And here's a new way to have Max back home...by dragon! The friendship still stands and it's not so weird to have Max be friends with a dragon...and believe it or not, these two have a lot in common.

Chapter 10: Taking Flight

Mid-morning comes around and the two kept talking with each other and sharing their own experiences on what it's like being outcasts and having everyone make an opinion on them without the true facts and Max was very open about how he was treated in the past with his birth parents, being tortured by some savage wolves and being bullied and picked on at the orphanage and with every single word, Blaze was completely surprised that Max had been through all that and more, yet it made him stronger than ever but still able to show compassion for others the same way he showed compassion towards Blazwe yesterday.

"Wow...I never thought you'd been through all of this." Blaze said, wide-eyed.

Max nodded at this and he said, "Yep. It was really hard, but I've grown from it now. It just made me who I am now...a really cool and nice person who's willing to help others that needed it the most. I made a promise to myself that no matter what happens or who tries to shove me out of the way, I'd help them in any way I can. Even if they say it's 'none of my business', I'll still help them."

"I've...I've never met someone like you before. I just thought that those people don't exist." Blaze said.

"I sorta get called 'their final hope' because I want to give them hope and comfort. Something I never had when I was a baby, but I want to help them in any way I can." Max said.

"You're a very surprising person, Maximus. Not to mention, lucky. You having a lot of brothers and sisters, a family and good friends. I've never had any of those things at all." Blaze said.

Max comes over and puts his paw on Blaze's shoulder and he said, "You do now. You just have to believe in yourself."

Blaze nuzzled Max for that kind of support that he wanted and yearned for so long and he said, "I'll try. You think you can help me?"

"I will." Max said, with a hint of conviction.

Soon after, Max could tell it's almost afternoon and he's been around the cave for merely 2 and a half hours now and he said, "Hey, Blaze."

"Yeah, Max?" asked Blaze.

"Can you fly?" asked Max.

Suddenly, Blaze opened up his wings and spreads them around and asked, "Why don't you find out? I taught myself how to fly."

Before long, Max climbs on top of Blaze and though they're the almost the same height, Blaze has flying skills bigger than any other dragon and Blaze said, "Hang on tight."

Almost immediately, Max hangs onto Blaze as the dragon begins running off around the cave and headed to the other side and there's another exit towards the cave and he opened up his wings and took off to the skies and once Max looked down, he realized he's a hundred and something feet off the ground and he's enjoying every bit of it.

The wind blowing through Max's fur and whiskers completely calms him down and it got him all fired up with excitement and Blaze asked, "How's it going?"

"It's awesome!" Max cheered.

"Hang on tight! I've got some great tricks!" Blaze exclaimed.

Before long, Blaze did a couple of tricks as Max was hanging on; ranging from the zig-zag, spinning with his wings open and closed, flipping the loop-de-loop and doing some aerodynamic flying skills with full speed and Max was enjoying every single second of it. Soon enough, Blaze looks at Max and asked, "You good?"

Max gave him a thumbs up and he knew the best way to live life is to keep living it up and he's carrying that philosophy every which way but loose and Blaze continued flying all around the skies and Max reached out and tried to touch the clouds, but he can only feel the clouds and he was all around awestruck and just loved that feeling of being free.

After several minutes of flying, they managed to fly across the other side of the Valley of Peace and Blaze spotted something huge coming in and he asked, "What's that big place over there?"

Soon, Max took a closer look at the big palace and he said, "That's the Jade Palace. Think you can drop me off on the roof there?"

"You're leaving?" asked Blaze.

"Yeah, I gotta get home. My parents might be wondering where I am." Max answered.

Blaze then asked, "Are you coming back tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. Maybe we can get to know each other more." Max said, smiling.

"Promise?" asked Blaze.

"I promise." Max answered.

With that, Blaze slowly landed down to the air until he reached the roof of the Jade Palace and afterwards, Max got off and he looked at Blaze and said, "Thanks for the flight, Blaze. I had a lot of fun."

"Anytime, Max." Blaze answered, happily.

The two of them brought in a fist bump and a high-five signature move where both of them made up their own secret high-five with their hands and their hind legs to ensure they're cool. Soon, Max heard someone climbing up the roof and Blaze said, "Uh-oh. Someone's coming."

"Hurry. If they catch you, we'll be in big trouble." Max whispered.

Blaze nods his head in agreement and immediately flew out of there and Max waved at him afterwards and he turned to walk out of there, but saw an orange and black striped paw coming in and he could easily tell that it's Tigress and the last thing he needed was to fill in explanations because in the end, she's never gonna understand it. But as soon as she made it there, she was surprised to see Max on the roof.

"What are you doing here?" asked Tigress.

"What? Can't a tiger cub wander around a roof in peace?" asked Max.

She folded her arms at him because of that response and she also said, "Only if you own it. You didn't hear something on the roof, did you?"

"Other than your heavy breathing?" asked Max.

"No...someone landed here." Tigress answered.

Max's eyes were totally bewildered when she heard that someone landed on the roof of the palace and assumed that she might've already knew about it and replied, "Like someone really big?"

"Yes." Tigress stated.

"Really, really big?"

"Yes!"

"Really, really, really, really big?"

"YES!"

"Oh...nah, I haven't heard a thing."

With that, he walks out of the roof and jumps out of there, only to find that he's landed on Master Shifu's face and he asked, "What's this I'm sitting on?"

"Young Maximus..."

Suddenly, he heard Shifu's voice and immediately got off of him and said, "Sorry about that."

Shifu got up, dusted himself off and picked up his cane and told him, "It's quite all right. What were you doing on the roof anyway?"

"On the roof? I wasn't doing anything. I was...just about to head home." Max answered.

"Oh. Very well then." Shifu answered.

With that, Max walked down the steps to the palace and afterwards, Shifu couldn't help but wonder why or how he got to the roof, but he decided to shove that thought away for now and said to himself, "He is not like anyone else."

Just then, Tigress landed on the ground and she said, "Max is up to something."

"Tigress...I do not need this right now. You and Max have been at each other for too long and I'm quite frankly getting too old for this. Either you two learn how to get along or I'll suspend you from training...again. Remember the last time your jealousy towards him got you in trouble and nearly got him killed?" asked Shifu, slightly annoyed.

Tigress remembered that moment very vividly and she said, "That's not my fault. He humiliated me in front of the entire Valley! I had to teach him a lesson somehow."

"He is a child, Tigress. Well, young man now, but still..." Shifu stated.

Shifu lets out a sigh and said, "If you try anything to harm Max in anyway..."

Tigress knew where she was going with this and she was totally aware of how annoyed Shifu gets whenever she starts something with Max and it ends with Max being either traumatized and/or semi-messed up due to her rising jealousy towards the cub and she said, "I'll try to be nice."

"See that you do. You're dismissed." Shifu added.

Stick around for more! The next chapter is Max going with Logan and Tae Kwan Do to their MMA class!

Voice of Max: Ben Diskin

Voice of Blaze: (also) Ben Diskin