Hi all! So, this takes place a month or two after Max's breakthrough with Peter. Because while Max still has a lot of healing to do, there are some things that just can't wait.

And sometimes when you've been burned, the thing you need the most is to walk right into the fire, all by yourself, where no one can see, to remind yourself that you are the stronger.

This is a two-shot, so look for the conclusion next week.

Enjoy!

A powerful spirit will overcome any obstacle.

-==OOO==-

"Are you sure you'll be okay, sweetie?"

Max sighed even as he smiled. "Yes, mom. I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Max's mother ruffled his hair fondly. "Well, you've got the number for the university, and my cell, and the hotel…"

"And Felix's parents and Mister Thompson next door," Max finished.

Still, she hesitated. "I wish you'd picked up Virgil and Norman already, honey."

"They had a lot to do in New York," Max said easily. "And I really don't want to interrupt if they're, uh, talking to someone." He brightened his smile. "Really, it's all okay. If anything happens, I'll just hop a portal in their direction and meet them in the middle."

"Oh, all right. I guess I'm being a little overprotective, but you can't really blame me."

Max nodded even as she settled her arms around him. "I know, mom. I understand."

"If you're sure you're okay…"

"I'm sure." He squeezed her in a hug. "Get going. Those professors need you to set them straight. I'm counting on you to teach them a lesson!"

At that, she grinned. "You better believe I will!"

Max helped his mother carry her bags to the car and waved from the front porch as she drove off, honking and blowing him a kiss as she sped away. As soon as she was out of sight, he turned to head back into the house.

"Sorry, mom. But sometimes a Cap-Bearer's gotta do what a Cap-Bearer's gotta do."

Max pulled out the list he'd been working on for the last week. He'd quietly assembled everything he'd need throughout the house without raising suspicion – now was the time to pack it all up. In a sturdy camping backpack, Max gathered his supplies. There was a change of clothes, some basic rations and water, a medical kit, and the most essential survival gear. He'd have brought more given how he knew this would end, but he needed speed and maneuverability more than comfort if he survived long enough to worry about it. This bag he set in the front hall next to the basement door, removing only a flashlight to hang at his waist.

Then, in spite of the warm spring air, he grabbed a heavy parka.

"Virgil is really going to kill me this time," he said to himself as he checked the pockets of his jeans one last time. He had his phone, recently upgraded after Toyama to have the most robust roaming plan and hardiest hardware his mom could afford. In theory, Max should be able to call Virgil – who also had a phone now which he resolved never to set down again – from the bottom of a mine shaft almost anywhere on earth. But the phone was just backup in case of disaster.

What Max really needed was the little piece of bone in his right-hand pocket.

It had been a gift, sent to him by his friends in Japan. It was Sage who had written the note, having the best command of English (as his friends had no way of knowing yet that Max could have read whatever language they'd used). He'd explained that Mia had found reference to a type of charm that could ward off scrying by evil, and had thought he could use it to keep Skullmaster from watching him through the remaining Crystal of Souls. When Rowen had located one and brought it to her for inspection, White Blaze had stolen it and added a few scratches of his own. Max knew without needing Sage to tell him that the tiger spirit had imbued the little charm with even more power.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

Lastly, Max pulled out the letter he'd written just in case everything went wrong. This he put on the kitchen table for his mom. He had a second letter tucked in his back pocket that he would be sending through a portal to Norman and Virgil if the first half of his plan worked.

"If mom doesn't ground me for life, Virgil definitely will."

And then that was it. There was nothing else to do but begin.

Max made his way to the correct portal that would take him to the small village in the Himalayas where he had once been confronted with another Max, a pretender to the Cap. Back then, Max had been at first relieved to hand off the Cap and all its responsibilities, but almost just as quickly he had reversed course and decided to fight for his birthright. Max hadn't known if Maximilian would have been a better Mighty One than himself, but he was absolutely sure he wouldn't have been the right one. And that instinct had been correct.

"Time to do what I should have done months ago," Max told himself as he dropped into the portal.

Rolling out onto a freezing mountainside within spitting range of a yak, Max quickly donned the parka he'd brought with him. It felt strange to arrive and not see Virgil and Norman waiting for him, to know that they wouldn't be here this time. That, in fact, they didn't even know where he was or what he had planned.

But that was the whole point.

"This is my mess," Max said to himself as he began to climb up the mountain away from the village to where he remembered a portal waited – hopefully without the Yeti this time. "And I'm not putting anybody in danger to fix it. It's my job and I need to do this on my own."

It was more than just his responsibility. It was something far more potent, something Max knew he wouldn't have needed to say to Virgil and Norman for them to understand.

I have to know if I can face it.

The ice cave looked as it had on the last visit, and Max didn't waste time as he navigated to the far end where the portal was located. The air smelled of a thick, pungent musk and Max figured the Yeti was somewhere nearby.

The portal lit up just as he heard the first roar. But the Yeti wasn't fast enough to follow Max into it today.

Max tumbled from the sky and landed neatly on his feet in the ancient, abandoned Lemurian city.

