melodiesoflife | Preparing for Battle

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Preparing for Battle

Who: Cloud and OPEN
Where: Cloud's back yard at A-13 and around Aqures Ixen
When: Over time during the festival and leading up to August 3rd
What: Cloud makes his preparations, does some training, and could use a hand painting his new magitek armor
Warnings: None

[A letter goes out to all the Heroes of Aqures Ixen, carefully addressed so that it hopefully will not reach nefarious hands that have been known to intercept the mail before.]

Everyone,

I’m looking for an engineer to help me out with something. I don’t need anything made but I finally got a magitek armor of my own and I could use a hand with preparing it for when Palitutu arrives. I also have a motorcycle that was left to me by Graham and I want to make sure I know how to take care of it properly if it needs work. Any help at all is appreciated. Anyone else who wants to come lend a hand or just drop by is welcome too.

Cloud

Preparation - At the House

[Anyone coming up to house A-13 and knocking on the door won’t get a reply, but there are a few clues of where to go. The engine sounds of a motorcycle or a magitek armor can be heard from around the back of the house, depending on which Cloud is working on at the moment. A toolbox is laid open and the blonde Hero can be found poring over his two vehicular mounts, gently poking at a few things but avoiding anything major. The motorcycle looks like a custom job, built from parts available into a solid looking piece of equipment, as opposed to the models stolen from the empire. Likewise, the magitek armor looks similar but different, a bit bigger, a bit scarier looking, and white rather than the normal dark metal tones.

Zack leans over Cloud’s shoulder, the chocobo peering at the mechanics before him but it’s hard to tell if he comprehends what he’s seeing. For anyone who hasn’t seen the bird lately, his now black plumage has a lovely healthy shine from the sunlight coming down. A few feet from them are some cans of paint, none of them open just yet.

Mako, for his part, sits off to the side, thumbing through one of his usual books and lets Cloud know whenever someone joins them in the back yard. Cloud isn’t so wrapped up in everything that he’s missing all else going on around him, but between his focus and the noises close to him having a lookout helps.]

Training - In the back yard or at one of the many training spots in Aqures Ixen

[Days. Days are what they have. Time just seems to slip away and tumble and there’s never enough time to get ready when it counts. But Cloud is resolved to make every moment count. He remembers to eat and sleep and do his work, and he even takes some time to spend at the festival, but he pours his remaining moments into his training. It’s not out of desperation or fear, but a solid focus and wish to protect those around him. He doesn’t think they’ll win everything here and now, but that doesn’t make this upcoming battle count any less.

Several training dummies are left battered and broken in his wake, victims of his diligence. He practices with a variety of weapons, those he’s not using at a moment laid out waiting for use or maintenance. The Buster Sword, Zack’s sword, it sits there calmly waiting even though he’s unsure if he wants to use it. His shotgun style gunblade, it’s served him well as a Magitek Knight, he may need it again. The Fusion Swords, the six swords of his future self that could be combined and taken apart as needed. He’s been practicing with the individual ones more than the completed set, but he’s getting a handle on each. A greataxe, black mage staff and a shortspear all sit out on the table as well, alongside a shield that seems simple by comparison to some of his other equipment. Now and then, between rounds of training he looks it over, wondering if there’s something he can do with it.

He murmurs to himself as he inspects his equipment.] I can do this...I can make my own style. I can be my own Hero.

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[So far only Sephiroth had the smallest fragment of any of the skills that he'd had available to him as SOLDIER on Gaia; courtesy of an often-imperfect custom job. Where exactly that tallied up again any type of real-class ranking would forever remain an unknown.

Sephiroth's expression remains that precise, passive-cool which often accompanies when he's got Masamune out and ready for an engagement. But for a slight curl to one side of his mouth, between silver bangs, as Cloud raises his own sword.]

Good.

[Masamune comes away from it's position only a fraction, before the next thing Cloud knows a gleaming silver blade is coming towards him in a smooth uppercut motion-]

[Cloud wasn't quite expecting that specific move, but he anticipates it enough to dodge in the right direction. He pivots backward and runs for the table, covering the distance in about the same time it takes Sephiroth to complete his swing. Sephiroth's left handedness is what offers Cloud that window, the natural arc of the blade cutting in the opposite direction that Cloud lunged.

Even so, Cloud's move was still a clumsy one, and even though he's now facing Sephiroth again with a sword in each hand this time, the First Class has all the time he needs to press his attack while Cloud remains on the defensive.]

