This chapter? Or the whole Story?

Either way, wow, thanks. I try.

I'm in your top 5! Must work harder :D

Looks like Shadownox is doing better than me. And Litterbit. And Blindshot. Congrats to all.

But lets see if I can improve this story....The climax is yet to come, and so is the true nature of my story..

Mwaha, ahah, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!!!!

Lets us begin!

Don't be so hard on Shadow. Some people take longer to write, some people don't.

Judge him on his quality, rather than his speed.

Did u even read mai stori?!

Continuation from part 1 (duh) That fight was more or less a fluke. It was supposed to be a remnant reflex from his memory that he does't quite have access to yet.

You should read Part 1 if you like this one. It's actually a complete story, and has much more action.

And a lot of mecha knights die. ><

and so does JK.

And so do I, wait wut?

No, you're not being ignored. I just got on.

To answer your question, I suppose you can use him as a template for a character. Change him if you want, but your story will probably interfere with mine, so use him, but change his name. That done, you can use him how you want.

HELL NO!

Do you have any idea what that word is used for?!

Name ideas: Destrion, Almoar, Mekan, Poldair. (These are completely random. I have no-idea how I came up with these.)

Just Don't. Use. That. Name....really.

Can you edit the last bit out then...it's kinda disturbing....

*shudder*

About the long wait. I was suffering from the opposite thing most writes get. Writer's surplus.

Too many ideas in my head meant that I kept coming up with bits for the story AHEAD of where I was now, so I couldn't think about the story straight, and it messed up the flow.

I need to hurry up or I'll get write's block as well.

I'm coming up for the middle, the end, an extra, and bits of three different stories all related to this one.

So far I have thought about the start, middle and end of part 3, the end and extra part of Part 2, and some random bits (at LEAST 5 scenes) for another related story...

MAN I'm screwed.

Opps, double post

Too shocked to move, Enzer and Drake could do nothing but sit and watch in disturbed horror…

As the Snarbolax, dreaded among all members of the beast family, savage beyond mere description…

Licked their leader like a happy puppy.

Ange was confused, but she was too busy laughing as the Snarbolax licked her face, before crawling off her. It yelped loudly, and burrowed into the ground, spikes shooting up around her as it dug in a circle around her.

“…Somebody hit me with a Voltech, I must be dreaming.” Drake said in a daze.

Enzer was so dizzy from shock, he just collapsed.

Ange ran her hand through the Snarbolax’s spikes playfully as it continued to run around her. Suddenly, she remembered something.

She got up and walked over to the wolver cap. The Snarbolax followed her, still wanting to play.

“Snarbolax, where is Max?” She said, indicating the Cap to the dark animal. Said creature just stared at her, confused.

Ange repeated herself. “Where is the owner of this cap? Who gave it to you?”

The Snarbolax sniffed the cap. With a shrug, it crawled in a circle around Ange and fell asleep.

Ange looked the Wolver cap over. There was no mistaking it; this wolver cap belonged to, or had once belonged to Max.

Taking of her own helmet, she put it on. The helmet itself was in working condition, and therefore, so would the auto-video system.

As a rule, all knights’ headgear was equipped with an auto-video system. If the helmet was found, with no knight, then the video would reveal what had become of him/her.

Ange selected a timeframe, hit ‘Playback’ and watched the scene unfold.

[Earlier]

Rom shuddered. Max looked at his pet Chromalisk in worry. “What’s the matter Rom?”

Rom indicated the clearing directly ahead of him. Although Max saw nothing, he knew that something was there. Something had been nagging at his senses for a while now, and the disturbance was strongest here.

“Stay here Rom. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Rom obliged gladly, jumping off and climbing up a tree, turning invisible for good measure.

Max cautiously set one foot into the clearing. Immediately, whatever sixth-sense he had flared a warning. He leapt upwards in a backflip as a series of spikes tore up the ground where he had once stood. As he hit the ground, a black shadow erupted from the ground a few metres away.

