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Chapter Text

Sweat dripped down the Bounty Hunter's head, her stance wide and steady as her grip around Kenny tightened with every heavy breath she took.

"What now? The bomb didn't work!" Gus asked, his frazzled voice echoing from the holster on her hip.

"Yeah, what's the plan here? Just keep shooting and hope for a miracle?" Sweezy chimed in from beside Gus.

Kenny sighed, nervously looking away from the girl who held him, "I have an idea."

"Oh, fantastic!" Creature cheered.

"The bomb might still be functional; I know a way to detonate it." The blue Gatlian continued.
"I knew you'd figure it out, Kenny-"

"I'll go inside his asshole," Kenny cut Creature off, "and I'll detonate it... Manually."

"Oh, that's... Not good," Creature mumbled.

"What? Fuck that; why would you ever think I would let you do that?!" The Bounty Hunter finally spoke up, anger laced within her words.

"Kenny, we're not letting you do that, okay? Max is right; there has got to be another way." Sweezy asserted, hoping to keep an argument from starting.

"Can you think of anything else?" Kenny snapped.

"Actually, no, I can't. Maybe this is the only way." She responded, backtracking rather quickly.

"You're gonna blow yourself up?" Creature panicked.

"Kenny, you might die!" Gus added.

"I know," Kenny barely managed to stutter out, "But hey, Max..."

Max didn't respond, yet her body language said it all. Her body trembled as tears freely flowed from her eyes, her shoulder-length hair sticking to her cheeks.

"Fighting alongside you," Kenny paused as he searched for the right words to say, " well, it's been the best thing to ever happen to me. Thank you for giving me the adventure of a lifetime-" The Bounty Hunter stopped Kenny from speaking, allowing the group to sit in silence for just a moment.

"Max, You okay, girl?" Creature questioned, very clearly worried for her.

She didn't respond, opting to simply press a button on the front of Suit-o, opening up the helmet.
"What are you trying to prove?" She finally asked her gaze meeting Kenny's.

"Wha-"

"Are you trying to be a hero or something? Prove that you're a part of this team," Max managed in between stifled sobs, "Because you already were! The whole world could turn its back on you, and I'd still be there! So tell me, Kenny, What are you trying to prove?"

"It's not about that!" He argued.

"Then what is it?! You don't get to come into someone's life, make them care, then go out in a blaze of glory! Friends don't do that to friends."

"Then maybe we're not friends!" Kenny shouted.

"Kenny!" Gus gasped.

The group fell silent once more. Nothing the whistle of a slight breeze brushing through the Bounty Hunter's hair could be heard.

"You don't mean that; you're just trying to hurt me," Max mumbled

"I do." Kenny nodded his head.

Max looked away, wiping the tears from her face.

"You're being a real asshole right now, ken; you know that, right?"

"I'm the asshole? You're the only one that's arguing!" Kenny responded harshly.

"Because you're trying to kill yourself!"

"Hey, guys, not to be that Gat, but," Sweezy trailed off, her attention placed on Garmantuos, "We need to figure out something soon."

The bounty hunter let out a full sigh, looking down at all of the Gatians on her hip, "What do you guys think?"

"Do we have any other choice?" Creature responded.

"This is the only way; I'm sorry, Max," Gus added.

Max's head fell in defeat, no longer able to fight this battle.

"Fine, you guys win." She spoke barely above that of a whisper, her voice crackling and wavering with emotion.

"You're going to be okay," Kenny responded in an attempt to calm the girl's panicked emotions, "You're the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. I hope you know that.'
Biting her lip apprehensively, Max approached Garmantous, glancing down at the alien in her hand as if begging for a miracle.

"Lezduit!"

Max halted so fast that she almost tripped over her own two feet.

"Max," Kenny called out, as though trying to warn her, "I know what you're thinking."

Without a single word exchanged, Max pulled Lez out of his holster and put Kenny away. His eyes were large with excitement, and the smile on his lips said something which his voice could not.

"Lez, you fucking glorious bastard," Max hollered, excitement littering her tone.

"Woah, woah, woah, " Kenny yelled, "You should not sacrifice Lezduit; we just brought him back to life! That's not fair!"

The only one to respond was Lez.

"Lezduit!"

Max smiled and nodded, shoving Lez into Garmantous without a second thought and quickly retreating out of the way of the soon-to-be explosion.

"Fuck him up Lez," The Bounty Hunter mumbled, watching as the drug lord went up in flames.

