Disclaimer: I don't own Blade or any of its characters. I do Max, Xavier, Rev, and Cam, so no stealing!

Chapter 30: The End of an Era

"Let's get out of here, and fast! Double time, you two," Abby ordered King and Max quickly.

She was rushing around the destroyed hideout like a madwoman. Zoë stood beside the kitchen counter, unsure of what to do until Abby told her to go back up her things. There was no chance of her seeing her mother. Blade had been kind enough to cremate Sommerfield, along with Dex and Hedges.

Blade.

The group had just barely made it out of Phoenix Towers without getting caught. Still, they knew it wouldn't be long until the FBI tracked them down. King was already at the computers like Whistler had done, working on the transfer to the next sleeper cell, which just happened to be in Las Vegas. Max stood still, thinking about everything that had happened. Everyone of her mentors – Snowman, Rev, Whistler, Blade – everyone of her friends – Cam, Sommerfield, Dex, Hedges – everyone she cared about, even Xavier, all of them were dead. The only exceptions were King, Abby, and precious Zoë.

Leaving LA, continuing to fight the good fight, it just didn't seem worth it anymore – not after everything that had happened.

"As nice as this rush to flee the city before the feds come banging on our door is, Abby, I'm gonna have to sit it out," Max stated lightly, moving to lean back against the counter.

"What are you talking about, Max?" Abby questioned, ceasing her movements to walk closer to her friend.

"I'm not going with you guys," she answered simply, bowing her head.

"WHAT!" she exploded, moving to jump on her friend, but King blocked her pushed her back.

"Oh! Oh, I get it! She's joking," King said to Abby, smiling in amusement as he started to laugh. "You're joking!" he exclaimed, turning back to Max. She just looked up at him, face completely blank. "Very funny, sugar butt. Hilarious, my sides are split, and not just from the torture, but now? Really not the time. Now, let's go pack our shit and scram," he told her, gently grabbing her arm to pull her towards their room.

"I'm not going with you and Abby, King," Max repeated, pulling away from him.

"Okay, seriously, you're freaking me out now 'cause you're not laughing with me," he stated nervously.

"That's because I'm not joking," she said seriously, looking between both of them. "I'm not going with you guys."

"You're not joking," King realized and paled, eyes widening. "Abby, she's not joking," he stated, pointing at Max in shock. He looked like he was having trouble breathing.

"I can see that," Abby replied, looking at Max like she was a stranger.

"Oh, please, you guys, don't look at me like that," Max groaned disgustedly, walking away from both of them; she needed to pack. King followed her to their room, Abby close behind. "Don't look at me like I just betrayed you," she said pointedly, violently shoving clothes into a duffel bag.

"Oh, that look," King realized innocently. "Well, I'm sorry if we looked like we've just been betrayed but we basically JUST HAVE BEEN!" he exploded. Max sighed, a hand on her forehead. She stopped what she was doing, and turned to look at her only friends.

"You're pissed, I get that," she reasoned. "Really, I do, but this is my decision, and I've decided to go find Blade."

"We don't even know where Blade was headed, Max," Abby reminded her. It was true, after Drake took Blade's form, Max revived Blade with her own blood. 'Stubborn bitch,' were his first words as he came back and saw Max hovering over him. A few seconds later, he was on his feet and was gone. He didn't even say goodbye, just walked away.

"I know. That'll make the hunt all the more fun," she joked, trying desperately to lighten the situation.

"God damn it, Max!" King screamed in frustration. He could look at her right now, so he turned to the other Nightstalker. "Abby –"

"I'll leave you two alone," she said immediately, nodding a goodbye to Max with a small smile. Abby understood, even if King didn't, and Max was glad to at least have her approval.

"Max, baby," King began quietly, moving to stand over her, "why are you doing this?"

"Because I have to," she stated with a shrug. Wasn't that obvious?

