Authors note: I should probably mention that the next 5 chapters are all named after ghost songs and 26 is a Walters song. Just saying just in case anybody wants to check them out, get a good grip on my mind set.
Max stood nervously toward the witches before them. He kept his back straightened out and his body stiffly locked up as he was ordered to by the older witch. To one side of him was Oliver and Hedgehog and to the other stood Jason, Michael, and Aubrey.
They had each been next to the person they were meant to be embarking on this dangerous journey with. Though to him, nothing was too dangerous if Oscar was in trouble. Max was meant to go with Jason. He'd already figured Hedgehog and Oliver would pair up instantly so the purpled-haired cat boy was his next, and only, best option.
Max doesn't think of the pairing as a bad thing. From his old friend group, Jason was the only one he ever really liked. The boy never upset him or got on his nerves like the other two so effortlessly did. Being alone with him could be a good opportunity to reconnect and even light a new spark in their friendship. Max would also be able to apologize for leaving him behind with Michael.
"Okay." Ramona clears her throat, spinning her wand out in front of them in a counterclockwise motion. "This spell has a ninety percent chance of scattering your molecules throughout the ether." Her admission makes Max a bit uneasy and he wasn't the only one.
"Wait? Wha-" The older witch flung her wand downward before Hedgehog could get a single word of concern out and in a flash of light and dust they were gone.
That was the last thing Max could remember, from how he could remember it. He doesn't know where he is now, what was happening, or how it was happing exactly, but he could feel that there was nothing the be afraid of.
His body felt strange like it was floating on a cloud made of cotton candy, dipped in the fizziest of sodas. He could feel himself bubbling up, but oddly enough he couldn't feel much past that. Not the wiggling of his fingers and toes nor the extension of his arms and legs.
His eyes felt closed, the lids shut down tight over the orbs, but despite that, he could still see a cavalcade of lights and colors he could only come out within his wildest dreams.
His mind was spread apart and scattered, but the further he travels the more the pieces begin to come back together and the more he could feel himself again. From his arms, legs, fingers, and toes. In no time he was whole again.
He comes out onto the ground, warping into existence from his conscienceless, bodiless trip across the cosmos. He keeps his hands on the ground, quickly breathing in heavy breaths, then releasing them just as fast.
He'd been calling the surface beneath his palms a ground, though when his eyes adjust and he gets a better look, he can see that it wasn't a ground at all. Not in the traditional sense. It was more like a cloud. When he squeezes he can confirm that It was a cloud or something close to it.
They had made it to their destination in one piece. "Alright." Max quietly cheers, turning to see if Jason was as put together as he'd been. But when he turns to the boy, it's not the one Max was supposed to be traveling with. Not by a long shot.
"Oh, man." The pink-haired koala groans, holding a hand to his head as he rises from the firm, yet soft, cloudy ground. "God, that was rough you hag." He spat, berating Ramona for his harsh trip. "Hey, Aubrey ya-" He pauses, bringing his eyes up to Max instead of the wolf he'd been expecting. "No."
"Oh great." When they see each other, Michael is far from happy and for once in his life, Max found himself agreeing with the other boy.
"No! No!" He yelled, rushing up off the soft ground and looking out into the sky beyond wherever they were. "You screwed me over you fat hag!" He screams to nothing in particular, obviously getting no answer in return.
Max sneers at the koala's back, bobbing his head in frustration. "Would you calm down dude?" Max huffed, trying to get the kid to shut his mouth more than anything. "Yelling at the sky isn't gonna change the fact that we're stuck together."
Michael slowly turns back to Max, mouth slightly open and brow twisted up like a wannabe valley girl. "Hmm... sure." The expression he was making annoyed Max to no end. If they weren't in the middle of more important matters, the bat would have punched his resting bitch face right off. "So... what's the plan, Max." He emphasized the name as he gets closer to the other. "Were are we anyway?"
"Hmm..." Max hums, looking around for any clue as to their current location. "I'm not sure..." He continues to observe their surroundings for a landmark they could use. There wasn't much to pull from, besides dunes upon dunes of clouds and... "Wait." Max stops, squinting his eyes off into the distance. "There's a castle...? Off that way." He points and Michael traces his finger to the structure in the distance.
"Oh, yeah." The koala began in a mocking tone. "Let's just go strollin' up ta any old castle we see in a place that we never been before. Ah, that's a great idea Max, one of you're best. Ya really at you're prime today."
"Well, it's the only option we have. Unless you got a better idea?" Max asked, knowing full well that the other boy never had any good ideas. Try as he might to pretend and as predicted Michael doesn't answer. "That's what I thought. Be quiet and come on."
Max starts in the direction of the castle with Michael having no other choice but to follow. "I'll come but ya not gettin' me to stay quiet." Max scoffs back at Micheal. How could Ramona have messed up so bad? He wonders if it was like this for the others as well. He wouldn't let the witch's simple mistake bother him though. Whether they liked it or not, He and Michael were stuck together for the long run.
Max was surprised by how peaceful everything was there, though he probably shouldn't have been. They were walking on literal clouds. It was quiet and strangely empty from what he could see so far. There was hardly a sound to be heard, a person to be seen if there were any, to begin with.