Having been here before, having already seen the Lemurian Arcana's hiding place, Max didn't need to wander the silent, strange buildings aimlessly. He could feel the weight of the city around him, the quiet almost oppressive. When he reached the chamber where Virgil had moved the Arcana to hide it from Skullmaster, he let out a breath and whispered as if the stones could hear him.

"I know it's rude to do this, but I bet you'd rather I mess with the book than let Skullmaster mess with it."

When Max reached into the stone box and closed his fingers on the Arcana, he felt a shiver of power rush through him.

"I'm not taking it with me. It's way safer here than anywhere else I can think of. But I need to borrow one page of it before I hide it again."

Max opened the Arcana and felt the trickle of power grow stronger. He wondered if it was different now that he could interpret it – or if it was because he was another step closer to his destiny.

For a little more than two hours, Max sat in a corner of the room, reading every page. He didn't always understand – the ability to comprehend any language didn't mean he could necessarily grasp everything being said – but he was able to identify which pages did what and which did nothing at all. The Arcana was part spellbook with pages which could be used for a specific purpose, part historical record, and part something else entirely. Max skimmed over a lot of the history stuff, and the 'something else' tended to confuse him, but before he was finished he knew how many magical pages were within the Arcana and had committed to memory what each of them was meant to do.

Max was so, so tempted to take them all with him, but he resisted the urge and took only one.

"I know what you're thinking," he said to the book as he carefully tore the page from the binding. "I mean, if books think. I could pick another one and end this today. But, somehow I can tell I shouldn't do that. Maybe because I'm not ready, or there's something else up destiny's sleeve. Whatever. One thing at a time."

Max folded the page into his pocket carefully, then lifted the Arcana and got to his feet. He carried the book to the one place he felt absolutely sure no one would ever look for it – not where it had been for thousands of years, nor where Virgil had hidden it later – and tucked it away.

Then he headed for the exit portal. If not for the portal map in his email from Bea, Max wouldn't have known where it led; the last time he'd been in the city, Skullmaster had escaped through that portal before Max could get his Cap back from Maximilian, and nobody had wanted to follow right on his heels. Which had meant a long day and night of hiking to leave the city and get to the nearest portal that led to a series of inhospitable places before Max had finally gotten home. This time, he strode through the exit portal feeling both relieved and even more worried.

So far, everything was working according to plan.

Max landed in a park in some small city in China. From there, it was a quick portal to Minneapolis where he borrowed one of the public bikes to make his way to a dingy spot under a freeway overpass for the next portal, a brief stop in France, and then he was back to his hometown. On his way home, he took a detour through the neighborhood to the portal that led to where he was supposed to be meeting Virgil and Norman in Central Park in less than an hour after their visits to Doctor Venkman.

The note for Max's mom had been long and involved. This one was almost painfully short:

I know you both wanted to wait longer before we go after the Crystal of Souls. I know Virgil said something about how right now the balance is in Skullmaster's favor and we'd need the heroes again. But I remember how that ended and I am not repeating history this time. If this doesn't work, I'm really sorry. If it does, well, I'm still sorry but at least I'll be back in a few days and you can yell at me then. I've got a plan. I'll call you from the exit portal when I'm done.

There was more he would have said if he thought this was goodbye, but he couldn't let himself think so. The motivation of leaving things unsaid would help him survive.

Max balled the note around a good-sized rock and chucked it through the portal to New York City.

Returning to his house, he left the parka in the hall closet. He was just picking up the backpack when his phone began to ring.

Sorry, Virgil, Max thought with regret as he thumbed the phone off. Not this time.

He took a deep breath to steady himself and headed down into the basement. The strange carvings and pillars were as eerie as ever, moreso now because Max could read their warnings about the 'great evil' below. He reflected on the times he'd been here in the past – that first adventure where Virgil went through in saving him from the lavabeast, the time the four heroes had trusted him and died for that trust, the trip where Max released Skullmaster into the world, and the last time on the day of the solstice when he had played the ultimate gamble – and steadied himself. Then, he'd always headed to Skull Mountain dragged by necessity and circumstance. Never had Max faced the world of his enemy and gone entirely by choice.

But also, never had Max gone alone with Skullmaster waiting.

The Cap sprang to life and lit up the portal. Max cinched the backpack's straps a little tighter and buckled the cross-piece on his chest. He drew the single page he'd taken from the Arcana from his pocket.

It seemed fitting, so he repeated his words from once before.

"I guess a Chosen One's gotta do what a Chosen One's gotta do." Max noticed that his voice didn't shake as it had that first time. "Here's to saving the world, and mom, and my friends. And Virgil. And Norman."

But this time he added, "And getting some payback of my own."

He felt himself smile. "Look out, Bone-Face. It's my turn to ruin your day!"

And he dove into the portal.

-==OOO==-

Trust your intuition; you must open your senses and anticipate the movements of the world.

-==OOO==-

The very instant Max's body passed from the portal into the hot, sulphurous air of the underworld, he activated the page from the Lemurian Arcana.

