Heroes Uprising: Alternate Universe (Thread 3)

Scott turned to Kiya.
"So, when we were hanging out at the festival, you didn't tell me where you were from. How did you find out about the Xavier Institute?"
He had read her official file with the school, so he wondered if she would give him answers consistent with the file or if she would tell him something different. He strongly suspected the former due to her cybernetic enhancements, but it didn't hurt to see if he could trip her up. Those cybernetic enhancements themselves were suspicious, and he was soon going to confront her about how they pretty much spelled out that she was a mercenary.

The crowd seemed wild for this tournament and the only reason Kiya could hear Scott over the crowd was because he was sitting right next to her. Upon asking his question Kiya responded with a smile, she stood from her seat and motioned for Scott to follow before exiting the stands. The two left the arena and linked arms as they started walking down the hallway. There was still plenty of students around, obviously not everybody was interested in fighting.

"Sorry about that but being in a crowded arena of cheering fans wasn't exactly a great place to have a conversation. Anyway, you wanted to know where I'm from right? The answer is Charleston, West Virginia. I was a right down home country girl when I was younger" Kiya threw in a pretty convincing southern accent for the down home country girl part before returning to her normal way of speaking. "Of course that's when I was young, I've moved around a lot since then spending some time in the great white north of Canada before moving back state side once again. The last few years I've lived in the Detroit area. Wasn't a glamorous life but I got got by until I was able to safe up the Intuition fee for Genosha."

"As for how I know about this place... Who doesn't know about Genosha? This place is famous, one of the most well known gather spots of mutant kind in the world. Who doesn't want to be here, to make friends with more of your own kind and to hone your craft under some of the best instructors in the industry? This place is amazing."

Scott nodded as Kiya motioned for him to follow her, and left his seat to go after her. While the tournament was exciting at times, he had no reason to watch beyond the entertainment value of fighting. He was a bit surprised when she just linked arms with him, but he smiled and accepted it, walking her down the hall like a gentleman. Several other students were milling around, and they garnered a few stares as they walked by.
"It's okay, I was bored of the tournament anyway."

Scott chuckled a bit at her Southern accent, having to admit that it sounded very genuine. He listened as she gave a history of the places that she had been to, how she came to join the Xavier school, and even her reasons for doing so. Scott looked down, closed his eyes, and smiled in amusement as they entered into a gym devoid of other students.
"Amazing, everything you just said is verbatim from your school file. Do you have a photographic memory, are your enhancements giving you such perfect recall, or have you simply memorized your cover story so well that you can recite it with natural ease?"

Scott unlinked his arm from Kiya and turned to face her eye-to-eye.
"You're a first-class operative, Kiya, a real pro. You almost convinced me of your innocence a few times even when I knew you were lying. Ironically, your greatest tools of deception are the things that gave you away."
Scott pointed to one of her enhancements.
"These very enhancements prove that you are a professional, and I'll tell you exactly why."

Scott lowered his arm and stuck his hands into his pockets.
"I did some research and it turns out that the very enhancements you are using are top-of-the-line stuff, really cutting edge in the world of cybernetics. That's not the kind of equipment you can just buy from your local underworld dealer, you need a professional source to get your hands on that kind of equipment. But top-of-the-line equipment doesn't come cheap, and therein lies the proof that your school file is a lie. You don't come from a rich family according to that file, so how could someone who 'saved up to afford the tuition fee' for Xavier possibly afford such quality cybernetics? Hell, there aren't even any hospital records to show that you were injured and replaced body parts with them."

Scott's face looked like stone.
"You do a great impression of a regular student in a school like this, but for a professional investigator like me, finding out who you really are is only a matter of time. I have anonymous sources that warned me of an agent who would attempt to infiltrate Xavier and make off with Sandra. There's no one suited for that kind of job better than you, Kiya."
Scott gave a slight sigh.
"So are you a mercenary doing this for money, or do you have some personal reason for selling Sandra to your employers?"

It looked like Scott had figured Kiya out, any chance of slipping away with Sandra unnoticed was now out the window. It looked like Plan B would have to go in effect. Her innocent expression was gone as she looked back at Scott in a serious manner. "You are to clever for your own good Scott. You know, believe or not I actually was hoping to get away with this with as minimal damage to the True Notes as possible. Now if anybody other then Sandra ends up getting hurt from this, just keep in mind that's on your hands."