He'd like to think that whatever had happened back on summer camp island, had no bearing on where they were now. Though his optimistic thoughts would slowly fade as he and Michael near the castle. Well, not the castle directly but a city just before it.
They passed by the destroyed gates of the fairly dilapidated wall, stepping into what was essentially a ghost town. Budlings lie in disrepair, people were missing and barricades at different points in the city were destroyed. Whatever had happened, it had long past them by. Max isn't sure if he should feel relieved that the conflict was already over or outright sad that whoever was on the defensive had clearly lost.
"Max." Michael huffs out the boy's name. He was exhausted, though not from the walk to the castle. "Are we going or ya just gonna stand here and enjoy the depression some more?"
Max rolled his eyes at the other boy. "I'm coming." He says. "Don't get your panties in a twist." He chuckles to himself.
"Yeah right, ya wish ya could see my panties." Michael blurts out, looking at the bat with a much too confident smile staining his lips. Max just stares back at him with a slack-jawed expression, one brow arched up on his forehead and eyes dashing rapidly.
"What?" He asked baffled.
"What?" Michael looks at him with a deep red blush, then turns away quickly as he covers his face. "I didn't say anything... would you come on already." The koala rushed ahead of Max and toward the castle. The bat was still at a loss but he couldn't focus on Michael's stupidity now. They do have to get moving.
The boys quickly come up to a seconded inner gate of the city. As they do they could see that this one would be giving them a harder time than the already destroyed main gate. It was still intact and sealed shut. Just beyond it was the structure that he'd spotted from a distance. A bright blue castle shimmering in the sun's bright rays.
They needed a way in, preferably before anything had caught wind of their presence in the abandoned city. Assuming that there was anything still around to notice. Either way, Max didn't want to find out if there was.
"Now what?" Micheal sighs, taking a seat by the gate. Instead of trying to come up with a way to bypass this new obstacle, he'd rather sit back and let Max do all the heavy lifting. He's always been like that Max thinks. Never the one to come up with the plan but he would sit off to the sidelines to offer 'moral support' as the koala would put it then take all the credit when things worked out in his favor.
"Well..." Max hums for a bit, bringing his eyes up along the tall wall. "We could try to climb it." He said, looking over to a hook with a rope tied around the end, conveniently lodge deep into a piece of smoking wood.
"I'm sorry, climb?" He looks at Max with an unamused expression, still sitting by the gate with one leg crossed over the other. "Does it look like I climb Max?"
"What." The bat smirks. The other boy was acting particularly sassy then. "Don't you remember? We took up rock climbing in school for the extra credit." Max smiles as he thinks back to their school days together. Michael wasn't one for really active sports, it's why he always stuck to softball since there wasn't much serious movement involved in the sport besides sprinting after the ball. Max on the other hand was all for the more active sports and any sport in general. He'd try to squeeze as many activities as he could under his belt, mainly to keep himself occupied most days.
"I didn't take up anything, you did," Michael mutters in the other direction.
"Then why'd you stick around?" Max questions him, swinging the rope around in his hand and gazing up at the wall for the perfect shot. "If you didn't like it, why stick around?"
"Because you-..." Michael starts and then stops immediately. Max looks at him, still swinging the rope around. His eyes land on the boys blazing face and even comes to notice his uncomfortable shifting on the ground. Michael was hiding something. Something that he didn't want to discuss with Max once so ever.
He wouldn't concentrate on it now though, maybe at a later date if at all.
He turns his head back up the steep wall and tosses the hook rope out and it lands at the top with a loud metallic cling. He pulls on the rope to make sure that it was sturdy enough to climb and wouldn't come loose halfway up. A few quick tugs confirm his capabilities with the throw.
"Fine. If we gotta." Michael gets up from his spot finally and marches his way toward the rope, roughly shoving Max out of the way. "I'm going first." He said, tugging on the rope. Max held back an irritated huff, deciding that arguing wouldn't do him any favors.
He watches the koala climb, or attempts to anyway. Michael helplessly tugs at the rope, not actually bringing one hand over the other, but more so trying to skip the whole process by using both hands simultaneously in the hopes that doing so would make the effort go by faster.
"God," Max whispers. "Come on, let me help." Without warning, Max would put a hand to the other boy's rear, causing him to accidentally let out a loud yelp.
"Hey, man." He lets go of the rope and backs away from Max quickly.
"What?"
He brings his arms around to his backside. "Come on Max, ya can't just reach out a touch someone's ass without-..." He pauses, face burning an even brighter shade of red. "Actually can you go first, then pull me up?" He points his nervous gaze to the ground while lightly bumping his own two fists together.
"Fine." Max complies. He got that the kid was homophobic but being gay wasn't a disease he could catch. It wasn't something the bat could just pass off whenever he felt like it. Max feels like he could explain it to the koala as clearly and carefully as he could and Michael still wouldn't understand after the fact.
Max reaches the top of the wall after a short time climbing. He peeks over the edge to see Michael looking back and waiting for his assistance. "Well!? He yells up at Max, keeping a tight grip on the rope.