Max would have felt better if he could have activated it while still in the portal, but experience had taught him that the portals didn't always cope well with powerful magic. He knew he could travel with the page in its page-form, having done that with Virgil many times before Stonehenge, but he'd had a strong feeling that if he had used any of those pages while inside a portal, it would be a repeat of the near portal-collapse he'd sworn he was never ever going to let happen again. Besides any other considerations about upsetting his one path down to the center of the earth, he couldn't run the risk of passing out and flopping into Skullmaster's domain unconscious and helpless.

That would not be very dignified...for the twenty seconds he'd be alive to have dignity before Skullmaster took him out easily, anyway.

Assuming he doesn't want to torture me again, Max couldn't help but think with a horrible shiver.

So he waited until he was completely out of the portal to activate the page. The power swirled around him, a luminous blue light that felt a bit like the spray of a sprinkler when the hose had been warmed in the sun. Max landed easily, absorbing the fall and springing up with the momentum, diving forward immediately. Not only did he want some clearance from the edge of the rock cliff that fell away down to where molten lava flowed, but if by any chance he had been spotted, he did not want to spend any time where he'd been seen.

However, this particular corner of Skullmaster's domain was sort of out of the way and less likely to be heavily patrolled after Skullmaster had stopped keeping the Crystal in it. And, thanks to the Arcana, as long as no one had spotted Max arriving, he would be safe for the moment.

"Being invisible makes this a lot less scary," Max said to himself. He wasn't afraid of making noise – he knew from the spell that only sounds he wanted heard would penetrate the illusion; otherwise, he would be imperceptible by any means until the page's power waned. As near as Max could tell, he had about an hour of magic before the entire population of Skull Mountain would be on his tail.

"Better make it count."

Even invisible, Max moved cautiously and furtively through the underworld. The fact that nothing could see him meant he wasn't likely to be chased, but he still thought it would probably be a bad idea to run headlong into one of the lavabeasts.

"The worst thing about being down here isn't the charming smell or the friendly neighbors," he quipped to himself. "It's the decorating."

Because for whatever reason, Skull Mountain was a bizarre mix of fire and lava, a maze of rocks and monsters, and mechanical rooms and tunnels. Max had asked Virgil about it, about how exactly did Skullmaster build all those diggers to the surface and where did he get the parts, and Virgil hadn't really answered him sufficiently. Max figured it was just one of those unfairnesses, like how Skullmaster was also head, shoulders, and torso taller than Norman, which meant Max came approximately up to his kneecaps.

He almost stumbled into a nest of familiar giant crab monsters except for the tingle that went up his spine and made him pause before taking another step. Max didn't really know what specifically about this area of rock seemed different to him from any other, but it was. Without stepping forward, he scooped up a flat pebble and skipped it across the ground in front of him.

Sure enough, what looked like stone gave way, revealing that it was only the thinnest layer of dust and cobwebs gathered over a void in which many dozens of those spiny crabs that Max could have gone a lifetime without ever seeing again were tending their strangely oblong eggs. When some of the dust and dirt fell from above, the eggs they touched cracked and exploded in slimy, fiery shards tough enough to leave dents in the rock around them.

"Hmm. Looks like messing with those eggs is not a good idea. Wouldn't want to wake the kiddies!"

He circled around cautiously, forced to go out of his way and farther afield from the place Max knew Skullmaster kept the Crystal of Souls.

Wait.

"It's not there," he realized, rounding a bend and finding he was on one of the higher outcroppings of rock that looked over the area. "The Crystal's been moved."

Max closed his eyes and ordered his thoughts.

"Skullmaster knows I'd have to come down here to break the Crystal sooner or later. And just like I hid the Arcana, he doesn't want it to be where I expect it to be. For that matter, the first time I was here it was right near the portal, but later it was all the way up the mountain. He moved it to keep me from finding it. He'll have moved it again."

But where?

"If he knew I was coming, he'd have it with him," Max considered. "He'd want to force me to face him. But he doesn't know I'm coming. Probably. I hope."

Mentally, Max reviewed the landscape.

There was Skull Mountain itself, which was basically a backdrop for Skullmaster's throne – it had a few rooms in it and an inconvenient slide, but that was about it.

Between Skull Mountain and the biggest river of lava was a maze of jagged rock formations. Nearest to Skull Mountain was the area Skullmaster actually inhabited, including the room where he had left the Crystal of Souls as bait the last time Max had been here for this purpose. The landscape from there all the way to the river was often in flux because of earthquakes or sometimes just Skullmaster's temper. And, of course, it was filled with monsters.

The exit portal hung out over the widest part of the river of lava above a burning cascade. Across the river, the land got darker and the stone closer in, more like a cave system than that which Skullmaster had carved out for himself eons before. Max also knew that back in that area was the prison for Lava Lord as well as the workshop where he had kept Magus.

"With the Crystal unbroken, Lava Lord should still be imprisoned," Max mused, "but somehow, I don't think he is. I've got a feeling he either didn't go back in after Stonehenge or something else has changed."

It was then that a bit of movement caught Max's eye.

"Warmonger?"

