Scene #6566: MECC Exhibition: Studying the Blade

Owner	Pose
Xion	The MECC grounds are busy during the tournament, but one stage goes generally unused beyond a fight here and there by interested people. While the main attraction are the multitude of fighting stages and the ongoing Group Bracket Stages, the Exhibition stage also hosts the same protections and interesting arena-options boasted by the MECC in general. A perfect place to do some study. Of sharp, long, hard objects. Oh my! Xion waits already in the ring, dropping one knee into long stretches of her calves, bouncing from one motion to the other, repeating on each side before bouncing on her toes to warm up the backs of her ankles. Her outfit is a light sleeveless jacket with a hood (does everything she own have a hood?) and shorts with a pair of collared sneakers that have a sort of clownish 'fat' front toe. The light jangle of zippers and beltbuckles accompany her motions, an expectant energy in her motions as she waits for her Garlean opponent.
Zenos yae Galvus	From the other side of the stage, Zenos slowly walks towards the stage. The Garlean dressed in dark armor and adorned with parts of Ala Mhigan dress continues his slow, almost ponderous walk until he was facing Xion. One hand casually rests on one of the hilts of the blades in his sword revolver, as he glances towards his young opponent. "I do hope you brought a blade to today's bout, Xion. I will not be lending you one of mine today," He says calmly. It sounds almost disinterested, but at the same time...he wouldn't have accepted the challenge if he did not think there wasn't anything worth in it. However as things come to a head, he crouches slightly, hand slowly gripping the blade as he looks at her. "Well, then I shall allow you to strike at me first. Let us provide a good show for these people."
Xion	Xion looks around for a few moments, searching the crowd for someone - to see if they are present. She doesn't have to look for long, a bright smile flashing across her face as she raises a hand high to wave at whoever she finds. (It's Roxas.) With that out of the way, Zenos gains her full attention and her preparatory warm-ups cease with one final jangle of belts and bobs, his words reminding her of the actual purpose of their little bout. To cross swords. The now-usual chiming 'shwink!' of her inventory filling her hand comes with silver motes that leave a simple straight arming sword appropriately sized for a man of average build. In a word: it's not a big sword, but it is 'oversized' for her. "I picked up a bunch at the vendors outside, if that's OK. They're probably not as good as yours, but that's OK. You spent a long time finding each of those, didn't you? And the one I used... even how amazing it is, it's not what you want - not what you really desire." Xion begins pacing - circling - clockwise. "It's not about the blade itself. There's a hundred different ways to forge, to curve, to hammer, to shape a sword, but those don't give it power. Those don't give it a soul." Even if Xion's tone and stance are vaguely casual, her actual physicality is nothing to laugh at, and settling in with a quick motion she brings her swordpoint parallel to the ground and close to her chest, surging in for a simple straight-thrust against Zenos' center of mass. It's absolutely right into his prepared draw. She knows he's ready.
Zenos yae Galvus	"Indeed I did, each of these blades belonged to masters of the blade I slew in combat. However, it is not the quality of the blade that you own, but how you use it. A well-crafted weapon is of no use to a novice, but even a master can make the weakest blades deadly." The blade remains firmly in his grip, his will of iron as he simply seems to observe her, even as he carries the conversation on. "Yes, exactly. It is the soul of the wielder that gives power to the weapon...it is good that you already have this knowledge. Now..." The thrust comes in, and Zenos reacts as she attacks. There is a flash of steel as he moves forward instead of away. The blade flashes out in a single movement, but it doesn't find as much purchase on her blade as he would like, and instead of completely deflecting it causes it to strike against the shoulder armor and pierce his armor. However, Zenos was not done. He spins in a single moment, slashing the blade down in a very powerful arch, aiming to both drive her back, but also make a very potent strike against her, aiming to see just how reactive she was in something besides offense.
