Blood on his hands, Maxamillian stood, surrounded by more dead bodies than he could count. Even if his eyes could not break their stare at his bloodied hands and shirt, he could recognize the faces on all of the bodies around him, and they all had the same pale, wrinkled skin and deathly thousand yards stares. Each body was a copy of Comet, and they shared Max’s hard stare at the red stained hands he held out in front of himself. He tried to move, tried to speak, but he was paralyzed, other than the shaky breath that would rock his chest, and provided the only noise in a room with no walls. [color=MistyRose]“I told you, Max, you can’t go back. You could never go back, from they day you were taken. It was always meant to be like this. Quit fighting it.” All the Comets said in unison, as they all shambled to their feet. The thousands of voices all reverberated off of the invisible walls, filling Max’s ears and head with pain, but all he could do was free small, struggled groans.[/color] Max’s eyes were finally released to move freely, by Max almost wished they hadn’t. The copies of Comet sprawled for as far as his eyes could see, and they all had bodies full of open, freely bleeding wounds. Max struggled vehemently to try and turn his head away, but all he could do was shut his eyes, which were always opened right back up against his will. [color=MistyRose]“Maybe this will teach you what I’ve been preaching to you this whole time, Maxy.”[/color] The copies spoke up, but this time, there was only one Comet, with no wounds or bleeding, but her voice was distorted. The garbles of her voice made her words incomprehensive, yet Max could still understand it somehow. Out of the visor in his helmet, Max could see Comet approaching, in one hand cradling his own knife. Before he could attempt to speak, she had taken the knife in both hands, and brought the blade down hard on his helmet. The tip of the blade stopped short of completely piercing the helmet, but the very tip of the blade still dug into Max’s scalp, causing his chest to tighten in pain and surprise as he tried his hardest to speak or yell in pain. With one cruel yank, and the knife amazingly cut straight through his helmet, digging downwards in the process. Something in his chest broke, and his yells finally become audible. His mouth opened wide as he let out an intense yell, and then grit his teeth. [color=silver][b]"Comet, what the fuck! Stop for God’s sake!'[/b][/color] A tightened fist cruelly impacted with Max’s right cheek, knocking the rest of his body loose, following the momentum of his falling face. He caught himself, and tried to recollect his thoughts, before he felt a hot boot push him the rest of the way down, and pin his head to the ground, as he let out a grunt. A gloved hand shoved itself into the cut in the helmet, and yanked, creating an opening that revealed Max’s antenna. [color=MistyRose]“Maybe now, you’ll stop making stupid mistakes.”[/color] Said Max. His mouth moved on it’s own accord, but Comet’s voice was what came out. His stomach jumped as he gagged, returning to his own voice, but his voice was caught in his throat suddenly when Comet gripped his antenna with one hand, and jabbed the knife harshly around the base of it, making a few, jagged cuts, and then finishing the job with a quick yank. Visual displays flashed and beep, indicating the large hole in his helmet, and his scalp felt as if it was burning. He could feel warm blood flow down into his helmet, getting in his eyes, and soaking into the padding around his face. He wanted to scream, but the overwhelming pain made him gag, and he rose to his hands and knees once the boot left his head. He tried desperately to open the mouth hatch, but the systems in the mask were shorting out, either from the blood getting in the circuitry or the large cuts through most of it’s wiring. A low rumble from his stomach turned into a full blown cry and moan of pain, and he again fell onto his side, cradling his head, searching for any way to get the thing off. Finally, his hands found the release that took the mask off, but instead of loosening, the mask got tighter, and rapidly continued to do so until his head was pounding in pain, with his ear ringing. He clenched his teeth so hard it began to hurt his jaw, and his pained growl turned into a full out cry, begging for mercy and a for the pain to stop. Fingers clawed desperately trying to pry the mask off to no avail, and the map in his helmet, although still flickering and shorting out, solely showed a plotted map from a moon of some planet to his home planet, Nohvia. [color=MistyRose]“Maybe now you’ll understand.”[/color] Comet had left, the speaking was coming from his voice modulator. He could barely hear the words over his own cries. Tighter and tighter the helmet grew, blood still streaming into the mask until his sight was burning and muddled, and then, he finally couldn’t breath. He struggled, flailing his arms and legs trying to find escape, but his need for air outgrew anything, and soon, the struggling turned into gurgling and his movement stopped Sharp and deep, a needle was shoved into Max’s chest,and his chest rapidly sucked in air, and light filled his eyes, burning them. His hands quickly found the arm that was stabbing him and gripped tightly. [color=Cyan][b]”MAX! Jesus Christ, wake up, Max! Snap out of it!”