Maxine was standing in a hallway with grandma Victoria. Granmda Victoria had just projected a bubble of her spiritual sense around them and said to Maxine, "I know what you said to Emily and I am furious as well as confused. I thought you wanted to be with her and only her."

"I want to be with her but..," Maxine said weakly. Those young masters have been getting anxious about my constant refusals lately. I am afraid they will try something drastic soon and I don't want Emily to get caught in the middle because of it. It's safter for her to be with Maxwell. I only said that shit about the threesome to cement the idea in her head. I never really expect her to ever collect on it.

"But what?" Grandma Victoria snapped.

"I am afraid that some crazy bastard will hurt or kidnap Emily just to get their hands on me," Maxine admitted, "I've had to deal with just being Guan's daughter. I don't want Emily to get dragged into this mess as well. That's why I said she could be Maxwell's girlfriend." She didn't want a repeat of the previous timeline. It had nearly driven her insane when Emily had died in the previous timeline. She didn't know if she could withstand such a loss a second time.

"If you don't want her to get hurt, take a page out of your father's book. Become someone so powerful and ruthless that no one wouldn't dare harm your loved ones and unlike your father, you have over a hundred constructs to help you do just that," grandma Victoria reminded Maxine.

"But I am too weak to do that now," Maxine said in frustration, "What do I do in the mean time?"

"Rely on your family. Both myself and Guan have already been helping you to protect your loved ones on Earth for some time already and I suspect Boreas has been helping indirectly as well even if he won't admit it," grandma Victoria said and Maxine felt confused, "Why else do you think no one on Earth tried harm Claudia, Silky or Emily after the Shadow Lords revealed that you were Guan's daughter? I can assure you that many earthlings wanted to. The only reason they didn't is because Guan convinced their governments to protect those three and I had a few of our clanmates protect them from the shadows just in case." I noticed that she didn't mention dad at all. It seems grandma is still holding a grudge against him, not that I blame her.  

"How did Guan convince them to do that?" Maxine asked. 

"He threatened to stop using his energies to prevent the mass of that dead Scarlet Horned Savage Dragon from effecting the the tidal forces of Earth. It is big enough to cause quite the change to the tides," grandma Victoria said calmly, "By the way, why haven't you told Emily about your male clone? If you had, she may not have even been interested in that boy." I always wondered about why that dragon didn't mess with Earth's tidal forces. I can't imagine how many people died because of that if he had stopped doing that. Wait! Did she just mention my male clone? Damn it, Hellen must have told her.

"I was worried it would wierd her out," Maxine said.

"Hmm, I see your point. It's not just anyone that can make a clone of the opposite sex, but you should still tell her before it's too late," grandma Claudia said. It's not just opposite sex clones, grandma. I haven't met another person that can make a clone as easily as I can. Hell, only a few gold stage cultivators in my clan have even one, yet I have two. No wonder grandma keeps calling me a genius. 

"Alright, I will try to find an opportunity to tell her, grandma," Maxine said, "Is there anything else you want to talk about? I sort of need to get back to giving Emily a tour."

"There is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. It's about Maxwell. That fiery aura he has is a result of a special technqie used in conjunction with a rare physique." What? How the hell did I not know that?! I had that body before.

"He has a rare physique?" Maxine asked since rare physiques weren't in his notes unless they needed a potion to enhance them.

"Yes, he does. That fiery aura of his was a side effect of a technique that is used with a rare physique called the Battle God physique. When that technique is used properly, it allows the user to become powerful enough to fight on par with a king-class being. However there is a problem. That technique is only possessed by large clans like our own," grandma Victoria explained, "Or by certain extremely powerful individuals like your father." 

"Is it possible that he learned that technique his own?" Maxine asked with concern.

"The chances of that are very small. I'm much more convinced someone else taught it to him," grandma Victoria said, "Although I dont see why your father or a clan would even bother. He is far too weak to be of much use. Unless they gave him that technique as reimbursement for using him as an experiment to see if an ancient myth associated with that physique is real." 

"What myth is that?" Maxine asked.

"Well it's a nonsensical story about how that warrior used his body to house the soul of his fallen comerade within his body until he could avenge him so that his commerade could rest in peace," grandma Victoria explained, "The reason that myth is so interesting is because no fleshy body was meant to house more than one soul. Too many people have tried to do just that without that physique. Their flesh rotted from within from the strain." God, I hope he isn't being used as an experiment. Although I can totally see Guan exploiting that physique to save the other Maxine's soul from the previous timeline.

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"That sounds horrible," Maxine said.

"It is. Regardless, I suggest that you keep an eye on him while he is here," grandma Victoria stated, "At least until we know for certain what is going on."

"Alright, grandma," Maxine said, "I better go now. Those two are probably wondering where I am." And I need to figure out a way to get Emily away from Maxwell in the mean time. If I had known in the past that he might be involved in this shit, I would have never said that it was okay for her to be his girlfriend. FUCK! Now that I think about it, why did she ask me if she could be with Maxwell? I don't recall her ever having that kind of personality quirk. Wierd.