[It's a pretty standard -even if it feels a little slow, in hindsight- opener for Sephiroth, not that Cloud really has experienced that all that much. But sure enough as soon as Masamune completes it's swing -cut short a little in order to account for the ceiling of the room they're in- Cloud has had the chance to retrieve another sword from the table.

He can't help but to crack a quick grin at the challenge now before him. In equal measure is the urge to trim Cloud's confidence down to size, but also there is the familiar adrenaline that one only gets when sparring with real, edged weaponry. Something he never could get enough of.

A little quicker this time, Sephiroth turns his frame, one foot in front of the other in his stance so as to present less of a target but also to streamline his own movements. The next quick flurry of three sword strikes are chained together so it might almost seem as if he were attacking with three separate swords rather than just the one.]

[Cloud, for his own part, is thankful he even made it to the table. Dual Wielding was what he wanted to practice, but the bout began so quickly he wasn't able to get the sword. Or rather, as soon as the swords were raised he knew that the First Class wouldn't give him time to just ask to get it. He had to play this on his feet.

The Jobs that Cloud has leveled play a large part in him even keeping up with Sephiroth now that he's pouring on the effort. His defense with the two blades isn't clumsy, but perhaps uncomfortable, blocking two of the three blows and stumbling back two steps at the completion of the strike. He's still on his feet though, and gritting his teeth he rushes forward to launch an attack of his own.

While Sephiroth's attack was three strikes melded into one, Cloud brings forth a flurry of swings, each one independent but with as much force and speed as he can muster behind them.]

[Perhaps at the end of this bout Sephiroth might compliment Cloud on his swift agility in getting to the table and retrieving another of his weapons from the table where it had been all neatly laid out. Now isn't the time, though.

One, two- blocked and then- Clouds stumble could well have lured Sephiroth into a follow up press of an attack if this had been a fight on real terms. If he had been going to defeat the could-be SOLDIER; this is a spar though, no matter how the silver haired man never much pulls his punches.

The speed at which Cloud retaliates in that breath of a moment almost catches Sephiroth off-guard two strokes in, there is a certain backing up of his own stance in order to pull himself back enough so that the thin Masamune can get in tight enough inside his guard so as to block that latest one. For a moment, braced also with the back of his hand against the flat of the blade, it seems to shake-

Before Sephiroth suddenly throws his strength forwards to get the distance he needs between himself and his opponent again. Room needed to counter, room to block or attack. Maybe Cloud might be feeling more confident in the fact that by the dimensions of the room they're in, he has a natural advantage with shorter swords?]

[Getting inside of Sephiroth's range was Cloud's goal. If he can keep close it would keep the other man from swinging his own weapon. And then he can pour on the attacks himself. For a moment it works, smiling as he makes the Silver Elite step back from his attack.

The shove pushes him back and a little off balance, but he uses the other sword arm as a counterweight to right himself, not losing too much ground but ending his rush. However the problem with his last move is how reckless and wasteful the motions were. They were strong attacks, to be sure, but now he feels the burn of the effort in his arms. He grits himself against it as he moves in again, holding both swords up and at the ready, aiming to deflect the Masamune with one while attacking with the other.]

[While Crystallis' version of SOLDIER probably isn't a shade on the level of skill that Sephiroth would be bringing on their homeworld, there is still the fact that he's been a swordsman for the majority of his life. He knew how to quickly spot incoming attacks, subtle changes in his oppenent's balance and form that foretold what they were going to execute with.

As a result, not only would Cloud's burn-out right at the start become more apparent as they went on, but more immediately the silver haired warrior is able to tell -when that first sword comes in- that it's something of a feint of an attempt to get him to deflect.

Still, deflect he needs to, though not with all of the blade and certainly not with enough strength so as he'd struggle to fall in with the movement and anticipate the second slash. It's instantaneous but Sephiroth blocks -seems to move around that first connection- to put himself out of harms way for much of Cloud's follow up, only to chip Masamune back in at the last second and deflect that away too.

Having given Cloud a taste of what it's like inside his range, Sephiroth's not about to give it up again easily.

Not even another breath divides the end of Cloud's attack and Sephiroth's counter, gracefully turning Masamune off the back of the last deflection and coming horizonatally in a long sweep. If that didn't make him need to back up a bit, there's very little that would.]

[Cloud's eyes go wide as Sephiroth uses his attack and momentum against him and pulls completely out of the attack. The deflection makes him stumble, exposing his back to his opponent for a moment. His eyes go wide as he processes what has happened and he dives forward.