Skullmaster's somewhat-loyal lieutenant was creeping along the lava river, keeping to the shadows. His head turned again and again towards Skull Mountain, and even at this distance Max could see the fear and loathing writ large on his alien face.

"On the wrong side of the river, huh?" Max felt himself smile. "I'd bet my ticket out of here that Warmonger isn't too happy with how things went down at Stonehenge for him. Honestly, if I had to be somebody's flunky, I'd pick Lava Lord, too."

There was, of course, a chance – a good chance, even – that Warmonger had entirely other reasons to be on the far side of the lava river. That he had not already betrayed Skullmaster or planned to betray him. That Lava Lord was still frozen in stone by Skullmaster's powers.

But something told Max otherwise.

"Okay. Let's add it up. Warmonger is probably working with Lava Lord, maybe even freed him himself, and together they want to bring Skullmaster down. But neither of them will make a move as long as he's got the Crystal of Souls. Even without it, he's too powerful, but he can be beaten. With the Crystal, he's totally unstoppable."

Max revised his original plan.

"Looks like I won't need another distraction to get out of here. And if I play it right, it's possible Skully won't ever even know I was here in the first place."

But first things first. Max looked back towards Skull Mountain.

"Either way, I have to find the Crystal before I can do anything else. So...if I were Skullmaster, where would I hide it while I was waiting for Virgil to decide the time was right to come get it?"

Suddenly the magic around Max shuddered, as though struck by a brief gust of wind.

"That should mean I'm close to the halfway point," Max said. "No more time to sit here thinking. Time to take a guess and hope I know what I'm doing!"

Max took a deep breath and started down the slope of the rock.

"I know Skullmaster better than ever thanks to being stuck in his head. And I know I can feel the Crystal of Souls if I try. But I don't think I need either of those things. I think there's only one place to go because there's only one place worth going."

Because in the end, Max knew Skullmaster wouldn't have hidden the Crystal at all. It would be right out in the open – and at Skullmaster's side.

Where the rock evened out to another path, Max tucked himself alongside and waited. Less than a minute later, Warmonger passed him on his way back from the lava river and Max fell in easily behind him. Up close, Warmonger looked worse than Max remembered. His red skin was blackened in some places with ugly burns and there was a long scar along one side of his face and neck that went part-way down his back behind the plates of armor he wore.

Looks like a case of 'the beatings will continue until morale improves' to me, Max thought with a little pity. Warmonger was evil and not very bright – even if he deserved the treatment, it still seemed unfair somehow.

Warmonger led Max through the labyrinth of stone to the very base of Skull Mountain.

Max switched almost unconsciously to an inner monologue as he drew nearer to his ultimate foe. You know, a few curtains, a couple of throw rugs, this place would fight right in with Better Homes and Dungeons, Max thought to himself. No wonder Skullmaster's always so cranky. If I had to live down here for thousands of years, I'd probably be mad at everything on the surface, too. Either that or take up Japanese rock gardening or something.

Suddenly, Max felt every hair on his body stand on end and his breath caught in his throat. An instant later, Warmonger rounded a final bend and came face-to-face with Skullmaster. The staff of the Crystal of Souls stood waiting at his side.

"Warmonger!" Skullmaster's anger boomed. "Where have you been?"

Warmonger replied in the strange, sibilant hiss that was his voice, "Nowhere, master."

Skullmaster's face twisted in an evil smile. "You would not dare lie to me, would you?"

Warmonger actually shuddered. "No, master." He cupped a recent burn on one arm. "Never."

"Good. Or I will see you writhe in unimaginable pain for my own enjoyment."

Max locked his hands on the straps of his backpack to keep them from trembling. He was unbelievably grateful that Skullmaster couldn't see him, didn't know he was there; it gave him a chance to indulge his fear without showing the weakness to his enemy. Max knew his honest fear wasn't weakness per se – he'd been around that corner more than once with Peter – but Skullmaster would certainly use it that way against him.

Skullmaster was still talking and Max forced himself to listen. "By my calculations, that old fool Virgil will decide to lead his Cap-Bearer down here in approximately six weeks in order to attempt to destroy my Crystal of Souls. When they arrive, I want everything prepared. We will not have another opportunity to acquire the boy and the Cap so easily again."

Yeah, fat chance, Max thought, feeling himself ease into being in Skullmaster's presence.

"What are your orders, master?" Warmonger asked.

"Bring me another six dozen eggs that I may prepare them for the Crystal's defenses."

And Max started to smile.

-==OOO==-

Skill is merely focus. When focus is achieved, you need only release it.

-==OOO==-

Max tuned out most of Skullmaster's megalomaniacal ranting, paying attention only when he drifted near topics of use such as what might kill him if he walked into it. And, though it made his skin crawl, he forced himself to stay relatively close to Skullmaster, stepping in his massive footprints only a few yards behind where Warmonger stumbled along at Skullmaster's elbow.

It would have been almost easy to just grab for the staff upon which the Crystal of Souls sat like an ominous crown, but Max knew better. If he did that, assuming he could even rip the staff from Skullmaster's enormous hand, Skullmaster and Warmonger and every monster within yelling radius would be on him before he'd gone three strides.