Kiya could tell there was no point trying to play this off as any kind of mistake, Scott would clearly see though such a lie. "Professional Investigator is selling yourself pretty short though, isn't it Scott? No you are more then a mere P.I. You see I've done some research of my own, and you sir don't exist, not officially anyway. I ran all the profiles of anybody named Scott Young, and none of them matched you. That means you yourself are either somebody that's deep under cover, so much so that everything down to birth records has been erased. Or, you are not of this planet. Or maybe you are not of this world entirely.

Secondly only one man knows of my mission here, and he's not talking to you. And on the off chance he did send you here, it would be to help me not to stand against against me. You know more then you should Scott, you having "anonymous sources" gave you away.

With the way Kiya talked Scott understood that it was highly likely this mission had absolutely no paper trail, nothing that would trace back to Kiya or her employer. It was a entirely off the books, most likely verbal agreement that would see a money exchange upon completion. Being as good with the details as he is, that only meant one thing, that Kiya was doing mercenary work. However Scott could tell it was no accident that Kiya spilled that detail. Technically she did still answer Scott's question, she just made a point in informing Scott that he wasn't the only one that had been snooping around.

Scott smiled with satisfaction as Kiya finally came clean that she was not who she claimed to be.
"If anyone gets hurt, it's the fault of you and your employers for concocting this scheme in the first place."
He crossed his arms as she told him that she had done research on him and discovered that he did not exist in any official records.
I wonder how she would react if she knew that I'm not even from this dimension?
"You're not the only one who was here undercover," Scott replied vaguely, giving no clue at all who he really was.
Scott simply shrugged with his palms up after she had finished her spiel.

"It doesn't matter how well you covered your tracks. My sources will be able to tell me who your employers are and what your plan was down to the last detail should I need that information. Even if you left absolutely no paper trail, you can hide nothing from me."
Scott uncrossed his arms and stuck his hands back into his pockets.
"Fortunately for you, I don't need to capture you or your employers. I simply need to prevent you from getting your hands on Sandra."

Scott's face turned more serious.
"You also don't need to worry about me turning you in to the True Notes. I will handle this matter myself. I don't want them involved in anything dangerous if it can be helped. In return for this favor, I want you gone from Xavier by tomorrow. I will give you a chance to leave of your own accord, but should the morning sun rise and you are still here, I will toss you out personally."

Scott walked past Kiya, headed back into the hallway and leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Do you really think she'll leave of her own accord, Scott?
That's not very likely. I'm sure that her employers are the kind of people that might have her killed if she failed, and she also doesn't want to miss out on the big pay day they are offering.
So then the timetable you gave her was simply to force her hand.
Now she has to make a move on Sandra by tomorrow morning at the latest, and when she does, we'll be there to stop her.

It would seem Kiya's hand was forced, regardless of what Scott claimed she would have to more fast and she texted her allies in the Fear Factor saying "Plan B in effect". Due to prior arrangements they already knew this meant to stay alert and wait for Kiya's cue, when she says they attack. Kiya figured later tonight was ideal. If she was a betting girl, she'd bet one of the True Notes would win today's tournament, at least she hope one does as it would make her job easier. The True Notes work, but they play hard as well. If any of them win a party is sure to follow, she wouldn't even doubt if they already got one setup in advance. Let the kids get a nice buzz on and then they strike.

Kiya left the empty gym and just planned to continue on with casual students affairs for the remainder of the day as she couldn't risk drawing any more attention at this point.

Scott had continued walking and ended up on the fair grounds once more. Finding a batting cage area, he used a ticket to activate the automatic ball thrower and hit the baseballs into the wall of netting that towered above him. Hitting baseballs was something he liked to do when he was thinking, a physical activity that did not tire him out. He was aware of Kiya's every move thanks to Valor locking on to her soul energy, but he was not able to peer into her mind to know what she was planning. For now Sandra was safely surrounded by her friends in the True Notes, but after the tournament was an entirely different story. Once the tournament ended, Scott would have to be on high alert for the moment that Kiya might try to snatch her.

"Hmm she does remind me of a rather irritating sister, maybe a long lost relative." Llilia smiled, willing to keep up the simple magus facade that was essentially broken awhile ago. She stepped onto the field with a simple calm but confident gait. The moment she stood across from Angelica she appeared confused.

