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Post by Zane on Jan 23, 2018 19:15:39 GMT -8
His grin remained as he finished gathering it all together. But rather than unleash the blow that would quell the throes of battle at long last, he opened his mouth to announce something else instead. The words that would bring this battle to a close now.
"Oblivion Gate, open!"
Behind Xion would be a tear that suddenly ripped open as though it were some sort of gaping maw. And like a black hole it was pulling him and the rubble in to drag him into whatever this gateway led to. It was here that he lifted his arm, the miniscule orb forming at the palm of his hand.
"You'll sit inside that hole of nothingness until you're required. I'll give regards to your brother."
What was once a meteor shower during a volcanic eruption was now a shimmering sun in a star shower. It was more than prepared now, hurling it as it shot off at his nemesis. Its target was the rubble in front of Xion like he gambled, understanding the move perhaps even more than many others who came face to face with it before. It showed the combat sense that the tyrant possessed for only engaging it once, a frightening adaptibility. Left to fester, he very well would become a thorn in their side. So he'd have to cut his torment of Kajira short and do this quickly rather than hold out on it. It hit the rubble and then exploded out like a chain reaction, engulfing everything with the concussive and explosive force aimed to careen Xion right into the void that was behind him and remove him from the game until he needed him again. But with the Silver Tyrant removed from the battlefield, it would diminish their morale knowing that someone of his uncanny ability was driven back and bested as well. And for others it would motivate them further instead... right into their hands.
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Post by Genesis on Jan 23, 2018 19:50:43 GMT -8
*He was about to start his move now. The moment Rosso hurled the flame he would have to clear the rubble, or as much of it, as quickly as possible and then... that plan didn't come to pass. Instead he was suddenly being pulled back by an immense force from behind, the rubble around him being used to help push him even further in as it crashed into him and was forcing him even closer to whatever kind of wormhole this happened to be.*
"Tch! You know what..."
*He would have to own up to his defeat this time. He could imagine a few ways out of this, slim as those were... but getting some of those options so soon didn't sit well with him. Magnamious as they were, he still had to do some things on his own. So he stopped his full on resistance and started to let himself be taken in, but not before he pulled the sphere in his hands apart again. This time aiming at two separate parts of the city, he fired both out at both areas at their weakened areas, the shots becoming more akin to spears on arrival instead. And when they hit, they pierced through and let the pull above handle the rest, uprooting those landmasses as well. Element City would be ravaged, and he was being forced into whatever strange space existed behind him...*
"You win this round. ...Heh."
*But even still was there a sinister smile that formed on the shadow's face as he was pulled into the unknown. He had two orbs in his hand then too, using them for this as well. They had been coated in the darkness and unseen before, but Rosso's actions should serve as the catalyst he needed to get the last push he required. They would be able to have a watchful eye on him, of that he had no doubt... but then they'd get to see him make his move while they were making theirs. And if Rosso's actions and words were any indicator, they would let him get away with this due to needing to make haste to their next objective... and halting him from his own.*
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Post by Zane on Jan 24, 2018 6:35:32 GMT -8
Rosso's eyes narrowed slightly at the end there. Xion seemed a bit too confident at the bitter end there, almost like he had forgotten something. To make up for it, they would just have to check in on him. So one of those should suffice instead, the one in the forest working just fine. So he moved to depart, disappearing in a blaze instead. He had to go report back in with those guys eventually and he had more than a decent excuse for his lengthy absence as it was. All the pieces had been put together, so now came finishing up this part of their puzzle and moving on to the next one.
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Post by Raven8 on Jan 24, 2018 9:20:35 GMT -8
....one last Navi to meet with first, though.
So...
Behind Rosso, one final Navi to face stands. A Navi that he would likely recognize from years long gone. Sharp, dark green armor adorns him from head to foot, with dark gold details in a "V" shape spread out across. On his arms, a set of blades are folded neatly into his armor, and on his head is an ornate crest that frames his knowing face.
...however, along with these familiar sights also bring with them a few not so familiar. At the side of this once proud Navi is a cane, one that he obviously rests against. This fact also reveals a far weaker gait to his stance, and obvious signs of sickness... potentially even death. He stands there bravely, looking to Rosso with a stoic smile as a memory alights in his mind, one that he'd share in terms that the Pyroclasm would likely understand....
TornadoMan: ...how's hiding behind all that ire working out for 'ya?
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Post by Zane on Jan 24, 2018 10:16:21 GMT -8
Someone else was here as well? He turned to face them when they spoke up, but then he noticed who it was. The expression he wore and everything spoke for itself that much like the girl before, he knew what was going on to some degree. It was more than his other opponents could tell when they met him. The ire showed itself again in but a few moments, taking aim at TornadoMan before unleashing a fiery blast at him... that instead hit the cane instead of the man himself. He was just a shell of his former self now.