Getting clobbered by every single thing in the underworld was nowhere in Max's plan, actually.

"The Cap-Bearer will undoubtedly refuse to again recruit the heroes who allowed him to be successful on the previous attempt," Skullmaster was saying as he ascended higher into Skull Mountain. "The boy will be vulnerable and less well-guarded when he comes to face me."

You have absolutely no idea, bucko, Max thought.

"Then why, master, do we not crush him where he emerges from the portal? Why do we lead him all the way up here?"

"Because," Skullmaster chuckled darkly, "he will fear it."

The word was said so gratingly and certainly and evilly it almost created the feeling in Max on its own. But he was already almost coming apart at being so close to Skullmaster; the added impact couldn't make him shake any harder at this point anyway.

"That boy will cringe from me like a coward, and I will be able to intimidate him into making an error which will deliver victory unto me in the end. And I will enjoy every moment of it."

He'd be right, too, if I hadn't gone to Peter. And if I hadn't come now, Max realized. It's actually way easier to be here on my own. I think if I had to be this scared where Virgil and Norman could see, I'd be spending too much time thinking about being scared in front of them and I really would make a mistake.

But with no one to witness his fear, Max didn't bother expend the energy to fight it even as he denied it and kept walking.

Another flight of stairs and they reached a chamber somewhere in the crown of Skull Mountain. Max could clearly see that this area was where Skullmaster intended to have their big showdown. At the far end of the room was a stand where Skullmaster's long staff could be placed temptingly. Between the entrance and that spot, Max could see several half-constructed traps, hollows for the exploding eggs, and many deep shadows where Skullmaster himself could hide.

But none of that was ready now.

Skullmaster stode easily through the room and set the staff with the Crystal into its place.

"The eggs I require will go there," Skullmaster gestured to one particular corner of the room. "You must bring them as quickly as possible so I can bind them to ensure they do not react until the time has come."

Max almost burst out laughing at the look on Warmonger's face. Was he hoping Skullmaster was gonna change his mind and not send him for them? Ha. The lieutenant was obviously not looking forward to having to climb all the way back down the stairs and manhandle eggs only a few at a time back up, all while not exploding them all over himself.

"Quickly, Warmonger! I have work to do and my patience is thin."

Warmonger almost squeaked and scurried off to do his master's bidding.

Max ghosted along in Skullmaster's wake. The Crystal was there for the taking and breaking, but smashing it right in front of Skullmaster was not the best idea Max had ever conceived.

However, there was plenty else in this room to work in his favor.

Cognizant of his limited time, Max crept across the floor to where another pile of the eggs waited. I wonder if Bone-Head likes omelets?

Five minutes later, while Skullmaster muttered some words in a language Max wished he couldn't understand, Warmonger came up the stairs with four smallish crab eggs balanced in his arms. He ambled towards the corner Skullmaster had indicated originally, stepping cautiously over the half-completed death traps strewn throughout the room. He was most of the way across when he gave a shout.

"Quiet, you imbecile!" Skullmaster roared as his concentration was broken.

"Sorry...master," Warmonger managed. He looked down at where a nasty spike had somehow ended up sticking straight out of a tangled net of them and had impaled his unprotected foot. Hopping slightly, Warmonger changed direction, deciding not to get anywhere near any more of the wicked barbed wires.

Invisible, Max dropped the spike he'd positioned deliberately and sped ahead of Warmonger where he stuck out a foot.

BANG!

"Warmonger!" Skullmaster bellowed and it seemed the very room shook. "What have you done?"

"N-nothing, master!" Warmonger shook his head.

Max was careful to crowd out of the way as Skullmaster advanced on his lieutenant. Warmonger had somehow lost his balance amidst some of the little holes in the floor in which eggs would eventually wait for an unwary passerby, and had tipped over. The four eggs he had carried with him had crashed into one another in his arms.

Skullmaster looked over Warmonger's burned body, a few fragments of the eggs sticking to his armor, though it appeared none had pierced his flesh.

As Skullmaster unleashed a series of creative death threats, Max felt himself beginning to relax, a bone-deep tension starting to drain away. Skullmaster was still a genuinely terrifying demon, someone who knew intimately how to hurt Max the most, and he was undoubtedly a serious threat to the earth. Max knew all of that. But, somehow, seeing Skullmaster reduced to bellowing at Warmonger over broken eggshells also helped Max remember that Skullmaster was not all-powerful. He was brilliant and dangerous, but he wasn't unbeatable. He didn't even have a winning track record.

I'm still the underdog, and yeah, I'm still pretty petrified of him. But I'm not helpless. And he's not invincible. I can do this. No matter what he's done, I can still do this. Because no matter what he's done to me or anyone else, he's still the one yelling at Warmonger over egg juice.

That, right there, was why Max had come alone. It wasn't just to save the lives of the four heroes who had died the first time. It wasn't just to avoid risking Virgil and Norman in a dangerous mission. It was because Max had desperately needed that perspective, and he knew he would only get it when he could face it on his own.

Silliness aside, I've got to finish this, Max told himself.