[/b][/color] Still mostly blinded, Max tried his best to look around what felt like purgatory. The first face he saw was that of the nurse in his cell block, yanking a needle from his chest, and Max instantly understood everything. His gripped loosening, and he covered his face. [color=silver]”Can I have my mask, please, gentlemen?”[/color] He said, his groggy voice muffled by his hands. Something landed lightly on his chest, and Max grabbed it, eyes still shut, and slid it on, knowing it wouldn’t choke him this time. With the flip of a small switch, a much easier to see view of the room came up and filled Max’s vision. Aside from the nurse, there were 3 guards, 2 of them stood outside the cell, confused looks plastered on their face, and the third, familiar face, stood over him next to the crouched nurse. [color=SteelBlue]”Sorry to wake you from such a good dream, Max, but your presence has been requested.”[/color] Sgt. McMillan said, in his usual deep, slightly southern drawl. [color=silver]”Requested? Who wants to see this washed up drug runner?”[/color] Max said, sitting up, removing his mask to quickly rub his eyes and face, and then putting it straight back on. [color=SteelBlue]”Couldn’t tell you, honestly. It’s important though, better look your best.[/color] The Sergeant said, placing Max’s trusty old jacket over his shoulder. [color=silver]”Thanks, Fred. This what they’re burying me in?”[/color] Max said with a hidden smirk, sliding his arm in a jacket sleeve. The Sergeant chuckled.[color=SteelBlue] “They’re gonna cremate your ass when they finally kill you, won’t matter what you’re wearing.“[/color] Max gave a quiet chuckle as the nurse helped him up. Once on his feet. He straightened out and fastened his jacket, adjusted his helmet, and turned to the nurse. [color=silver]“Had to use the adrenaline again huh?”[/color] [color=cyan]"Yep."[/color] The man said. [color=cyan]”Smacking you on the head and shaking you didn’t do much, so out came the needle."[/color] He said with a smirk. [color=silver]”Tsk.”[/color] Max chuckled as he put his arms out, wrists close. [color=silver]"Best not leave the guests waiting, eh?”[/color] One of the guards that stood outside the cell wordlessly walked in and cuffed Max’s hands, and then, along with the other guard, they both gripped onto each of Max’s arms, one a rather squishy real arm, and the other a stiff, firm, robotic one. With the Sergeant in tow, the group started their walk down the sprawling hallways, as the nurse patted Max on the back and went his separate way. As the conversation died and the walk came into it’s main stretch, Max’s eyes felt heavy once again. No desire to ask questions could be found in his head. Just about any surprise wouldn’t be too much for him to handle, so why spoil a bit of fun? Grey, metal walls and bars were boring enough, even Max needed a bit of a surprise sometimes. Soon enough, after what seemed like eons and miles of goddamned grey walls, Max reached his destination, and could hear conversation through the door. The guards exchanged looks and nods, and Max finally made his grand entrance. Seated at the table were a familiar face or two. Who didn’t recognize the Pirate King? He looked depressed, but who was Max to talk? The woman who sat next to him seemed familiar, but Max could put a finger on her name. There sat another, rather attractive woman he thought, her bionic legs swinging, and another man who he could not name, but had a rough look about him. The man seated across from King was a complete stranger, with a distinct tattoo under his eyes and then there was- [color=silver][i]What the fuck?[/i][/color] Max stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the soft pink skin, the sea foam hair. Something rose in his throat but he stopped it in it’s tracks. He refused to believe what his eyes were telling him. Max had only even known two people with the skin and hair colors that spoke that intimately to him, and here, in front of him, sat one, surrounded by renowned criminals, including himself. His jaw clenched, and he shook the thought out of his head, lowering his gaze. Maybe he was still dreaming, still comatose in his cell. He slowly, and silently took his seat, his gaze pointed downwards, avoiding contact with all the recognizing eyes that peered at him. “Welcome to the table, Mr. Maxamillian. I’m sure you’ll find your fellow inmates here good for some conversation, they’ve been quite talkative up until this point.” The Warden spoke. Max’s stare did not break from the table, he shuffled in his seat and cleared his throat. [color=silver]”I’m sure they have, sir.”[/color] Maxamillian felt like gagging.