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There were two thumps, one was the sound of John's feet hitting the sound. The other was the sound of Maximos landing.

Tomorrow's reasoning was flawless, bit souls are brighter, yet not more precise so it is harder to hide, and almost more difficult to pinpoint.

An honest look of plesant surprise spread across Maximos's face as the felt the giant hand grab his boot. He honestly had not seen that coming! This was a surprise, he had expected something heavier, something bigger. Something perhaps more charged.

But in the end brains wins out of brawn and thats exactly what Tomorrow was using.

It was true, Tomorrow's full wieght was on directly on Maximos's boot. The following was entirely out of the Shadow Warriors control. There was simply no way in the world that a simple set of boots like those were going hold that much wieght. With a creak, and a year gravity found itself pulling Tomorrow to the ground, with a boot in his hand. And Maximos, with only one engine was lopsided, his flight soared way out of control, flying in tight circles to the left before finally being driven into a landing kicking up a blast of sand, as a sand dune was taken out by the rather violent flight. The impact knocking off the second boot and sending it soaring off to Nocturne only knows where.

A groan was heard as Maximos about 20ft away picked himself up out of the sand, rubbing his head, feeling quite a bit woozy.

Maximos heft himself to his feet, sand pouring out of his hood and sleaves.

Jealous?

He said with a smirk.

That was a close one, if Tomm had broke into a full run he might have been able to manage a bit more damage, but now Maximos was up. Standing, and without his boots which meant that little accident want happening again.

Tomm was warmed up. It was time to play for keeps. Tomorrow may have just missed the only change he was going to get to actually get close.

With a flick of his sparking right wrist Maximos sent the small black stone soaring at Tomorrow, shouting out.

Catch!

As it flew.

Now John had made assumptions, no one ever said Maximos was blinded by Johns soul, rather that its size made it hard to pinpoint an exact location. That was many many times easier when the person your looking for is directly in front of you.

Its like having that same floodlight thrown at your head...your going to see it. Maximos just squinted to refine his vision. He could see out of his one good eye just fine, only before he didnt know where to look. Tomorrow would feel a whoosh, as fist flew through air. Maximos had simply weaved to the side, in that second, his right arm reaching out instead of tossing the stone, to instead place it directly on Tomorrow's stomach. Only two fingers performing the relatively simple contact.

Tomm had seen the Nameless drawn, he would have heard this sound before.

-Snap-

In this case it would have been the sound of the sword stone snapping as the 4ft long, 3inch wide get black broadsword it summoned aimed to pierce Tomorrow through the gut and out the back. The blade was just about sharp as the weapon from which it stole its sound. It was summoned immediately to the location in which the stone was placed.

Tomorrow, really did not have much in the way of time, a fraction of a second at best.

Maximos was not living in a shadow anymore, Light was no more his weakness than it was Johns.

John crunched down with all his might, but bones....bones did not feel this way. Bones were brittle shafts of calcium this....definately not the same. This wasnt cracking, he would hear a sound similar to what you might hear if you grinded two steel rods together. But that shouldnt be coming from a hand now should it?

Those icky black ethereal tentacles that raged from his arm early, kicked up again in a most furious manner. They thrashed and lashed at Tomorrows hand, though the all of them were entirely incorporeal.

Tomm had forgotten a detail. Maximos had two stones. One he held in his fingertips, and one he held in his palm.

Maximos gladly took the punch. And despite the fact this body was more durable it still felt like his head was about to fly off. At least fourth teeth immediately felt loosened, and his jaw damned near felt like it was going to rip off. But he looked back at John with nothing but a smile, a spurt of blood pouring down from his busted lip, dripping down his chin.

-Snap-

The sword came straight down. It aimed to cut a straight line down through Maximos's palm. For Maximos this meant that it would cut between the bones of his middle finger and ring finger to pierce the stone. But if John was holding so tightly to Maximos's fist, the cut would likely not be so kind to him. A sword that size usually left a nasty mark. Though these swords held other tricks Maximos wasnt talking about...though he sure seemed to be grinning about them.

No. What it meant was that the bandages sealing Maximos's arm were broken and now the arm was free. There was a reason that Maximos's right hand wore a full glove, and the left wore a fingerless. There was a reason behind those random twitches, or the tentacles reaching out from just this one arm. And there was a reason why Maximos had been able to lift and swing a 600lb man.

All of those "strange occurances" happened around one arm. And Tomorrow was holding that arm.

Or was the arm holding him?

The details may have been ignored, but the devil was in the details.

You see, this thing...it needed time. It needed exposure. And with both of those it needed a taste. This sword stabbing between the both of them gave it just that.

He would be able to feel the change in the very limb he was holding. The flesh would seem rough, cold, hard, almost metallic. As the tentacles wrapped inwards folding themselves around the hand forming some sort of gauntlet beneath. His hand clenched around the shoulder, and the metallic grinding gave off much protest. He was strong...so strong...too strong.

