Maxine stared at Patrick patiently waiting for him to prepare for a moment before he spoke, "Fine, have it your way." Crystaline platemail formed rapidly on Patricks body and a short sword and shield made of the same material formed in his hands. His armor exposed little more than his eyes. It was exactly as she remembered it. However, Maxine felt a pang of jealousy at seeing such beautiful essence armor. However she didn't let it distract her.
Maxine charged at him using twenty percent of her normal strength just so she would be faster and stronger than him, but not by too huge of a margin. Otherwise, it would be a one-sided beatdown rather than a test.
Maxine hadn't realized how much bigger he was than her until she was almost close enough to attack. Patrick was almost a full head taller than her. However it didn't matter. She had to do this even if she felt alittle intimidated. She stabbed at him with her right blade. He deflected it by using his shield and spun around in the same movement to club her with the hilt of his sword. Maxine dodged away and hacked with both weapons at his now exposed right side. Patrick completed his spin with a powerful slash knocking both of her weapons back. Even though she was faster, he still had the advantage when defending.
Maxine retreated momentarily and smiled beneith her mask. He moves and reacts the same, but that was only the opening set. Maxine unleashed a flurry of stabs and slashes in rapid succession. Patrick used a combination of parries and blocks to stop her assault. Maxine kicked at his knee only to miss when he took a step back. However she stumbled because of her missed attack and it left her open. He stabbed at her chest and she twisted her whole body to avoid it. Maxine unleashed horizontal slash as she retreated. He didn't follow after her. He always was the defensive fighter.
Maxine rushed at him once again and they exchanged attacks. It kept going as she did most of the attacking while he defended flawlessly. Maxine felt like laughing with joy the longer they exchanged moves because it felt like their one of their old sparing matches. However, she failed to notice the gradually increasing rage in Patrick's gaze until it was too late.
Patrick unleashed a thrust of his sword far faster than she thought possible of him. It was coming at her nearly half her normal speed and it was aimed straight at her heart. She tried dodging to the right as she twisted her body sideways, but it still hit her. It punctured through Steel Silk Vest and her essence armor, but it had lost most of the force behind it and only left a shallow cut on her left breast. The pain from the wound and the fact that he had just tried to kill her filled her with rage. She had been vaguely aware that he had yelled at her about copying Maxwell's moves to mock him as she retaliated.
Maxine lashed out at full strength with both of her blades. Patrick barely managed to block with his shield. However when her weapons collided with it, the shield shattered like glass diffusing alot of the power behind her strike. However his arm still broke from the force of the impact as he was hurled through the air and slammed violently into a tree. The rest of his essence armor fractured and fell off of him in chunks as his body had slid down the tree. Patrick looked up at her while in a daze and started coughing. After his coughing fit, blood started to leak out from the corner of his mouth.
The sight of his blood brought Maxine back to her sense, but she was still angry due to the injury she suffered. However, what had just happened didn't make any sense to Maxine. The Patrick she knew would never attack a woman with intent to kill, even if sed woman came at him with a knife. What is going on? What happened to him to make him like that?
Maxine scanned him with her spiritual sense to see how badly she had hurt him. He had some minor internal bleeding and his left arm was broken. It wasn't as bad as she thought and with some rest he should heal within a week. Maxine walked over to him and dissolved her blades. She picked him up while he was still in a dazed state and threw him over her shoulder. She found it odd that she wasn't repulsed or afraid of physical contact with him as she stuck him up against Silky's webs. "Silky, bind his arms and legs to your webs." Maxine didn't want Patrick to attack her when he came back to his sense.
Maxine backed up to let Silky work. While Silky worked, Maxine thought about what to do with him. He could have very easily told someone where he went and his parents would gather a search party to look for him. It wouldn't take them very long to find this place and him. That would lead to some very trouble some questions from General McKenzy. She couldn't keep him here for very long. At most she could keep him here for a few hours. Hence she had to resolve whatever problem he had with her today.
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Silky moved quite quickly and had him bound to her webs in just a few minutes. Patrick seemed to started to regain his senses sometime while Silky worked. He had become lucid by the time Silky had finished and realized he was tied up. Maxine got closer to him to speak, but he spoke first. "So are you going to torture me again? Or do you have something else in mind, you crazy bitch?" Patrick growled at her.