Although Max could not remember anything about this beast, the name ‘Snarbolax’ stood out in his memory at the sight of him.

“So…you’re the Snarbolax?” Max asked, a bit casually, seeing as he was talking to the most feared beast in the clockworks.

Taken aback by Max’s boldness, the Snarbolax paused for a moment before baring its fangs angrily.

Without further warning, it disappeared below ground.

Spikes erupted from the ground as his enemy burrowed towards him. Max leapt over it and readied his sword.

As he did, his elbow hit something. He turned around and saw an old looking bell. Instantly, he knew what it was for.

The Snarbolax dug itself out, and with a roar, launched itself a Max.

Max struck the bell, the deep ringing sound echoing through the dark woods.

The Snarbolax dropped to the ground in agony, just short of Max. Quickly, Max used the brambles to tie its legs. When the Snarbolax regain control, he realised that he was caught.

Max crouched down in front of the beast. “…May I pass through your realm?”

The Snarbolax snarled, before howling in pain as Max struck the bell again.

“I’ll ask again, may I pass through?” The second time yielded no better result.

Max sighed. “This is going to take a while…”

[Some time later]

“So, will you let me through?” Max asked for the umpteenth time.

The dark beast looked up at him, its eyes…curious? Either way, it nodded.

Max sighed in relief. He bent down and cut the bonds that held its feet together.

Without warning, the beast leaped onto Max…and nuzzled him.

Needless to say, Max wasn’t expecting that. “Hey! Boy, what’s up with you?”

The Snarbolax climbed off him, then swatted his head. Max recoiled as his Wolver cap was disconnected from his helmet.

The Snarbolax raced after it, then lay on its back, juggling the wolver cap happily.

“…So you like my cap?” Max asked as he walked over to the playing beast.

It nodded eagerly, and continued to play with it. Max smiled. “I’ll call you Snarby.” ‘Snarby nuzzled his hand affectionately.

“Okay Rom, time to go!” Max called to the forest. At first, nothing happened. Then a small green Chromalisk seemed to materialise into the visible spectrum. It glanced fearfully at the happy Snarbolax.

Snarby spotted Rom. With a yelp, he chased after him. Rom tried to turn invisible, but Snarby already had him, and was licking him all over. Max just laughed.

“Ok Snarby, we gotta go.” Max said, motioning for Rom to join him. Snarby looked at Max as the meaning sunk in, his spikes drooping as he looked at Max sadly.

Max smiled. “Don’t worry, you can keep the cap.”

Snarby perked up slightly. Still, he walked over to Max and gently rubbed his nose on his armour. Max patted his head lightly.

“Well, later Snarby! Hope I’ll run into you some other time!” Snarby howled in a replying farewell as Max disappeared into the woods.

[Present]

Ange removed the helmet. “…That was weird…” She looked over to where Snarby was sleeping. To think Max somehow tamed this beast, and had a pet chromalisk. It was just weird.

Snarby stirred. Ange put the Wolver cap into his paw. He settled down.

Ange woke up her companions as headed for the lift. Max was gaining power, and if he could tame the Snarbolax, there was no telling what he could achieve.

“*pant**pant**pant*” Furry feet pounded along the metal floor.

“*pant**pant**pant**pant*” The creature looked behind itself; it’s every movement betraying its increasing fear.

It tripped, and crashed heavily to the ground. Not even breaking to regroup, it scrambled along the cold, hard floor, trying to get away.

The gremlin found itself up against a wall. Literally. “Please…PLEASE!” he screamed as a shadow drew closer.

“Please...don’t hurt me…!” He cringed with his arms over his head as the shadow came into view.

Rom just cocked his head oddly at the Gremlin. What did he have to fear?

The Gremlin sighed in relief as he saw the chromalisk. Then froze over again as a larger shadow came up from behind the chromalisk.

