Max and Emilia

Cyclops story: http://pastebin.com/kqN2N2mF
Across the pond: http://pastebin.com/cpqwwKKM
Away from Chaos: http://pastebin.com/wsz6N0VB
Gnome is where the heart is: http://pastebin.com/T012TSin
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On a mid summers day in a village lying in the edge of the kingdom, the sounds of children playing filled the air. Screams and yells and laughs and cries were common in this village, too far away from the troubles of the world but too close for any opportunistic evil doer to make their mark.

But not all children are playing the same game, not far from the group, a little centaur, with brown hair on both her head and her horse-like body, played alone to the best of her ability.
“Hiyah!” She shouted, waving her wooden sword in the air. “You can't run from me, Lord Evil-Dark!”

The Centaur was lost in her own imagination, slaying demons and fallen knights to save the prince that was whisked away by an evil spell, the skeleton in robes, 'Lord Evil-Dark' laughed at her manically.

She gritted her teeth, pushing through the hordes of undead and evil doers, lunging forward and raising her sword high into the air to deliver the final blo-

“Who's “Lord Evil-Dark”?”

The Centaur let out a high pitch squeak, almost losing balance and falling to her side. She shook her head and looked up into the tree above her. A boy stared back at her, blinking his black eyes and scratching his matching, freshly cut hair.

“Wh-Who are you!?” The Centaur asked, raising her wooden toy sword upwards towards the boy, though her four shaking legs told differently of her bravado.

“I'm Max.” The boy introduced himself right away. “Who're you?”

“E-E-Emilia.” She introduced herself, clopping back away from the tree.

The boy leaped from the branch he was sitting on, rolling across the grass and worse for wear.
“Who's lord Evil-Dark?” he repeated his question.

“H...He's...” Emilia's face brightened, her eyes trailed towards the ground as she locked the grip of her sword in both hands, lowering it to the level of her human-like waist.

“Is he a bad guy?” The boy asked, hopping from his bottom and back to his feet.

“Y-...Yes...” Emilia stuttered. “He's an evil lich who cast a spell on the gallant prince! I'm a knight tasked with defeating him and lifting the curse!”.

“Evil-Dark is a stupid name.” Max interjected, his hands now pressed against his side.
“H-hey!” Emilia protested. “How about you come up with a better name!”
“Lord Deadite.”
“Ah-....” Emilia pouted her lips. “That is a better name...”

Max blinked, looking at her toy sword and then back up to her. “Why are you playing alone?”

“Well...” Emilia fidgeted, her face turning an even brighter shade of red. “I...I don't have any friends.”

“Why not?”

“I just moved here.”

Max sighed and crossed his arms, looking up into the tree and sky above.
“Okay. You convinced me.” He suddenly spoke up with a shrug. “I'll be your friend then!”

“W-what!?” Emilia jumped at his sudden conclusion. “B-B-But I didn't ask you to be my friend!”.

“Who cares? We're friends now!”

Max ran towards the tree, climbing up it part ways before hanging above a very sturdy looking branch. He stomped on it until it finally gave way, the stick falling towards the ground. He leaped from the tree again, this time on to his feet before pushing his foot under the stick and kicking it up into the air, catching it in his right hand.

“C'mon, Emilia!” He shouted. “Lord Dead-Evil-Dark-guy isn't going to slay himself!”.

Max ran off, swinging his stick in every what direction, Emilia simply staring off until she snapped back into reality.
“H-hey wait!” She yelled, galloping after him.
--
Ten years later, deep within the kingdoms heartlands.
“Armstrong Vrot.” Max said aloud the wanted poster he had in his hands, his back pressed against Emilia's and his legs crossed atop her lower half.

“Strange name...” Said Emilia, looking off ahead as the rain poured down upon them, the woods surrounding the muddy road did very little to protect the two.

“Must be from out of country. How much do you think we'll get for bringing this guy in?” Max asked.

“I care not, for 'tis our duty as citizens to the throne to bring in this rapscallion!” Emilia boasted  loudly, drawing his sword from her side and waving it in the air.

“Why are you talking like that?” Max asked, turning around from his seat against her back.

“...'Tis the way Centaur knights speak...”

“Yeah well, you're not a knight. You're a bounty hunter who works with a shmuck like me.” Max informed his four hoofed friend as he flicked her long, brown ear.  Emilia flinched at the sudden flick, sheathing her blade and rubbing her ear.
“I'd like to be a knight...” She moped.

