The Unicorns And A Princess???

Jackey and Max walked side by side into the town, both gazing in wonder as they walked. The farther in they went the more signs of poverty they witnessed.

People lay in alleyways on top of cardboard boxes and newspapers, some were drinking and looked dead on their feet, and others were covered in tattered clothing similar to that of Jinx. It was pretty pathetic sight to behold. There was even signs of hunger as kids who looked like they hadnt eaten in days sauntered on by.

"This looks awful," Jackey murmured as they continued forward, passing by more people covered in rags. "I couldn't imagine living in a place like this."

"Yeah, it does look pretty bad," Max agreed as he continued walking. "However, where there is darkness there will always be a little light."

Max pointed ahead at an obviously poor mother playing a happy game with her two little toddlers. The love on the mothers face was as plain as day on her face as she laughed along with the children.

"No matter how bad things get, one should always look at the bright side." Max shouldered his heavy backpack and turned to look at Jackey with a warm smile. "You just gotta face it with a smile is all, no matter what happens."

Jackey looked carefully into Max's eyes and, after finding no hints of anything except warmth and kindness, she finally nodded. "Hey Max, how about officially becoming my friend? Your the first person I've ever asked this so you should feel honored."

"I dont know," Max answered with a small smirk. "I'm not sure about how I feel about being friends with a rich popular girl such as yourself."

"How'd you know I was a popular rich girl?" Jackey asked, a bit taken aback. "Do you also go to Frost Central Highschool? How come I never heard of you?"

"Your popular, rich, and known as the cutest girl in school, we were in different social classes." Max shrugged his shoulders as he turned a corner instead of just walking straight. "We never met simply because I'm known as the Joker, the one guy everyone should steer clear of. Your fan club probably made sure we never met."

"Thats too bad," Jackey said in a sincere voice. "You actually seem like a decent human being compared to the rest of the people that I've met so far."

"Oh, thats all good and all," Max said, stopping in the middle of a step. "But I think we gotta put that conversation to the side for now. We got more pressing matters to deal with."

Jackey, unprepared for Max's sudden stop, ran straight into his back. "Ow, why'd you stop? Have we already reached our destination?"

Max shook his head an pointed straight ahead at the creature in front of him. "I dont think we're even on Earth anymore.....or at least not in the same dimension. I swear that unicorns don't really exist in our own world."

Jackey looked around Max's back and peered at whatever had made him stop. After blinking her eyes in confusion for a few seconds, she admitted that the thing in front of them wasn't part of the world they belonged to.

Walking, or trotting in this case, were two rather large unicorns pulling a luxurious looking carriage. The unicorns looked like large horses, with the addition of multicolored mane and a long horn that came to a sharp point. An old man sat in front of the carriage, holding reins and a whip in his hands.

The two of them, both Jackey and Max slipped into a nearby by alleyway. Jackey ran a bit farther in while Max poked his head around the side to observe.

Despite continuing onwards as Max had expected, the carriage stopped in the middle of the street and opened its doors. A young girl around the same age as Max and Jackey stepped out, her hands bound tightly behind her back and lead by knife point by three men who all looked like they could use lots of soap and a long shower.

Max, turning back to face Jackey, gave a small smile. "Jackey, I have something I have to do." Slipping off his backpack and unzipping it. "What happens next your luck will be of no help so I need you to do something else. Inside the backpack is a pocket knife. When I give the signal, you'll need to run out and cut those two unicorns free."

Jackey tried to protest but she remained quiet when Max handed her his backpack as he pulled something onto his hands, what looked like a pair of fingerless gloves only they were clearly made out of metal. "I got these from a dead friend.....another case of rotten luck. However they will due for the current situation. Just stay here and await my signal."

Running out of the alleyway while keeping low to the ground, Max rushed over to the entrance of the adjacent alleyway the men had taken the girl. Max peeked his head out and silently watched to see what would happen.

The tallest of the three, a tall man who, oddly enough, had cat ears and a tail, pushed the young woman against the wall, his eyes filled with lust.

"Look where we are now dear Princess Bristley," The cat man said, pressing the point of the knife against her back. "A place where you can moan in pleasure all you want and not be found, isn't that lovely?"

"Shut your mouth," The young woman said as she struggled against the mans grip. "Just kill me and get it over with."

Another of the three men took a step forward with a small evil smile. "But Princess, we came all this way, how about we have a little fun. Once more for old times sake?"

"Yeah," The last man said, letting out a small cackle. He was by far the shortest of the men, and he looked to be the weakest of the three. "Don't worry though, we'll all take good care of you."

"Well, finally, I see people," Max said as he stepped out into plain sight. "I was gonna ask for directions as soon as I saw people around here, but uh....whats goin on here?"

All three of them twirled around, surprised that anyone had the audacity to even appear near them. They were even a bit afraid until they saw that it was just a rather tall good looking youth covered in rags. With the clothes he was wearing, he looked just like the other peasants they had seen earlier.

"Whats the problem?" The cat man asked with small smirk. "Three guys can't corner girls in an alleyway without others getting suspicious?"

"No no, you can all do that if you want, but she just doesn't seem to be very comfortable." Max said with a small smile, turning his gaze towards the young woman who had turned to stare back at him. "Are you comfortable over there miss?"

The girl actually smiled a little at his question and shook her head. "No, not really. As a matter of fact, these ropes are a real pain."

"And there you have it," Max said, turning his attention back to the three men in front of him. "Why dont you three head on home and do the knuckle shuffle for tonight?"

"Wait wait wait," the short one said, clearly a bit confused. "The knuckle what-now?"

"You know," Max said with a small smirk, fighting back laughter. "Engaging in hand to gland combat, yanking your cranks, making nut butter.....any of this making sense to you champs?"

The young female burst out laughing after holding it in for so long. The male in front of her was just a riot, completely confusing the men holding her prisoner. She had never met someone who was so calm in the face of danger, and she was raised around warriors of the top class.

"You know what, how about you go to hell?" The short one yelled as he charged at Max, raising his own knife.

Max waited until shorty had gotten in close before grabbing his wrist, yanking it upwards and slamming his flexible metal glove into the mans stomach. There was an "Oof" followed by a thud as the man hit the ground, struggling for breath.

Max didn't stop there though, as he blasted off of the tips of his feet and ran at a speed akin to a bullet, heading for the second man. The man tried to attack with a left hook, but Max ducked underneath and countered with an uppercut, slamming his fist into the bottom of the man's chin.

Before the man even dropped to the ground, Max was already making his way towards the cat man, his eyes filled a glossed over look.

The cat man, after seeing what had happened to his two comrades, grabbed the girl and held his knife against her throat, using her as a hostage.

Max continued forward as if nothing had changed, startling the man into letting the girl go and attempting to stab him.

Parrying the thrust to the side with the back of his left hand, Max slammed his right hand across the cheek of the cat man, dropping him to the floor.