“I thought I might never catch you…” The shadow spoke, its voice indicating that this was a lie, as it drew ever closer.

A knight came into view, clad in armour that covered its entire body. The Gremlin knew its kind, and knew to fear them. They would destroy all that opposed them.

The knight held something in his hand. A weapon. The knight lifted it slightly, and the Gremlin braced itself for the attack.

“I believe this is yours.”

The gremlin dared to open a single eye. The knight was smiling, holding the Thwack hammer he had dropped when he fled.

The Gremlin eyed him warily. The knight just laughed.

“Dude, if I was going to kill you, I would have done it already. I wouldn’t beat around the bush like this. Really.”

The gremlin was still sceptical. “You killed those other gremlins.” He stated bluntly.

He was referring to the patrol team he was assigned with that attacked this knight. He slaughtered them all easily. So easily in fact, that he had barely moved before it was over. Fearing for his life, he ran away.

The knight held his hands up defensively. “Hey, in my defence, they attacked me first.” He pointed to the gremlin. “You didn’t . YOU ran. I don’t have a reason to kill you.”

The gremlin was slightly confused. “Really? I could go tell my fellow gremlins that you killed their comrades, and then they’d all come for you.” He quickly covered his mouth as he realised he might have just put himself in a dangerous position.

The knight shrugged. “You could. You could not. Not my problem, not your fault. I’m not the type to tie up loose ends like that.” The knight held out the hammer again. “It’s ok. Take it.”

The Gremlin accepted the hammer and hauled himself to his feet. Dusting himself off, he looked at the knight. He seems…nice.

Sticking out a hand, the Gremlin introduced himself. “My name is Zheckaphory. People call me Zack.”

The knight nodded and shook his hand. “They call me Max.” He replied.

“You seem like a nice guy. Not how other gremlins tell me.” Zack said, the question obvious in his voice.

Max simply shrugged. “I don’t think I’m normal. Not that I can remember at least.”

“Remember…?”

“Lost my memory, looking to restore it, end of story.” Max grinned.

Zack laughed.

“I’ve also noticed, you refer to other gremlins as if you’re separate from them…Why?” Max whispered.

Zack became uneasy. “Did I say that? Oh, my mistake, um…”

Max started at him. “Dude. CHILL. What could I possibly do to you?”

Zack sighed. “I’m…not…like other gremlins. I don’t know, there’s just something…different. About me.”

Max nodded. “It’s ok. I won’t push you for information.”

Zack smiled. “Thanks.” He started as he remembered something.

“Oh! Um, Max?” Zack ran over to said knight, who was beginning to walk away.

Zack wasn’t entirely sure he should be telling this to him, but he was a nice guy. If it helped, that would be something that wouldn’t lay heavily on his conscience.

“There’s something going on. A plot to destroy your fellow knights or something. My group wasn’t let in on it, but there have been rumours of the R.T. project.” Zack whispered.

“RT?” Max puzzled.

“I don’t know, but it’s something big. It’s supposed to be powerful enough to wipe out the whole of Haven in one shot.” Zack hissed.

Max nodded. “I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks.”

“Watch your own back. There are even scarcer rumours of something else. Something worse than R.T. But anyone who knows more than that just disappears.” Zack added.

“I appreciate the risk you take to inform me of this.” Max said with a slight bow.

“I don’t like destruction. Having a weapon so powerful can and probably will result in genocide.” Zack said with a shudder. “At least I don’t have to work on it. That would be the ULTIMATE nightmare.”

Max nodded in agreement. “Indeed. I would resent that as well.”

Zack checked his wrist. “Crud, another attack in my area. I need to get going. Nice knowing ya Max!” He yelled as he ran off.

Max made sure Rom was secure before continuing on his way. “RT…What could it be?”

Rom shrugged idly. Did Max really expect him to care?