The blonde's evasion is just in time as he feels the blade sing through the air above his back. He swears he could feel the tickle of the steel against his armor, scraping against it rather than bouncing off. No sparks are raised and the contact feels negligible, but he's sure he could feel it.

Cloud rolls out, turning and bringing himself back up. Now forced back into the Masamune's optimal range he raises his swords, ready to defend himself from the crouch. It's not a good position to be in, down on one knee, but at least he's made a smaller target of himself.]

[It reveals Sephiroth's confidence in Cloud's skill, at least, that he'd even executed that maneuver that would have cleaved anyone in two with such a long sweep. Masamune is very much a tried and tested weapon, sharpened and painstakingly maintained to be as it's absolute most-lethal, at least once a week.

At the same time, he's also got complete enough control over the blade to have turned it back-side if it looked like Cloud wasn't going to dive forwards out of the way. It's also a nod to how this is a spar, not a life-or-death match, how Sephiroth doesn't follow with what would otherwise have been a 'dirty' kick to the face while his opponent was down there.]

Good.

[Like a beam of light Sephiroth's long sword is brought in and up back around into that signature ready-position at his right-shoulder, poised like a great stinger ready to be thrust forward again. It doesn't look like he's going to press another attack while Cloud is crouched; but he'd best make use of the offered window if he's going to use it.]

[Cloud is of two minds for a brief second. For one he's happy that Sephiroth is giving him a moment to recover. On the other hand he's a little upset that the other Hero, his hero, is holding back on him like this.

Frowning, he stands and clashes the two swords together. At first the sight seems odd but then they click and fold into each other, the metal turning and sliding until the two blades become a single and much more substantial sword. Not quite the same size and scale as the Buster Sword, but closer to the SOLDIER issue claymores. Cloud shifts his stance to a two handed grip, blade raised to defend himself. He eyes the table once more, debating going back for a new sword for his offhand, but no...not just yet.

He takes a breath and then lunged forward, twisting his body in a way he recalled Zack did when going for a spinning strike. It was a move that resembled the beginning of one of Sephiroth's own attacks, though that wasn't on Cloud's mind in that moment.]

(ooc: he's just going for that first blow specifically, but beyond that he's going to improvise)

[Old habits die hard, even in any of the archived footage from the simulation area of that training floor back at SOLDIER, Sephiroth very much knew the difference between a friendly spar and an actual battle. Except on the rare occasion where Genesis might have stepped over a line, he's ever mindful of the skill level of the opponent he's playing with.

Curiously, he too finds himself frowning as Cloud brings the two weapons together, pondering what the blond would try, until he registers that click-sound. SOLDIER claymore is indeed the first thing that springs to mind as Cloud brings the combined weapon in front of himself and stances, preparing for whatever he'd be throwing next.

He only had that second to recognize that leading move, but as Cloud spins and Masamune is dropped alongside a backed-up-timed-crouch in order to get the block, Sephiroth grins between the blades; not that the moment in time lasts long at all before they're back to exchanging strike for parry, block for counter.

As it goes on, they do seem to be more evenly matched than Sephiroth had counted on, and it's clear that he's enjoying it.]

[Even if Sephiroth new the difference, that didn't stop other people from using Sephiroth simulations to put a pants shitting fear into the newbies. Zack wasn't the only one who had been thrown the Silver Elite as a sudden surprise bossfight on their training missions.

Cloud pushes his weight into the blade as they clash, bracing himself for the counter and meeting Sephiroth in the middle as they lock blades. Based on their memories of home Sephiroth should absolutely be dominating this contest, but here on Crystallis they're equals. If anything, Cloud might have the slight edge if Sephiroth isn't using his custom Job. The blonde catches the smile on the First Class' face and returns one in kind. For a moment Cloud finds himself able to forget all about their circumstances in this world and just enjoy a dream realized.

And then he pushes the thought aside, focusing on the spar once more. Pushing against the Masamune he makes another attempt to get inside the range, turning forward motion into a spinning slash. Even if it doesn't connect, and he doesn't expect it will, he tries to make it so he's forcing Sephiroth to the corner. He's not sure what he'll do then, but it seems like a good strategy.

[If anyone so wished, they might find a similar experience at the Monster Arena. Sephiroth himself avoided the old man for exactly that reason; he wanted to forget those events of the first Night of the Thirteen Moogles.

As the spar goes on it becomes steadily apparent that Cloud has nearly something of an edge over Sephiroth that neither of them would have been able to call. Though the silver haired SOLDIER will never execute the initial skill of his custom job in a practice fight to give himself an advantage, as such things were for honing natural skill and technique, the boosts to his attributes are passive enough. Though he might show off where he can, it's surprising that Cloud keeps him on his toes just a little too sharply for that.