Xion	Xion nods along with Zenos' explanation of blades: and how mastery imparts much more than simple skill in the execution of bladework. She doesn't really have much to say, having committed to a lunge at the time, and her partially-deflected slash overextends her masterfully into the counterstroke by the swordmaster. Xion takes a shallow cut across her front as Zenos rises his blade up, the sheer size difference making it an absurdity when they are close up, her arms fully extended out and up from putting herself behind her strike. Zenos' blade comes down, and the Nobody manages to retract their sword in close to block the strike--! And there's a very sharp cracking sound as edge meets edge. It is not surprising at all which blade is lesser-made. Which blade doesn't have the same 'soul' put into it. Xion's eyes widen perceptibly before she simply disappears, a flicker of dark wisps as she flashes back to the edge of the ring, down on one knee. The blade in her had -- isn't. Shorn off where struck, she wields merely a hilt and part of the edge, the rest of her weapon having fallen in pieces under where she had nearly been struck 'dead'. "Ah... Yeah, I guess if I'm fighting you, Mister Galvus, I can't use weapons with no soul at all, can I?" Xion discards the broken arming sword, tossing it like garbage over her shoulder, before re-taking her stance. "And it has to be a blade - I can tell magic won't do, either. I'm sure you'd do the same thing, a hundred times. I guess..." Xion extends a hand, the twinkling of her inventory recall letting her fingers close around a long length of silver or mithril 'pipe', topped with a strange star-patterend reverse head, and a broad symmetrical handguard in blue. A keychain - a chotchkey, really, dangles off the end, with a golden star that's empty on the inside dangles off of it. "This is, uhm... Well, it doesn't have a really good blade-y name? But I think it'll have the right 'soul' to fight you." Xion extends the strange star-pipe-sword out, sighting down the lenght of it at Zenos. "If that's okay with you." Sweeping the weapon to her side, and gripping the hilt two-handedly, Xion takes one quasi-skipping step forward before rotating, gathering torque with her motion as she reverses a roundslash out towards Zenos, the pipeblade shining brightly as the star-head leaves cartoonish sparkles and a trail of stardust in its wake.
Zenos yae Galvus	Zenos continues to watch Xion closely, keeping complete awareness of whatever she was doing, however, she was preparing, and listening to her words. Even as the two clashes, and Xion just barely manages to escape, but at the same time sacrifices her sword to do so, Zenos is impressed. Most wouldn't think to give up their blade to save themselves like that...but then again, Zenos knows she has some in reserve. The talk of souls, however, gets his attention. A blade with more 'soul', she declares, and he does not immediately attack. "By all means, bring all of your power to bear against me and let us see if I should do the same to you." The strange 'blade' whips out, revealing it to Zenos to which he raises a brow. That was...certainly something...and the blade catches his interest. The heavy attack comes down, and his blade moves to match against her own, a few parries before one of her strikes gets through, but his blade was already moving to intercept. Like before, the bite was taken out of it, but it manages to score a hit against the side of his armor, cutting through. There is a shift in Zenos' stance, becoming just slightly more serious as he simply vanishes from sight. A blade drops in the middle of the field, aiming to make a massive current of wind to try and blast the younger swordswoman away, before he appears again. This time, energy gathers in his weapon, as he swings a massive arch towards her, and the energy blade itself cuts through the arena, aiming to try and slash her from an extreme distance.
Xion	The entire fight, Xion has to battle against the sheer fact of size: of reach, of sweeps, of power. Zenos has all of that on her. Not in bodily power - Xion has the stubborn power of even Zenos' more storied foes and Warriors of Light (or Darkness), or the Eorzean elites. No, Zenos has simple and sheer weight on Xion, and it is the most intrinsic truth of swordsmaship that the longer arm has an unquestionable advantage. Xion finishes her flashing arc and immediately has to bring up her odd blade braced three quarters up its length by her hand simply to 'resist' being blown away as the energy wave crashes against her from halfway across the arena, the rending blast sending her perilously skidding back as she diffuses the energy across her cross-block. "So when you say you 'study the blade', you don't just mean swordwork, do you? It always sounds like it is, whenever anyone says that, but it means something different. Everyone's got their own, unique way of doing things. Their own identity." Xion rolls her blade around in her hand, spinning the star-tipped weapon around as she resumes circling, but it's the nervous energy of someone watching and circling, not of a child at play. Zenos is fast - and lethal. Xion's next strike apes Zenos', 'sheathing' her weapon at her side, held there in a ready-draw stance that looks patently absurd with a weapon like hers as opposed to a real iaijutsu weapon. When she draws it, though, the tip scrapes the ground, not leaving sparks but a black, tesselating gash in the ground that carries forward through the air, rippling outward with gravitic magic that twists space in its chaotic passing.
