Ooh, yay! I love this guy, probably because he’s the most human of all my characters. Yes, even more than the actual human ones. Not only that, he’s also just a few months younger than Nightmare. How the heck did I go from making one of my least favorite character designs to making one of my still-favorite designs in just a few months? No clue. But, anyways, grab yourself a snack because this’ll be a long one.

It would be useless to ask a mindless kitten about his place of birth, but that doesn’t keep Madison from pondering over his short childhood on one of his many sleepless nights. Nevertheless, Mad knows that he was born a normal kitten until the beginning of the apocalypse greatly affected his biology. His intelligence swelled, followed later by his head... but we don’t talk much about that. In the panic of humans feeling the planet slipping between their fingers, Mad managed to escape his kennel and wandered for days through burning towns and eerie woodlands. About to collapse from hunger and exhaustion, Mad was picked up by an elderly man who took pity on the unfortunate feline. For the next few weeks, they covered great distances in attempt to shake off pursuers, though Mad had no idea why at the time. He even remembers the beginning of an escape giving way to his first spoken word: “Run.”
The old man was all but indifferent to his new cat’s humanlike perception of reality, and he knew with each passing day that there was something irreplaceably special about this one. Eventually naming him “Madison” after the cat’s love of the word “Mad” for whatever reason; the old man made sure Mad never heard the end of it.
Eventually, after weeks of not seeing a single human, the two settled in an abandoned house in the woods. They found out that this must have been the bomb shelter of somebody with great wealth, for the underground rooms were surprisingly expansive. This was especially fortunate for the old man, as the second he explored the entire house, he cleared out a room and began unpacking his supply of scrap metal.
This instinctively angered Mad, for he didn’t realize until now that most of their supply bags were stuffed with garbage, but that was before Mad saw the man work. He built all sorts of things: cuckoo clocks, weather vanes that gave precise temperature and wind speed, security robots that looked slightly like prairie dogs, and later on he even made a rather unsightly block that could play piano perfectly if set upon one. In fact, it almost seemed as though the old man somehow nonverbally spoke to the metal, coaxing it into performing at its best. Mad later found out that the old man’s uncanny ability to create was the reason he was on the run. People like him were captured and blamed for the end of the world, only to be sent to special facilities to never be seen again. Thus, he packed his closest belongings and escaped while he could. Which, of course, is how the two met.
Nothing intrigued Mad more than seeing him work, and the old man knew it. Therefore, he began to construct a bipedal metallic body for Mad to inhabit and control so he too could work on machines. The engineering was simple at first, but it slowly grew to become a magnificent feat, even for the old man’s skill. Mad absolutely loved his new body… to the point where he rarely left it. He soaked up the basics of engineering and before long he was moving on to projects of such a scale that the old man never even dreamed to be possible. His first large project, reconstructing a robotic dinosaur-like creature from just a few scraps, was an overall success. Things only escalated from there, from making improvements to his own body to decorating the house with all sorts of automated functions.
However, Mad’s body was deteriorating. While his head seemed to slowly fit itself into the new suit like a puzzle piece made of putty, his body shriveled up from neglect. This continued until one day where Mad attempted to leave his body only to realize he couldn’t even walk on his real feet. While this was a little disheartening, Mad didn’t care much, for he preferred his robot body much more over his real one. All it was good for now was to house his internal organs, otherwise, he could deal with the consequences.

Driven to always better himself (physically and mentally,) Mad worked day and night with his master… well, master is a bit of a harsh term. Father? Hm, maybe. Anyways, even as Mad surpassed the man’s abilities as his age forced him out of the workshop, never did the man think less of him. When Mad found himself to be the only one frequenting their workspace, he turned his efforts to helping the old man get around not unlike he did for him. This kept the man moving for quite some time, but alas, even the machines failed him eventually. Bed-ridden, he still did not go a day where Mad wouldn’t care for him in some manor. He never planned on saying it out loud, but in his last days he was more concerned about the still-energetic cat than himself. Madison shouldn’t have had to see him like this.
But, of course, that fateful day finally came. To use a word like “devastation” would be criminally insignificant to what Mad felt that day… and for many days to come. Nobody other than Mad and the man have resided within the house, but what is known is that Mad was never seen outside again. No robots were ever sent out to collect scrap metal, in fact, they were all seemingly reprogrammed to viciously guard the house from any and all living beings. If you were to catch a glimpse inside one of the windows, you may see various dark rooms, or perhaps a workshop that hasn’t been touched in countless months. If you were to stroll a bit far from the house, you may notice a single stone jutting out from upturned, still-unsettled dirt, reading:
DAEDAN
BELOVED MENTOR AND FATHER

Madison is forever destined to reside within his robot body, which he takes great care of. It may make him look uncoordinated and stick-like at first glance, but he can control the body with ease. It also allows for slightly enhanced strength and speed, but such functions were built with making work easier in mind and aren’t exactly breathtaking considering the horrors birthed in recent years, but it’s a plus. The clothing choices only got more unorthodox the more years he spent in the new body. Mad would even wear his suit within the workshop, which has slowly caused it to become horrendously frayed. Whatever makes him happy, I guess.
His intelligence and ability to pick up new things quickly is oddly advanced even considering the circumstances, but he makes sure to put his brain to use. He used to be sighted outside the home often, exploring woodlands, beaches, and even local towns. His explorations may have lasted days, but he always came back with a new bag of scrap metal to use.
Mad is also often seen carrying a scythe for self-defense, but his fighting skills aren’t worth much praise. He’s more likely to read a few novels on past wars than to go out and try punching things for himself. That’s what the security robots are for, and more recently, his highly-aggressive guards.
It wouldn’t be too farfetched to believe that Mad has given up on his hobby recently, but that isn’t quite true. In fact, he has a massive project in mind. One that not even he is sure he could pull off, but if he dies trying… so be it.

Well, geez. Now I feel bad, because my fanart of this guy didn't do him a speck of justice.