Xardius shrugged. "True enough. But I...really don't have a reason to live, y'know." The doors whistled open behind them. "So, you're the one who defeated the great Sephiroth on your first day in SOLDIER, eh?" the man standing there said. "Don't worry, he'll live." "Who are you?" Xardius asked. "I'm a member of the UPA," the man said. "The name is Killigan. Technically, I'm just a lackey, but I must say, I'm very impressed by your prowess." "Did you come here to pick a fight?" Xardius growled. "Mentioning UPA isn't really productive to your health." "Actually, it was more of a resignation," Killigan said. "I just wanted you to know that I happen to know where the man you're looking for is...Richards, isn't it? If you're interested, meet me at midnight...and don't go after my superior here..." Killigan left with a nod. Xardius shook his head. "One word: Trap."
Xardius shrugged as the doctors left. "My memories are completely screwed...I can't remember much past the point where I became a Nobody...I remember training Coa...bits and pieces anyway," Xardius said, his eyes distant. "But...memories of before that...they disappeared a while ago...and I don't remember why...Pieces will come back to me, but it's excruciatingly painful, and I didn't want to kill Sephiroth in my blind pain...So I used the Masamune." Xardius looked at Xegreny. "As for the magical swords, I have the Dual Dragons, the Dueling Dragons (which is formed from the Dual Dragons), Ryukai, Shurunrai, Chuyikai, Chomper and its strengthened form, and the Masamune, all of which I keep in crystals that only I can summon." He shrugged. "I almost never use the Masamune for the reason that it messes up the very fabric of existence, it rips apart my body, and if I do ever kill anybody, it steals a piece of my soul...However, it's also one of the reasons I can't lose..." Xardius gritted his teeth. "One day, I'll destroy it and go die in battle somewhere like I should have a long time ago...but until then..."
"I said...I'll be fine..." Xardius growled, standing up abruptly. "Because I can do...this..." Flames jetted up on him suddenly, closing his wounds. Spitting out grit, he walked forward. "Just give me some water," he muttered. "And make sure Sephiroth doesn't die. If he gets killed by the Masamune, that's it for him..." "And I don't just mean dead," Xardius continued. "Everything he did, everyone he's interacted with...It'll be like he never existed...Because he won't have..."
OOC: I'll try to remember that...XD. BIC: "Thanks..." Xardius said. "Sorry...about that..." Slowly, he pushed himself up. "I'll be fine...Don't worry about me..." He coughed up blood, and sank to his knees. "Haven't been in this situation...for a while...Stupid sword..."
Xardius closed his eyes, and nodded. "That's a...good reason...I wish you were here..." he muttered, the last bit it seemed to the empty air. The Masamune dissipated into a crystal, and as it did, tiny cuts ripped open all over Xardius' body, spraying blood. Slowly, Xardius collapsed, the blood collecting around him in a widening circle.
Xardius slowly raised the bloody Masamune. "Xegreny..." he muttered from underneath his hand. "What do you fight for?"
OOC: Well, I would have posted this earlier, but my internet decided to crash at that exact moment. So, here's the fight in full: BIC: Xardius pumped his arm. "Thanks for the support guys! You're awesome!" Sephiroth gestured him into the VTR. "I've set the training area for the Mako Cannon at Junon." Xardius nodded. "Fine by me." "Begin," Sephiroth said, the Masamune appearing in his hand. The area swirled into an oceanic view of a sunset. Xardius stood at the base of the cannon, while Sephiroth stood a ways beyond that. "I'm ready when you are," Sephiroth said. "Heh," Xardius said, holding out a crystal and summoning Chomper. "Then let's do this!" Rushing forward, Xardius swept upwards in a diagonal slash. Sephiroth stepped back and let the blade whistle past his head, sweeping his sword in a horizontal slash at Xardius' waist. Xardius ducked, and brought Chomper around in a slash that rang against the Masamune with a powerful clang. Sephiroth brought the Masamune back, connecting with Chomper in a fury of slashes that Xardius blocked, then returned, then blocked again. Back and forth they beat each other, swords ringing in tandem as they each pushed each other for ground they couldn't find. Finally, something happened. A small ridge in the cannon caused Xardius to stumble backwards. Sephiroth pushed the advantage quickly, his sword slashing up, throwing Chomper off guard and his sword diving down for Xardius' chest. Xardius gritted his teeth, flipped around, slammed a palm into the cannon, and flipped through Sephiroth's slash, one of his feet connecting squarely with Sephiroth's chest, causing the ultimate SOLDIER to stumble backwards as well. Sweeping