History
world
In the world of Micraia, belief and practice is split between science and magic. All throughout, there are differently aligned villages, towns, and cities all oriented to suit their respective alignment's progression and study, and anyone who opposes these alignments or does not fall under them are ridiculed and often either executed for their entry, or thrown out without further hearing or consideration for their life. Some villages, towns and cities are unaligned, but pay the risk of being targeted by these major cities to be 'converted' to one side over the other. Both of these alignments are constantly at war with each other and seek claiming overall dominance rather than accepting their mutual importance.
Early life
In his 'alive' life, he worked as an employee of a larger science research lab under the wing of Xavier, his former boss and the main 'leader' of the facility. This research lab was one of the most famous in the continent, having employee housing on property and being under high security. Considering it's progression and fame, it was also the target of people trying to steal any form of research from the lab that they could get their hands on. These incidents started off to be very infrequent, happening once every couple months, and progressively grew to be weekly. Daily. Sometimes even multiple times in the same day. This required the facility to increase their security precautions- eventually requiring any employee that works there to live in the employee housing unit rather than it being offered by choice. This facility grew to be extremely closed off from the world, located deep in a forest in the middle of nowhere. It's location is rarely spoken about; few know where it is.
Mad was well renowned in his department for his work, often working tirelessly for hours upon hours to finish projects and get things done. He was well known for his ability to progress research and get work done efficiently and quickly, and he not only took pride in his work, he loved doing it as well. Science was his passion for his whole childhood, and to not only be working in a famous science facility but also be the top of your department? It was something he could have only dreamed of, and yet here he was.
...Unfortunately, though, things were too good to be true. Xavier wanted to get the most out of Mad's work, pushing the limits of his abilities and trying to make him work as efficiently as possible. This started subtly, with him providing direction for Mad to take and otherwise encouraging him to work longer shifts to get something done, often followed by praise that made Mad feel good about working harder than he already was. Then, short overtimes stretched into longer shifts, eventually turning into whole 24 hour shifts with hardly any breaks. Mad started sleeping less, often being woken up early to get working sooner. Xavier started off with subtle encouragements and grew into threats, reaching to a point where any time it seemed like Mad was slacking or trying to take a short break, Xavier's presence alone was enough to pressure him into working harder.
The pressure grew to be too much.
Later life
Mad had to leave. Through subtle planning so Xavier wouldn't be able to see, he managed to come up with an escape plan foolproof enough to at least get him out of the facility alive. He didn't have any time to think of things to bring with him and he had... Not seen the sun for many years, and he had lost track of time long ago. This left him with no clue of what life was like outside of the lab, where he would go, what the weather was like... He was going out blind, and there was no time to waste.
He managed to escape through the venting system, coming out of the facility in their one blind spot and into the vast, dark, and snowfilled forest before him. He managed to escape in the midst of a snow storm in the dead of night, and with no proper clothes to cover him, he was quickly chilled to the bone and slowed significantly by the snow. He couldn't let this stop him, though, and he wouldn't feel comfortable enough to stop until he was at least out of view from the facility. They had eyes everywhere, he was sure of it, and he wasn't about to let them- no, Xavier- take him back there.
The journey was treacherous, and it was a miracle Mad made it as far as he did. He had made it far enough from the facility that there was no way they would be able to track his location through the heavy thick of snow, and the storm had already covered his tracks that they wouldn't be able to even get a general direction. Little did Mad know, though, that Xavier hadn't even attempted to make a search for him. The moment Mad was gone, he had already labelled him off as 'dead', knowing he wouldn't be able to survive out there on his own. And... He didn't.
Mad settled down by a tree near a frozen river, slowed and exhausted from the cold and thick of snow. He hadn't gotten a full night's rest in months- it wouldn't hurt to settle here and get some shut eye, right...?
The cold eventually lulled him into a deep sleep, and next thing he knew...
It was in a lab again. Through a haze of disorientation, it panicked, thinking it was back- but... It slowly came to a realization.
This lab was dark, desolate and empty. Not nearly as vibrant and bustling as the one it worked at. It... Worked there, right? It wasn't all some elaborate dream, or... Nightmare? Where is this? And... More importantly, why is it alive? How did it get here? Did someone find it and drag it back after all? Is this just some sick hoax, or some private wing Xavier had hidden from everyone that he planned to use to punish Mad? No... It quickly realized this wasn't true.
Mad tried to get up. This proved to be difficult right away, wobbling and off balance, especially due to it's patchworked legs and tail. It realized something was wrong. This wasn't the state it remembered it's body being in last it remembered. In fact, the concept of it being alive in the first place didn't really add up. It should be dead. It... is dead, as far as it's concerned. In an attempt to explore it's surroundings, it ran into Zephyr, who was just in the process of coming back to check on it and see if it was stablizing yet.
Now
Zephyr filled Mad in, explaining the situation, how he had found Mad in his travels and brought it here and... Brought it back with his magic. Some parts of Mad's body weren't suitable anymore from frostbite, hence their 'replacement'. Zephyr had otherwise been taking care of Mad and nursing it back to health since it's pronounced death, and Mad was ecstatic. All it was able to express were gratitudes upon gratitudes, offering any opportunity it could to repay Zephyr for all he had done for it. Mad had a hard time leaving his side, often seeming a bit clingy and always looking to watch and admire whatever it was Zephyr was doing, often times being him expanding on his magical knowledge and practicing. Alongside this, Mad started working on getting this newfound lab up to working conditions, wiring electricity throughout and building up from the bottom. Mad and Zephyr slowly grew to be a team, and it was unbelievably thrilled with the new experiences it's future had in store.
Despite it's joy, Mad suffers from intense paranoia from what it underwent at that laboratory. It has unshakeable beliefs that the world is out to get it, capture it, and drag it back to that lab or severely punish it for escaping. It's constantly terrified of Xavier showing up or running into it one day and taking it back or... Something. What Mad doesn't know though, is that to the world, it's legally considered 'dead'. No one truly knows it exists, and those who do know the old living Mad who they believe to be dead and buried. To the world, Mad does not exist, and it is quite literally starting a new life.
It's now reanimated body proves to be an important asset to it's work- Experiencing no pain allows Mad to have a living test subject without major repercussions, often experimenting on itself or using itself as a 'test dummy' when necessary. It's body is both a blessing and a curse, however, as at moments Mad feels as though it's back in that forest, frozen and cold, putting it into a literal state of being a zombie; seeming incredibly disconnected and foggy. It's able to snap itself out of these states most of the time, however.
Now, as it stands, it and Zephyr often spend a lot of time together as they both work individually on their own tasks, ocassionally taking time out of their busy lives to go exploring or relax together. Mad is constantly working on bettering the abandoned laboratory, constantly working on new experiments, and always looking for new things to create and learn.