Max looked over his shoulder and sighed. “This Armstrong guy is a pretty big deal. Maybe if we bring him in the king will take notice of us?”

Emilia's ears suddenly perked up, looking over back at Max.
“And maybe we can get a title out of it?”
“You...You really think so?” Emilia asked him, her heart suddenly beating faster.

“Oh sure, bring in a notorious Highwayman, they could at least give us a house.”.
“A house?” Emilia asked. “As in one house?”

“Why not? We've shared inn rooms before.”

Emilia gulped, her face turning red. “That does sound nice, actually.”

Max looked back at her again before finally hoping off her back. “C'mon, towns just up ahead. We can set up there for the night.”.
--

“I said leave her alone!” Max shouted, his fist crashing into the nose of the larger boy in front of him. The boy cried, and tumbled over, his friends stepping up in front of him.

Behind Max lied Emilia on her side, tears in her eyes and a bruise on her cheek. Max himself was covered in cuts and bruises, his teeth clenched together.
“Why are you defending the horse, Max!?” One of the kids shouted, causing Max to step up and bring up his fists.

“She's not a horse, stupid! She's a Centaur! Maybe if you actually paid attention instead of eating dirt all the time you'd be able to tell the difference!”

The boy grunted in anger, charging forward only to get Max's forehead smashed into the bridge of his nose. The boy crumpled over, leaving only one of the three left standing.  The last boy shook his head and made a run for it, his companions finding the strength to get up and run off behind him, nursing the blood dripping from their faces.

Max spit at the ground, wiping his mouth against his sleeve and turning to Emilia, who was still sulking.
“You alright?” he asked her, offering her a hand. She shook her head and slapped his hand away.
“I didn't need your help!” She yelled, pulling herself up to her hooves.

“Really? Because to me, it looked like you were getting your butt kicked!” Max shouted, the sudden change of volume and aggression in his voice caused Emilia to tear up again, bringing her balled hands up to her eyes as she cried.

“W-wait!” Max gulped, trying to calm her down. “I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry alright!”

“Maxwell...” Emilia hic'd in between her sobs. “You're so mean!”.

She galloped off towards her home, her cries echoing through the city streets.
“Wait!” Max yelled out, chasing after her. “I'm sorry! Please don't be sad!”

--
The town of Branxton was eerily quiet for the size it was. Both Emilia and Max noticed the peeping eyes from windows and doorways as they entered town.
“Friendly folks, aren't they?” Max spoke up, his hand against the hilt of his sword and his large, round shield already strapped to his arm.

“Somethings has them spooked pretty good.” Said Emilia, her eyes scanning the alleyways as they passed them. “Even the Mamono are staying out of sight.”.

The two continued their trek down the empty town streets, merchant stands were abandoned, trash was left unpicked, and the sound of wind whispered an unsettling song every few seconds. It was like the town simply stopped in time, frozen in fear of something or someone.

“We could try our lucks at the tavern.” Max suggested, pointing at the sign of a duck downing a mug of ale happily.

The two entered one after another, with Emilia having to duck under as to not hit her head against the top of the door. The tavern was mostly empty, save for the keep in the front, doing his best not to drop the mug he was cleaning in his shaking hands. And more of a stand out was the rather large figure in the very back of the bar, surrounded by empty barrels of ale.

“Uh, hi.” Max greeted the keep, who did his best not to jump at his words. “We're on the hunt for Armstrong Vrot.”

“As you know, he's notorious in this area.” Emilia piped up. “If you have any information of his whereabouts, we would gladly repay you for the assistance.”.

The keep kept his eyes towards the ground, his body now shaking violently. Max narrowed his eyes on the man, noticing that he was glancing constantly towards the back of the bar.

“Armstrong Vrot...” A voice bellowed from the back of the bar, with only one culprit possible. The two turned their heads to the large man in the back, his face concealed in the darkness.

“So they send bounty hunters all this way for Armstrong to kill...” He said as he raised himself from the chairs he had fashioned into one large seat to hold his massive weight. The man was a giant, at least eleven feet standing, and wide enough to be two muscular men standing side by side. He grabbed a Hounskull helmet from the table, dropping it on his head, and slamming down the visor, with only three slants and two eye holes making out any kind of vulnerabilities in the helm.  He hoisted a large, inhumanly imposing war hammer from the wall beside him on to his shoulders, throwing tables aside as he approached the two.

“I am Armstrong Vrot.” The giant announced. “Are you two going to arrest me?”

