NAD - Chapter 3 - A Tribute to Saucy Love

Daroma Software CEO Charles Crawford sat alone in the darkness.

After being trapped in the supply closet for a few traumatic weeks, he had grown accustomed to it - maybe even fond of it.

At this point, everyone knew his true identity: "mild-mannered" Max McBride, Fall Out Boy fan, and a Christmas.

It didn't matter.

He had made a miraculous recovery after sustaining himself on nothing but Windex and sponges.

In and around the submarine, Charles was back to being a poised and polished businessman.

He occasionally retuned to the supply closet, but it was only to use it as a comfort place when he felt overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, predictably, Charles was always overwhelmed.

Being in the closet began to symbolize the reality that he would always be haunted by memories of the past.

To the crew, being in the closet meant that they should leave him alone until he regained his sanity.

Charles pulled his knees closer, rested his head, and closed his eyes.

Nothing could disturb him now.

There was a careful knock on the door.

Charles looked up as it slowly creaked open.

Light shone in a widening beam onto Charles’ face.

The light was blocked by a figure: a figure that bore a striking resemblance to him, but female.

"I thought I'd find you here..."

She smiled, ashamed for him.

"Nantucket? ...Is that you?" he asked, mentally reaching out to the figure.

Her light laugh echoed as music in oblivion.

Charles almost smiled, but then he saw the look upon her face.

It was pity, expressing how sorry she was to have found him there.

She looked upon what was once a beautiful man, now reduced to a cowering child.

"Charles Crawford, what has the world done to you?"

No, Charles concluded.

This couldn't be Nantucket.

Among other reasons, her eyes were blood red.

Nantucket's eyes glowed a deep blue.

Nantucket wore a unitard of light, similar to something from Tron.

This girl seemed to wear the darkness.

"I'm not Nantucket," the girl confirmed.

"Nantucket is Max's creation. I created Max."

Charles winced at the sound of his other name.

How could this girl have created him?

"...So you're Max's mom?"

Her laugh was kind, and seemed to flit about the air like butterflies.

She offered her hand and he grabbed it.

"There's no such thing as female redditors..."

Noting the perfect symmetry of their palms, Charles rose to her height.

"Then how did you create Max?"

The light reflected brilliantly in her eyes as she whispered, "I made him as you know him now."

The response only threw him further into confusion.

"Why... why are you here?"

The girl put her arms around Charles, and a bit of static electricity arced to his arm, giving him a ticklish, almost arousing feeling.

She held him a bit tighter, but then sighed and let go.

"I believe... we have some unfinished business..."

Charles nodded, thinking he understood.

He looked her in the eyes, and said sexily, "You look like a bird."

As if reciting, she stuttered, "You look like a homeless."

He offered his hand and she hesitated, but took it.

Charles took a step, backing into the closet, and suddenly the girl looked frightened and pulled away.

"I don't think you understand," she mumbled.

She reached behind her ear...

"Who are you?"

Charles looked over her shoulder and the girl turned to face her idol.

"Who are you?" Nantucket asked again.

Without hesitation, the girl shot, "I am Khrinan. Infantsauce. I am you."

Nantucket glared at her with utter disdain.

"Fuck off..."

Khrinan smiled with remorse.

"Charles Crawford isn't a liar. I gained something from death..."

Nantucket took a threatening step forward and Khrinan made a parallel move backwards.

"By watching you, I learned how to survive..."

At that point, she pulled off her mask to reveal that she was in fact, Max McBride.

As Charles saw this, he also pulled off his mask, so revel that he was also, in fact, Max McBride.

Nantucket removed her mask and, of course, she, too, was Max McBride.

Two of the three Maxes looked at each other hungrily.

Quickly, Charles/Max took Khrinan/Max by the wrist and pulled him into the room.

He panicked, shook himself free, and walked right into Nantucket/Max, who was standing in the doorway.

Khrinan/Max opened his mouth to talk, but Nantucket/Max put a finger to his lips.

"Shh... you need to come out of the closet."

"I'm already in the closet! That doesn't make any sense!"

Finding strength that he didn’t know he had, Khrinan/Max pushed in opposite directions.

Charles/Max stumbled backwards, deeper into the supply closet; Nantucket/Max now stood in the hall, and Khrinan/Max found himself in the doorway.

"You don't understand," Khrinan/Max confessed.

"We can't do this."

Charles/Max and Nantucket/Max exchanged a look.

"Yes we can."

"We've done it before."

They took a few steps closer.

"No... Guys... I'm not like you..."

Nantucket/Max gave a seducing smile and slipped his fingers down Khrinan/Max's shirt collar.

"You're not fooling anyone..."

A shiver went up Khrinan/Max's spine.

"I'm different!" he insisted.

"You two don't exist."

Charles/Max and Nantucket/Max exchanged a look.

"YOU don't exist..."

Khrinan/Max sighed.

"Actually, I do."

He reached through Charles/Max, whose image pixelated, flashed, then stablized.

"You two are made of electronical energy," khrinan/Max explained.

"I was once my own person, but... The Creator... He made me to be him... but I was a mistake... so he killed me."

Charles/Max shook his head.

"None of this makes any sense... If I'm electronic, I shouldn't be able to touch you. I can. And you can touch me. But then you reach through me..."

Nantucket/Max snorted.

"If the Creator killed you, you shouldn't be here."

"Maybe he's a ghost."

"You wouldn't be able to touch a ghost, Max..."

"If he can touch electricity, maybe we can touch ghosts."

"I'm not a ghost."

"You said he killed you!"

"He did kill me!"

Khrinan/Max took a deep breath.

"Look... I don't understand it either, but I'm... never always dead."

Nantucket/Max was obviously unimpressed.

"Never always dead, huh?"

As if communicating telepathically, Charles/Max lurched out of the closet, pinning Khrinan/Max's hands behind his back.

He struggled violently, but it was no use...

"There's this thing we used to do," Nantucket/Max smirked.

"Maybe you should try it..."

"What are you doing?" Khrinan/Max demanded.

Nantucket/Max covered his mouth.

"Mmmm mmm mmm mmmmm?"

"Shh," Nantucket/Max soothed.

"The exercise is very simple..."

He and Charles/Max exchanged a look.

"Hold your breath..."

As so to assist him in this step, Nantucket/Max moved his hand so it was also covering Khrinan/Max's nose.

"Die."

Expressions beyond the words of the dictionary flashed over Khrinan/Max's face as he fought for his freedom.

Charles/Max and Nantucket/Max easily maintained restraining and smothering him as he lost the energy to stand and fell to his knees.

Soon, Khrinan/Max fell unconscious.

Charles/Max stepped aside and watched as Khrinan/Max's body convulsed, begging for air, but received no mercy from Nantucket/Max.

Then, he was still.

Nantucket/Max kept his hand there an extra minute to make sure he was dead.

When he finally took his hand back, there was no vaccuum effect.

There was no great gasp or rushing of air back into the lungs.

He wasn't breathing.

Nantucket/Max stood as Charles/Max knelt to check for a pulse.

They waited in the silence.

Slowly, Charles/Max rose, letting Khrinan/Max's hand fall back to the floor.

"You were going to cheat on me with Max," said Nantucket/Max, sexily.

Charles/Max shrugged.

"I like having hot sex with myself."

Then, satisfied they had disproven "never always dead," the two living Maxes backed into the closet and had some nice Max on Max sex.

And if you were there, you would want to tear your eyes out with a knife, because the only thing worse than Max is two Maxes doing it in a closet.