"No, you don't! No, you FUCKING don't!" he shouted, and Max backed away from him slightly. King saw that he'd scared her and immediately regretted his actions. "Max, baby, please, just come with us," he begged, pulling her closer to him with his hands cradling her face near his. "You can go off and find Blade another time, but just…come with us, with me, for now. Please, I'm begging you and we both know I look like an ass when I'm begging." Max laughed lightly, and King smiled at her, thinking he'd won.

"I'm sorry, King, but…I can't," she said, pulling his hands off of her and moved back a few steps. "I belong with Blade." King inhaled sharply, trying not to let her see how much she'd just hurt him. Nodding, hands on his waists, he looked around the room, looking for an excused.

"And what about Abby, huh? And Zoë? What about her? You know how the kid is, she'll be crushed," he told her. "What about…what about me? I don't want to lose you, Max."

"You aren't losing me! Stop thinking of it like that," she ordered, looking at him as if he was crazy. Why was he acting like this was the end of the world. "I have to go find Blade, King. I'm all the man's got left!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Whistler's dead, Cam's dead, the Nightstalkers are through, and even though Drake is gone, there is still a shit load of vampires out there. He needs someone with him, to keep him focused, to keep his head straight."

"How are you even gonna find him?"

"Cam said he had a brother, Shen. He lives over in Detroit, working out of a run down shop somewhere. I'm not sure where exactly. Apparently, he's a fucking computer whiz, a real genius. He may be able to help me, or Blade may go join up with him. I'm not sure," she explained, and King scoffed. "I was going to go there at some point anyway, Hannibal. That's where I heard my brother was transferred."

"You can't face him alone," he told her forcefully. "I won't let you. Not after last time."

"You weren't even there the last time," she reminded him.

"That's not the fucking point, Max!" he exclaimed in alarm. "I'll worry about you if you're not around, and that on top of raising Zoë and watching Abby's back is just more stress than I need! There is not enough sugar and black coffee in the world to keep me sane with all that shit!"

"You would worry about me whether or not I was with you!"

"Also not the fucking point!"

Max smiled at him, walking over and hugging him tightly. She felt him sigh and his tense body relaxed, molding against hers as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He held her so tightly, as he was afraid she'd run away as soon as he left her go. In a way, she was but King didn't want his illusion to leave just yet. Max was the only thing in his life that resembled normalcy. He liked that, and he wanted to keep that.

"I'll be okay, Hannibal. You know that," she whispered while running her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, but what about all your weapons? We won't be able to give you upgrades," he replied logically.

"I don't need them. I'll make do on the shit I've got now," she joked lightly, and felt him smile against her bare shoulders. "It's about time I learned to make my own rounds."

"When are you gonna go?"

"I'm already gone." King sighed heavily as Max pulled back, detaching herself from him. "I'll call, okay? When I'm in a safe, secure spot, I'll call. Hell, maybe I'll even write."

"Yeah, okay. We're, uh, we're going with Caulder to the cell way out in Nevada," he told her. "You got the address, right?"

"Yeah…"

"I don't have to tell you be careful, do I?"

"No, but it would make me feel better to hear it." King smiled at her as she stood, bag in hand.

"Be careful, Maxie," he told her, moving over to caress her face. "Come back to me in one piece, okay?" he whispered, gently knocking his forehead with hers.

""Come back to you"?" she echoed amusedly. "You still love me even though I'm leaving you for another man," she joked.

"You're leaving to find Blade, not screw him," he stated pointedly, but quickly looked down at her in mild alarm. "Right?" he questioned worriedly, and Max nodded reassuringly. "Oh ,thank God," he sighed in relief. Max just laughed at him. "Just promise me."

"I promise."

"Good girl," he said, lowering his head and kissing her with everything he had left in him. "I love you, Max," he whispered, eyes closed and forehead against hers.

"I know, and I…" She had never said it back to him before. It never felt right. What did she know about love? After all, King was the longest relationship she'd ever had at a grand totally of seven months and now, with everything going on, she was leaving. "I love you, too, Hannibal," she whispered, kissing him softly before sidling around him. "See you around," she said over her shoulder, though she doubted he'd heard her.

P.S.: Five pages total.