Tomorrows hand had reached around that shoulder threatening to break it. And despite its superior make up, he would if given the time. And in those seconds that white eye stared up at Tomorrow as if staring through him. Maximos's bloody face holding that unnatural smile. People should not smile when they're being hurt...

The arm had other plans. The gods grip was powerful, the arm, was more. Its fingers opened, with impossible effort, they stretched and extended. Forcing the vice lock grip open, despite the sword which binded them. And in one sickly motion, Maximos wretched his hand clean out of Tomorrows grip, cutting a streak from the center of his palm up the middle of his hand. Smacking away the offending hand in the same ripping motion. The hand could not mend, but the gauntlet held the flesh in place. And the sword was left for later.

A warped black metal claw-like appendage replaced what was once a normal human grip.



Maledicto Manus De Crepusculum Animus...

He did not wait for his own sentence to finish before launching the massive fist forward. The arm screaming through the air like a vicious banshee as it aimed for Tomorrow. Tit for tat, Tomorrow had the advantage, but Maximos had one tool to even the score. Maximos's speed and Tomorrows strength. A punch that could send the god flying. Something to give the man a taste of his own might.

It means I'm cursed. I get a brand new body and I've already messed it up....a shame isnt it?

Incorrect.

It was not difficult to duplicate such strength.

It was impossible to duplicate the strength of a thunder god.

It was very possible to feed off of. When someone is quite simply oozing strength from every oraface its not hard to take a piece for your own. And thats what this arm did, and was doing. So as Tomorrow powered up, and forced that strength to pour from him, the more he was feeding the arm. There was no duplication going on here.

Unfortunately as Tomorrow was so interested in the arm, he ignored the sword sticking out of his hand. He felt the pain, but its presence went without action.

With the two hands locked, Maximos swirled his left hand in a loop and then back. The swords obeyed. Moving in a matching synchronis loop. No matter what the exact angle was, when a sword is sticking from your hand and spins vertically...its usually not a good thing. There wasnt likely to be alot of hand left. But there was no way of telling for sure.

It made you wonder what Maximos could have done to the sword sticking out of Tomorrows chest...

He wasnt going to find out. As opposed to moving, it followed the second command sliding back out of the opening it had just slid in.

Gggraaagh!!

With a shout and a powerful heft Maximos flung his arm to the right. Now it may have taken an immeasurable amount of force to actually out do Tomorrow's arm. But Tomorrow himself was just a heavy man, and if that arm was attached to him, Maximos didnt need the strength required to beat out his arm, he'd just move the whole person as a unit. One could only assume exactly how far Tomorrow could toss someone of his own wieght. As apparently there hands were not interlocked, instead his hand was digging into Tomorrows, meaning he decided when the grip was broken.

The desired effect, was a flying thunder god.

...some things never change...

Forgive my formalities. As you wish...

He didnt need his hand to steer. It was really for flare that he did it in the first place. It gave him a focai, so that he wouldnt need to stand still and concentrate. Though in this particular stance thats exactly all he had to do.

You see, Johnathan had strength, beyond human limits. In effect that was his trick. One, constant trick. Maximos know how that one went, he had gone years without being human, humanity was impossible. Now he had it. He had less tricks than the man before him. But he would need something to fill the gap.

As stated when Tomorrow first attacked from beneath him. Brain, beats brawn.

Maximos had the space and time to concentrate. All he was doing was arm wrestling really. His eye sparked. The swords obeyed.

Only now there was a new priority.

The two swords spun in reverse eliptical patterns. Swinging in opposite directions to converge on one point. Tomorrows neck.

He had one hand locked in a battle with Maximos's arm, unaware it seemed that the more effort he poured into moving it, the more strength he gave it to resist. The other hand, had just decided it was time to try and break Maximos's hand. As such it was deeply involved in motion.

If he ducked his head down, he would be comprosing his stance, giving a weakness with which to exploit with the arm, and allowing him to go for a little ride. If he leaned back or forward, there was no way he would escape the twin swords 4ft range in time.

It would be a simple scissor motion.

Unless John pulled a surprise, as always, Maximos would stop his blades, just about the time they had pierced skin. There was no need to take life.

As Tomm's eyes closed the swords popped in a tuft of black, back into stones, and he snatched each one out of the air, slipping them in his pocket and pulling out of a vial of green. That would be his heal.

With a series of sparks, and a wet crackle his arm degraded back into its pale, normal form. The tentacles lashing one final time before fading beneath his sleave, leaving only a piece of black shadow cloth to hold the hand together as he lifted it for a shake.

You and your....

His eye shifted around looking for an answer...

fists...!

He couldnt help but laugh.

Good match Tomm!