up, Xardius caught Sephiroth off guard and with enough power to break a cement wall, slammed Sephiroth into the air. Sephiroth flipped around and stood there, hovering. Xardius shook his head. "You gotta be kidding me..." Sephiroth smiled, and gestured. "Come, don't leave me...hanging." Xardius grinned, and leaped upwards, clashing with Sephiroth again. This time the battle was everywhere, horizontal and vertical, in every dimensional space possible, their swords whistling past each other's heads, which at any moment could be pointed down, up, or sideways. Gravity was meaningless in this world and the two fought as if they'd trained together their whole lives. Again, it was Xardius who broke the streak of blows when an awkward return blow made his hand slip. The next instant, Chomper was spinning out of sight and the Masamune was slamming downwards at him. Xardius twisted, letting the Masamune graze his arm, and slammed a palm upwards, connecting with Sephiroth's surprised face, snapping his head back. With a rush assault, Xardius slammed Sephiroth back, up, and then with a kick-off from Sephiroth's dazed form, caught Chomper in midair and twisted to wait for Sephiroth's oncoming assault. Instead, Sephiroth paused. Slowly, his stance changed into something much more...deadly. Xardius gritted his teeth. Sephiroth leveled the Masamune, and swung... Xardius barely blocked the wave, but three more were coming and more after that. Xardius shook his head in disgust, and roared, "Wave Break!" before swinging Chomper at the waves, a gray wall of energy hitting the blue and shattering them all. But Sephiroth wasn't through... Xardius barely saw Sephiroth speeding past him, and he definitely didn't see the eight blows from Sephiroth's Octaslash technique. Still, he was in luck. Chomper happened to block the first three, fly out of his hands, and by sheer happenstance, block the remaining five. Grabbing Chomper, Xardius twisted and blocked Sephiroth's power blow, the force of it blowing him higher into the air. Sephiroth sped after him, riposting him higher and higher. Xardius growled, and suddenly, his stance changed as well. Sephiroth found himself being pushed back as Xardius' full ferocity bore on him. Xardius' final blow connected squarely with a guarding Sephiroth, driving them downwards in an almost free-fall. Sephiroth looked into Xardius' eyes, and for the first time, felt fear. He has the eyes of a...dead man! Sephiroth thought, shocked. Xardius swept Chomper downward, slamming Sephiroth into the mako cannon with enough force to create a crater10 feet in diameter. Shaking his head to clear it, Sephiroth back-flipped in time to dodge Xardius' next blow which split the mako cannon clearly in two. Grabbing the falling piece, Xardius leaped up into the air, as a horrified Sephiroth watched Xardius hurl the cannon piece at him. Sephiroth swung wildly, slicing the cannon around him, barely keeping his feet as the cannon slammed into the building around him. Explosions ripped free the remainder of the cannon, and he felt the wave of heat as the mako reactor exploded in fiery fury. Xardius came like a freight train then, through the flames, burying into Sephiroth's sword without an ounce of regret, slamming Sephiroth back and back and back... Sephiroth growled, and swept his sword in barely produced slashes, driving Xardius back enough that Sephiroth, summoning all of his strength, could return a slash that slammed into Chomper, creating a circle of energy that imploded, blowing both warriors back. Xardius connected squarely with the 'sky,' the limit of the VTR wall, while Sephiroth slammed into one of the mako pillars on the remainder of the cannon. Xardius, devoid of energy, slumped to his knees. Sephiroth shakily stood. "It's not over yet," Sephiroth gasped. "You can't just quit after that...I have to beat you..." Xardius slowly raised a hand to brush blood out of his eyes. Memories floated to him, like pain driving wedges into his head. Grabbing his head, Xardius gritted his teeth, and remembered... *** "Darius, why do you fight?" the girl asked, her eyes shining in the moonlight. Darius swallowed, hoping that his awkwardness would pass. "Well, I enjoy it, I guess." "But," the girl asked, leaning close to Darius, her face inches from his. "Don't you have anything, you believe in?" Darius stared, fascinated, into her stormy eyes. "I might have...had something like that...a long time ago...but now..." Darius tore his eyes away from her, staring at the moon. "Now...I only believe in my own strength." The girl giggled. "That must get...rather lonely." Darius looked at her again. "What's that mean?" "Darius, I'll always be here for you," the girl said. "I, Teresa Williams, pledge to stand by you, no matter what." Darius stared at her, unsure of why his vision was clouding. Teresa smiled. "Darius, you're so cute when you cry..." Teresa's soft, so soft, fingertips brushed away a tear. "But why...?" Darius shook his head ever so slightly. "I...I don't know...I've never cried...before..." "It's all right to cry," Teresa said, leaning forward. "Every once in a while..." Their lips touched, and... *** Red hot iron pain hurts can't escape the pain it hurts why does it hurt i can't lose i can't lose pain needles stabbing too much power it hurts help me somebody can't get out go away shut out the pain can't leave hurts pain dreams broken pain no...I must.... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Xardius screamed, his fist slamming downward. Memories it hurts so much just stop the pain i can't what is this who are you why do i feel pain light flashing swimming in darkness can't breathe can't leave help me why did you die pain pain too much i love you died i hate you i'll kill you i'll make you pay for killing her pain so much pain i can't... I'm so sorry... "I love you." Her final words. Why? Just tell me WHY! "I...I...apologize..." Xardius slowly said, stumbling to his feet. "But...I...have...to...AA-AAAH!...finish...this...now..." Slamming Chomper into the ground, he pulled another crystal out of his hand. "So...s-sorry AAAGH..." Xardius groaned. "B-but...y...you don't have...the real one..." Sephiroth frowned. "What do you mean?" "If you did...GAAAGH...y-y-you'd...know..." Xardius said, holding out the crystal with one hand, holding his head in the other. "S-sorry...a-aaah-bout this..." A sword appeared in his hand, similar to Sephiroth's, but rune works spiraled up the blade to the very tip, and the sword topped Sephiroth's in length by nearly 18 inches... "The...true...AAGH...one...the Masa-masamune..." Xardius said. "S-sorry..." Sephiroth never saw it coming. One instant, Xardius was on the other side from him. The next he was behind him, and Sephiroth felt sharp pain across his chest... Coughing blood, Sephiroth stared with wondering eyes at the gash across his chest, through which his blood, his life, was flowing... *** "TURN OFF THE SIMULATION NOW!" the President of ShinRa screamed. "GET SEPHIROTH OUT OF THERE! TERMINATE THE OTHER!" *** The VTR shattered around them as Sephiroth sank to his knees... "I never...ugh...thought I'd meet someone who could beat me..." Sephiroth grunted. "You have my respect." Xardius stared at him from around his hand. "I-I'm sorry..." "No need...to apologize..." Sephiroth said. "It...feels good...Finally losing..." Medics rushed in, pulling Sephiroth onto a stretcher. Xardius turned as ShinRa army men ran in, leveling their weapons at him...
OOC: Okay, major edit here coming up in a few...
At about that time, Xardius showed up at the ShinRa Building. "Uh, sir, there are dorms available on the SOLDIER floor. That is the only area available right now, since we're pretty much closed," the new guard said. Xardius shrugged. "I got an engagement with Sephiroth. Don't worry about it." "Well, I really don't have enough guts to stop you from doing whatever you want, so..." the guard said, then hurried off. Xardius chuckled and walked into the elevator, pressing the button for the 49th floor. Upon arriving, he saw Sephiroth standing there. "I'd like to postpone the battle until my friends can get here," Xardius said. "I'll text 'em." Sephiroth shrugged. "I don't object." Xardius pulled out his cell phone and texted a general message, saying, 'Battle with Sephiroth going to start. If you're interested, come support me. :)'
"I wouldn't call it obligatory," Xardius said... OOC: Cruxshadows! Yes! Thanks a lot! BIC: "So, now what?" Xardius asked. OOC: Oh, I didn't see the time. I gotta get off...Have fun you two. Go beat up monsters somewhere.
"Huh?" Xardius said as the girl bowed to him. "No big, kid, I like fighting...Kadaj? Who the heck was that?" OOC: Xardius doesn't remember...*chuckles* Oh, yeah, Wing, what was that song that you said could be a good theme song....it had "Eye of the Storm" in it.....
"Oh, Mr. Coa, you were so brave, standing up to those big bullies!" the girl said as she grabbed Wing's hand, and stared up at him with big teary eyes... Xardius shook his head. "Yeah, you go...Coa..." "I hope you haven't forgotten our engagement," Sephiroth said from behind Xardius. Xardius turned and shook his head. "What are you here for?" he asked. "I'm taking these three in for harassment of civilians," Sephiroth said. "Thank you for subduing them for me." "Yeah, no sweat," Xardius said. "Geez, what punks..." Sephiroth smiled slightly, then gestured to the two ShinRa army men around him. They grabbed the two and began dragging them off. "The more I see of you, the more I want to fight you," Sephiroth said. "Don't be late." As Sephiroth walked away, Xardius scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Somehow, that guy just gives me the shivers..."