* * *

Ange knocked the inoperative Mecha knight aside as it sparked and died. “Okay guys, we REALLY need to get moving. We lowered our rate of progress by taking out this mob.”

Drake nodded as he shot yet another Retrode into the ground. “Yeah, usually Max cleared the way for us. Increasingly efficient he may be, but thorough he is no longer.”

“Hey look, a gremlin!” Enzer pointed to a poorly hidden gremlin, which bolted the moment it realised it had been spotted.

“Don’t let him get away!” Drake announced, somewhat unnecessarily, as they were all racing after him as if he stole their CE.

The gremlin ran even faster after he turned around and saw them. “I didn’t throw/cut/crush/even damage ANYTHING!!” He screamed.

“What’s he talking about?” Ange asked no-one in particular.

“Who cares, just get him!” Drake yelled back.

The three chased the Gremlin through the area, their quarry running as fast as his little furry feet could carry him.

The gremlin stepped on an odd button, and suddenly, missile turrets sprang from the ground, spewing out iron rockets.

Enzer grunted as the missile impacted heavily on his shield, almost breaking it. “DRAKE!”

“On it!” Enzer swung around as he ran, spraying bullets that landed neatly in each launcher’s barrel, choking them up and causing them to explode.

Two mecha knights charged at the group, obviously activated by a self-defence trigger.

“Enzer! With me!” Ange ordered.

Together, they dashed forward and dove into a rolling slash, the Mecha knights dropping to the floor as their Torso was severed from their legs.

The gremlin stopped as it found itself, quite literally, up against the wall. Enzer grinned as he drew closer to it. “Got you now…”

He raised his sword high as the Gremlin cringed, squeezing his eyes shut in fear. “Goodbye….” He whispered.

*CLANG!*

Enzer looked up in surprise as an expressionless pair of green eyes stared back at him, over the area where his blade crossed a Tempered Calibur.

That surprise turned into anger at the interference. “Out of my WAY!” Enzer disengaged their blades and tried for another forward attack. The newcomer blocked it with a mid-spin backhand parry, following it up with a rolling uppercut that caused Enzer to stumble back.

Enzer breathed heavily as he watched the newcomer enter a low-stance, keeping his blade up and ready while leaving his body close to the ground.

“..What kind of move was that?” He said breathlessly.

Ange attacked next, dashing in and attacking low with a sweeping forehand slice.

The newcomer collapsed backwards, rolling back a pace back onto his feet. Then, with a low, wide, sweeping backhand, knocked the blade from Ange’s hands.

Both threats temporarily neutralised, he too the moment to check on the Gremlin. “Zack? You okay?”

‘Zack’ nodded. “Yeah, thanks dude, a second longer and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I owe ya one Max.”

Everyone started. “MAX!?” They chorused in confusion.

“Problem with my name?” Max narrowed his eyes as he re-affirmed his grip on his sword.

“Max, what are you doing with this gremlin? He’s the enemy!” Ange tried to keep her voice level.

“Zack is my friend, not an enemy.” Max shot back. “Tell me, did he actually attack any of you?”

“He activated a trap that shot missiles at us?” Drake supplied.

“HEY! You were going to kill me first!” Zack shot back.

Max folded his arms. “Which happened first? Did he fire missiles at you, or did you try and attack him?”

Ange looked away slightly. It was enough of an answer.

“Then you have no reason to kill Zack. He was acting in self-defence.” Max concluded.

“That’s no excuse…” Enzer started.

In a flash, Max was in front of him, a spinning backhand already on the way. Enzer quickly blocked it and responded with a forehand cut. Max backflipped back to his starting point.

“Did…! Did you just attack me!?” Enzer demanded.

“Yes, and you defended yourself.” Max deadpanned.

“I would have died if I didn’t!” Enzer retorted.

There was a short silence as Max’s point drove itself into their minds.

“My point exactly.” Max finished after a moment.

There was an awkward silence as the three knights realised that they were the ones at fault.