"I think you're mistaken. I don't many Angelicas who are quite like you. However I do know plenty of women with unnecessarily haughty laughter. They were typically poorer and not as interesting as me."

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Amelia and Jonah's commentary was very sparse after the last few fights. The clear display of demonic and now holy power was almost too important to ignore. Even the light Angelica seemed to display was akin to power experienced executioners can summon, but it was far more potent. Still Amelia grabbed the mic and carried on. "Ok so next combatants are another "Fake?" angel and a rich british aristocrat. How did we come here Jonah?"

"Well considering the stage was just recently the setting of a Hentai I'd say this is a little underwhelming."

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Angelica smiled as she loudly cracked her knuckles " Oh my dear sister, I can assure you that there is no one quite like me "

Mr.Rep looked between the two girls  and yelled out his classic " YOU CANT ESCAPE FROM CROSSING FATE!!!! " before he vanished. Angelica started briskly walking towards Tie till she she became a blur and leaped into the air, cocking her fist back, she flew towards the ground like a missile, causing an exposion on impact that shook the ground and completely fractured the arena into various fragments. Tie was knocked backwards by the explosion, but Angelica met her with her shoulder check, spin spinning behind, and grabbing Tie before slamming her in a suplex.

Emmet floated to his feet, Angelica's attack had caused a shockwave that knocked everyone off their feet " She's quite an energetic one "

Tanesha just starred at the wrecked stage as she helped Sandra to her feet " Bitch just destroyed the ring with one punch, a little more then energic "

Sandra quickly thanked Tani while being helped up, that attack had caught her and by the look of things everybody off guard. "Energetic is indeed quite a understatement, this girls packing some serious power."

Katy and Tesla climbed back to their feet as well, having not been ready for such a shockwave they where both taken off their feet. "Fucking hell, is this bitch trying to bring the building down?" Tesla asked in clear annoyance.

The ground cratered even further from the slam and the field was briefly covered in dust from the ring. It didn't take a few seconds before the smoke cleared and Tie was brushing off the dust from her uniform. She smiled as Angelica noticed that her arms were merely hugging a gust of wind made from magic that seemed to crude to an Angel. Physical resistance capable of escaping most forms of restraint. The cast time was fast, however it wouldn't work again against an actual Angel.

"You're right indeed. There really is no one quite as predictable as you, but I'll make it easy for you and only use a single element. Path of the Storm." with the spell uttered Tie took a single step forward. A tornado spawned around her and she was launched forward. Invisible to the naked eye Tie seemed to appear before Angelica with a fist mere inches away from her face. She easily dodged it, but still felt herself get lifted off the ground and blown back as if she took the impact. Angelica was lifted off the ground and blown out the ring.

Angelica yelled as she was blown out of the ring, but after a moment she righted herself in the air " Really? Your arrogance knows no bounds, do you think the element of wind would hold sway over me, then again I wouldnt expect a wingless one to know better, I'll show you how a child of the sky commands it! " she dropped down and sped back into the ring, her arms raised in a boxing stance. A golden light coated her fist, she unleashed a barrage of blows to fast to see against Ties, she moved from spot to spot around the stage whipping up a series of tornados.

Tesla watched on as the battle started heating up. "This Angelica is pretty confident taking it to Lilia, anybody want to take bets? True Notes are 4 wins to 3 losses so far, so the odds seem to be in Lilia's favor, but only slightly. Or maybe this Angelica will tie the score." Roberta, Katy, and Kano where out of the tournament. Tesla herself, Sandra, Emmet and Riku had progressed forward. Seeing which list Lilia will join should prove interesting.

After hitting the last of the baseballs, Scott put the bat back and began walking absentmindedly through the fair. As he was walking, he suddenly looked up to see that he had found a small dojo sequestered away in the northeast corner of the fair. Taking off his shoes, he entered to see that there was no one inside. There were pictures on the walls of stern looking men, but he recognized none of them. This place had none of the earmarks associated with the True Notes, so he did not think it belonged to them. Standing silently in the center of the dojo, he looked around.

The hardwood floor under his feet was made of good, solid wood, possibly mahogany. There was a heavy bag hanging in the upper left corner and a device for learning fast hand strikes in the lower left corner. There were scrolls and weapons hanging on the wall, each depicting sword styles he had achieved mastery in. His eyes settled on the upper right corner, where six katanas hung vertically in a row on the wall. Stepping over to them, he slowly drew the middle one out of its sheath and looked at his reflection on its polished edge.
It's been a long time since I've used one of these.