Meanwhile, the Captain was showing a bit more promise. "Hi-ya! Hi-ya! Hi-YA!" the captain roared as his fists blurred towards Xardius. Xardius barely moved, but dodged every blow. "You're almost quick," Xardius mused. "Grrrrrrrr," the captain yelled. "Take this! ShinRa Captain First Technique: Storm Thrust!" Wind twisted around the captain's fist, and he snapped it up at Xardius. "Cut the crap," Xardius said as the captain's fist didn't even reach to his chin unless the captain jumped. "Just take it like a man." Xardius twisted and let fly a punch that sent the captain up on his toes. Coughing the captain sunk back down to his heels. "It should begin now," he muttered. Xardius frowned, then reeled back as sound exploded in his ears. "Wh-what is this!?" Xardius growled, grabbing his ears. "Your doom, foo'!" the captain screamed, snap-kicking Xardius in the head. Xardius didn't seem to notice. "GRAAAAAAH!" the captain screamed, hitting Xardius fifty-two times on the head. Xardius drew his hands away from his ears. "Don't break your hand." "Owowowowowowowowow! You'll pay for this!" the captain roared. "Insolence! I'll have your head!" "I seriously doubt that," Xardius muttered. "I'll give you one more shot, then I'm taking you down." "ShinRa Captain Ultimate Technique!" the captain bellowed. "Death Blow!" The captain leaped in the air, and brought his fist down in a crushing blow to Xardius' shoulder. Xardius shrugged, and the captain fell over. "You're pathetic," Xardius said, picking the captain up by his red scarf. "What kind of man chases young woman around?" "Virgins!" the captain screamed. Xardius' face took on a distinctly cloudy expression. "You're dead." "No, you are! AHAHAHAHAHA! Eat a grenade!" the captain yelled, shoving a live one under Xardius' nose. "That's it!" Xardius cried. Throwing the captain into the air, he knocked the grenade into the fountain, leaped up, and slammed the captain into the ground with enough ferocity to crack the pavement. OOC: Sorry it's so long...
The captain laughed. "Have it your way then!" He swung for Wing's stomach, but his fist never connected. Instead, it just stopped dead. Xardius slowly turned his head towards the suddenly sweating captain. "Big mistake, kid," he growled, and suddenly the captain felt himself free-falling through the air before landing with a heavy thump into the ground. "So, I hear you like picking on other people, eh? Like that young lady over here, and my good friend here," Xardius said. "I guess you didn't know," he shrugged. "That retribution always comes in the end." The captain slowly got to his feet. "Boys...this one's mine...you can kill the blonde one..."
OOC: I would have replied earlier, but my computer froze and I had to restart it, XD. BIC: Xardius dunked his head in the other side of the fountain, the noise of it swallowing his quiet footsteps as he walked away in Wing's blind spot. As he walked down into Loveless Avenue, Xardius noted that he was being followed. Ducking into a shop suddenly, he pretended to be viewing some objects and waited. A few minutes later, a pretty young woman rushed through, looked around, spotted him, blushed, and buried herself in the nearby magazines. Xardius shook his head, and actually looked at the magazine he was holding, and blinked. "How to Survive Popularity? Give me a break." Shoving it back in his slot, Xardius stalked out, followed by the girl. Xardius twisted. "What do you want?" "Eep!" the girl said, nearly falling over. "Er, uh, are you, in, uh, SOLDIER?" "I guess so," Xardius said. "They haven't made it official yet." "Oh, well, official or not, can I get your help with something?" the girl asked, wringing her hands. Xardius sighed. "What?" "You see, there's this gang of ShinRa army men that won't leave me alone...They chased me for a full hour last night, and they keep saying mean things, and...I'm scared of them, so, I was wondering if a big strong SOLDIER man could stop them..." the girl said rather quickly. Xardius blinked. "Bullies, huh..." Xardius choked on laughter, and doubled up. "Is that...all......geez...you want me to beat up a bunch of kids......What a joke..." "Er, um, sorry to bother you then," the girl said, and began to run off. "Wait a sec," Xardius said. "Sorry for laughing. It's just...I've had a lot to deal with lately...and it's nice to know that they are still normal people with normal problems around...Thanks, kid. Now, where are those morons?" "They normally show up at the fountain square about now," the girl said. "I'll take you there."
Xardius watched Wing go in silence. "If only..." he murmured to himself. "...it had never been born..." If only I hadn't been born, Xardius thought to himself. A truth that rests on the horizon, waiting for me to grasp it. The memories that I've searched for my whole life. The reason for my existence. I've always felt...like I was born... "Imperfect," he muttered, then turned and walked after Wing. OOC: This might seem confusing, but just go along with it.
Xardius sighed, then nodded. "It's the least I could do. Let you live life. Everyone deserves a chance at that." OOC: I gotta go pretty soon, so I'll call this good, and clock out early. See ya guys!
Xardius threw back his head and laughed as he grabbed Wing's hand. "Yeah, right, who're we kidding? Me, noble," Xardius chuckled. Turning to the window, his smile drooped. "I may be the strongest, but I'm definitely not the greatest. The greatest guy in history is humble, honorable, and a real hero..." Xardius shook his head. "I can't be a hero. All I can do is be me."
"I'm not going back this time," Xardius said, walking over next to Wing. "This time, I'm staying to face him here...not as a memory, but as a real being. If I can destroy him now, then I can destroy him then......" He turned to Wing. "However, when I do eventually go back in order to destroy Scourge, I'd be honored to have you with me...then you could meet my fiance."
Xardius began to bum out...