“Um…Zack, right?” Ange said to the Gremlin. “Uh…sorry about that, really.”

Zack shrugged nervously. “Hey, you guys have some beef with my species, It’s the least I should’ve expected. No hard feelings?” He extended a hand.

Ange smiled and shook it. Zack had to go back to work, so he left the four knights to themselves.

Ange walked over to Max. “C’mon, let’s go home.”

“Do I know you?” Max eyed them. “Oh wait, yes I do. You were there when I woke up. What do you want?”

“We’re here to take you back to Haven” Ange said with a smile.

“Not yet.” Max replied as he walked in the opposite direction. “I haven’t fully recovered yet; I need more time.”

Ange was surprised and confused. “But…That’s why we came to get you. To bring you back so you can recover!”

Max snorted. “How? By letting me lie down comfortably in a bed until my memory returns? I don’t think so.” Max sheathed his sword. “My memories and abilities are recovering with what I’m doing now. I’m not going to stop just because you told me to.”

“Enough.” Enzer stepped in. “We’re taking you back, by force if we have to.” Enzer readied his weapons and stared him down.

Max stopped, but did not draw his weapon. “…I’ve nearly mastered the abilities of the original Max, are you sure that’s wise?”

Enzer hissed back. “You’re bluffing.”

Max turned his head just enough to glare at him. “Are you sure you want to test that?” He shot back, his voice practically lined with steel.

All of a sudden, a gate shot up, separating Max from the others. Alarms blared and flashed as they looked around in worry.

“This does not look like a world of good.” Enzer whispered.

Max flipped his sword into a backhand grip and kept it in a defensive position. There was no telling what was going on.

There was a huge rumbling as two gigantic …THINGS came up from either side of the room. They appeared to be…very VERY big Gunpuppies.

“Blazing core…” Ange breathed.

With a *szhit*, their blue eyes opened. And a deafening roar signalled the beginning of a titanic battle.

Max grimaced as he surveyed his opponents.

They were HUGE gunpuppy-like machines, and that was about it.

Even so, his sixth sense was burning a hole in his head. These things were dangerous.

“MWAHAHAH! Fear the power of the mighty Roarmulus Twins!” A raspy gremlin voice rang out through a speaker.

Slowly, one of them opened its mouth and unleashed a volley of Iron rockets.

Max dodge-rolled forward under the rockets, watching as they collided with the other RT’s salvo with a devastating explosion.

Max charged towards one of them, leaping over a set of missiles and let loose a full powered forehand cut.

Shock travelled up his arm as the metal armour didn’t give way, and sent a shockwave straight through his arm. He dropped to the floor, trying to get his arm working again when there was a loud bark. Max looked up just in time to take an Iron rocket to the head.

* * *

“C’mon Enzer!” Ange yelled over the noise. “Hurry up! We need that gate open!”

Enzer grunted as he tried to use his Troika as a lever, then got fed up and smashed the gat as hard as he could. Try as he might, he was having no effect.

“I think I know that Ange!” He retorted. “My muscles aren’t made of iron, I can’t do EVERYTHING.”

“Well do SOMETHING or Max will be dead by the time you get the gate open!” Ange shot back.

“…Should we try climbing over it?” Drake asked hopefully.

They all turned and stared at him.

“What!?” He said defensively

* * *

Max shielded as another rocket impacted in front of him. He speared a scuttlebot that had managed to get close to him and swung it into an RT, hard. Not even glancing to look as it shattered into pieces.

Unfortunately, he didn’t notice the wave of rockets that had been fired behind him, and the exploded on his back, sending him flying forward, only to be hit by the other RT’s missiles.

“Unf!” Max grunted as they impacted, sending him skidding across the floor and smashing hard into some blocks.

Max had to use his word as a crutch to even get to his feet. He was badly damaged, but lying down wasn’t going to make survival any easier.