"Yeah, yeah!" Max shouts back, getting a good grip on the rope. He looks down at Michael once more to make sure he was good to go, drops to a crouch, and begins to pull the other boy up with hardly any effort involved on his end.
He kept pulling, bringing the rope up little by little until the other boy came into view. Once Michael is at the edge, Max reaches out a hand to pull him up the rest of the way. "Jeez Max." Michael groans, falling into the arms of the other with a slight thud. "When'd ya get so strong dude?" He says, barely looking at Max's as he bit down his bottom lip.
"Well..." The bat trails off when he notices the exact position, they were in. Michael was leaning up against one of Max's arms. Max had kept it hooked around the koala's lower back for support with his other hand entangled in Michael's.
"Ah-" Michael let out another high-pitched yelp, quickly breaking away from Max.
Max clears his throat. He felt a little strange but it was nothing he couldn't handle. The way Michael had been looking at him though, makes him feel like there was why more than met the eye with his former friend.
Max shakes his head. He needed to focus. They both needed to, for Oscar's sake. "Right... hmmm." He looks along the towering wall they had scoured. From one end to the other, It looked like the large stone wall went on for miles, wrapping around and inclosing the castle with no way down to be had.
"So what? Do we climb down now?" Michael snickers at Max. It was the only good idea he's had all day. Though he wasn't exactly trying.
"Yeah actually." Max walks back to the hook they'd used to scale the wall protecting the castle and marches to the other side. He stabs the hook as hard as he could into the stone wall, embedding it as deep as he could, and tosses the rope down.
"Are you serious?" Michael grimaces at him.
"As I'll ever be," Max responds with genuine positivity in his toothy grin. "Come on, you can get on my back if you want." He moistens the koala over. Michael flusters up again before bringing a hand up to mask his ever-growing humiliation.
"Whatever." He concedes, begrudgingly walking over to Max. "Just make it quick." Michael climbs over the bat dangling off the stone wall. He keeps his hands ensconced around the blades of Max's strong shoulders and tightly wraps his legs around his waist.
Max could feel Michael was nervous in more ways than one. He had to admit he hated seeing the boy so racked with his nervous affliction, they were old friends after all. Even if some part of Max wanted to take the chance to rustle him a little.
On the way down, Max would take his time. He'd swing from side to side and slide down the rope suddenly before slowing down again. His attempts go a long way in freaking Michael out, so much so that the boy would start swearing at him and hitting his shoulders, begging for Max to quiet his messing around.
Once they reach the bottom of the wall, Michael jumps off the bat's back in a rush. "Jeez Max, stop playing around!" He whines, even though he'd been on solid ground now, the koala was still feeling the effects of Max's antics.
"Mike, relax." He chuckles at the other boy's anguish, not doing his best to hide any joy he'd been feeling. "I'm just having fun. What's wrong with that?" The laughter resumes at the clearly shaken boy until a sound would finally bring Max out of it. "What the-"
He's cut off, knocked to the ground by something, or many somethings, small, aggressive, and adorably fluffy.
"Max!" Michael sees him go down and rushes over, wanting to get whatever was pinning him to the ground off, but the koala is also brought down by a second group of much the same.
"Get them up!" A voice orders the group holding the boys down. They would comply, quickly hopping out of their dog pile to hold the two boys up by their arms. When Max's vision comes into contact with their assailants, he could see that they were aliens.
Though they seem a bit different, weathered and dawning golden armor along with swords engulfed by a rainbow flame. The one that had commanded the others marches up, drawing his sword as it ignites into a multi-colored fire.
He points the sword straight at Max. "How do you get in here?" He whispers to the boy with a rage akin to an angry bull. "Answer me!" The old and grizzled, yet still adorable alien shouts in Max's face. A cool breath wafts past the boy's nose, the smell reminding him of bubble gum or some other fruit-inspired candy.
The alien gazes into his eyes with a fiery soft stare down that leaves Max more infatuated by the tiny man instead of intimidated. If this alien's job was to be threatening, he'd been doing his job only half right.
"Do I have to repeat myself?" He brings to sword closer to Max's face, the flame, despite looking friendly enough, was scrouging hot. Intense heat pressed up against his black fur and even seared some of it off the closer the flame got.
"Wait, we're here to see the king!" Michael spoke up quickly, taking the alien's adorable eyes off of Max and drawing them to himself.
"What?" He speaks.
"We're here to see the king..." Michael looks over to Max. At that moment, when the bat's eyes connected to his, Max could see something other than violence or self-preservation. It was concern, for someone other than himself. "Max, the thing." Max's concentration breaks away. "Show him the thing."
The bat shakes himself from the aliens holding him, his arms coming loose from their grip easier than he thought they would. He reaches into his pocket to retrieve the piece of paper given to him by Ramona and shows the alien in charge.
"What..." He snatches the slip of old paper away from Max and gives it a closer look. "Now why in the cosmos would you want this?" He brings his grizzled yet soft and welcoming eyes back to Max.
"We need it to stop Elizabeth." He blurts. "Ramona said we need three pieces to get to her and that's one of them."