Skullmaster ordered Warmonger from the room to go get more eggs, and this time Max raced at his side, almost ahead of him as the abused and burned lieutenant retreated to the nearest nest to battle some more monstrous crabs for their eggs. Max could sense the magic around him beginning to wear thin and he knew it was now or never.

His whole plan had always hung on his ability to get the Crystal of Souls away from Skullmaster without getting caught. And poor Warmonger was the perfect patsy. Max waited until Warmonger was hip-deep in the nest, hissing at the crabs and carefully loading up his arms again.

And then he hefted a rock the size of a softball and chucked it directly into the nest where the eggs were stacked most thickly.

Even before Max had finished ducking for cover, he could hear Warmonger shouting as the nest and half the monster crabs in it went up in a massive explosion.

"WARMONGER!"

Max took off at his best speed back up the mountain. He passed Skullmaster who was coming down at a run, his face twisted in an expression that made Max's mouth go instantly dry with fear. But he didn't have time to pause.

Instead, Max raced into the room that should have been his doom and plucked Skullmaster's staff with the Crystal of Souls atop it from its place of honor.

"Gotcha!"

But he didn't dare break it right there. Max knew from experience that once the Crystal shattered, Skullmaster would be on him. Instead, Max swung the staff like a golf club at one of the nearby piles of eggs that had already been brought up.

"Fore!"

A few rocks and pebbles bounced and one of the eggs cracked against another and Max bolted as the whole room started to fill with the sounds of a chain-reaction of exploding eggs. Max didn't even bother listening for Skullmaster's angry roar, instead pelting off in a different direction. He didn't honestly know if the staff was invisible or not, and he wasn't about to try prancing past Skullmaster with it in case it wasn't.

Once he was around the far side of some of the rock formations that made up the maze nearest Skull Mountain, Max gave up all pretense at trying to hide, knowing full well in moments he would be visible and vulnerable once more. He skidded down the steepest slopes of rock, using the staff to balance whenever he could. Some of the inhuman guards of various types turned towards him as he thundered past, but none actually tried to follow and Max hoped that meant he had enough time left to get out of this alive.

He spotted one of the strangely metal canals that ran throughout the underworld and jumped into it, using it like a slide to zoom towards the lava river. He had to leap out at the last minute before being dumped into lava himself, but the staff actually helped him; he stabbed it into a crack in the rock as he would have Norman's sword and used it to swing himself up and away from the molten river.

Under the cover of a narrow overhang, Max stopped to catch his breath just as the invisibility spell ended.

"Looks like I'm on my own," he said to himself wryly.

But the spell had done its job and now the Crystal of Souls was safe in Max's hands.

"Time to start in on PhaseTwo," he muttered. Max unclipped his backpack and shifted it around in front of him. He had to dig in it for the multi-tool he'd brought, and then he set about detaching the Crystal from the staff.

All the way from Skull Mountain, Max could suddenly hear Skullmaster bellowing. "Where is my Crystal? Who dares defy me? Find it! Find it and bring whoever has taken it to me that I may punish them!"

"Yeah," Max grunted softly. "That's definitely not happening."

The Crystal of Souls came loose from the staff with a sudden pop. Max had to scramble to keep from dropping it. Instead, he tucked it securely into his backpack and closed it up, rebuckling it tightly to his back.

Just hang on a few more minutes, he thought at it just in case the condemned souls within could hear him. I'll get you loose, but not yet. I've got to do it right this time.

Max peeked out from under the rock. He could hear Skullmaster's minions moving around, but none seemed close to his position yet.

So far, so good, he thought to himself. I got in, got the Crystal, and now I just need to get out again. And...I didn't freak out. Strictly speaking, that's not as important as destroying the Crystal, but it's going to be a lot more important next time I have to deal with Skull-Face if I want to have any shot of beating him again. Not a bad day's work.

But it's not over yet.

-==OOO==-

Stay on the high ground – let the other guy do the work for you.

-==OOO==-

When Max had originally planned this excursion, he'd struggled with the problem of how to get out of the center of the earth safely, let alone unnoticed. The exit portal's location was supremely inconvenient, a dozen yards from either side of solid rock over a cascade of molten lava. In the past, Max had left by riding something that could withstand the lava or avoid it entirely – one of Skullmaster's digging machines once, dangling from one of the flying bone monsters once, and Magus itself the other time. The only other exit he'd ever found was when Lava Lord used Magus to surprise Skullmaster at Stonehenge, and Max didn't think the dirt elevator was a plausible option in this case.

But it had given him an idea.

The underworld had an odd crop of rocks that seemed to float in midair – Max remembered Skullmaster and Virgil using them when he'd had Magus the time he'd let Skullmaster use the portal to escape. What Max had learned from Lava Lord on the trip that ended Stonehenge was that those rocks were plentiful in Lava Lord's end of the underworld. He'd only ever seen a few on Skullmaster's side of the river, but there was a veritable garden of the things deep in the cavern near where Lava Lord had been imprisoned.

And if Max could get his hands, or, rather, his feet on one of those, he'd be able to get to the portal.

