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Post by Warrior on Nov 13, 2018 17:29:57 GMT -8
No Judge 1 intro post each (may go further) 3 battle posts each (may go further) Version Off Continuity: Soft-Canon (memory of a past encounter; Real Time setting is directly prior to Crusading Hall - Ruins)
On his way to what used to be The Crusading Hall, Warrior is struck with nostalgia and finds himself lost in the reminiscence of a time past, back when The Hall still stood strong.
Though the Warrior of the past was a different one than is here now, Jacob Rayner still witnessed second-hand the relentless training protocols that Warrior would put himself through, obsessively reaching to attain a greater level of power at any given opportunity. When he wasn't training with drones, he was training with allies of the 'Shields, sharpening each other into becoming greater defenders and greater warriors.
One such battle was probably the most memorable of them all: when the head of the faction joined him during one of the training sessions, and while it wasn't a long bout, it was surly one that pressed Warrior's limitations at the time...
7 Years Ago
*SCRREEEEECH-SLAM-CRAAASSHHH!*
The Crusading Hall's training room was noisy as ever with its regular occupant living up to his namesake. Few matched this Warrior's zeal, but the same couldn't be said of his battle prowess. Not in his own mind, at least.
He constantly felt the need to grow stronger. After hitting a losing streak with the other faction members lately, he felt even more hard pressed to push himself beyond his limits to compare with them. While bullying the training drones was a good learning experience at first, he had since memorized most of their patterns and was now able to strike most of them down preemptively.
It helped sharpen his technique, but did nothing to help improve his reactions and predictions against a real, intelligent opponent.
" ... "
But until a real opponent showed up, Warrior seemed more than eager to continue mastering his form. Until it was honed to the point of perfection, there was still more work to do.
Drones spawned once more as he brandished his blade again, repeating this cycle seemingly endlessly as the evidence of his diligence echoed in the halls of The Crusading Shields' base of operations once more.
*SLASH-BOOOOOM!*
He had a long day ahead of himself.
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Post by mirror on Nov 15, 2018 12:28:59 GMT -8
SETUP POSTIn an observation room, masked by a one way mirror, the Shields' leader observed Warrior's endless training. He was tenacious to say the least, though it was obvious he was seeking a greater challenge. The drones had long ago become a non factor to him, and MirrorMan hypothesized that the training Warrior now needed most was that of mental fortitude and staying sharp in the heat of battle.
Stepping away from the window and entering the training room proper, MirrorMan approaches the flurry of blade and drones, shooting down the remaining stragglers with a quick flash of a buster.
"Warrior! Sorry to snatch those from ya, but I don't think you've got much left to learn from smashing drones. What do you say we have ourselves a sparring match here? I've been a bit lax myself and could use a little brushing up. Plus, I don't think anyone else trains more than you, so if you're up to it, you could teach me a lot. Kinda a win-win, y'know? Whadaya say?"
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Post by Warrior on Nov 15, 2018 13:48:38 GMT -8
(Battle 1/3)
As the drones continued to swarm Warrior, his figure became fully engulfed by the sparks and flashes of each one that he was cutting down. Beneath his black visors, his eyes were completely shut so that he could train his other senses a bit more as he approached the latter segments of the training protocol.
His eyes shot open at the sound of several more exploding drones across the room, initially worried something had broken. At first he was shocked to see MirrorMan had entered (though the only evidence of shock that Mirror would see was Warrior's slightly agape mouth since his widened eyes were hidden behind the visors), but that expression quickly changed to a grin as he stated his intentions.
" Of course! I was hoping somebody would come along, haha! "
Warrior knew of MirrorMan's ability to copy any of his own traits, so he made a quick mental inventory of everything he'd need to be ready for. Although Warrior's cyan-colored sword didn't really have any noteworthy traits, Warrior knew that MirrorMan's close-quarters combat was nothing to scoff at, so if his main weapon was copied then it was more down to a matter of skill at that point.
Other than that, Warrior had the ability to manipulate electrical and wind-based forces, or even just imbue his sword with their attributes temporarily. He could charge a plasma-esque substance in his palm to be released as a blast of energy later, but perhaps his most signature ability was to create dopplegangers of himself and his allies.
It was a short self-assessment, but with that out of the way, Warrior felt confident he was ready for whatever MirrorMan would throw at him.
" Let's get to it then. "
And of course, Warrior's other most-signature trait was his speed. At a blinding pace, Warrior closed the distance between himself and MirrorMan, barely giving either of them enough time to blink an eye.
~*Swi-Swi-Swish!*~
His ocean-blue blade looked as if it were swimming through the air -- the elegance alone with each of his 3 swings spoke for how well-practiced this particular pattern of attack was, much less the seemingly perfect position of himself from his target. Although those swings came at a different angle each time, Warrior was spaced just enough from MirrorMan that only the tip of the blade would reach him for any of the cuts, making it slightly more difficult to directly counter attack.
After the three slashes, he held his sword close to his body once again, ready for retaliation.
" And no going-easy, either! "
Of course, there was also some degree of restraint shown while sparring, Warrior knew that. What he meant to say was that, despite those necessary restraints, he still intended to give it his best effort and expected the same of his partner.