The alien hums, looking back at the illustration in his hand. "Take 'em to the king." The aliens that'd held Max down before retakes his arms, and much harder than the last time as they drag him and Michael off to the castle.
The alien leader roughly pushes open the large doors of the main hall, gesturing for the two groups holding on to Max and Michael to follow closely. The hall had been busy, bustling with more gold clade knights, scholars, and scarabs moving large quantities of text and scripture from one area to another, and even regular civilian aliens huddled up and waiting for assistance.
The people in the town just outside weren't missing at all. They were all crowded in the massive castle, no doubt hiding from Elizabethe's monstrosities on the outside. Max couldn't help but feel bad. He understood the reason for the tight security.
"Come." The leader's voice rings out lowly. They had entered into a new, dimly lit area that housed a large hot pink throne bath in rays of light at the far end of the room. On the angelic throne sat another alien. One more lavish, influential, royale. He was the king, and he did not take kindly to interruption. "Here." The leader points to the ground and both boys are forced to their knees on the royal carpet.
"And what is the meaning of this?" The king looks down upon the involuntary, kneeling boys, his eyes lazily brushing over the both of them with little, to no care. "I demand an answer now please." He shouts down to the one that'd ordered them in.
"They say they're looking for something." The once, just barely, intimidating leader trembled before the might of his beloved king. He wastes no time walking up with the illustration still in hand. "They say they can stop the witch's army... with this." He hands the scrape of paper over to the king.
The king doesn't take it directly, instead ordering one of his personal guards to take hold of the item. The guard takes it and hands it over to the king with a formal curtsy.
"Hmmm..." The king looks over the slip of paper with narrowed eyes. "This..." He mutters. "Why do you need this...? Boys?" He looks toward the kneeling boys. "Answer."
Max empties his throat, staring up at the king on his high throne. "Ramona said it can get us past Elizabeths dark magic shield." He calmly explains to the king. Max would be remised if didn't say he wasn't starting to feel the pressure the aliens were appealing.
The alien on the high throne is given a slight pause. He brings his gaze back down to the illustration, gently running the tips of his fingers over the finely made drawing. "Okay..." He said, rising from his pink throne and gesturing for the boys to be released. "Come with me."
They follow with no questions or arguments. Being anywhere else in the castle was a much better alternative than being held on their knees in the throne room for much longer.
Their walk through the castle corridors was a long one. Max could classify it as a trip alone. They pass through long calm halls with not much going on, duck into rooms that led to other disconnected rooms that would lead to secret doorways, and into other, even more, empty hallways.
They slog up long spiraling staircases leading further upwards into the castle as they journey deeper and deeper in. It feels like they've been traveling for hours and with how big the king's palace actually was, Max thinks they might just have been.
"Here." The king stops in front of a set of double doors, roughly twice the size of him and the two boys combined. "Please, be respectful when we get in there. The only reason I haven't had you executed is because you've been kind... so far." The king grins and Max shoots a glare at the koala next to him. Michael looks back, throwing up his hands in confusion. The boy already knew what was at stake, though Max thinks it never hurt to be sure.
The king throws open the door, revealing yet another room. Only this one had been bigger and more in use than what the boys had seen so far. It was a strange mix of library and conference room.
Aliens were on the move constantly, rushing around the room, climbing ladders that lie up against tall bookcases that seemed to stretch upwards forever. The king kids the boys to the center of the room where a large table sat with a sprawling map of the land laid out along it.
"Puddle." The king greeted, walking up to the other, dark brownish alien overlooking the map.
"Hmm." They turn to the king. "Oh, hey babe." They snap back to the table quickly, biting at their thumb a bit anxiously. The king lets his expression indulge in a small smirk as he walks over to the other alien. He steps behind them, wrapping his arms around puddles waist. "Oh, come on." Puddle objects but doesn't do much to stop the king from leaning into him. "I'm really busy you know. We can't exactly stop the corrupted without a good strategy." He sighed. Without a word, the king slips the piece drawing given to him earlier onto the map.
He taps a finger on the paper. "Do you remember where it is?" He asked still holding onto puddle and bringing his eyes down to the map below.
"Your tetrahedron...?" Puddle stares down at the 3d shape meticulously drawn on the old piece of paper. "Last I heard... It was being kept in fort brotherly love." The room comes to a screeching halt. Every alien that had once been active were suddenly motionless. Their eyes all focus on the strategy table in the center of the room.
The king hums. "Brotherly love huh?" He whispers. "Why would I put it there?" He asked questioning himself mostly.
"What is fort brotherly love?" Max stepped up with a question of his own. They needed to move fast, and the aliens weren't helping by standing around and wondering.
"Fort brotherly love is a prison we use..." He stops to correct himself. "Used to torture prisoners of war and political enemies," Puddle spoke plainly, getting the boys to audibly gulp in unison.
"Jeez, dude," Michael mutters. For a bunch of cute little space bears, they were a brutal kind of people.
"Yeah." The king continues where Puddle left off. "The only problem is that the fort was overrun by Elizabeth's abominations a few hours ago. So, I couldn't exactly give it to you even if I wanted to." The king admits that he was at a loss with no way to help, but Max wouldn't accept that as an answer. He couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
"There has to be a way to get to it. If we can't get to it there's no chance Ramona can stop all this." Max pleads but the king only shrugs in response.
