Announcement

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 03-23-2014, 05:56 AM

Sephira started as Edward appeared with Zebulon and James. What were they doing here? She hadn't sent them any messages since warning Edward about the groups Maxwell had been sending out. So why were they here?
Star hurried to her side and she knelt to rub the cheetah's head. "What's going on?" she asked quietly. "How did you know we were in Great Bay?"
Star looked at her in confusion. "You sent Zarola. Didn't you?"
The Stari shook her head. "She must have gone on her own. How did she even know we were in Great Bay? I haven't seen her since this morning."
She looked up as she heard Edward chuckling, her eyes narrowed. Then widened in horror as he revealed her as a traitor. A quiet no escaped her lips. Oh how naïve she felt! Of course he would reveal her, his ace in the hole. Of course he would want to gloat that she had done exactly as he had wanted, delivered him the man he requested. "I entered this as a third party, Max," she said, standing to face him. "With the war between you two, I couldn't continue travelling safely with my companions. I had to bring this to an end. So when Edward asked me to be a spy, I accepted. But I'm Hylian, with no knowledge of either of you when I entered Clock Town. All I knew of you was from him, making you out to be a monster, but I discovered you were so much more. I promise you, I was wanting to use my position to find a more peaceful end for this war. And I meant everything I said back in your mansion, when I said you could live for me." She was careful to change dialect for the last part, not wanting James to hear and misunderstand, or Edward to twist it into further torment for the king.
Star walked to Shade, curious to meet this black wolf. He was clearly at a loss for what was going on, so he must be a wild animal, unused to hearing Hylian speech. "Hello, I'm FallenStar. I take it the up-walkers' speech still confuses you?" She cocked her head and gave him a gentle smile.

**Z64** · 03-23-2014, 11:42 AM

Shade took a step back when Star approached him. "I appreciate your kindness, but I need to figure out what is disturbing my master. Maxwell, what is wrong?"

Maxwell looked at Shade. "Everybody but us. Everybody is wrong."

Edward was confused on what language Maxwell was speaking with the animals, but shrugged it off. "What's wrong, Maxy? Did I break your heart? Awfully sorry about that, friend."

"Is there an echo here?" Maxwell said, turning to Edward. "Oh yes, something's wrong. Yes, I guess you could say you broke my heart. But you're sorry? I can taste the sarcasm in your voice. We used to be like brothers, Edward. Brothers. What changed? Did you get tired of being the lesser one?"

The last question seemed to get Edward a bit angry. "The lesser one? Come on, Max. We all know who's the lesser one here."

"Really? Do we? Do we really know? I think you've got it all wrong. You're the runaway ***** who couldn't respect his parents. You're the one who came to my doorstep, asking for shelter and food. You're the one who they always had to patch up after we fought. You're the one who had to send someone to 'break my heart', as you put it. So tell me. Who is the lesser one?"

Edward's anger seemed to flare at this point. "Keep talking, *******. How about we'll settle this the old fashion way? Then we'll both know who is the lesser one."

Maxwell's eyes narrowed. "Fine. But you have only guaranteed your death. Shade, stay out of this."

"Sephira, James, Zebulon, please go. I won't need any help with this guy."

Maxwell growled in response to what Edward said. "How about you stop lying and start telling the truth?"

"I'm not lying."

"We'll see about that."

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 03-23-2014, 11:44 PM

Star was a bit amused at Shade's discomfort, especially that he backed from a potentially rival predator. But apparently he didn't recognize that her aid would have answered his question just as easily as asking Maxwell. Still, she could understand his reasoning, and instead turned back to her mistress.
Fire flared around Sephira, although she was trying to keep it under control. Anguish roiled over her for the pain Maxwell was suffering from her, and anger bubbled inside at Edward for putting her in this situation. She took off the mask she had been wearing, allowing it to burn into black ash. She could stop them. She could keep them from fighting, from there being any need for this bloody end. Maxwell knew of her fire, but Edward had never seen it before. And neither man knew how vast her control was, nor had either seen her phoenix. She could stun them with her strength and the beauty of the bird, and subdue them with fear from it. Then she could force them to get along. She could, she knew she could.
Star rubbed her leg. "Let it go, Sephira. Whatever you're thinking, you can't stop this. When two wolves want blood..."
"Only blood will sate them," the Stari answered, sighing. She moved to stand by James and Zebulon, but even then, she couldn't bring herself to leave. She didn't want this blood letting to happen. There had to be some way, something she could do, that would stop this. Something. Anything.