"Oh my god, It was a huge sacrifice, but he did it," Kenny said, speaking up from his holster.

"Oh shit, It's done. Garmantous is dead! He's fuckin' dead!" Gus Celebrated

"Rest in peace fucker," Sweezy spat.

"Do you think-"

"There is no way Lez could have survived that," Sweezy cut Kenny off.

"Well," Max began as she approached the battlefield, head angled up towards the sky, "Don't count him out just yet."

"Oh my god, do you see that? There he is, Max, catch him!" Kenny yelled out.

With a quick and heavy thud, Lezduit landed in the Bounty Hunter's arms.

"Lez, you fucking tank!" Max laughed, hugging him close, "I knew you could do it!"

"Wedidit!" he yelled, his voice groggy from the trauma.

"I'm so glad you're alive," Kenny said.

"We owe you big time," Gus continued, "The whole universe owes you!"

"Now you're a fuckin' hero," Sweezy nodded.

"I'm so glad you made it, Creature said, letting out an excited laugh, "Good thinking, Bounty Hunter!"

Max didn't respond, opting to put Lezduit back with the others.

"You all good, boss?" Gus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she mumbled, hunching over, hands on her knees.

"Nonononono!" Everyone hollered in unison, panicking as she sat down on the ground.

"Just take a minute to calm down," Sweezy instructed, "If you throw up on me, you're going to regret it."

"Deep breaths Bounty Hunter, Its all over," Creature told her.

"I know," Max nodded, setting her head into her hands, "Oh my god, it's over... Everything hurts."

"He got you good a couple of times; you could message Gene and get him to warp back here so you can rest," Gus spoke gently.

"Yeah, I'll message Gene," Max nodded, picking her head up and messaging Gene through Suit-o.

Bounty Hunter: [Big bad dead, going to throw up. Come pick us up]

Gene: [oh, hit already? on our way. dont throw up]

Max looked back up from her chatroom with Gene and opted to lie down flat on the ground while they waited.

"What a day," She said, looking towards the sky, her hand resting on Lez, "What a life, how did I even get here...?"

Before she could continue her thought, Suit-o beeped again, indicating yet another message from Gene.

Gene: [We're here, meet us where we dropped you off.]

Not feeling like typing out a response, Max simply nodded to herself, sitting up from the gravel, "Alright, guys, Let's go home."

Chapter Text

Ignoring the screaming in her muscles, Max entered the house, allowing the cool breeze of centralized AC to wash over the bits of skin that had been exposed from underneath, ripping on Suit-o.

"There she is," Gene called from the couch, "I can't believe you actually did it; how'd it feel? Ya know, finally killing Garmantous?"

Max groaned, handing Lezduit over to Gene before flopping down on the couch beside him, "I'm not going to lie. It kind of sucked; I thought he would fight more. It's like the fucker wanted me to kill him."

"You look like shit," Lizzie butted in from behind her sister, "But I'm glad you're alive."

Max cracked a smirk and shook her head as she let out a small chuckle, "I knew you cared about me deep down."

"So, did you happen to find mom and dad?" The blonde girl continued, leaning over the counter.

Max's small smile fell as she ran a hand through her hair, slightly anxious, "No, there wasn't any other sign of human life. But to be completely honest, I didn't search too hard. I'll have to go back and lead a search."

"Goddamn it," Lizzie groaned, "I'm really starting to get worried. You don't think-"

Gene quickly cut the young human off, "It doesn't matter; your sister defeated Garmantous! That in itself is cause for celebration! How about we celebrate, then we can look for your parents?"

"That sounds like an awful idea, you old fuck," Lizzie mumbled under her breath with an eye roll.

Max shook her head, simply pretending as though she hadn't heard her sister, "There is no time to celebrate right now. I need to meet with Clugg and let him know it's finally done."

"Yeah, okay, fine. Go do the boring stuff, I guess," Gene shrugged, turning the television on.

"We have to do more work," Gus asked as the Bounty Hunter stood to her feet, "Gene is right; we should be celebrating!"

"I promise we can celebrate later. We only have a bit more work to do, and we're not going to half-ass it." Max responded, doing a head count of all her Gatlians, "I'm leaving Lez with you, Gene. He deserves a rest."

Gene nodded, only paying half attention to what she was saying, "Fine, but once you leave, we're warping back to Blim City."

"Understood," She nodded, standing before moving towards the Bounty 5000, "To Clugg's office we go."

Upon stepping into the purple portal, Max momentarily stumbled, not quite expecting Clugg's office to be dark and abandoned.