"It works better than the bravado everyone else hides behind. You already have one foot in the grave, and for what? What exactly were you aiming for that brought you to this moment in your life?"
There was a mixed tone now. While there was venom, there was frustration as well. More than just the anger, it was as though the sight of TornadoMan irritated him. And that was likely the source of him asking his question now.
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Post by Raven8 on Jan 24, 2018 10:33:06 GMT -8
...TornadoMan, the once swift, skilled, and adept fighter, falls as the support of his cane is taken away... and falls hard. He yells out in pain as his shoulder impacts the rubble of the ground, causing him to instinctively reach his arm over and rub it to no avail.
But this doesn't stop him.
TornadoMan's smile returns as he tries his best to take to his feet again, but finds himself unable to do so. Instead he remains on his hands and knees, looking up to Rosso as if nothing had happened.
TornadoMan: Funny, all that I see now is another brand of bravado... one that's even thicker to hide something away even better.
TornadoMan drops his head and laughs... not at Rosso, but at himself.
TornadoMan: And as for this moment in my life? ...well, honestly...
TornadoMan shifts back and sits on the rubble, never losing his smile as he does so.
TornadoMan: ...I came here because you were one of the Navis that I was hoping to meet again, Zane. I wanted to say that I'm sorry.
TornadoMan laughs again, looking to the ground as he does so.
Tornadoman: ...not for what I did. That was just business either way. I'm just sorry that I'll never have the chance, or give you the chance, to settle that score fair and square.
TornadoMan then looks around at the situation again and laughs, this time though it's a deeper laugh. A laugh that recognizes the irony of the situation, and actually somewhat enjoys it.
TornadoMan: ...though I guess, in a way, I just did. Admit it; doesn't this situation look familiar to you?
TornadoMan hadn't really known Zane that well, but there had been a silent synergy between the two of them for many years now; a quiet desire to settle that meeting years ago. It wasn't exactly a priority, but it was now important enough for TornadoMan to risk this moment.
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Post by Zane on Jan 24, 2018 20:07:39 GMT -8
Hide away something even better? He supposed it made sense to say that anger did hide such a thing from people. It often blinded them from things that they should see, but his eyes couldn't be more clear now. That was what he firmly believed in, but he was listening all the same. TornadoMan was an individual that was worth listening to even in the sorry state that he was in now. He did nod in agreement that he would have found it odd to apologize for taking care of business. But being sorry that they couldn't properly settle things... deep down, he felt the same. Fair and square was the life that he had lived, the rules that he lived by and part of his justice. But this situation was pretty similar to when they first met, back in that all-important fortress now.
"...Yeah, it is pretty familiar. I always pictured you as a guy who knew what he wanted. A relaxed guy who could handle business, but a good person willing to do what was called for. It's hard to call a terrorist a good person or even possessing good intentions, nor would many call themselves righteous. But it wasn't as though your goal was wicked either. There was nothing wrong with a balanced world."
Zane had been someone who had a solid moral compass. There were things he would do and things he wouldn't. Among his friends, he served as a sense of justice for them as their own moral compass was more shaky. Good and bad were blurred for them, because it was all just gray to them. For Zane, the gray had shades of white and black too. The world had things you should and shouldn't do. But at the end of the day... that was Zane's way of handling things.
"But there is no equilibrium in this world. There's only those who can change, and those who oppose those changes. Back and forth, again and again with no end in sight. Others would even argue that this will turn out exactly the same...
But they would be wrong this time."
He would be doing TornadoMan a mercy now over anything else, aiming his hand at him now. The flame would gather up and then launch out in a sphere much like it had when they fought one another for the first, and last, time. So he would burn him away now rather than let him just wither and die, because dying like some diseased dog was unfitting for someone like him.
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Post by Raven8 on Jan 24, 2018 20:34:36 GMT -8
....and there it was.
TornadoMan clenches his fist and grits his teeth. He hadn't wanted it to come to this. Not now... but so be it.
TornadoMan: SHINKU-
Zane would know this word. He would know this feeling; the winds flood the area, all surging to one central point; TornadoMan's fist. Despite his kneeling position, the storm warrior unfolds the blades on his right hand and condenses a massive area of wind into his hand, focusing it into one single, turbulent orb of air.
TornadoMan: -KAZEKEN!
