Good to see you again. Reviews are appreciated, as always.


Furiosa leaned on her balcony, watching over her people below. They looked healthy and happy for once, a great improvement over the time they were ruled over by Immortan Joe. Times were difficult, and they sometimes went hungry, but everyone was always taken care of at one point or another. They all seemed to be happy- they all seemed to be content with what they had. That was what made Furiosa even more guilty. Everything was decent enough, but she was never truly happy with it.

She had every resource at her disposal, and had the most power out of anyone at the citadel. Yet, something was missing. The Imperator never got a moments rest; she was either dealing with scavengers trying to attack or rob her people, dealing with civil disputes, or working on making sure her people were taken care of. This was the life she wanted for the people of the citadel, but it wasn't the life she wanted for herself. She wanted to just be happy- it seemed that being happy was always going to be secondary in her life, though.

A single and heartfelt tear fell down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away, hating herself for succumbing to her emotions.

¨Furiosa?¨ A voice called from behind her. She cursed under her breath, quickly composed herself and turned around, straightening her back.

She was relieved to see who it was. ¨Toast. Anything wrong?¨

Toast cocked an eyebrow curiously before she answered.¨No. But the rest of us, we're worried about you. You never get a chance to rest or enjoy yourself. I see you up here all the time, and we all wonder why you seek solitude. Just make sure that you don?t suffer needlessly. We are all here for you, alright? Its going to-¨ Toast was cut off as Furiosa promptly interrupted her.

Furiosa briskly walked over to Toast. ¨I appreciate the sentiment, I really do. But I know our situation, I know what has to be done. Alright? Now, go take care of the girls. See if they need anything.¨ Toast opened her mouth to protest, but Furiosa put a finger up to her lips.

¨If you're offering help, I don't need it.¨

¨I was just going to ask... Do you think Max will ever come back? He was a cute one, wasn't he?¨

Furiosa was visibly caught off guard by the question, uncharacteristically stuttering before responding. ¨I... I don't know. A part of me hopes so, but I know he is never going to feel at home. If he wanted to belong somewhere, he would have stayed with us. That being said, our doors will always be open to him.¨ Furiosa's voice broke up toward the end of her sentence, and she turned around and hurried back to her balcony.

She waved Toast away. ¨Go, take care of the others.¨

Toast wanted to help Furiosa and comfort her, but she did need to be alone for the time being.

¨What happened? She going insane in there?¨ The Dag was waiting for Toast outside of Furiosa?s quarters. Toast shook her head, sighing. ¨Same as always. Woman is so stubborn, her pride is going to break her back eventually. Come on, lets get out of here.¨

"You ask her about Max?"

Toast nodded. "Yeah. Same answer, as always."


The three had been driving for a while, making sure to wake up early to get a head start. Ryland sat in the back of their stolen convertible, while Nux rode shotgun, leaning his hand out of the car, feeling the wind hit his fingers. Max drove, staring straight ahead. Ryland eagerly snored in the back, while Nux was talking a mile a minute.

¨Will you stay with us? When we get back there?¨ Nux had a different tone in his voice. He sounded genuinely concerned, and wanted a genuine answer. Max cleared his throat, seemingly apprehensive. Every hard question felt like an interrogation to him.

¨I dont know, Nux. I dont know.¨ Max answered simply. Nux wasnt satisfied with his answer, though.

¨What do you mean? Bloodbag, you're going to die out here eventually! You wont stay young and strong forever. You can stay with us, you can finally settle down.¨ Max shook his head as Nux spoke. It pained him to listen to Nux's protests, but he had obviously made up his mind a while ago.

¨Kid. I gave you my answer. I wont lie to you, I just don't know. You and the big guy, you two have hope. You two have potential. Me... I'm just a raggedy man. I don't belong no where. Now, eyes ahead Nux. Ryland is dead asleep, I need you to lookout around the car." Max dodged the conversation by giving Nux an order. He knew the kid would listen to him and get the hint.

Nux slumped in his seat, like a spoiled child who didn't get what he wanted. He listened to Max, though, and sat up in his seat, looking around. All he saw was barren, orange wasteland for miles. The last remnants of civilization that Nux never got to see was destroyed and covered by sand and rocks. This was Nux's home- it didn't hurt him to see it, but it hurt Max beyond belief.

Ryland's snored in the back seat, completely unaware of their conversation. The noises emanating from his nostrils blended in with the sound of the roaring V8 engine.

Strange, strange how the three were brought together. Max, the cynical road warrior, Nux, the young and energetic war boy, and Ryland, the jaded, damn near gigantic man. Max almost regretted coming back for Nux. Max realized how much he craved human interaction and how much humanity he had left in himself. Nux reminded Max of his former partner and best friend from years ago, named Goose. Goose was burned to near death by an old enemy of Max. He never forgot the image of Goose covered in third degree burns. That was the beginning of the end of his faith in humanity.

Max loved and missed Jim Goose, his old and loyal companion. He didnt know what happened to goose after the world ended- if he survived his burns and was taken care of in the hospital, or if he perished with the majority of humanity. Max never went back for Goose, and maybe, just maybe, that was why he went back for Nux. He had a silent hope that he could forgive himself. The silent hope that he would be forgiven. The old words of Goose echoed in the back of Max's mind often.

Max missed his family, and he missed his friend. He couldn't have saved either of them. He would save Nux. For his family, and for Goose. His old partner would be proud, at least he hoped so.