"Babe wait." Puddle turns to the map, placing a finger down on it. "You said you can put a stop to all this?" Puddle asks the bat who answers with a quick nod. "I've been looking for ways to win this all morning. The armies spread out and every time we take one area the enemy garbs another right from under our noses." Puddle wriggles out of the king's grasp and walks to the other side of the table. "If we can redirect all of our forces to the fort, we could retake it easily."
"I'm sorry." The king stops him. "All of our forces? Like everyone? For a place that holds no strategic value." The king was unsure. He clearly doesn't like the idea of throwing so many of their people away for two kids.
"On the surface, yes it's useless." Puddle turns to the kids. "But if they have a way to put a stop to all of this, then I say we take it."
"But they still need two other pieces for-"
"Our friends are actually working on that." Michale cuts in immediately. "Yeah, they're already doein their part." There he goes thinking on his toes again. Max had no idea how the others were fairing but the king and Puddle seem to trust in Michael's every word.
"Ughh, okay, okay... Puddle." The king turns to his partner. "Get these kids some gear."
-/-/-/-/-/-/
"Hmph." Max huffed as the gold platted armor piece is striped tightly to his chest. The aliens had been having trouble finding armor that fit the two tall boys well. Tell by alien standards. So, they got the biggest size they could find but aliens rarely ever grew so tell.
"Arm up." The little tailor lightly taps Max's arm, getting him to lift it to the side. He begins to strap the arm plates on, as tightly as the breastplate had been. "Hmm..." The alien takes a step back to observe his work. "I think it's good enough."
"Good enough?" Max repeats. He wasn't feeling too protected. The armor over his body felt more like wearing a crop top sweatshirt if anything. "Really?"
"You'll be fine." The alien pushes. "As long as nothing hits you below the or at the waist." He steps away to check on Puddle and the king.
Max walks back up to the armory mirror to look himself over. He didn't think it was bad, just not the kind of protection he was hoping for himself. Though the gold armor and weapon provided was a nice touch.
"Ay Max, check this out." He turns his attention to Michael. The koala twirls his sword around, letting a heavy swing fly as if he were using a softball bat. "This thing is actually awesome man." He said giving the weapon another good swing. "It's like playing softball."
He laughs and Max couldn't help but do the same. "Yeah, but the bat's a bit sharper, I think." His laughter subsides but the smile remains.
"Ay, Max," Michael spoke, his voice was low and confined. When Max looks at him, he could see the uncertainty in his eyes.
"What's up?"
"...Why did ya stop talking to us?" He keeps his head down slightly. "Why'd you stop talking to me?"
Max was speechless. At the time their breakup had made sense to him. They weren't really compatible as friends, but the more he thinks about it the more if feels strange about it all. "I... don't know." He mutters, knowing exactly why he had cut ties. Just not why.
Michael and Aubrey were too much for him to handle at times. They were always so abrasive, they bullied other kids relentlessly and wound up in detention on more than a few occasions. Most of the school couldn't even comprehend why the bat would stay friends with the two for so long and he was beginning to think that as well at the time. He knew why they stopped talking but looking at Michael now, he couldn't bring himself, to tell the truth.
"Uhh, never mind. It's a stupid question." Michael chuckles. "We should focus on gettin ready for this fight, right?" He steps away before Max could say much. He wanted to stop the koala and explain but his body refused to go after him.
Max shakes his head, freeing his mind from the thought. He takes a few minutes alone before making his way over to the rest.
The king stood by the door with an overconfident stance. "Hmhnm." He smiles to himself, letting a low chuckle rest in his throat. He keeps his eyes closed and his fingers on his forehead. "Gentlemen..." A cough comes from somewhere nearby. "And Puddle... I feel it's time to show these corrupted abominations what we're really made of. Spouse, gather the troops." The king motions to his partner.
"I already did. In fact, they've been waiting for us out front." Puddle says, knocking the king's confidence off center.
"Oh..." He stammers. "W-well, then... follow me." He motions to the others, pushing the door to the armory open and rushing through the halls, through lavish courtyards, and back out through the main hall.
He singles for a few guards to open up the main gates as they approach, and they step out to the full mass of the king's army. Aliens, measured in the thousands and all rearing for a good fight flood the once-empty city. Max wasn't sure how, but the adorably bloodthirsty creatures were starting to genuinely scare him.
"Come, take up your mounts." The king gestures to what would be their transportation to the old prison fort. Something neither Max nor Michael was expecting to see then. Bright white unicorns with rainbow mane's that flow through the wind as if they were underwater.
They were majestic, nearly unbelievable had the animal not been standing before them and really tall. So much so that Max struggles to climb on top of the mystic creature. He has to take a short breather once he does, wiping the sweat away from his brow and hiding an embarked blush from a few aliens that would toss small laughter his way.
"Hey, where's mine?" Michael asked looking at the only two unicorns before them.
The king chuckles. "You ride with him." He briefly points to Max.