The propellers on his arm switch their spin, creating an intense down-draft and propelling TornadoMan up. In a show of what he had once been, TornadoMan's fist rises skyward with a sky-piercing uppercut backed by a rising tornado. In a show of splendor and power, TornadoMan's fist impacts Rosso's fireball, causing it flash out in a brilliant light-show.
A moment later, TornadoMan lands after the show of his once great power and skill, collapsing to a knee in exhaustion as he does so.
TornadoMan: ...no, Zane. All that you're doing is touting an age-old lie.
In the chaos of the winds, TornadoMan had purposefully drawn his cane to himself. Reaching out, he takes it and once again stands, looking to the Pyroclasm once again.
TornadoMan: Change is the only sure thing. Every day situations change, every day we change. The equilibrium is when that change happens naturally.
TornadoMan leans against his cane hard, gasping as he does so.
TornadoMan: The only binary in your sense is those who will trust it to happen, and trust that the good will ultimately outweigh the bad, and those who choose to take it into their own hands. And guess what? Everyone that you used to fight fell into the second category. Take a good, hard look at yourself and answer this to yourself....
TornadoMan reaches out his hand and points to the chaos that the previous battles had wrought. Battles that, had Rosso not been the catalyst to, never would have happened.
TornadoMan: ...which are you now?
TornadoMan pauses, letting out a sigh and closing his eyes as he does so.
TornadoMan: ...look, I didn't come here to fight you, because we both know how that would end... especially now. I also didn't come here to preach to you. I came here because...
TornadoMan motions to one of the destroyed buildings nearby with his head.
TornadoMan: ...that was my home. Meeting you here was pure luck... or possibly providence, as I'd wanted to say what I've said before it was too late, but didn't know how to find you.
TornadoMan then turns his back to Rosso, but keeps his head turned to watch him all the while.
TornadoMan: ...now, we both know that I can't keep you from deleting me here and now. But I will tell you right now; I have one or two more memories to honor and put to rest, a few more apologies to give, just like I just did with you. So the choice is yours, Zane; honor an old opponent enough that he can be put to rest on his own terms, or force your ideals on me.
TornadoMan fully turns his head at this point, letting out a sigh as he leaves his fate in Rosso's hands.
TornadoMan: ....either way, it was nice to see you again.
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Post by Zane on Jan 24, 2018 20:58:36 GMT -8
So he still had some of that seasoned warrior in him after all. He was someone who would have made for a fine opponent for him, someone that Zane would have enjoyed having a battle with. Just to see which of them, after all this time, would manage to come out on top. Looking to the ruined city, it was quite clear that he had more than just become that which he used to fight. He was one of those taking it into his own hands to change things, something he once said was bad to a certain firecracker who start burning down a city to attract attention was a good thing.
And yet here he stood in a more than burned down city, still without much attraction to it however. In the end the tornado wielder was right in what he said. One of the few people he couldn't quite refute as well as he was with others, perhaps because the navi was so well grounded as he said just moments prior. He kept his hand raised, speaking now as TornadoMan had finished speaking.
"It is age-old lie, true. But giving truth to that lie? ...That's something we can do now. As you say, I could force my ideals upon you right here and now. The old me would surely have done so."
He lowered his hand, the heat that was surrounding him fading. It was replaced with a rigid cold now, the burning glare in his eyes ceasing as he closed them for once instead. If it was to honor this one, he would allow it. Between these two it was something that he earned in this departing world. So he turned to his side instead, looking sidelong to TornadoMan now as well.
"But I'm not that man any longer. You're free to do as you will. It was good to see you again."
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Post by Raven8 on Jan 24, 2018 21:09:24 GMT -8
TornadoMan waits until Zane bids him his farwell to begin walking. He'd left the change in the Pyroclasm's hands, and in turn was shown his own ideals back.
Of all that he'd bid his farewell to, this was the single most meaningful for the single most fleeting of his past connections.
TornadoMan disappears in a gust of wind, leaving Rosso unhindered in reaching his goal.
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Post by Zane on Jan 24, 2018 21:22:28 GMT -8
As TornadoMan departed in a gust of wind, Rosso's left hand moved to his chest to grip at it. Blazing flames sparked to life, eating at the cloak that he wore as the veins in his eyes seemed to extend further outward, narrowing his eyes briefly. His fingers dug in deep, his eyes on the ground as he spoke to no one in particular at this moment. This last fleeting moment to pass between the two of them.
"Simmer down. There's work to do."
He let go then, the ashes from the cloak falling to the ground as it repaired itself on its own. And then he vanished, engulfed in his own blaze to leave the city behind him. He would have to be ready to go and greet their latest additions to their work force, as well as preparation for their next big move. There would be no resting on laurels until that was taken care of.
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