[That bright glow is turned on her, violet and dangerous, and she remembers a boulder smashed to nothing, a bright force that shoved her away, and Max flinches, wide-eyed. She can tell then that he's on the verge of something, of a breakdown or savagery, and while she can't determine the more likely outcome she knows it has to be cut off before it can burst from him.

He's let go of her hand, and it's just as well. It must be instinct that draws her arm far back, that causes her to snarl, teeth bared, and bring her open palm around in a powerful arch to make contact with the side of his face. At the same time her other hand grabs the front of his shirt lest he stumble backward, because she isn't done. He has to stay and look at her, face her as her fight response kicks in and pushes her to strike him with anger and, while she won't admit it, a touch of fear.

Riding on the heels of the resounding 'crack' her strike will make is Max shouting, furious and nearly shaking with adrenaline. She knows it's dumb, knows it's against self-preservation to push at him when he's already teetering, but calculating thought is so rarely what drives her.]

Shut up! Shut up! You don't have to be a villian, Albedo; it's not like the universe decides!

[And it's terrible, the pain in her chest, because for the briefest second she sees Ari in him again, tangled up in pain and hatred and loss, needing something to draw him back to sense. And it had been at the end, when it was too late. Max didn't think she could watch Albedo do the same; destroy himself until the end, when there was no time left to turn back.]

And if you're such a lost cause, why do you bother with me when I'm the good guy? Stop being so above it all and open your damn eyes. You have a choice!