"Very well. I will go entertain our other guests" grandma Victoria said as she went back into the dinning hall and Maxine started walking towards the main hall of the mansion where Emily said that they would be waiting.

While she walked there, she tried thinking of some way to take back her words, but came up with nothing. That was up until she saw them. Emily looked pissed with her arms crossed over her chest. Huh? Why is Emily pissed? Did Maxwell just do what I think he did.   

"Hey guys, we can resume that tour whenever you are ready," Maxine said calmly, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's just that Maxwell is being an asshole," Emily said in a huff. So I was right. He rejected her. But why would he do that after putting so much effort trying form a relationship with her? This doesn't make much sense, but it works for me.

"Hey, you know that I was only interested in ... uhh," Maxwell froze from nerves before he could finish, but Maxine was certain he was going to say her name.

"I already know that you like me, Maxwell," Maxine said sharply, "It was obvious after you stumbled when you saw me smile."

"You saw that?" Maxwell asked while he looked more uncomfortable.

"Yes, I did and I don't care that you like me," Maxine stated coldly, "Because I do not like you. At least, not in the way you want me to." 

"That's part of the reason," Maxwell said, "I need to ask you to do something." He toyed with Emily's emotions just to ask me a to do something for HIM?! Was I ever that much of an asshole?

"You toyed with Emily's emotions and angered me in the process. And now you have the gall to ask me to do something for you. Are you retarded?" Maxine asked while feeling enraged.

"I didn't mean to hurt her, but I really do need your help," Maxwell said.

"I don't care what it is you need me for. I won't do it," Maxine snapped and turned to Emily while trying to regain control over her emotions, "Do you want to continue with the tour?"

"I would love to," Emily said as she gave Maxwell an angry glare and gestured for Maxine to take the lead.

Maxine lead them back to the city and decided to show Emily a wonderful sight. She had held off on showing her it because it was best viewed during the afternoon. She took them up onto one of the high walls facing the east that surrounded the city. The view from up there was spectacular. 

A grassy field of emerald green extended for nearly three miles until it reached a crystal blue lake surrounded by flowers of every color imaginable. Beyond the lake was a thick and lush forest. Various beasts often came to that lake to drink. It allowed her to see them in all their beauty without having to fight. It was one of the reasons Maxine came here. Currently there was a flock of Emerald-Horned Elk getting a drink.

"This is one of my favorite places to hang out at," Maxine said.

"Those deer are beautiful," Emily commented.

"That they are," Maxine said, "They don't come this close to the city very often. This is the third time I have seen that particular type of beast since I have been here."

"Are they aggressive?" Maxwell asked with concern. At least he is trying to do his job.

"No, they are quite peaceful as are most herbivors," Maxine stated, "That is unless you do something stupid like approach one of their young or make threatening moves."

"Oh, alright," Maxwell said and he was quiet for several minutes while they enjoyed the scenery, "I really do need your help with something."

"And I still won't help you with whatever it is so you might as well find someone else," Maxine said coldly.

"I told you she wouldn't listen," Maxwell mumbled under his breath as he walked a short distance away, but Maxine still heard him. Those words put her immediately on edge and confused her all at the same time. Who the actual fuck is he talking to? Does he have a communicator on him? I better check. She scanned the area around him to see if any transmissions of any kind were being sent and found nothing, but that didn't mean anything. It could be the type of device that transmits on a energy wavelength that she can't percieve. So she decided to wait to see if he would talk to himself again. I would really prefer it if Maxwell was a spy for another clan rather than him being used in some fucked up experiment to see if his body can house multiple souls. 

In truth, she knew that Guan would have it in him to use Maxwell just for that purpose to save Maxine from the other timeline. That man was a real sucker for his own daughter. Afterall, he already involved a whole planet of innocents to hide her, and fused his daughter's soul with another to stabalize her mind. What was one more victim added to the batch to the him? I really hope Guan didn't do that. It would have been kinder to just let her die. The other Maxine would be literately in a prison. She wouldn't be able to move or interact with anything unless Maxwell let her. The only thing she would be able to do is to talk with Maxwell. I don't see that going well for either of them. At least she would get to experience the love that a good family shares in that situation. It might be enough to change her, but I doubt it. 

Emily distracted Maxine from her inner thoughts by hugging Maxine with one arm. "I should have known Maxwell wasn't going to want me," Emily said sadly.

"Well he was sending you mixed signals," Maxine offered, "The only way you could have known was by asking him to see if he was actually interested." 

"I guess you are right," Emily said.

"Are you enjoying the view?" Maxine asked to get Emily's mind off of Maxwell.

"Yes, I am," Emily said.

"I thought you would," Maxine said as she snuggled closer to Emily. She just wanted to enjoy the moment for as long as she could.