**jborgon** · 03-24-2014, 12:09 AM

James' eyes darted back and forth between Edward and Maxwell. He hadn't seen the self-proclaimed king before, only heart stories about him, but something about the pair seemed odd. Despite their appearances, it almost felt to him like they might have been the same person, or at least very close to it. He then looked at Sephira, ignoring Edward for the moment. It felt as ages since he had seen her, and the fact that her outfit made her look stunning caught him even more off guard and even distracted him from what was happening at the moment. However, it didn't take long for him to notice something was wrong. As Edward revealed his secret element in this battle, Sephira, and Maxwell seemed to break down because of it, something changed in her. James could understand feeling bad, as the king's reaction was heart-wrenching, at least to him who knew Sephira could be very good at acting when she wanted to. But she seemed to be beyond bad, almost guilty and even angry at Edward. He saw the fire flare from her and knew her feelings were spiking beyond her control. However, Star got close to her, and it seemed to calm her down at least a bit.
Edward repeated his instructions to leave, and this time James payed attention. Sephira, who was now standing by him, looked like she was ready to jump at the pair, but James had a feeling that could only end badly. Grabbing hold of her hand with his uninjured one, ignoring the pain that flared up because of her burning skin, he spoke to her ear. "We should go, Sephira. I don't fully understand what's going on, but we can't get involved. Not this time," he said as soothingly but firmly as he could. Looking back at Zeb, he spoke soft enough for him to hear but not Edward and Maxwell. "Stay here, whatever fight may ensue, and try to keep them from killing each other. Please. We have to go." He turned back to Sephira and whispered, with his hand still holding on firmly to hers, his eyes looking into hers pleadingly, "Please, trust me on this." He began pulling her away, hoping she wouldn't resist.

**HyrulianBlackcat** · 03-24-2014, 12:24 AM

Sephira flinched as she felt James' cool hand take hers, and forced herself to cool her skin. "James- I just- I couldn't do anything." Tears started to flow, her frustration reaching a peak. And as he soothed her, guilt filled her too. What would he say, when he found out what she'd done? This wasn't helping her at all.
Star nudged them both from behind. As the tension grew between the two men, she knew it was best if the pair got out of there. "Let's get the others and get going," she said. "You can feel guilty about this later. Now let's go." She pushed Sephira firmly on.

*James, Sephira, Star move to Reb Base*

**Z64** · 03-24-2014, 01:56 AM

Zebulon grunted. "Fine. I owe you guys one anyway, because of how I reacted when you came to camp. But I don't guarantee the survival of both of them."

-----------------------------------------

"Old fashioned way, Max. We have to throw our swords to the side."

"Fine."

Both men threw their swords aside, then seemed to stop moving completely. Both stood with their arms at their sides, staring at each other. Both of them seemed calm, but you could almost feel the hate that they had for each other.

Then, without a word, both of them moved forward and striked, their fists hitting each other. Immediately, the fight sped up, and it was hard to keep up with what they were doing. This lasted for a while, the two combatants barely moving from where they had started fighting. It was clear that a lot of pent up emotions were being let out, and unknown to anyone watching, it was already feeling very cathartic to both Maxwell and Edward. However, this meant a lot more to Maxwell than it did to Edward. Edward had been his brother. He had grown up with Edward. Then after Maxwell killed the Hidden and told him about his plans to be king, Edward left. Maxwell had thought about this the whole time, from that night to now, and he still couldn't get it. And not a lot of things made Maxwell angrier than things he didn't understand. Now Edward had gone and sent Sephira to spy on him. It was the equivalent of cutting open his chest, ripping his heart out, then destroying it. No, it was much more. It was like dying a thousand deaths, all of which were slow and painful. Maxwell thought that the death of his mother would be the worst thing in his life, but he had thought wrong. This was it, by far.

Someone who finally got it. Someone would understood what it was like to be me. Someone who could say 'I get it.' A true friend. As well as a great teacher. She woke me up. She said 'Hey, get yourself together, and become a person you want to be.' The most unique person I've ever met. But Edward had to ruin it. Of course she was a spy, sent to win me over and learn all about me. Sure, she can apologize all she wants, but that doesn't fix anything. She still did it. To her credit, she seems to sort of know what she has done to me. But not completely. If she did, she would run. Faster than the wind. Because as far as I'm concerned, when I'm done here, she's next. And you know, maybe I should bring Edward's body as an example. Show her the simplified version of what I'll do to her.

