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Aaron knelt on cue, actually a little glad to get a bit of a rest after his ordeal. Varis’ criticism did prick at him a bit, but it was to be expected; with the mood he was in, Aaron was pretty sure he would have been disciplined if his heart beat at the wrong pace. 

[color=f0d705]“I beg your pardon, Master,”[/color] he apologized blandly, [color=f0d705]“the clearing was similar to this one, but the trees and plants were all alive, and it was otherwise unfamiliar to me. The only notable thing I saw was a tree where this pedestal would have been, full of puncture marks and with its bark largely stripped away on one side. If I had to guess, I’d say someone had been shooting or throwing something at it. It was day, about noon and sunny, and Dawn was stuck into the trunk of the tree. For whatever reason, music was coming from it; I believe it was a tune Princess Ryner often hums while she works, though I don’t know the name of it. Dawn came out of the tree much more easily than I would have expected; easier than it would have in the real world, I’m sure.”[/color] He wasn’t sure of the relevancy of that particular fact, but he was wary to leave out any detail. 

[color=f0d705]“As for whether fighting was my only option, well… yes and no,”[/color] he posited. [color=f0d705]“At first, definitely. When I arrived in the clearing, Max’s clone was not happy to see me. He told me he ‘didn’t need his boots licked today’ and that I should ‘run back to my master’.”[/color] Aaron couldn’t help but chuckle. [color=f0d705]“So I told him to chase me back to him.”[/color]

He shook his head, trying to dispel his smirk. [color=f0d705]“The clone was happy to oblige. To call it a ‘fight’ would be an overstatement—it was completely one-sided. The clone was [i]years[/i] more advanced in magic than I am, and had seven large metal orbs inscribed with runes and some sort of liquid armour at its disposal. I only managed to advance to within about ten feet of him. It was all I could do just to defend myself; attacking was practically impossible.”[/color] 

Aaron shrugged out of his coat, standing for a moment. [color=f0d705]“I got a number of injuries, but luckily none were especially severe. I was hit with several shards of hot shrapnel in my arms, legs and back,”[/color] he gestured to each area as it was mentioned, turning so all three men could see. [color=f0d705]“I didn’t check at the time, but I imagine the cuts probably cauterized themselves; I don’t remember any blood, and one fragment set my coat on fire.”[/color] 

[color=f0d705]“Fortunately, like I said, it looks like you come out as you went in.”[/color] To illustrate the point, he pulled up one of his sleeves; however, where he thought would be undamaged skin, a number of red, newly-forming bruises peppered his arm in the vague pattern of overlapping handprints. It wouldn’t be difficult to infer whose hand put them there, but Aaron had to admit some shock—Varis’ iron grip was painful, sure, but these looked almost as bad as the marks he’d end up with after a training session with Lucan. Not wanting to embarrass Varis any further, he pulled his sleeve back down promptly. [color=f0d705]“See, no [i]new[/i] injuries—just what I incurred from my mistake in the last challenge.”[/color]

Hoping that would be enough to satisfy any curiosity Max or Eris might have, Aaron put his coat back on and sank back to his knee, clearing his throat. [color=f0d705]“Anyway, defeating the clone outright wasn’t an option. So, based on your inference before, Master, I figured that the coin around his neck was the real objective—the ‘easy way’—and that if I could get close enough to grab it, the challenge would end. The clone was very keen on keeping me at a distance, but luckily, there was a way around that.”[/color]

He allowed himself a second to recall the fight, doing his best to remember all that was said in the right order. [color=f0d705]“The clone was much more talkative than the real Max, and more… [i]cutting[/i] than normal. It seemed intent on digging at me rather than just dishing insults offhand like the real one.”[/color] Max probably wouldn’t be happy to hear this, but, well, what else was new. [color=f0d705]“When I finally jabbed back—at a loss for any other method of attack—the clone was much more affected than I would have expected. Its attacks got more violent and erratic each time, and when I expected to have angered it enough that it would open up to a decisive blow, it just stopped.”[/color]

He hadn’t had the time to give it much thought, having been ejected from the skull’s reality before getting the chance to process it, but thinking back, the clone had been almost pathetic in its defeat. [color=f0d705]“It seemed like its will was broken. After that I was able to convince it to [i]give[/i] me the coin, and as soon as I touched it I reappeared here.”[/color] 

Just to be sure he covered everything Varis might take an interest in, Aaron ran through the encounter in his head one more time. In retrospect, it really had been shocking to see any version of Max, false or otherwise, react so strongly to… well, to anything. Did the real Max harbour those same animosities? It was clear he hated vampires, but did he really want to [i]kill[/i] them, or did the clone just exaggerate his outward personality the same as it exaggerated his powers? Aaron often suspected that Max was unhappy—considering his circumstances, he’d be more surprised if he wasn’t—but did the anger and the abhorrence of weakness really pervade so deep? 

[color=f0d705]“Oh, one more thing,”[/color] Aaron hurriedly added, remembering something. [color=f0d705]“When I was being transported, before the clearing appeared, I was totally overcome with anger. Or, not just anger. Anger and… hopelessness, I think.”[/color] He closed his eyes for a second, doing his best to call the feeling back to mind. [color=f0d705]“I was angry about everyone being cowards and me being too weak for… something.”[/color] He opened his eyes, ponderous. [color=f0d705]“Come to think of it, those were the general themes of the insults he used on me. He poked at me for being subservient, disrespected, and the like—”[/color] he left out the bit where Max picked at him feeling like he’d been thrown away—how did he know that, anyway? [color=f0d705]“—but it always circled back to weakness, that I was weak and he was strong, and that killing me somehow meant he was strong enough to escape all of this.”[/color] He gestured lazily, referring to their system in general. [color=f0d705]“When I told him how powerless he really was to change his lot in life, that’s when he finally gave up.”[/color] 
[right][sub][@Scribe of Thoth] [@Hero] [@Achronum][/sub][/right]