“...Oh shit.” Max cursed.

--

“Here...” Max looked away from Emilia, presenting her with a blue box gift wrapped with a golden ribbon. “... Happy birthday.”.

Emilia blinked, looking down at the box and taking it in between her hands. Her blue eyes brightened as she unwrapped the ribbon and opened the box.  She titled her head at the gift inside, reaching and drawing a little rag doll with a red polka dotted dress, black button eyes, frilly brown hair made of scraps of fabric, and a stitched smile.

“Max...” Emilia whispered, putting the box down and holding the doll in both her hands.
“Well I wanted to get you a new sword!” Max explained himself. “But I couldn't afford it even with all the money I made working for the bakery! And they didn't have any toys for Centaurs, an-”

“I love it.”

“...You do?”

Emilia nodded, wiping a single tear away from her left eye. “This is the first gift I ever received from someone who wasn't my mother or father.”

“Oh.” Max stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Y-you're welcome, then.”

Emilia trotted closer to Max, holding the doll closely in her arms before leaning forward and giving Max a quick kiss on the cheek. The boy jumped back, his face flushed as he pressed his hand against the now slightly wet spot on his face.

“W-what was that for!?” he cried out.

“No reason.” Emilia giggled. “C'mon! Lets go play!”.

Emilia galloped off, doll in hands, Max staring at her before shaking his head and giving chase, doing the best he could and failing to keep up with her stride.

--
The Taverns front window shattered with a thunderous crack. Max yelled out as he was sent back into the town streets, crashing into the brick road with glass in his back and a large square indent in his shield.

“Max!” Emilia yelled, galloping from the Tavern to Max's side.
“I'm okay!” he lied, stumbling back to his feet and drawing his sword.

“Don't lie to the girl.” Armstrong called out from inside the tavern before stepping out on to the streets through the hole he had made in the window frame. “Its not very gentlemanly.”

Emilia drew her blade as well, the two making a pseudo formation with their blades out front. Armstrong simply advanced forward, his hammer resting on his shoulder. The man was clad in head to toe in armour, and he swung his weapon with more power than any war machine. It was no wonder that this man had such a high bounty on his head, and why no one but these two dared to take it.

“Got a plan?” Max asked Emilia, trying to shake the sickening pain from his body.
“Me!? Why would I have a plan!?” She hissed back, taking steps backwards as Armstrong advanced.
“You're the smart one.”
“I'm the smart one!? Since when!?”

The two didn't have time to formulate a strategy as Armstrong swung his hammer with ludicrous speeds, narrowly missing the two as Max ducked and Emilia leaped back.

“A lot of guts coming to face me!” The giant bellowed, bringing his hammer over head and dropping it down towards Max. He leaped out of the way, the ground where he once stood erupted in a shower of shattered brick and dirt as Armstrong's hammer left a crater where it met the earth.

“New plan!” Max shouted to Emilia. “Don't get hit!”

Emilia galloped forward into a charge, letting out a battle cry as she swung her blade in both her hands. The steel scraped against Armstrong's heavy armour, barely leaving a scratch on it. Armstrong turned his body and reached out, grabbing on to Emilia's blade in a vice grip. Her eyes widened as the giants blood ran down her blade, unfazed Armstrong as he flung both the sword and the Centaur through the air.

She landed on the brick road, her side crashing against the side of a townhouse and her hooves doing their best not to trip over one another. Her moment of recovery was cut short though as Armstrong charged into an attack, his hammer around his back as he prepared another strike.

She yelped, pushing her hooves forward and lunging out of the way, Armstrong's hammer connected with the building, leaving a large hole in the wall.

“Hey ugly!” Max shouted, charging with his shield up front. “Pick on someone your own size!”.

“Humorous...” Armstrong muttered, turning his body around to face Max. But the shield bearing bounty hunter was already on the offensive, he dashed around Armstrong faster than the giant could counter, his feet dragging across the ground before he leaped forward into a strike, stabbing his blade into a vulnerable gap in Armstrong's armour at the back of the knee.

Quickly, Max withdrew his blade, splattering a small pool of blood against the ground. The attack didn't even slow Armstrong down, though it did seem to annoy him. Armstrong tore the ground out underneath his boot with his sudden charge, his fist cranked back before releasing a vicious punch. Max brought up his shield last second, the fist connecting with a loud “CLANG” and with enough force to push Max off his feet and smashing into the merchant stand at the other side of the road.