By the time he's backed into the corner, Sephiroth isn't too sure what to think of that fact. Though he knows Cloud has embraced what it is to be under these circumstances on Crystallis, it stings at his pride that he's not as good as he still trains for himself to be, lacking that particular ability to set standards that he'd once kept close to his heart.

He's had to relax Masamune to the side as the space between the two fighters got smaller, shrugging his shoulders openly to silently indicate an acknowledgment of Cloud's victory.]

I'd call that a round?

[Cloud's reckless and ill defined style is a double edged sword. While his erratic and instinctual movements give him the edge over Sephiroth, there still remains the matter of Stamina. Power vs Forethought. Speed vs Training. Cloud has potential that has been coming to the surface over the past two years, but in his effort to separate himself from his alternate selves he may have done himself a disservice, trying to build new styles from the ground up rather than building on what they did.

The sheer irony is that if this wasn't a spar, if Sephiroth had actually cut loose, his own practiced measure would likely cut through Cloud's overwhelming force.

But as Sephiroth calls it, Cloud relents, though it takes him a few swings to cease his own momentum. For a brief moment there is anger on his face, not at Sephiroth, but the pure emotion that bleeds out when the body is beyond the mind's control.

And then he's back to smiling as he usually does, beaming at his Hero for giving him this once in a lifetime chance.]

Thanks. Sorry for putting you on the spot like that.

[Sometimes, sheer force overwhelms all the conventions of combat that gave Sephiroth his finesse. Even in their futures, Cloud would have to overcome enormous odds and push himself to the limit of his ability to stop Sephiroth. In all honesty, the older man is quietly shocked at how much of that self-same effort his opponent has dumped into this confrontation; and it's only a sparring session!

Sephiroth is highly aware could cut loose and really teach lessons but that would defeat the object of the challenge he'd presented Cloud. The flash of anger is met with a light nod and smile, if it could be any re-assurance as Sephiroth steps out of the corner finally, turning to get the room to turn his blade back and up behind his arm; back into his non-combative stance.]

Don't be. I'm not.

[He had instigated, after all, having thrown Cloud the training sword in the first place.]

[The grin on Cloud's face is genuine and he hefts the blade in his hand, pumping it to feel the weight and the burn in his muscles. With the match over he's feeling the endorphin rush fading and the fatigue setting in.]

I've been getting better I think. It's been hard work but I think I'm at least getting the hang of fighting like this.

[As he's said before, he doesn't simply want to rely on the powers his job gives him, but to be able to do this himself.]

I just hope it's enough when the time finally comes to take on Garland.

[There are reasons why SOLDIER took a lot of their downtime in performing squats. Not only to reduce the burn of fatigue, but often their mako-enhanced states left an abundance of energy left over after a fight. Still, Sephiroth recognizes that very obvious arm-pump Cloud performs.]

Hm, it seems that future proficiency comes through regardless. Even if it might still be premature.

[Blunt and honest. All Sephiroth, except for the softer edge to the words as he doesn't mean them harshly. Cloud's technique needs work and he thinks that Cloud already knows that, but swinging those swords around the way that he was, it takes some strength and not to mention the determination not to just switch to something that might be easier.]

It's impossible to tell that particular benchmark.

Heh...I guess that's a good thing. It's good to know that His style is mine and not the other way around.

[Such an awkward little thing, but to Cloud this is a victory, and he appreciates Sephiroth's assessment as someone who's been watching him grow all this time.]

And yeah, probably not...but at least I have all of you to depend on too.

[And there's his true strength, isn't it. Not the power he can put into a sword swing, no matter how impressive it is. It's the belief he has in his friends.

And in Crystallis, that includes Sephiroth.]

[Sephiroth's not going to lecture how, no matter what version of Cloud he might be referring to as his other-self, they are all one-and-the-same, especially since it would be hypocritical for him to say so given how he spends a pesky amount of time considering much of the same thing about himself.

Cloud's comment makes some more of that pride show up in a wider smile across Sephiroth's face. If only he could allow himself to rely on others as well as Cloud does. Time and time again it has been proven, that strength in numbers working together yet a larger part of Sephiroth would sooner see it all done personally. Friendship is still a mostly alien concept.]

It's fact it's going to take all of us to take him down and solve all of this, in the end.

[It's really the only thing he can say to that. To fill the silence afterward, Sephiroth draws his posture together and dips his head in a nod to Cloud before moving to stride passed him and out of the room.]

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Preparing for Battle

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