So Max cautiously began creeping upriver to where the crossing was easiest, a route he'd taken more than once. Without the power of invisibility, Max had to sneak, dodging lavabeasts and the big crabs and the other assorted creatures that answered to Skullmaster's beck-and-call. But Max noted that there were far fewer of the lavabeasts than usual. And, more importantly, lavabeasts could erupt out of the ground to catch their prey, but these just shuffled along as if they'd never had such an ability. As if they'd never tracked Max from underground before.

Which was proof positive to Max that Lava Lord was awake and had bade his creatures to pretend to obey Skullmaster but not actually help him at all.

It could mean Lava Lord knows I'm here, Max considered as he made the treacherous crossing. But there's nothing I can do about that if he does. And hey. He might even help me again. He did last time.

Just past the river and on the way to the cavern that led to Lava Lord's main areas, Max dropped the golden staff that had held the Crystal of Souls. He tucked it partly out of sight, but left enough of it sticking out that someone standing on the opposite shore might see a glimmer of light reflected.

Because if Skullmaster thinks Lava Lord took the Crystal, he'll be way too busy with him to come looking for me.

Suddenly Max sensed rather than saw the presence of more lavabeasts and he scrambled for a hiding place. Spotting a ledge above the cavern floor, Max jumped from a low boulder to where he could grip a stalactite and shimmy up it until he could get most of his weight onto the ledge. It was narrow but long, and Max scooted around until he had propped one leg and a hip on it, his back to the stone and his hands pushing against the stalactite to keep him balanced or the backpack would tip him off his perch.

The lavabeasts flowed in a herd below him, clearly abandoning their search for Skullmaster to return to Lava Lord. Max held his breath, but none so much as flicked a dark-eyed glance upward. And though every single one walked past the scepter staff that had held the Crystal, none seemed to care.

They're loyal followers and good trackers, but they take zilch initiative.

Once they had vanished down the dark, rocky passages, Max counted to two-hundred before he dared drop to the cavern floor. He'd figured that if they were being followed by Skullmaster, or if Skullmaster was aware of their defection, that's how long it would take before he could hear the furious yelling sure to accompany the enraged demon.

Max remembered the way to Lava Lord's main audience chamber – the same where he had been imprisoned – and he carefully avoided it. Not only would that be where the lavabeasts had gone, but Max didn't actually want to try his luck against Lava Lord's slightly unstable temper again if he could prevent it. The only reason Lava Lord hadn't roasted him for dinner the last time was that Max had talked him into attacking Stonehenge to get his revenge against Skullmaster, and somewhere in that deal had been Max tagging along. This time, while Max was absolutely certain Lava Lord would still be out for revenge, he really didn't want to bet his life on another deal.

He was, however, perfectly happy to make use of Lava Lord's distraction.

Skirting where he could hear the lavabeasts roaring and the low rumble of what was probably Lava Lord demanding an update about what Skullmaster was doing, Max crept back to the workshop where Magus had been built. There was a big door that Lava Lord could command to open through which the giant machine could walk, but Max now knew there was also a littler entrance to one side.

The workroom was empty of lavabeasts, and Max allowed himself to relax fractionally. The robot Magus looked about one-third complete, mostly a skeletal structure with the start of the controls running up to the cockpit. Max glanced over the plans on a nearby slab of rock – not written on anything like paper or parchment, but actually burned into the rock – before nodding to himself. Then he clambered up Magus's metallic leg and crawled into what would be the spot from which he had once piloted the thing.

Not that I really think this'll help a lot, he thought as he started unplugging wires and mixing them up at random. Magus itself could be powerful enough to blow Skullmaster away, but Lava Lord isn't the one who has the destiny that says it'll work when he uses it. And from what I saw last time, it's not guaranteed to be strong enough to destroy Skullmaster even if I'm the pilot. So if I can get him to try it early and have it fail, maybe he'll beef it up a little more for the next time I have to shoot things at Skullmaster.

Max wasn't really paying attention to what wires he was crossing or which buttons he was changing. Ultimately, it didn't matter very much. He trusted himself and his famous luck. What he wanted was for Lava Lord to pilot Magus against Skullmaster and have it come up wanting. That way Lava Lord would take it back to square one and improve upon it. Even being able to read the plans, Max didn't really know how to get that accomplished. He just trusted himself that if he tried, he'd push fate in the right direction.

Intuition prickled and Max dropped from Magus and ducked out of the workshop just as a few of the lavabeasts arrived. Max guessed Lava Lord had sent them to guard it in case Skullmaster decided to launch an attack in the midst of the chaos.

Good enough. I've had it with sight-seeing. Time to get back on the bus!

Max turned and ran off. From this moment on, speed and timing were everything.

I've got to get to the portal without Skullmaster or any of his goons spotting me, or Lava Lord or the lavabeasts or Warmonger – whoever's side he's on today.