He slumped and rolled from the crater he had made in the wood, his face visibly stricken with pain as he fell to his stomach.
“Max!” Emilia cried out as she galloped towards him.

“I'm okay!” he lied again, pushing himself to his feet with the aid of his sword. “I can still walk, I'm okay!”.
“Max, lets get out of here!” Emilia suggested to him, her face stricken with worry. “You can ride on my back, we have to get away from this...This monster!”.

“Listen to your horse, Max.” Armstrong called out, his hammer once again resting on his shoulder. “Its the smart thing to do. Just run away and hope I can't catch you...”

Max's eyebrow twitched, wiping the dirt from his mouth and straightening his back until the audible sounds of joints cracking could be heard.

“She's not a horse.” he hissed from between his teeth. “She's a Centaur you fat, pompous, fuck!”

Max charged forward, ducking under Armstrong's hammer swing and lunging his blade towards his midsection. The blade caught Armstrong in between the plating of his chest plate and his belt, blood running down the blade before Max retracted his sword from the wound. Armstrong let out a yell of pain and anger, reading his hammer for another attack only to receive another blow in the same spacing, only this time at his back, from Emilia.

Armstrong staggered, gripping his hammer in both hands and swinging wildly in a circle, causing both Max and Emilia to back up. He was countered and punished for every miss with a cut somewhere in his plating.  The two moved around him like a cyclone, delivering cut and stab after cut and stab, wearing him down like hornets.

Armstrong roared, crashing his feet into the ground and swinging his arm back in a lariat. Emilia was caught off guard, yelping as the giants massive armoured arm suddenly made contact with her very human abdomen. She was thrown off balance, sliding across the ground until she bumped with a lamp post.

“Emilia!” Max called out, going over to assist her only for his vision to suddenly go dark. Armstrong clamped his enormous hand around Max's skull, lifting the struggling bounty hunter from the ground.

“I commend you.” Armstrong announced. “Not many have made it this far, even less have actually managed to harm me.”.

Maxwell continued to struggle, stabbing furiously at Armstrong's arm before the giant finally pried the blade from his hand and threw it aside.
“But enough fun.”

With no warning, Armstrong turned to the nearest building, pulling his arm back and thrusting in forward. Max smashed through the wall with a sickening rumble, the bricks blasted and crumbled behind him. He went limp, his arms falling to his side and his shield sliding from his arm.

Armstrong examined Max, keeping his grip on him before throwing him aside, his body tumbling across the ground like a rag doll.

“M-...Max?” Emilia's eyes were wide with shock, having finally pulled herself back to her feet. She trotted over to him, Max staring off into the sky with his eyes barely open.

“Emilia...Run...” Max whispered, his body no longer able to move.

“Max, come on, get up.” Emilia begged, lowering herself to her front knees, trying to lift him from the ground.

“My weight will slow you down...He'll catch you...”.

Emilia's eyes hazed with tears, her lip quivered while she shook her head. “I'm not going to leave you here with that..Thing!” she protested.

Armstrong watched the two, slowly advancing on them with his hammer in both hands.

“I'm sorry...” Max suddenly admitted. “I shouldn't have dragged you all the way out here...It was stupid of me to think I could be a bounty hunter...”

Emilia cringed, tears now freely flowing from her eyes.
“Don't be stupid!” She cried out, taking her sword in both her hands. “We're going to get out of this!”

“This time I'm going to protect you!” She yelled, preparing her sword for one final strike. “We're going home together!”

With one final battle cry, the Centaur charged, sword raised, poised to strike. The giant metal man met her charge, letting out a cry of his own as he prepared his hammer to crush every bone in her body.

She galloped forward, the distance closing in between them, tears made her vision blurry, but she could tell her mark. In one final moment, like a flash of lightning, she leaped into the air, swinging her blade against the hammer of judgement.

Armstrong's body froze, his hammer still in the air, half way into a brutal strike. A hounskull helmet flew above the two, a trail of blood splattering across the ground while it remained airborne. Emilia landed on the ground with four thuds, turning towards Armstrong. The giant was now headless, his helmet, and skull inside, crashed on the ground with three clanks and a roll. The body stumbled back and forth for ten seconds before finally collapsing on the ground below, the earth shaking the moment he dropped.

Emilia remained frozen only for a moment before galloping back to Max, dropping to his side.

“Don't worry, Max!” She tried to reassure him. “We'll get you help!”.

The townspeople slowly but surely came out of hiding, both humans and mamono alike looked out in the streets as their colossal oppressor laid dead on the ground.

