A diamond hidden within the gray line

Chapter 102: Baron's thoughts, brotherly confrontation and nate's text.

-Baron von ghoul pov-

No one. No one has ever talked to me that way before...for one so small to have such a sharp tongue...and be told that the old way of living, as that pokemon put it every so bluntly, is no longer sustainable...has time changed things so much that i have become blind to what's going on? As i watched all those who had come begin to leave, i couldn't help but wonder... "Before you all depart, i must know: How far do you think max is willing to go, knowing that zöhm will stop at nothing to achieve his goal?" I ask. Such a question never once entered into my mind considering that things were...different then. Even with two side of the von ghoul family fighting and bickering with one another, they all agreed unanimously that the outside world mustn't know about the deities of a time where history was not recorded.

"Oh, i think he's willing to go far. Farther than his own limit if he thinks he has no other choice. Besides...he has so much to fight for." Answered marx, whom i have known about ever since he came to be. "Yeah..same here. He truly thought he could do this alone, despite knowing that zöhm had already known about what he's doing, which to me, made no sense considering that he could have easily come after him long before the coconut mall incident. But now? Knowing that he's not alone, i have no idea just how hard he's willing to fight." Answers mike. The uncertainty and concern in his voice...i do not blame him for that.

"Hm..quite the answer..." I utter as he and marx turns to leave. There is no doubt that the inhabitants of the nearby town have heard of the commotion, but none of them have ever come here. And as max and his family all leave, i am left to wonder...What now? I know that i cannot tell them that a certain deity has taken notice of what is happening, considering that his presence has been felt. I also, would think that nyarlathotep would have dealt with zöhm long ago, but for whatever reason, he didn't.

The fact..the fact that a great old one has taken notice of this is something i do not understand. Why would he take notice, or even care knowing how he feels about humanity? How long has he been watching? I suppose..the inevitable encounter will hold the answer.

-Narration-

A week went by after that, and max had found himself on his bed the next day with his helmet on his nightstand as well as his gun holster and the uniform he wore which included his boots. It became clear that max was both emotionally and mentally exhausted from all that's happened and everyone supported him through it to the point that even the entire koopa kingdom saw how much he needed it which was something he never asked for, but appreciated every moment of it. His black eye had slowly healed, but it served as a definite reminder that kooky could've done a lot worse than giving him a black eye.

Even roy was there for him even though he's still deeply rattled by the letter max kept. As the days went by, max slowly began to feel like himself even though he knew that it wasn't over...not yet.

He knew that roy wasn't in the best mood considering that he kept that letter from him, and wanted to at least give him time to process it without him exploding on him when it comes to their mom, but he knew...he knew that he couldn't just avoid it as if it like the plague. Max at least found a sense of peace everytime he sat by the backyard pool even though it was a tad chilly and sits there for at least an hour almost everyday so that he can think. Think about his next move, think about what he's gonna say to roy and where this new scenery would take him to. This of course, worried everyone around max, especially since they saw that he occasionally had a thousand yard stare and is deeply depressed after all that transpired at the von ghoul estate. Fortunately, max wasn't wholly consumed by it and always managed to keep going.

He also, kept both his ipod with him as well as his iphone with him at all times, with his phone being in case he got a text from nate, and his ipod...he felt that there was something about his ipod that felt...familiar to him even though there was nothing in aside from the one video marx took on it that made him feel that way.

-Roy pov-

It's been a week, and i can tell that max is mostly back to his normal self, which is good considering that normal isn't the word anyone can use with all the shit that's been going on the past couple of months. Shit, i don't know how max dead able to put up with it for so long! "Hey." I say to him as he just came back in from the backyard. No way in hell am i gonna not confront him about the letter i read.

-Narration-

"Oh, hey roy.." Max answers while looking down at roy, thankful that his shades hid a look of despair and grief. "Look, let's just get to the point. Why did you hide that letter from everyone?" Roy asked almost impulsively. Max knew that this would happen at some point, and simply sighed after a few seconds of silence. "Because..because i didn't wasn't anyone to freak out, especially when it comes to mom. What if the letter said that she was dead? You really think i would want to.." Max says before roy interrupted. "Ugh, just STOP!" Roy angrily snapped. It got quiet for about a minute before roy spoke again.

"I get it. I get that we have no way of knowing how mom is actually doing, and considering what nate said about whatever drug he was taking and how it was affecting his mind...how do you even know if he hasn't gone bonkers when that letter was written?"

Max took a moment to ponder that question. He never thought about it like that, and it almost immediately made sense to him. "Well..yeah, i guess you have a point there." Max says to roy. Meanwhile, morton, larry and lemmy were all in the living room and they were all tense upon wanting the two of them talk and didn't say a word, much less allow themselves to be physically seen.

"That, and...it's taken me a long time to accept that you and i have the same mom and dad. Pops will always be my dad, that's not gonna change, and mom...yeah..finding out that i was put in an adoption home when you weren't wasn't fair, and i don't think i'll ever truly understand. And you? Guess i can't blame you for that. Besides, at least you're not cramping my style, bro!" Roy says to max, who chuckled at the end. "Good to know." He says before he and roy did a fist bump, and just as they did, max's phone pinged, and when max checked it, he quickly got serious as he read it silently.

Hey max.

I'm sorry you didn't receive a letter back at yoshi's island. I ended up getting captured by daimao before you arrived at the time and had no time to write. I managed to escape before he escaped on his airship, but not before i saw what you had to do. It was awful...and what they were injected with should have been a shot induced version of the vision, but..it looked like some sort of virus that turned them into zombies. I have never once seen that before...

Why i was captured is not important. What i can say, is that your next destination is the metro kingdom, but be careful...chaos is in a large portion of the streets there and they currently have it sealed off which is miracle considering that it's threatening to spread throughout the entire kingdom. There is a police station in the middle of it all and i have a friend there who can help, but i lost communication with him two days ago and i have no way of knowing what happened to him.

Be warned: the use of magic has been heavily limited in the area being sealed off by the local
authorities, and no one can explain why. You will have to use other means to defend yourself. And before you go, know this: hesitation will get you killed there.

            Good luck max...i..i hope to see you soon.

"Get dad." Max quickly said to roy. "Wait, what? Why?" Roy asked, confused as to why max suddenly got serious. "Get him. Now." Max said again, this time saying it again in serious, authoritative tone which made roy flinch and immediately went upstairs to get him.

"Ah, it's finally happening is it?" Marx asked, who had silently floating in the air without any explanation as to why he was doing that. "Yeah...i got a bad a feeling about this..." Max answers. For him, this was a continuation, and he had no idea what he would see, much less find in the metro kingdom. Perhaps he would find xaczxar there? Or perhaps something is ultimately waiting for him there?

He had no choice but to head into the abyss, and god know what he'll find or encounter.