"What?" Michael objects suddenly with his arms outstretched. "How come we have to share? That don't seem right." He looks at the majestic equine, his expression sitting in one-half frustrated and one-half uncomfortable.
"Because," Puddle said, tightening their embrace around the king's waist. "You're meant to share them with lovers. They won't listen otherwise."
"What?" Max and Michael nearly cough up their lungs when the king's consort speaks.
"Come on." Puddle giggles. "I could feel it the moment you two stepped foot into the strategy room." They lean further into the king's back. "You really like each other."
"I-i mean I wouldn't say I-... we're just friends-" Micheal stutters, coming to a full stop when his eyes come to rest on Max's equally burning face. "Fine, whatever. It doesn't really mean anything though." He reaches out for Max and the bat pulls him up onto the horse effortlessly.
The koala doesn't say much after that, though Max could particularly feel the heat resting from his face on the back of his neck. Puddle said the horses wouldn't listen if the riders weren't both lovers and that he had felt that energy from the two as soon as they arrived. Maybe the bat did feel something for Michael, way back before their falling out, but did Michael actually feel the same?
This whole time and Max barely had a clue, but he was slowly starting to get one. The evidence only grows more tangible once he feels Michaels's arms wrap around his waist and the boy's head gently leaning against Max's back.
simultaneously, the unicorn becomes easier to control. It stops struggling against him and starts working with him. Max didn't even have to use the reins. All he had to is think where he wanted the horse to go, and it obliged.
The march to the fort wasn't a long one surprisingly, reaching within an hour or two after departing the castle.
Max didn't know what to expect the thing to look like, but a medieval fire and brimstone style was so far off his list of expectations. It was a noticeable eye soor that stood out compared to everything they'd seen so far. Even the king's castle and the city it was housed in were teeming more with colors and love. There was a sense of comfort with the cloud-coated homes and structures.
The old fort in the distance however was far from comforting. It doesn't even match their surroundings so will either. The dower gray brick walls weren't meant to inspire a sense of hope and its imposing form standing out among the pure white clouds only brought on a notion of fear upon anyone who would look its way. And they were here to take it back.
Max'd thought that the many troops they'd been with already were the main fighting force. The king's entire army, all gathered in one sitting, but once they come up to a cloud hill overlooking the old prison they were joined by even more aliens.
They were flanked on either side. What had seemed like thousands before had shifted into tens of thousands and maybe even more from what Max could make out. The king ushers his horse forward, stepping out in front of the sprawling army.
"My people!" The king starts, strutting his pony back and forth before the army. "I'm sure you are curious as to why I would ask you all to abandon your previous post so abruptly! Up until now, we have been fighting a tug of war, each time we gain a piece of ground the enemy would snag another from beneath us! I know this old fort might not mean much, a nasty scare on our lovable past, but within its walls is the means to turn the tide of this war once and for all!"
The army roars to life in praise of their king's rousing speech. They were itching for a fight and ready to slaughter anything that got in their way.
"Nice speech my king." Puddle teases, rubbing his hands carefully up and down the king's sides.
"Eh." He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "Not one of my better ones admittedly, but what can you do? They can't all be winners." He chuckles holding an outstretched palm to the sky. "Company! charge!" He brings his hand down and all at once, his portion of the army rushes forward, followed by every subsequent soldier from different companies that'd joined them after the fact. After some waiting, the king would charge with his unicorn at full speed, followed by Max.
Though at first, he was tentative, a quick encouraging slap to their horses behind by Michael would spur the decision for him. They were fighting, whether he wanted to or not.
From a distance, the prison looked empty, though the closer they get the more apparent it became that it wasn't as bad things begin to spill out from beyond the gray walls. Most of the things he saw were aliens, or at least he thought so.
The only thing that stood out as recognizable to Max was the golden armor and the swords he'd been seeing, only now the swords would glow a dark red flame shrouded in black smoke. Besides what he knew, these ones were clearly distinct, changed. They were taller, their bodies elongated, stretched out further than what was supposed to be possible for the cute little aliens.
They stood like the worst kind of monsters, backs slouched, their armor decorated with the fur of fallen foes, and painted over with a dry substance Max could only assume came from the body. Their faces weren't visible past their golden helms, instead being obscured by a thick black fog that trickles out of the vents of the helmets slowly.
Max was scared. He never admitted it before but this whole island scared him and with what was happing to it, a blood cruse that made every conceivable thing that existed, a worst vision of itself, he was downright terrified. Michael, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, laughing loudly and anticipating the moment when they finally clash with the other army. All while Max was hyperventilating.
However, by some strange matric, Michaels's laughter fills him with the confidence to keep his cool. The sound soothes his frantic breathing, and he recalls the sword on his hip, unsheathing and pressing a button on the hilt that sets it ablaze with rainbow fire.
And they clash. Either side crashes into each other with enough force to part the clouds. The aliens may have seemed cute, cuddly, and heartwarming on the surface, but beneath that plush cuddly facade was something more brutal. There wasn't a farceur bunch Max had ever seen before.
They fought with the tenacity of Vikings and swung their weapons around like the royal knights they were trained to be. With each slash, stab, and jab, a corrupted soldier would burst into a heap of dark smoke.