"Weird," Gus spoke, "He's always in his office."

"Something feels... off," Max admitted, approaching the Mayors cluttered desk.

"Well, yeah. We're in a politician's office snooping around," Sweezy chuckled a bit at her own sarcasm.

"You know what I mean," Max rolled her eyes, looking through the papers on his desk, "Check this out, guys."

"Woah, woah, woah, what are you doing? Don't touch that!" Kenny responded, watching as she picked up a small keycard that was hidden amongst the clutter.

"Human...Haven," The girl read it, very clearly ignoring the blue Gatlian, "I could have sent mom and dad here at some point on accident, right? Why would Clugg hide this from me?"

"Are you ignoring me," Kenny tried wiggling around in her holster to get her attention, "I told you not to touch that! Do you have a death wish?"

"Oh, like you?" Max responded with a snap.

"Okay... I deserve that. I can admit when I'm wrong. But you're just being stubborn now. Clugg would have given that to you if he wanted you to have it!" Kenny responded, trying to reason with the human.

Max, once again, ignoring Kenny, pocketed the keycard and turned on a heel to quickly leave the same way she came in. Stumbling through the Bounty 5000, she turned to face the screen, pushing her hand up against it.

"Well, that was quick. What did Clugg say?" Gene asked, watching the Bounty Hunter as she frantically switched the options.

"He wasn't there," She mumbled, "But this was."

"A keycard?" Gene asked, squinting with his two good eyes.

"A keycard for the human haven," Max nodded, clicking on the option which read 'unknown sector."

"Oh, so?" he shrugged.

"Oh, so, I think Clugg is hiding something from us," She responded, now clicking on the option, 'Human Haven.'

"Of course, Clugg is hiding something; he's a politician. That's what they do best." Gene laughed, his attention now moving down to the remote, which didn't seem to be working, "Also, could you pick up some double A's?"

"A little busy, Gene. Send Lizzie; I'm working right now." Max rolled her eyes, quickly stepping through the purple portal one more time.

Once there, Max wasn't sure how to react to the room around her.

"Woah, Okay, never seen this place before; it's pretty snazzy!" Kenny said excitedly.

"Yeah, It's pretty nice," Creature agreed, "Do you recognize anyone, Bounty Hunter?"

"No," Max mumbled as she took a step forward, "but keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

The room was lined with chrome walls, and decorative plants were placed in the middle, making it seem much smaller than it actually was. There were no beds, no food, and no water leaving a small pit in the human's stomach as she anxiously made her way around the room. The other people in the room seemed to pay her no mind as they explored and talked amongst themselves.

"Should we ask them if they've seen your parents?" Sweezy asked as she glanced up at Max.

"I've got a better idea, girl," Gus answered, pointing up toward the ceiling, "You see those ledges? Maybe we should check them out."

"Okay, but why would we need to go up there specifically?" Kenny responded a bit too critically for Max's taste.

"I think it's a great idea," She told them, "Besides, there has to be more than just this. Look around this room; it looks more like a temporary holding cell than an actual haven."

"Exactly," Gus nodded as he held out his tiny hand to fist-bump Max, which she gladly reciprocated.

"Ohhoho, Careful Kenny, Gus is coming for your spot as right-hand Gat," Sweezy chuckled, poking fun, as Max, who utilized her jetpack, quickly climbed the ledges.

"Shut up, not true; Max and I are still tight... Right?" Kenny stuttered out.

Max didn't respond.

"Yeesh..."

Max jumped as the red knife strapped to her thigh spoke for the first time in a while, "Jesus Christ, Knifey, a warning next time!"

"Come on, you can't still be mad at me!" Kenny argued as Max finally landed on the last ledge.

"Oh, I think I can. You pulled an 'Eren Jeager' I have the right to be angry at you," Max responded bluntly.

"Okay, first of all, spoilers, and second of all-"

"Guys, guys, please don't fight!" Creature begged, "Max, maybe you should hear him out?"

Max, once again, didn't respond. Instead, she leaned against the door behind her, which said, 'No trespassing.'

"I am not," She sighed, trying to think of ways to delicately say what she knew needed to be said, "In the best state of mind right now. And I will snap."

"Oh," Was all Creature could say, "Well, let's not do that."

"I agree with Creature; let's not snap," Sweezy added.

"Great, glad we're all on the same page," Max nodded, clapping her hands together once before pulling the Human Haven keycard from her pocket and pressing it up against the keyfob.

