understand. It's bigger than us Max, bigger than you… king." She said.
Ira nodded. "She's right, only you can find Judith and save this world."
Their logic made very little sense to Max, someone who had for so long ached for grounded reality. Words such a destiny and fate had given way to things such as obligation and duty. Ruefully, Max looked to the husk of his once proud boat.
"If I help, will you make me a new boat?" He asked of the group. Looking to one another sheepishly, it was clear none of them possessed the skill.
"We could… try?" offered K.W.
"As if that would amount to anything." muttered Alexander, always a skeptic.
"That's not the spirit!" scolded K.W.
"Well it's true, we could make a raft I guess." conceded Alexander. Regardless of the suggestion, it was apparent the group held strong doubts about their abilities. Max, seeing the unraveling situation, knew he was the only one who could lead at this point, it was frustrating.
"Come on, Ira, you're the best tunnel maker I've seen, and you, K.W., you're so smart, I'm sure you can do something about this. What about you Bernard? You're so strong, you could help get supplies. As for you Alexander, well, I mean, you could help." Max could not believe himself, how was he expected to head the group when he had no idea what he was even doing. Regardless, his words seemed to rouse some confidence.
"Alright," Max began, "if we're going to fix this place, we'll need to do this as a group. Who are we missing?"
"Judith," said Ira, lifting his heavy head.
"Carol and Douglas," added Alexander.
"Bob and Terry too," concluded K.W. Max nodded. Each of his long lost friends looked to him with baited breath, awaiting orders.
"Who should we look for first? Do we know where anyone is?" asked Max, hoping to inspire some assistance. Ira was the first to make a suggestion.
"Judith, it has to be Judith."
"You don't even know where Judith is." Alexander said in misgiving.
"I do, she's in a place I can't get to. Only the king can."
"How?" asked Max, stepping in before another fight broke out. Ira smiled, knowing he was one step closer to retrieving Judith.