Zenos yae Galvus	"It is about power, Xion," Zenos says to her. "Whatever power you can obtain, and master...then it becomes your power. The more powerful you are, the more in tune with the blade that you are. It is just not knowing how to swing a weapon, but when to draw, when to not draw, and never to hesitate once you make a decision." Xion is very hard to hit, though he has the advantage, her ability to narrowly get out of danger and avoid his sword strikes was impressive. Holding back, he would eventually run down before he could get a decisive blow...perhaps. He is noticing her exhaustion and pressing herself hard. Zenos returns the blade to his sheath as well, mirroring her actions as they stare at each other. Each one trying to observe the other's moves and decide when best to swing. This time, however, they both flash at the same time, the air detonates with the sound of their steel on steel. Blades striking in mid-air, and as a powerful squall, it was quickly over. Another gash slowly formed on Zenos' armor, just having narrowly avoided the gravity slash of Xion, but still caught enough to feel the blade's effect. However, at that moment a giant lighting bolt would crash down, trying to take Xion unaware, should she have been hit by his blade.
Xion	Xion expects another sword slash, or for Zenos to advance on her, as she skirts around the arena. When she settles into her draw, she doesn't actually expect Zenos to 'draw into' her. And when he does, she expects it to be a 'negative' attack: Simply slapping aside her attack. The bolt of lightning that consumes her with the scent of ozone and burning cloth fixes her of that notion. She doesn't cry out, over the blast of the Storm, though if she did nobody would know. And it is precisely because of Zenos' powers that he's alerted to Xion behind him, still sparking with electric residual power, as she spirals through the air in a downward spin-attack right at the back of his head, leaning into the strike and closing into zero-range combat.
Zenos yae Galvus	The attack strikes as Zenos turns, the blade hitting the helmet and the face of Zenos turns from the blow looking away from Xion for a moment. When his head turns back, the mask is cracked down the center, as a piece of the left side of it falls off, revealing part of his face. The eye specifically, as those blue eyes look at her once more. However, she has decided to come back to melee with him, so he obliges her. He swings the blade down in a quick slash, aiming to try and see if she'll avoid it as she has before. He tries to predict her next action, and if she does use the portals to get out... He swings the blade at her location, another wave of electrical energy surges out in a series of strikes, aiming to punish her movements, as he turns to face her. Slowly the blade returns to the bag, as slowly it spins, and his hand rests on a different blade.
Xion	The good news is that, for Xion, Zenos expects her to be zippy-flippy, and she isn't. The bad news is that not being zippy-flippy still means she gets tagged by the Garlean's dispatching slash, his weapon catching on hers and holding there - but Zenos' reach and leverage comes into play, and his sweep continues carrying through, slashing across bicep and forearm as he leans into the bladelock. She disappears, but only for a moment, instead of flickering 'in' to 'out' - and taking his ranging counterslash - she flickers 'up' to 'down', regaining her footing and spinning again, striking directly for his forelegs or knees to force his stance apart before he can adequately reposition himself. Zenos is almost certainly fast enough to adjust, and possibly doesn't even need to use stances anyway for such a change in weapons, but balance is key to any fight - and Xion continues to flow between her moves in a dynamic anything-goes rythm that becomes surer and surer.
Zenos yae Galvus	The kick hits the larger warrior's legs, an impressive tactic to take at this stage in the game. However, it was unlikely to actually force him to shift stances, as he instead leans into the blow just enough so that armor is the one taking most of the blow, while enough goes into him to bruise his leg. With a push of effort... "Now let's see...if you have the power to transcend!" He vanishes. Appearing in front of her he moves to slash with the blade in an extended blow, aiming to try and force her back as the Storm literally tries to use wind aether to blast her back. Vanishing again, he appears (hopefully) directly behind her and slashes down with the Storm, aiming to electrify her from behind and send her flying once more. The sword back in its sheath, he reaches towards the final blade, focusing for a moment before leaping upwards, as The Ash burns with a malevolent light, and he brings it down right on her in a powerful slash, aiming to immolate her if she is not careful.