Walking through the doorway, the gang was met with a dimly lit hallway; light fixtures hung from the ceiling as sparks fell periodically. Stacks of small cages lined up against the back wall looked exactly like the one's the G3 used to mine Furgles.

"Oof, are you getting weird and uneasy vibes like I am?" Kenny asked, glancing up at the Bounty Hunter.

"Definitely," She nodded, turning towards a fast-moving fan on her right side, "Your time to shine, Sweezy."

"Fuck yea!" Was all the gun said as Max utilized her time bubble, slowing the spinning blades.

Upon jumping through, the gang was met with quite the fall leading to yet another hallway.

"Careful," Sweezy commanded, "Looks like there's another one up ahead."

With a simple nod, Max made her way down the second hallway and toward the hole in the ground using the time bubble one last time. Jumping through, the girl was temporarily blinded, red light invading her senses.

"Oh shit," Sweezy was the first to say something, "This is a room full of dead humans."

Her vision adjusted to the light, and the stench of rotting flesh invaded her nostrils as she finally found her footing. Her muscles became tight, and a cold pit grew at the bottom of her stomach as she approached the first corpse.

"What the fuck," Max finally managed to speak, panic growing within her tone as she studied the features of the dead that lay before her.

"This is so fucked up," Kenny exclaimed, watching as the Bounty Hunter continued to search the room, "Has this been going on here this whole time?"

"Did you know any of them?" Creature was the first to ask.

"No," Max shook her head, laying a shaky hand over her mouth, "I didn't have many friends, so it's safe to say I won't know hardly any humans we come across. And my parents aren't here if that's what you mean."

"Fuck," Gus added, "And we got that keycard from Clugg's office, which means-"

"You were fuckin' right, Max," Sweezy finished Gus's sentence for him.

"We just need to keep moving; we can't dwell on this," Max ordered, stepping towards the door, which automatically opened and led to another, this time a much shorter hallway.

"Clugg?!" Kenny yelled as they approached a window, giving them a preview of the next room, "What the fuck is going on here?"

"Oh fuck, the Bounty Hunter's here! How did she get here?" Clugg Blurted out, only being initially startled before bolting out of the room.

"Are you going to follow him?" Kenny asked, panic rising in his own voice as Max swiftly armed herself with the blue Gatlian.

"Oh, because it was my dream to stand here and let him get away," She retorted, running through the room past more deceased humans.

"Please stop chasing me!" The mayor called from further down the hall.

"You've got to be kidding me; why would we ever stop chasing you?" Kenny asked, completely dumbfounded.

Upon entering the newest room, Max was met with a forcefield to the face, knocking her back onto the ground.

"Goddamn, what the fuck," She mumbled, bringing a hand up to her now bloody nose.

"Clugg," another man standing on an elevated platform before the mayor spoke, "you didn't foolishly lead an interloper directly to us, did you?"

Clugg struggled for words as the Bounty Hunter sat silently, fear keeping her frozen in place.

"I ask only as a formality," The man continued, "I already know the disappointing answer.'

"I'm sorry human," Clugg finally spoke directly to Max, "But this is what I thought was best for the cosmos! You just don't under-"

The other being was quick to silence Clugg. Metallic arms on his back readied a gun and shot him square in the head, eliciting a sudden gasp from the human's mouth.

"Now the question is, what do we do with you?"

Max didn't respond. She assumed he didn't need an answer.

"You're the bounty hunter Clugg manipulated into wiping out the G3, Correct?" He continued, not budging from his spot.

"We-" Kenny was cut off.

"Enough," The man's voice echoed within the confines of the room, "Again, I already know the answer. Well, I'm interested; you're human. I have a very specific interest in humans. Would you mind if I cut you open and took a look inside?"

Max smirked, "You wouldn't find much, just some adrenal glands working over time. But that's about it."

"What is going on here?" Kenny butted in.

"Oh, my apologies," The man responded as he leaned over as if trying to get closer, "I'm Dr. Gurgula. Perhaps you've heard of me? I'm sure your Gatlian friends have. I'm responsible for the plague that wiped out their entire race. Nothing personal, of course; I simply thought they would be the key to my research."

Max's eyes widened, glancing down at Kenny momentarily before moving her eyes back up to her target.

"And when they weren't," The Doctor continued, "Well, What did it matter to me what happened to them?"

"You motherfucker," Max spat, wiping the blood from her face and raising a fist to pound on the forcefield in front of her, "I'll kill you myself, you monster."