“A doctor!” Emilia cried. “Is there a doctor here!?”

--
“A bounty hunter!?” Emilia practically shouted in surprise, Max simply nodding back as he strapped the leather to his arms.

“Why on earth would you want to do something like that!? What if you get hurt, or even killed!?”

“At least its something.” Max protested, standing up from his crouch and sheathing the sword he had just purchased the day before. “What, am I supposed to stay here and be a baker my whole life? There's an entire world out there and I'm supposed to just stay here!?”

Emilia paused, biting down on her lower lip.

“Even if I do die...At least I would have done something...”

Max hoisted his pack on to his shoulders, heading towards the edge of town and towards his new and possibly short life.

Emilia watched him walk on, her biting on her lip harder before she trotted off after him.

“Then I'm coming with you.” She stated, marching off beside him.
“What?”
“What am I going to do once you leave? I already have to leave home, we may as well start with this.”

Max glared at him, his frown slowly turning into a smile before he burst out into laughter, pressing his palm against his forehead.

“Alright, Ms. Knight Centaur. Lets do business.”
--

Max's eyes struggled to open, the sand in his eyes giving away and the blur fading to reveal to him a light green shaded ceiling. The sun shone in the room, leaving three, wavy, thin shadows against the half closed blinds. He looked on for a few more minutes, blinking softly every few seconds before turning his head to his left.

At the side of his bed was a familiar Centaur, her long long brown hair pressed over her beautiful sleeping face.

Max looked at her, his eyes widening as he struggled to sit up in his bed. His right arm was splintered and cast, and his head was covered in padding and bandages, not to mention whatever other stitches and bandages he had across his body.

“Emilia...?” Max whispered, almost in disbelief.

Emilia's eyes fluttered open, pulling herself away from the side of the bed and wiping the drool from her mouth. She looked up at Max, her eyes widening in similar surprise and her ears flinging upwards.

“M-Max!?” She cried out, springing to life. “You're alive! I mean- You're awake! The doctor said you may not wake up again because of-...And I was so scared an-”

Max looked on, gulping down the lump in his throat. His lip began to tremble as he did his best to hold back his tears. Without warning he grabbed on to both of Emilia's shoulders, pulling her closer into an embrace.

Emilia yelped in surprise, her arms raised behind Max.
“Thank goodness...” Max cried, burying his head into Emilia's shoulder, tears flowing freely from his eyes. “Thank goodness you're alright.”.

“Max...” Emilia whispered. She smiled and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him, doing her best not to hurt any of his wounds.

The two pulled away, Max wiping his tears away against his sleeve. “Sorry...” He muttered with a sniffle.
“Why should you be a sorry?” Emilia asked him, tilting her head.

“I don't know, I just.” Max paused. “When I thought that we weren't going to make it, all I could think about was keeping you safe...”

He looked back up at her, trying to rub the redness from his eyes.

“I left home looking for something...I never realized that maybe I was looking for someone...”

Emilia opened her mouth to speak, though no words were uttered. Her heart pounded in her chest and her ears stood up at attention.

“How stupid was I being when the someone I was looking for was with me the entire time...”

She couldn't help but giggle, bringing her hand up to her mouth. “You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that.”.

Max blinked, joining in with her laughing. When the two finished, they sat still for a moment before Emilia reached forward. She pressed her hands against Max's cheeks and pulled him in closer and closer until she could wrap her arms around the back of his beck and hold him close. The two looked into one another's eyes before embracing in a soft, sweet, tender kiss. They pulled away with one more kiss, looking at one another with a smile.

“So, now what?” Emilia asked.
“I have no idea.” Max joked, trying to contain his chuckle.


Days passed and Max was finally ready to move out again, his wounds having been healed and his legs finally agreed to allow him to move around.  The two travelled down a familiar trail, Max holding a large, jingling bag in his hands. He walked down the road boisterously, giggling to himself with a few quiet “Hee hee”'s every few minutes.

“Can't believe we took down Armstrong Vrot” he said aloud.

“You mean I took down Armstrong Vrot.” Emilia corrected him, her lowering her head and moping. “And I didn't even get knight status out of it.”.

“Cheer up, butter cup.” Max joked as he leaped on to Emilia's back. She eep'd at the sudden pressure on her body before Max's arms wrapped around her chest.  “If anything, at least we have each other.”.

Emilia's face went red, a soft smile forming on her lips while she gently held on to Max's wrists.

“Yes...At least that.”.