Xion	The 'Power to Trancend' isn't one that Xion has. Hers is a selfish, covetous power. It had shown its difference when they had gone to Lilian's world, and she couldn't even bring forth the second stage of their testing while Zenos had gone further and further up the levels, shining brightly in his majesty. Between the two of them, one was a conquerer, and the other was... Well, a child. Not in the sense of innocence, but in simple floundering lack of experience. Zenos has experienced nearly all there is to experience with his blades, and with 'The Blade' as a concept, pushing that envelope. Three slashes. A squall of air to force her back and shatter her guard, even as she mutters beneath her breath. "Hi-Barrier. Wall. Mighty Guard!" Three layers of force surround her - hexagonal walls of directional protecton. A shimmering purple veil of defense. A flash of blue, then of green, that settle themselves over Xion like a penumbra. Layered defenses like that would surely sto- --it completely doesn't. Blasted in the back with lighting from the Storm, she's brought back in, her defenses flickering over her as Zenos brings up The Ash to sweep it down two-fistedly right on top of her, and consume her in a pillar of flame. The blow lands, catching on something. The pillar of flame bursts up, consuming all but a single dark patch in the center of the fire. When the Ash settles and the heat-haze begins to fade, the Ash is caught against Xion's weapon-edge, though Xion herself is burned all over, bits of crispy char falling off her outfit and skin alike. She coughs, once, a lungful of smoke having insufficently held her breath, and shoves off with unnatural strength to force Zenos off of her and to take a step back. He should do at least that. After that, Xion wobbles in place. "That... was pretty cool, Mister Galvus. And I think I agree. Power that you take for yourself is yours. But not every power is like that. Sometimes the power takes you, and then you're not yourself at all. And even..." She breathes out again, both hands gripping her weapon as she holds it ready at her side, her eyes flicking out, away from Zenos, to the stands. "... Even some powers you can't call your own, you don't want to. Because they mean more if they're someone else's. But still. The way you fight is amazing." Xion's weapon sworls with motes of light that concentrate around the tip, as the star at its top 'ignites', and Xion moves in the exact same way she did her very first strike - a simple, formulated lunge executed with surity. But this time, it's not a simple superhuman step-thrust, but a cascade of bright light, a zipping ping-pong that ends in a single rising slash that strikes not once, but twice, as if Xion weilds two weapons. At the end of it, she re-appears behind Zenos, flourishing her weapon as if 'knocking off the (nonpresent) blood'. Her entire path proceeds to explode in a nova of bright white-gold light.
Zenos yae Galvus	The second blade comes out of nowhere, which gets a slightly surprised sound from Zenos. "Two?" he asks, as he continues to try and focus his edge against the attack...but this time, with two different blades coming at him from competing angles, he can not keep up with her different strikes. The explosion of bright lights tares through in Xion's wake. The blades collide, sending him backward and down, forced to a knee and using the sword to balance himself on the ground as he stares up at her. "Hm..." he says, there is a light in his eyes as he rises again. "I see...there is an interesting desire in your blade work. I am interested to see where it goes.." he says, the sword is sheathed in the sword revolver. "In fact, I would see where this goes...you and your friend are invited to train with me in Garlemald." "Together, we will find many answers out. Think about it...but for now, I have a match to get to. Enjoy and savor your victory made of your own strength."
Xion	It was a hail mary on Xion's part and both of the fighters knew it. The 'second' blade that Xion produces for the brief moment of her attack is a lightly curved checkerboard pattern sword that perhaps he had seen Roxas use once before, with a stylized 'x' keychain coming from the more complex box hiltguard. At the end, though, she falls to a knee and pants, her first weapon with the star-pattern disappearing back into the twinkling inventory-space she uses. "T-thanks, Mister Galvus. You were holding back, though! It feels good to... win? But at the same time, it's a little hollow. I can't help but remember the tournament grounds try to make fights 'fair'... but this isn't really a fair fight." "You're much stronger than me. And even if you were trying your best at the end, I can't claim this as my victory. Thanks for the bout, though!" Xion rises, dusting more ash and charred bits off her body. "I need a change. And some ice cream! Enjoy your tournament match!" With that, Xion steps off the Exhibiton Stage and heads off into the stands to find Roxas.