"What?" Maxine was dumbfounded at his accusation and retreated a step.
"Don't play innocent with me! I know your true nature. Or do you really think I am that stupid?" Patrick yelled at her before turning his head away distainfully, "I know you are a reincarnator. How else would you be so powerful?"
"I didn't tie you up to torture you. It was to keep you from trying to hurt me, asshole. Although you are right about me being a reincarnator," Maxine yelled back as she was still angry with him. Patrick turned his head slightly to her. His eyes narrowed as he glared her venomously.
"Well excuse me for wanting alittle payback! The last time you tied me up, you tortured me for days. Then you cut off my arms and legs while laughing at me. After that you had somehow gotten essence beasts kill my best friend while forcing me to watch and paraded his severed head around me until his face started to rot off. Why the FUCK should I believe a single word you say?" Patrick hissed. Wait?! What?! "Although I have to admit I had my doubts that it was actually you after your battle with that Terror Bear, but there is no mistaking that vile essence armor." His hostility and his attempt to kill her actually made sense now. If someone had done that to her, she would want to kill that person as well. Although, Maxine didn't understand how that was possible for an androphobic girl, like the previous Maxine, to do such a thing.
Maxine needed to tell Patrick that she wasn't the one that did those things to him. In fact from what she understood, she was also a victim of that broken girl's madness as well. Maxine dissolved her essence armor and grabbed Patrick's jaw to force him to look her in the eye. "That wasn't me that did those things to you. I don't know what I could possibly do or say to convince you otherwise. So please tell me what it will take," Maxine was half begging him. He just gave her a distainful glare as an answer.
Maxine began to get depressed and she nearly collasped to her knees. It was clear as day that his hatred would prevent him from believing a single thing she said. She would need to do something drastic to get through to him. An idea started to form in her head. She knew things about him that very few others did. I might be able to reveal who I am by what I know, but that would mean admitting to him that I used to be Maxwell Adams. The thought of doing that alone made her feel embarressed. However it was the only option she had at the moment. Otherwise she would either have to take him to the general to be collared so that she wouldn't have to be worried of a sneak attack while she slept. Or kill him to resolve the threat altogether. Patrick was her friend and she couldn't do either of those things to him.
Maxine started speaking after a moment of thought, "This isn't the body I used to have before I reincarnated and I will prove it to you the only way I know how. By speaking of events from your past that only few know about. Alright?" Maxine looked at him hopefully.
"Go ahead with your lies. You couldn't possibly know anything that isn't common knowledge. Anyways I am not exactly in a position to argue now am I?" Patrick glowered at her.
"I guess not. I will start off with an event when you were eight. You fell out of a tree and torn your pants and underwear so badly that they couldn't cover your ass anymore. You had to walk bare assed all the way home and made your best friend promise not to tell anyone. Two years ago you had your first kiss in the month of March from a girl by the name of Meagan Medley. The interesting part is she was the one that kissed you, not the other way around. I believe you made a comment afterwards that her lips tasted of strawberries." Maxine looked up at him and saw he wore a mask of confusion and disbelief. She continued, "There is a young man by the name of Mike that had a perpetually red nose. He laughed incessantly at his own butt jokes. You called him 'Chuckles, the Ass Clown.' February twenty third of this year, your father bought you a hunting rifle for your birthday. It was a Remmington bolt action rifle. However you disappointed him with how pitiful your aim was and it never improved no matter how much you practiced. However your best friend Max tried it and proved that he was a deadeye."
"How the hell do you know all of that?" He demanded.
"I know that because ...," Maxine hesitated. However she knew there was no point in stopping now that she had started. Maxine gathered her courage and continued, "Because I used to be Maxwell Adams, your best friend. However when I reincarnated, my soul merged with the soul of a broken and abused little girl, and I became Maxine Levings." It felt liberating to say it out loud, but at the same time scary. She had always been afraid to reveal herself. Maxine looked at Patrick hopefully. However she was still worried that he would still hate and fear her. She remained silent while waiting for his response.