The tornado of movement seemed to stop when Maxwell caught Edward's arm. Maxwell grinned, and Edward growled. One of them was doing to enjoy this next part a lot.

In one swift movement, Maxwell broke Edward's left arm, and pushed him away. He began to shout in pain, cradling his broken arm. He looked at Maxwell, fear in his eyes. Clearly, he didn't expect to be at such a disadvantage this early in the fight. And now, Maxwell could see that Edward wanted him to back off. However, this only encouraged Maxwell.

Maxwell walked over to Edward, and punched him in the gut. Maxwell then grabbed his opponent's shoulders, and kneed him in his weak spot twice. Maxwell pushed Edward back again, and watched him writhe in pain. It seemed like Edward was suffering quite a bit. He tried to maintain an angry look, to convince Maxwell that he was not down for the count yet, but he couldn't help but let his expression show he was feeling extreme pain.

"Where's all the bravado now, Edward? I thought you could take me. Now you're wishing that they're here to help you. You want to cry for mama, huh? Oh wait, she wouldn't help you anyways, because you didn't appreciate her! Do you know what it's like to lose a mother you love at a young age, Ed? You don't, do you? Well, let me tell you something. When you lose your mother at a young age, you don't really know what to blame. Me? I blamed my father. And guess what? He's dead now. Looks like we both hated our dads, huh? And then you came into my life. Such innocence. I felt bad for you, you know. It was really pouring when you came knocking, and you were very hungry. How could I not let you in? Plus, everybody in the house was older than me. I needed someone to hangout with. I'll admit, when we were training with the Hidden, you helped me through some tough times. And then there was that period where we were free. We did whatever we wanted. Those days were great. Until our old masters came and told me that they were going to kill us both if we kept living the way we were. See, Edward, I didn't kill them out of resentment. I killed them for my safety and yours. What's so wrong about that? And don't say we should've listened to them. We both know you, out of the two of us, would be the least willing. After that, you thought it was reasonable to leave because you were mad at me for killing our masters, and for wanting to be king. But that night, you made the biggest mistake of your life. Not only did you get into this situation here, but you made me mad. And as I'm sure you know by now, nothing is more dangerous than me being mad."

Edward didn't say anything, and seemed calm for now. This surprised Maxwell. He was supposed to be showing fear now. Or saying something back. He wasn't supposed to be calm.

Before Max could do anything else, however, he felt a fist hit the back of his head. Maxwell began to fall forward, but caught himself and turned to face whoever hit him. It was Zebulon, and by the looks of it, he was planning to have that hit knock Maxwell out. However, he had been unsuccessful. Maxwell kicked Zeb's hand as he tried to punch him. Maxwell grabbed Zebulon's neck with both his hands and squeezed as hard as he could. Zebulon choked, desperately trying to take in air while using his hands to pry Maxwell's hands from his neck and using his legs to kick Maxwell. However, all of this was ineffective, and Maxwell let Zebulon's body drop to the ground. He turned around and saw Edward standing, holding a defensive stance. Maxwell grinned, then walked over to him. Edward tried to throw a punch with his good arm, but Maxwell caught it, and grabbed the whole arm. Edward attempted to kick Maxwell, but it didn't stop him from breaking his other arm. Maxwell threw Edward, and watched him write in pain again.

"Ah, this is so entertaining. Watching you suffer. I really do think this is the correct punishment for what you've done to me. In fact, I could do worse. A lot worse, actually. But, I'm saving that for someone else. You're going to be the example. I guess we've proved who the lesser one is now, huh? You know, you really should've had Sephira and...James, I think his name was, stick around, because that other guy wasn't much help. Was he a high position in your little rebellion? If so, then that's pathetic. C'mon, Edward. You know you're better than everybody in your stupid rebellion. You should've stuck around with me. Be a general in my army. Can you imagine that? We would've beaten everybody. But now, I'm beating you. Actually, I'm breaking you. Your legs are next, are you ready?"