The world never lasted long to begin with. In time, economic collapse destabilized entire cities. That touched off a bloody civil war over resources, leaving only disorganized bands of scavengers willing to kill to survive. Max was one of those scavengers, whether he liked to admit it or not. He was aware of the fact most of the time, though.

Nux was thinking about Capable. He had never showed Max, as he was afraid of potentially looking weak, but he kept a few strands of her crimson hair in his pocket. He always wanted to have her with him, even when the two were apart.

¨You ever love someone Max?¨ Nux asked, as he put his hand in his pocket, feeling the few crimson strands of hair.

Max hesitated. It was a loaded question with a quite obvious answer. ¨I did, once. Had a wife, child and best friend. Light of my life. Loved em more than anything, Nux. They meant the entire world to me.¨ Max spoke quietly, as Nux could barely hear him over the roar of the engine. Nux nodded in response, though.

¨Whatever that is, I think I felt it. Back on the war rig. We didn't know each other long, though. Were me and her just kidding ourselves?¨

Max shook his head in response. ¨Course not. If you feel it, it is what it is. If you say you love her, I'll believe you. Its not up to me to judge, Nux. You're grown enough to come to your own conclusions.¨

Nux smiled, content with his response. ¨You'll be alright, kid. You won't need me after I get you back.¨ Max added on a few last words

There was a strange silence left between the three of them. The car was deafeningly loud, yet everything seemed to be silent. Everything seemed to be okay for the moment- for once, maybe things would be alright. Things had turned up for the two- they made an ally and friend, and had a damn good chance of getting back home.

But they always had a long string of bad luck. Why would that change now?

Ryland woke up, letting out a loud yawn. He sat up in his seat and stretched his muscled arms out, patting Max and Nux on the back to greet them. He stared out of the car, and squinted his eyes as he thought he had seen something.

¨That just me? Or is that fuckin truck coming straight for us? Right there, Maxie.¨ Ryland pointed eastward, and Max nodded. If the truck was friend or foe, they didn't know. Max knew better than to be naive. Sand and dust was getting kicked up in the distance by the truck, and the sound of yelling could be heard. A bullet went right past Max?s head, making his ears ring. The bullet got lodged in the side of his door. Max was absolutely brilliant in the heat of the moment. He winced for a split second, but immediately regained his composure.

Nux was no stranger to battle, and neither was Ryland. They all luckily kept their heads. Max whipped the car around, and turned the head of the car toward their pursuers. He gripped the steering wheel white-knuckle-tight.

¨Both of you, hold on.¨ Max said calmly. Ryland pulled Nux by his forearm and yanked him in to the back seat, handing him a pistol. Max floored the gas, and the other truck didn't show a sign of stopping. A classic game of chicken, and there was no way Max was losing. As the two vehicles got closer and closer, the shouts and cries could be heard more clearly from the other car. Nux and Ryland had their necks and heads covered with their hands. When the distance began to be closed off, Max stuck a bullet cartridge on the accelerator and jumped into the backseat with Ryland and Nux. He covered Nux?s body with his own as the two cars collided.

Everything seemed to slow down during the impact. Ryland was launched from the car and landed hard on his back, knocked temporarily unconscious once again. He was splayed out across a rough patch of rock and sand, but his chest was still moving up and down as he breathed heavily. The big guy had a borderline iron skeleton.

Max and Nux were flung from the car in this same rough fashion. Max held onto Nux as they fell, landing hard, while Max absorbed most of the impact. Max heard a loud ringing in his ears, slipping his head around to see what had happened. He tried standing up, but collapsed for some reason unbeknownst to him. He felt a warmth ooze from his leg, and he hoped he wasn't injured.

Nux was visibly unharmed, and quickly stood over Max, shouting at him. He kneeled next to Max and held his jaw, stopping him from swallowing his own tongue. The impact was so bad that Max almost choked on it. There was a small piece of glass lodged in to his cheek that Nux pulled out quickly.

Max didn't hear anything, though. He simply looked upward, his pupils quickly dilating. The few passengers from the other car were set ablaze due to the enormous gasoline canisters being held on their car. Two of them were maimed and sliced up from the collision, and one was limping around, screaming in pain as he was burned alive. The view gave Max a horrible sense of terror, reminding him of Goose.

Max looked down at his leg, a piece of rusted, jagged metal completely piercing through his left calf. The large piece of shrapnel luckily missed bone, but it was still excruciating. He was unable to put any weight on his leg since he muscle was completely torn apart.

Ryland staggered as he stood up, his forehead leaking blood, but still managed to stumble over to Max. Nux and Ryland exchanged a few panicked words before they picked Max up and carried him. Ryland had immense strength even when injured, and Nux was in a relatively stable condition.

¨Stop... you two, you go on-¨ Max tried to whisper. Nux shook his head in response.

¨You came back for me, bloodbag. We aint leaving you here.¨ Nux had visible tears streaming down from his face as he looked at how bad Max looked, the strong and stalwart War Boy being reduced to pure emotion. Ryland didn't say a word, uncharacteristic of his boisterous personality.

As they walked across the barren sand, they saw that they weren't far from the citadel at all. In the distance was a vague silhouette of their destination. Max smiled. Max finally accomplished his goal.

At that moment, whether or not he died didnt matter to him. He got Nux back.

?Goose would be proud?, he thought, as he passed out from blood loss. He had a smile on his unconscious face, a smile not seen for so long.

Things would be okay. Not great, but not bad either. Just okay. And that would be good enough.

That's all they could hope for.

Max felt so lost and experienced so much longing.

Finally, some sort of relief.