“…Where is this thing’s weak point!?” Max clenched his teeth in irritation. “I can’t take much more of this…I have to end this NOW.”

The other RT opened its mouth and fired a series of rockets. Max ran straight for them and prepared to unleash a backhand spin attack.

By pure luck, Max’s sword had just the right angle to deflect a single rocket upwards.

It flipped a few times, before landing on the other RT and detonating.

Momentarily stunned by the explosion, it slumped to the floor. Max took the opportunity and leapt onto its head, stabbing his sword between the gaps in its head plating.

Abruptly, it woke up, and tried to shake him off. Max clung onto his sword, gritting his teeth with the effort.

The RT tired shortly, and Max took the chance to secure his footing and pry open the RT’s armour. It roared as Max dropped into its head.

Inside, Max gripped his sword tighter as he sighted the power core through all the complex workings. It was glowing a neon light blue through the gaps in the metal plating and wiring that drew energy from it to feed the RT unit. Its spherical shape lead him to the assumption that it was just a ball of concentrated energy, not even a generator.

Without a second thought, he plunged his blade into it.

There was a massive flash of light as his blade pierced the core, blinding him as he was engulfed in it.

* * *

They all gaped in shock as one of the RTs glowed brilliantly, before exploding in a bright flash of light.

Drake fell over from where he was just beginning to try and climb the gate, and Ange and Enzer just gasped in horror as they shielded their eyes. “MAX!”

* * *

Max opened his eyes. All around him was white. Pure white. Not even blinding white light, just…white.

Looking down, there was no floor. He was floating in an endless abyss…which was white.

He panicked for a moment, flailing about, before he realised that he couldn’t move from his position.

“Am…am I dead…?” He asked aloud.

“No, you are not dead.” A soft voice spoke through the endless realm.

Max spun around, but failed to find the source of the voice.

“So, you are the warrior I seek?” it said gently. “Do not fear, no harm has come to you.”

“Thank you, but I doubt I am who you are looking for.” Max replied. “I am on a journey to recover my memory. That is all I am aware of. Although…” He added after a moment of thought. “If it is possible for me to assist you, I will help in any way I can. What is it you require?”

“Cradle faces great danger.” The voice’s tone had become a little grim. “Specifically, you who call yourselves Spiral Knights. A great power stirs up against you. A great power from below.”

Max took a moment to absorb this information. But none of it made any clear sense. What ‘great power’ would want to destroy the Spiral Knights? And what for? What purpose would it serve?

“I require a soldier to assist me in maintaining the fragile peace that remains as of present.” The voice continued. “Though, I fear, even if you are the one I seek, you are not ready.”

Max began to protest but the voice had already moved on.

“You already know what is required of you. Should you turn out to be he who I seek, we shall speak again. I take my leave of you.” The voice started to fade.

“WAIT!” Max called out. “Who are you!?”

“Your kind already knows of me. Undoubtedly, as do you.” The voice faded completely, and light filled Max’s vision.

* * *

Enzer pounded on the gate for all it was worth, while Ange and Drake hammered the gate alongside with whatever they had.

“DAMMIT OPEN!” Ange screamed as her sword flashed back and forth, striking the bars with little effect.

Drake glanced up by chance as a sickening screech sounded through the room. “Wait, look over there!” He pointed over to the fallen RT.

A gleaming sword tip protruded out of the RT’s nose, cutting through the thick armour with some difficulty. They watched on as the blade carved a door shape, then retracted back into the RT.

*BAM* The metal armour sheet flew across the room, bouncing off the floor a few times before coming to a stop.

Max lowered his fist as he stepped out of the fallen RT, his new Ascended Calibur gleaming in the light.

“He…He’s ALIVE!?” Ange exclaimed.

“Dija see his sword?” Drake bounced up and down in excitement. “I’ll bet the energy from the blast changed it somehow. SO COOL!”

Enzer sighed and sank to the floor. “Seriously, why do I even bother?”