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Post by mirror on Nov 18, 2018 17:27:16 GMT -8
BATTLE 1/3Warrior's strikes came fast and swift, and without missing a beat all three strike true. But then, MirrorMan disappears in an explosion of data-cubes?
"When have I ever gone easy?"
No, a clone! Not one to pass up an opportunity for a sneak attack, MirrorMan had emulated both Warrior's blinding speed and his cloning abilities, jumping behind his opponent and leaving a double in his place. As he nears the arc of his forward flip above Warrior's head, he materializes a buster and fires a well placed shot.
"You're good with a sword, but that pattern is so predictable. You're gonna have to work for a win today, Warrior!"
Hoping he wasn't laying the snark on too, thick, MirrorMan lands some feet away, behind Warrior, and materializes a copy of his blade. Swinging it through the air and assuming a ready stance, it becomes apparent MirrorMan is beginning to channel electrical energy, as the air around him starts to crackle and small arcs form from his boots to the ground. He wanted to push Warrior, and combat banter was an oft overlooked part of training. Keeping a cool head while being egged on is just an important skill as physical strength.
"This blade has a good weight to it, though. I can see why you're so fond of the art as a combat style. Still, I wouldn't live up to my name if I couldn't hold you to your own candle!"
Dashing towards Warrior, he mimics the first swing of the same pattern. Expecting Warrior to know what's coming next, he lets go of the blade and fires a shot with his off hand while spinning, catching the blade in the same hand and completing the crouching spin with a low sweeping strike.
"It's obvious you've mastered yourself and your routines. If you want to improve, we're gonna have to get you to think outside the box!"
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Post by Warrior on Nov 18, 2018 21:21:05 GMT -8
(Battle 2/3)
" ! "
Warrior was caught off guard by the clone he had just destroyed, and before his mind could even question what was happening, the answer was already given to him in the form of a buster blast to the top of his head.
"Agh!"
His visors were blown clean off, fortunately taking the brunt of that shot for him. But his golden eyes looked determined as ever as he brushed off the remains of the destroyed visors.
"You're good with a sword, but that pattern is so predictable. You're gonna have to work for a win today, Warrior!"
"This blade has a good weight to it, though. I can see why you're so fond of the art as a combat style. Still, I wouldn't live up to my name if I couldn't hold you to your own candle!"
"..."
He kept his cool for now.
As MirrorMan came toward him, imitating his own attack pattern, Warrior let his reflex take over again and clashed elegantly with the first swing. He moved in expectation of the second swing, but ended up playing right into Mirror's hands once again.
His eyes widened as he saw the shot incoming, but by pure reflex was barely able to stumble out of the way of its trajectoty, then by pure luck stumble just over the top of the low-sweeping strike and catch his balance quickly enough to still be in a position to retaliate.
"It's obvious you've mastered yourself and your routines. If you want to improve, we're gonna have to get you to think outside the box!"
Warrior visibly grit his teeth. His rehearsed patterns were just being picked apart, making all of his training feel like a waste. Adaptability was certainly his greatest flaw, but this definitely was the best method of training to shore up that weakness, so he wasn't as upset when he thought about it like that.
"I see..."
Warrior wasn't fully prepared to fight even somebody of equal caliber as himself, especially one that was smarter than him, despite the mental preparation he'd done just a moment ago.
Rather, he'd need to put them both in a situation where his own abilities weren't what would give him an advantage, since MirrorMan effectively neutralized that just by his nature. In this scenario, the only advantage Warrior would have is that he'd be the only one expecting that it was coming, and hopefully that'd give him just enough of a window to trump MirrorMan's infallible adaptability.
"Out of the box it is, then."
Warrior's palm crackled with electricity as he raised it skyward, when suddenly what looking like a lightning bolt shot out of his hand and spread across the ceiling. Almost immediately, the lights went out not only in the room that they were in, but throughout the entire base as well.
In the darkness, none of Warrior's unique abilities made any difference. At this point, it was just a matter of who could make the most of the situation sooner than the other could. Being the one the instigated this ordeal though, Warrior had the headstart in planning his reaction.
Silent as a mouse, he spawned three clones as he himself jumped up and clung to the ceiling -- not an immensely tall ceiling, but just tall enough that unless one were to be looking straight up, they wouldn't be able to see what was directly above them.
~*Clack! Clack! Clack!*~
The clones, however, made plenty of noise as they began to approach MirrorMan in the dark room -- or at least where he was last seen. Only two ran toward him, the third stayed behind in Warrior's original location. Sooner than expected, the backup generators kicked in and the lights were already back on again.
And just in time, too, for MirrorMan to see three images of Warrior: one seemingly not moved at all, just standing there with a defensive posture, and two more running directly at him with electricity-infused blades coming in to swing.
One swung high and the other swung low as they passed by him. It would have appeared that the intent was to blindside him while the lights went out, though the true intent of it all was still masked by the short black out. At face value, it looked like it was a bit of a clunky plan, but such was to be expected of someone that struggled with thinking out-of-the-box. And that really only helped seal the illusion that it was all Warrior had planned to do with his stunt: if expectations of him were low enough right now then he'd certainly have the upper hand.
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