Michael had already begun to join in the fun, swinging at anything that was taller than four feet. With each slash he delivers, another corrupted pops into a plume of smoke and ash.
"Max!" The King called to him over the fighting and battle cries. He points his sword at the open gate of the prison and motions for the bat to follow as he takes off. Max wipes the reins on the unicorn, spinning the unicorn in that direction, and slightly kicks his heels against the pristine ponies' ribs.
It goes charging at the gates, past more fighting aliens and horrifying corrupted, and trots right into the courtyard of the fort.
They proceed to follow, going deeper into the courtyard and past more dangerous creatures until they end up near an entrance.
"Dismount. We're on foot from here on." The king and puddle dismount their unicorn and send it back out the way they came.
"What?" Max asked as he and Michael come off their horse as well. "Are we going in? Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?"
"The others will stay and mop up the rest here and keep anything from following us in," Puddle said, adjusting their helmet while giving the golden spear they were carrying a few practice jabs. "We have to make sure the vault is still secure." They ready their spear, slightly scarping it across the shield in their other hand. Unlike the rest, Max appeared to be the only one not as eager to fight.
"Uhh... okay." He stammers.
"Good then? Let's go." The king demanded, taking the lead through the dark inner workings of the imposing fort.
Michael walks forward before stopping and turning to Max. "This is kinda fun isn't it." The boy said, smiling and giggling. Max feels that the koala was way too invested in the whole war thing. He thinks is unnerving even for his old friend.
When they get inside, the fort was as devastatingly disheartening as it had appeared on the outside. Max might even say more so actually. With the outside, there was at least some discretion. Max would have had to imagen what could have been going on behind the tall gray walls.
Now that he was inside though, the reality was much worse than anything he could have thought up. Actually, saying the tools used in the methods of punishment for himself was a bit hard and the deeper they venture the harsher the punishments look to get.
From cold isolated cells to torture devices he didn't want to even think about being caught in. He could have never imagined that such adorable creatures could be so cold and inhumane to their own.
As if the brutal reminder of the past wasn't enough, they also had to contend with more corrupted as they went onward. The fort was built with layers in mind and the further down they went into the prison, the more dangerous things became.
Lucky for Max, the king, and Puddle were no pushovers. The two were like a well-oiled machine, working in tandem to cut down anything and everything that might threaten the life of the other.
Their chemistry was unreal as they cast away enemy after enemy in a ballet of magnificent carnage.
"Right behind you babe." Puddle calls out to the king, driving his spear into one of their former brethren.
"Thanks. Watch your six babes." He calls back dealing with the threat brought to his awareness.
"Got it. To your left babe."
"Donzo. Watch the right babe." They go back and forth, shouting callouts, stabbing, slicing, and dispersing the corrupted as they came.
Once their portion of the threat poll was handled, they come to a stop by each other. "Hey, you're still a pretty good fighter huh?" The king coils an arm around the waist of the other and pulls them in close.
"Well, I learn from the best." Puddle retorts, their eyes inseparable as their lips come together in a gentle kiss.
Max could hardly take his eyes away from the sight of the two. There were so passionate, even amid a potentially world-ending crisis. In some way, the aliens remind him of Oscar, or rather what Max wanted him and Oscar to be. In love even at the worst of times.
"Ha!" Max tears his eyes away from the couple and brings them over to the sound of laughter. Michael had just decapitated one of the corrupted aliens with a single swing. He had been like that since they first got into the old fort, aggressively slicing away at their enemies like it was the most natural thing in the world. Almost like he was playing a softball game. "Max, this is crazy fun! It's like popping balloons or something!" He says destroying another construct of evil. "Get in on it!"
Max wished he was as calm as the koalas been. "I never really fought anything like this before! How are you so good anyway!?" Max shouts over at him. So far all he'd been doing was ducking and dodging out of the way of the wild swinging off much too ragged weapons.
"What?" Michael's brow furrows. He pops another enemy before rushing to Max's side. "Don't ya remember? We signed up for fencing. The junior laugh?" A sudden image flashes in his mind, back when they, or rather he, had been sighing up for multiple sports back in school. Fencing was one of the only sports Michael had taken to.
"Right..." Max whispers, raising the sword up to his face and rotating it sideways before being the blade down and taking up the saber form. It's been a while, but he thinks he can manage the discipline with some shred of decency.
Michael flashes a joyful grin at him. "Ya remember how it goes." He brings his sword up in much the same stance, both boys extending them outwards as they bring one foot back behind them. How could Max have forgotten? He was always decent at the sport.
One taken alien approaches them and is the first to be cut down and scattered into ash as Max thrust his sword into its chest. The feeling of satisfaction he got from destroying the thing was nearly irrefutable for him. Almost like popping a balloon.
He goes for another, this time not holding back any of his aggression, but he knows he can't be reckless. He knows when to hold back when to dodge, and when to strike once the perfect opportunity presents itself.
He takes everything he's learned from that single year of fencing and applies it to bursting these monster's bubbles, quite literally, with Michael by his side doing the same. Together, they had been fighting with the exact elegance and chemistry as the king and Puddle.