The remaining RT glared at Max, hate for him evident on its mechanical face. For destroying its brother, and surviving. No, it would not let him get away.

With a clank, its mouth shifted to reveal a new set of guns, each barrel tip pulsing with blue energy.

Streams of lasers poured out of the turret, racing across the floor almost instantaneously.

Not even fazed, Max held his sword in a double handed hilt-up position, and deflected the lasers away from him.

* * *

The three knights cheered. “GO MAX!” Ange screamed.

“YEAH! SHOW HIM WHO’S BOSS!” Drake added.

Enzer snorted. “Hmph. I’M ‘Boss’.” He smiled.

* * *

The RT stopped its laser barrage and literally fumed as Max continued his constant, casual approach.

Reclining back, its head popped open and a series of absolutely MASSIVE rockets poured out.

He didn’t even look up as the rockets shot towards him. His step ever casual, ever unwavering.

* * *

They had gone from cheering to frantic pleas for Max to get out of the way.

“CAN’T YOU SEE THE DAMN MISSILES HEADING FOR YOU!?” Enzer roared.

“C’mon! Move! Do SOMETHING!” Enzer shook the bars for emphasis.

Ange resisted the urge to join in the frenzy. After all, this was Max they were talking about.

* * *

After the explosion cleared, Max allowed his shield to drop. It just barely withstood the blast, but that was all he needed.

Mid-step, Max stooped down to pick up some random object that they couldn’t quite make out, tossing it idly in his left hand.

The RT roared and fired another volley of missiles.

Max leapt up early, but it was clear that he had leapt TOO early. At his speed, his trajectory was going to make him land on the explosion, rather than avoiding it.

* * *

Now Ange had joined in on the despairing screams for Max to move, shaking the gate and screaming at the top of her voice, but either he couldn’t hear them, or he was paying them no heed.

In any case, he wasn’t listening.

* * *

Max shielded a split second before he fell, the shield absorbing the damage, but the force still sending him flying upwards.

In fact, Max found himself soaring straight into another missile.

Max swung his sword in a heavy uppercut, cleaving the explosive projectile in two, the halves falling uselessly to the floor.

* * *

“Did he just…” Drake’s disbelief apparent after the moment of stunned silence.

“Yes,” Ange said, equally stunned. “Yes he did.”

* * *

Max switched to the object he had picked up, drawing his right hand to his left for a backhand throw as the RT opened its head for another rocket salvo.

“Say goodbye!” Max roared as the object flew from his hand, soaring in a neat arc and landing inside the RTs head with a small clink.

Max dropped to the floor and turned his back to the monstrous machine, heading towards the still closed exit. The RT, seeing its chance, prepared to fire its lasers again.

Before the three knights even had a chance to panic, the Blast bomb Max had thrown detonated, rupturing the RTs power core, resulting in a massive energy explosion.

In short, as Max casually walked away, the RT exploded behind him in a fantastic show of light and flying metal pieces.

The three knights cheered. Even they had trouble believing what he had just pulled off.

“C’mon Max, lets head home.” Ange said, before realising that Max was walking to the other exit. The one that lead deeper into the clockworks.

Ange jogged up to Max, who was still walking as if nothing was going to get in his way and live. “Max?”

“I’m not going to follow you back to Haven.” Max said bluntly.

“Why?” Ange pleaded. “Why won’t you come back? You could die in here!”

“I know. But this isn’t just about me anymore.” Max’s step still hadn’t faltered. He wasn’t even slowing down for her.

“What?” Ange was confused. What else was going on?

“Something is calling me. And now I know where I must go.” Max looked at his sword.

Mark had been transformed by the energy surge when he stabbed that power core. The blade had been modified in the intense energy, making it into an Ascended Calibur. It seemed to shine in the light, as if confirming Max’s words.

Max’s eyes burned with the determination possessed only by a Knight with a purpose.

“I need to reach the Core.”