"I am a scientist," Gurgula insisted, taking but a step forward, "And I'm going to be the first being in existence to unlock the secrets of the universe. You human, did you know your species has a very unique brain structure? And do you have the slightest inkling as to what it means? No, of course not. Therein lies the irony. Your special little brains hold a million wonderful secrets, and yet you can't even comprehend them yourself! Much like a jar, unable to fathom its contents!"

"Humans are not your playthings!" Max screamed, continuously pounding, "Neither were the Gatlians; these are lives you're toying with, you fucker!"

"You'll forgive me for breaking the jar to get what's inside, won't you?" Gurgula chuckled, hiding his hands behind his back.

"We're not going to let you get away with this!" Kenny spat back.

"Oh yes, you are. And I can't allow any of my work here to be compromised. I hit the kill switch and wiped all my data the second I detected your presence back here. Good thing I already got what I need." He informed them.

Max shook her head as she anxiously pulled at the hair on top of her head as she watched a type of blue portal begin to open before the doctor.

"And as for you," Gurgula continued, "I heard you did your part in stopping Garmantous and the G3. Well done, Bounty Hunter! You humans really do continue to impress me. Please watch your step on the way out; these experiments are so very delicate."

And within the blink of an eye, he was gone, along with the red forcefield surrounding Max.

"Jesus fucking Christ, what are we supposed to do with all that?" Kenny stuttered, looking up at the human with remorse.

"Goddamn it!" Max yelled at the top of her lungs, kicking the wall beside her with so much force it rang like a gong, "He was right fucking there! I had him, but I didn't-"

"Woah, woah, woah," Kenny called out to the Bounty Hunter, "Calm down, it's okay. You don't want to have to fight Dr. Gurgula, not right now anyways."

Max fell to her knees, dropping Kenny in doing so. She was quick to cover her eyes with her hands in frustration and embarrassment, "I should have never believed Clugg, I knew he was shifty from the start, but I didn't listen to myself!"

"Max, listen to me!" Kenny called from the ground, inching closer to her, "There is no way you could have possibly known that this was going to happen. You can't blame yourself for this."

Taking her hands away from her face, Max sighed and looked up towards the ceiling to stop the tears from flowing.

"Do not cry," Kenny told her, "I literally cannot handle you crying two times in a day. I need you to get your shit together."

She nodded, inhaling and exhaling controlled breaths, "You're right, there's no time... We should get going."

"There she is!" Creature called excitedly from the holster.

"Yeah, now get us the hell out of here!" Sweezy added, "I think there's a door that leads out right over there."

Max let out a small laugh, wiping her face and nose before picking Kenny off of the ground and standing to her feet, "You guys are right; let's get the fuck out of here."

Chapter Text

Pushing the large, yellow Gatlian away, Max sat up from amongst the pile of pillows, blankets, and aliens. Wiping the sweat from her brow and stretching out her limbs, the Bounty Hunter threw her legs over the side of her bed and reached for the phone that sat at her bedside table.

"Damn, three am," She mumbled to herself, setting the glowing rectangle back down as quickly as she had picked it up.

"You can't sleep either?" A familiar voice called from the other side of her bed, which she might have been happy to hear at another point.

"I was sleeping just fine; Creature's snores woke me up," Max responded, stretching her arms out in front of her.

"Can we talk...about today?" he asked, inching his way over to Max's side.

"What's there to talk about," Max shrugged, "We're not friends; you made yourself very clear."

"I shouldn't have said that we weren't friends," Kenny was quick to defend himself, "I didn't mean it!"

"You literally said you meant it," The girl scoffed, setting her chin into her hand.

"You were scaring me! I'd never seen anyone break down like that before, let alone over me." Kenny trailed off, too ashamed to look her in the eye.

"How would you have reacted if the roles were reversed? Would you have just been alright with me sacrificing myself?" Max asked, turning to look at his tiny figure.

"Jesus, no," He responded with a small laugh, "You're my best friend, Max. You were there for me when no one else was-"

Kenny stopped in the middle of his thought.

"Oh,"

"Yeah,"

"I'm so stupid," Kenny mumbled.

"Yea, a lil' bit." Max nodded.

"Could you ever forgive me?"

The Bounty Hunter let out a sigh, biting the inside of her cheek anxiously.

"Maybe... Probably..." She shrugged, "But you can't hurt me like that again, alright?

"I promise, never again," Kenny pledged.

"Good," Max smiled, "Now let's go back to bed. We have a long day ahead of us."