Of course, Max knew if he did get spotted, he had a perfect contingency plan. The Crystal was nestled safely in his backpack. If Skullmaster happened to catch Max in the act, he would simply use it to bargain for an escape. And since Max was perfectly aware that Skullmaster would never honor any bargain he made, Max didn't feel bad at all not planning to honor one, either. Max didn't know if lava would hurt the Crystal of Souls, but in Toyama he had learned he possessed a better way to destroy it than that, and he would do it with a cheerful heart either right before Skullmaster's eyes or without him ever knowing it.

Given the choice, Max was really hoping for the second, though.

If anybody spots me, Skullmaster will assume I took his Crystal. And that's some karma I could really avoid the next time we meet. He hates me enough. I'll take anybody else getting some blame for once for ruining his plans.

Down two twisting tunnels, Max finally came out in the big chamber where the floating rocks were most common; he'd seen it the last time he'd been down here while waiting for Lava Lord to finish with Magus before crashing the party at Stonehenge. They hovered in the air like lazy bumblebees, bouncing into one another softly before settling into one spot in a gentle sway. Max remembered the farther into the cavern he went, the larger the rocks would be, including some big enough to easily support Magus. But Max didn't need anything on that scale.

Max picked his way carefully throughout the cave, trying not to disturb any of the stones that got too close to him. If he banged into one with enough force, the resulting domino effect would mean a lot of boulders loudly crunching into walls and each other, and that kind of racket would attract attention. Even though he was in a hurry, this was not the right place to rush.

Finally Max had dodged enough fist-sized rocks to reach the larger set. He scanned the area for one of the proper size and shape, finally spotting it high above.

"Great," he muttered as he carefully grabbed onto the nearest rock that looked like it would hold his weight without overbalancing. It took Max a few tries to get it moving, rocking his arms back and forth until the stone seemed to get the idea that Max wanted to go up, not sideways. Max learned that the rocks seemed to react not totally differently from a skateboard in midair, and he was glad – that, at least, was something he could handle!

"Virg made this look easy when he had one," Max grimaced. "Who knew fowls could board?"

Near the ceiling was a rock not much bigger than a car's hubcap, and quite flat. It was this he jumped to, feeling it react under his feet as it responded to minute movements of his center of gravity. Once he got the rock going in the direction he wanted, it was easy to keep it going. The problem was changing direction.

That's okay. I only want to go one way – out.

Max carefully urged his rock closer to the ground where he could step back on solid stone that didn't spin or float crazily with every movement. Then he grabbed his chosen rock around the edges and pushed it ahead of him like a floating wheelbarrow, and it went docilely enough once he got the hang of it. It was the work of only a few minutes to get back to a place where the cavern opened up and Max could see the lava river ahead.

"Bring me my Crystal!" Skullmaster was shouting furiously and lashing a nasty-looking whip at some of the creatures nearest his feet close to the crossing point but still on his own side of the lava river.

Max ducked behind a stalagmite and watched for his chance.

Skullmaster was striding along the river when he froze and stared. "Warmonger!"

"Yes, master?"

"What is that? Bring it to me!"

Max watched Warmonger move slowly, his jaw square and tight, towards what Skullmaster had seen. It took him much longer than it should have for him to cross the river and lift the golden staff Max had dropped upstream.

"What is the meaning of this?" Skullmaster raged. "Who has taken my Crystal?"

Warmonger looked guiltily over his shoulder, but Max wasn't sure Skullmaster could see the gesture from his angle.

Come on, Max urged silently. Take the bait!

"It is not possible," Skullmaster said then, turning his gaze towards the darker caverns. Max could have cheered.

"W-w-what is not p-possible, m-master?" Warmonger asked.

"While the Crystal of Souls remains whole, Lava Lord cannot be freed," Skullmaster's voice was low but Max could still make it out in the echoey underworld. "And I have seen no evidence of the Crystal's destruction." He frowned darkly and even at the distance Max shuddered. "But if Lava Lord has taken the Crystal…"

"H-how could he, m-master?" Warmonger asked as Skullmaster crossed the river.

"Let us find out," Skullmaster's face went into a dark expression Max knew and remembered all too well. Even as his knees shook, though, his heart gave a cheer.

Time to blow this popsicle stand!

Max waited, almost holding his breath while Skullmaster started into the caverns, many of his monsters following in his wake. He did not have to wait long.

"Skullmaster!"

"Lava Lord! How dare you take my Crystal from me?!"

"The only thing I will be taking from you is your life!"

Max waited for the sound of the first blow before he took off at a sprint for the lava river with his rock.

I feel kinda bad for Warmonger, he thought as he pelted across a ground that shook. If Skullmaster ever figures out that he's the one who woke up Lava Lord, he's going to be in for it. But he's the only one who could have done it. And if I can tell that, so will old Bone-Face.

The roar of the battle and the obvious sound when Magus entered the fray to confront Skullmaster directly was enough to shake a few stalactites loose from the ceiling, and Max was obliged to dodge them. But he reached the shore of the river near the swirling, burning cascade unharmed.

And with a war for the underground keeping all forces totally distracted, Max rode his floating rock out over the fiery torrent and threw himself into the exit portal without a single soul ever having known he was there.

He dove into the portal and as the vortex closed over his head, he couldn't help the triumphant shout, "I did it!"