Cross Conviction

Captain II (15-1)

Lunging forth with claws bared, Max swiped at his enemy three times in quick succession. Sturm dodged the first attacks before deflecting the third with his saber. The clash, though brief, was powerful enough to leave Max reeling. Despite this, the boy quickly regained his footing and jabbed both calcified blades forward, forcing Sturm to leap back.

"Oh my, how precarious?" the swordsman mused as he landed on one boot and hopped from side to side.

"Quit fucking around!" Max snapped as he lashed out once more.

Sturm dodged backward again before planting his foot firmly against the ground and countering with a swift riposte. Although the thrust was powerful enough to force Max away, it had failed to penetrate the boy's flesh, thanks to the quick formation of his defensive calcium shield. While Max was spared impalement, he had the air knocked from his lungs by the strike. Sturm quickly capitalized on his opponent's staggered state and swung his saber down toward Max's shoulder. However, just before the blade made contact, Max was knocked to the side by Emmy, who bore the brunt of the assault by blocking it with a frozen canteen. The ice-filled plastic flask promptly shattered, having fulfilled its purpose.

With an angered glint in his eye, Sturm growled, "You simply do not know when to quit, my dear..."

The swordsman then followed up with a horizontal slash, intended to rend Emmy across the midsection. Having recovered, Max quickly realized Sturm's intention and sprang to Emmy's defense- barely managing to catch the saber between his own crossed blades. As steel ground against calcium, a familiar sensation flooded Max's senses.

This stalemate mirrored that in which Max broke Sturm's saber upon their first encounter.

Wait... Max thought to himself as he gritted his teeth under the pressure.

Suddenly, a knowing smirk spread across Max's lips. Noticing this, Sturm began to berate the boy while pushing down with all his might.

"Just what do you have to simper for?" Sturm chided in a strained voice, "With your end nigh, have you lost your sanity?"

"Nah, nothing like that..." Max chuckled under his adversary's full strength, "I just realized how fuckin stupid I am..."

"You wha-"

In a flash, Max parried the saber off to the side using his left claw while simultaneously detaching the right from his wrist and replacing it with a thick ossified plate across his knuckles. He then slammed the makeshift knuckledusters into Sturm's jaw, slamming the swordsman's mouth shut with a brutal uppercut. Overcome with pain, Sturm staggered back in a daze before dropping to one knee. Taking advantage of this lull in combat, Max calmly detached his left wrist blade and coated that hand with the same sort of bony plate.

"Be careful, Max!" Emmy shouted as she tensely flattened her back to the wall.

Exuding newfound confidence, Max simply smiled and returned a thumbs-up.

Sturm, still grounded and struggling to catch his breath, panted heavily as blood ran from between his broken, jagged teeth.

Taking in his opponent's battered state, Max cracked his neck and took a step forward. "Damn, that's rough, man. Why'd ya make me do that to ya?"

"You da-are belittle m-me-e, you ingrate?" Sturm wheezed, "You have nothing to celebra-ate... I will dispose of you y-yet..."

Though Sturm was their enemy, Emmy couldn't help but cover her mouth out of despair for her former ally's bloodied condition. "Please Max, there has to be another way... You can't kill your friend!"

"My friend?" Max inquired curiously, turning his head just enough to glance at Emmy from the corner of his eye. "This guy ain't my friend."

Taken back, Emmy clutched her fists and winced. "You can't say that! Ignore whatever horrible things he said, he couldn't help it!"