He might even just say he was having fun then. So much so that he doesn't notice the giant corrupted alien creature rushing to him. The former alien grabs Max, causing him to drop his sword as it brings the boy to face view. "Uh-oh."
The beast was horrendous, its face was partially hanging off its skull and its eyes dangled helplessly in their sockets. He can see why these guys kept their helmets on. That black fog was a blessing for both them and the people who had to look at them.
"Don't worry boy." The king and Puddle came running, slicing at the monster's legs as they pass by, giving Michael ample opportunity to assist his friend.
"Max! Heads up." He flips the sword and chucks it at Max like a football. It was the best spiral the bat had seen his friend ever perform. Max catches the sword and plunges it deep into the distracted alien's loose eye socket. Max twists and turns the blade until the monster disappears into a puff of smoke as he drops to the ground.
"Ugh." He lands on his back, letting out a breathless groan.
"Ya alright?" Michael said offering out a hand. Max gives a simple thumbs up while still lying on the cold stone ground. He needed a second to catch his vacant breath, though he would eventually take Michael's assistance.
"Hmm." Puddle steps over to the boys with an amused hum. "You two are pretty good." They give the pair a warm smile before turning away. "Come, the vault is just down this way." Puddle marches off in a hurry. All of that fighting and the alien had barely broken a sweat. Max admired that.
"Okay." The king walked up to the large metal door at the far end of the fort's last room. A dark and hopeless place few dared to journey down to. He held his hand up to a panel on the side of the door and in an instant the door itself would drift open inwards, revealing what the boys had been seeking. "In you go."
The king directed them into the room. It was an old stone room, dark and heartless much like the rest of the fort. Say for the brightly shining light at the center. On a pedestal sat a box, golden and jewel incrusted, surrounded by the decaying remains of two alien guards.
"Ugh." Michael let out a disgusted moan as Max steps up to the box and opens it. Inside sat the tetrahedron. He takes the shape in his hands and rises it. They had gotten one of the pieces. He could only hope the same could be said for the other two.
"I think we're good to go." He says, turning to Michael.
"Yeah, right..." Michael said, gazing at the shape in Max's hand. "Hey, Max." The koala spoke nervously.
"Yeah." Max looks at him, waiting for the other to relive whatever it was that'd been stressing him out. Though the bat already had the feeling he knew what it might have been.
"Max... man-" He stutters, his tongue fumbling around in his mouth. "Max, I know I haven't been the best to you lately, or at all... I was... you know... it was because..." He stammers some more, it seemed he knew the words but couldn't get them out until he slowed down his breathing and calms himself his flaring nerves. "Max I was a dick... and it was because I-" He stops for a moment. "I loved you, Max, I always have, since the day we met. And before you say anything, I know you and Oscar are a thing. I just wanted to let you know that I never meant to hurt you, or Jason, or anybody. I was angry and I took that out on everyone around me because I felt like I couldn't admit my feelings to you." Michael huffs. That little confession was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life, but he looks all the better for it. "I'd get it if we never talked after all this is over. wouldn't blame ya for it-" Before the koala boy could finish, Max stepped up to him, planting a small kiss on one cheek.
"Thanks... for telling me." Max smiled. Michael wasn't the only one who needed that confession. The koala's simple admission was enough for Max to see him in a whole new light and fighting alongside him had brought back fond memories he couldn't believe he'd buried so deep inside. He feels it was good for both of them and that he wouldn't mind making room for Michael in his life once again.
Max steps out of the room leaving the koala stunned and touching his cheek. A soporific smile rested over his lips until he breaks out of his trance once he realizes Max was no longer in the room with him. "Right." He begins, making his way out. "So how we gettin' home?"
"Don't worry. Well, drop you off." Puddle spoke, stretching his spear out across the back of his neck. "It's the least we could do."
"Sounds good." Max sighs relieved, holding up the object again. "Man, how did all this escalate so fast? All this only started a few hours ago." He says as he observes the surprisingly light shape.
"What?" Puddle's tone carried some confusion with it, which confuses Max as well.
"What? What's wrong?" The bat takes his eyes off the artifact and brings them around to the alien.
Puddle puts a finger to his lips. He was caught in thought, figuring out the best way to bring up the words he wished to speak, though the king would do it for him. "Right. Maybe try a few days." He blurts bluntly.
The boys look at each other, mouths agape then back to the aliens. "Days!"
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Elizabeth steps into her throne room. In one hand was a staff with a crystal orb inlaid into the tip. She brings it to eye view and smiles. "Noaw, dis as perfect wouldn't you say Susia?" She speaks to the orb on her staff.
"Most elegant you're majesty." Barb Junior steps in behind her with two other elves caring an unconscious Oscar in their hands. "Though what should we do with the child?"
"Gat him strung up. Above da throne. It's da perfect spot for 'em." He gestures over to her crystal throne and the elves obey. "With him, I'll be able ta extend the reach of ma power beyond anythin youa tina little mind can comprehend." She leans over to Barb Junior who responds with an obedient bow.
Elizabeth brings the staff back up to her face. "Das is goin to be beautiful Susia. Just ye watch."