Edward began shouting in pain, and Maxwell simply grinned as he walked over to Edward. He took each of his legs one at a time, and broke both of them. Now, Edward was at the breaking point. He was feeling a very extreme amount of pain, and his body could barely take it. He made eye contact with Maxwell, who was standing over him. Maxwell chuckled as he saw tears coming from Edward's eyes. He was broken. Now it was time to finish it. Maxwell walked away, and picked up his sword. He pulled it out his sheath, and examined it. He remembered his history with this sword. Receiving it from his masters, training with it, modifying it, and slaying many people with it. It was a glorious blade. And now, it would end the life of his greatest enemy. Maxwell walked over to Edward, raised his sword, and put it through Edward's heart. Maxwell stood over Edward's dead body, taking heavy breaths, and eventually, the adrenaline wore off, making Maxwell sit down.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Shade walked over to Maxwell, and sat down. He looked at Edward's body. Shade had watched the whole fight, and knew Maxwell hated this man very much. But the man was dead now. So what was wrong?

Shade looked at his master, and saw tears coming from Maxwell's eyes. He was crying.

"Shade...what have I done? I'm....a horrible person. As much as I hate to admit it, I still thought of Edward as a brother. A deranged, confused brother, but a brother nonetheless. And I just killed him. Story of my life, I guess. I kill everything, from my father, to an innocent citizen in Clock Town. It was that day, you know. The day I found out my mother died. That was the instant I became who I am. This monster, who just kills. Why did she have to die, Shade? Why? They never explained why. They didn't get it. My mother was my everything. I loved her so much. And then she died. Out of my life. Forever. I don't care that I saw her ghost. She didn't remember. She didn't ask how I was doing. She didn't consider that her death could so something like this to her son. I swear, Shade, if my mother was murdered, and I knew the killer.....I don't know. Not even the hate I have for Sephira would come to close to the hate I would have for that person. I would dedicate my whole life to the sole purpose of killing him, and all of his descendants. I would send them straight to the Underworld. No questions asked. What comes after this, Shade? Part of me says I should kill Sephira, and another says I should spare her. And I can't tell which one is right. And to hell with being the king. I'm going to drink some wine, and disappear. Termina won't have to deal with me anymore. It's better for them, and for me. I don't care if it doesn't make sense. I don't. Termina can go back to the way it was. It's survived for pretty long the way it was. It can go back. But I'm going to dig myself a hole somewhere, and never come out. My life has no purpose."

Shade stayed silent, and thought about his response. Maxwell was in a dark and sensitive place, and Shade had to be careful about what he said next. It sounded like Maxwell was planning on taking his own life, and Shade would not allow that.

"No, master. Your life does have purpose. Don't you ever think that it doesn't. Even the most useless of the pack has a purpose of some sort, and you are far from useless. I agree with you on letting Termina go back to it's old ways. Your position has caused you much pain, and it would not be good for you to stay around. So do whatever you need to do, and then we'll leave. We'll leave Termina behind, and go to some new place, and find a purpose. Forget Sephira. If it weren't for her, I would not be here to help you. I know this isn't enough to fix the pain she has inflicted, but we can talk about it later. We'll work on this problem with killing as well. I may be a wolf, and not completely understand your problems, but I'll tell you something, Maxwell. I don't have anybody else, as you feel right now. I only have you. I will never betray you. I will stick by you through the darkest hours. If we're in a perilous situation, I will not hesitate to sacrifice my life for yours. Keep in mind, I would not have been saying this if you hadn't been kind to me, all those moons ago when we first met. There is good in you, Maxwell. You aren't a bad guy."

Shade wasn't sure if what he said would work. Like he said, he didn't really understand Maxwell's problems, so part of it had been guesswork. But Shade had tried his hardest to make it sound like he really what he was going through, and he could only hope that Maxwell would get the point.

Maxwell looked up, and hugged Shade. When he let go, he chuckled. "First day together, and I'm already broken. Not much the Fates can throw at us now."

"That's more like it. Where to now?" Shade liked that Maxwell seemed to lighten up a little, but was disappointed when he seemed to go back to his depressed mood.

"We're going to town. We're going to sit in a tavern, and I'm going to drink. A lot. I'm going to try to forget this, even though I know I won't. Watch out for me while I'm under the influence, alright?"

"Please, before we get there, explain to me what exactly you mean by what you just said."

***Maxwell and Shade move to a thread in Clock Town that has not been created at this point in time.***

Announcement

The Betrayal and The End

The Betrayal and The End

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