Five Years Ago-Nirvana

Scott stood across from Chiang in his dojo, holding the katana to the side while his legs were bent in the knees like a boxer's. The two then moved their weapons to a middle stance and launched forward off of their back feet. Gliding through the air, they swung their swords and made contact in the middle. The clash of swords was loud, and each began pushing toward the other.
"Still waters overcome the raging torrent, Scott," Chiang said with wisdom.
He pulled back his sword to throw Scott off balance, so much so that he was bent at the waist on one leg.

Chiang then took his katana hilt in both hands and swung it forward with both hands, the killing edge going right for Scott's midsection. Quickly recovering, Scott planted his feet and turned his sword's blade to the blunt side before further bracing it with the inside of his right arm. Though he had avoided a lethal blow, the power of Chiang's strike was still so great that he was launched into the air. Scott did a back flip in the air and landed in his middle stance, knowing that he needed to seize this offensive to catch his foe off-balance. Shooting forward to close the distance, he swung his sword diagonally twice and then horizontally.

Chiang moved to the side to dodge both diagonal blows, and back flipped to avoid the horizontal blow. As he did the back flip, his rising foot struck Scott's hands and knocked his katana into the air. Reacting quickly, Scott did a 360 degree leg sweep to build up momentum before jumping back toward the wall to avoid a counterattack. By the time his feet braced against the wall, Chiang was already gliding toward him with his sword raised. Scott pushed himself off of the wall and was moving forward, dodging Chiang's strike with only a couple millimeters to spare. As Scott traveled through the air, he spun his body like a spiraling football in order to move through the air with more stability.

Predicting that Scott would go for the sword that had just landed hilt up on the floor moments before, Chiang made a bee-line for the sword. Scott curved downward and his hand grasped the sword hilt just as the vertical attack was coming down. Scott twisted his wrist and kicked the dull end of the sword with the side of his shoe, knocking it away. As his legs continued to travel in that direction, Scott's upper body went with them and pulled the sword from the floor. Using this impromptu reverse stance, Scott slashed Chiang across the stomach before holding it out in front of him as he was crouched. In this way, Scott passed his mastery test for the katana, the last weapon he would master before the Grymwar attacked a week later.

Present Day

Scott smiled as he thought of that day. He held the blade in his other hand palm up and raised it reverently.
"Thank you, Master Chiang. We owe you a lot."
He then lowered the weapon and held it upright in one hand. Scott was just about to return it to its mounted sheath and leave the dojo when something startled him.

"A fan of swords I see." a woman said as she walked up to Scott.    Scott recognized her as Juliet, the girl that fought Sandra in the tournament.    It was a bit of a shame what had happened to her, she was easily in complete control of Sandra until the Phoenix got involved.     He wouldn't blame her to much if she kinda felt cheated, however she seemed not to have been bothered by her loss.     "Come with me, I want to show you something."     This took Scott by surprise, while he was sure the girl had seen him around the True Notes, she didn't really know him.

Scott followed her to a back room where Juliet pressed her hand against a certain spot on the wall, opening a hidden wall safe door.     Punching in a password she opened a locked gate revealing a armory.    From the armory Juliet retrieved a sword and closed everything back up.     Turning to Scott she held up the sword to display to him.    Scott could see this was a very old sword that had seen much use.    The handle looked in great shape, to good for how old the sword is, suggesting it had recently been rewrapped and updated.    The blade had some shine to it, but was noticeably much more dull then the blade Scott was holding, not giving off much reflection.     Juliet's blade also seemed to have a few nicks, with even a tiny chuck missing from the cutting edge in one spot.

"This sword is my most prized possession.   Passed down though generation after generation of the Velaraah family, and now it rests with me.    With no kin of his own, master trained and raised me as his own, this was the final thing he left me shortly before his death.     Raise your sword please."  Scott did as asked, placing his blade alongside Juliet's.    The difference in both blades was pretty drastic looking at both side by side.     "One might call this blade old, battered, or trash.     But there is nothing I would rather take into battle.   This blade has seen many a war, and spilled much blood.    But more so then that this sword holds a secret not many know about."

Scott could tell Juliet cared a lot about this old sword, clearly she had a great deal of sentimental value towards it.    However there was more to it then that, Juliet respected this weapon.    "Tell me, have you ever heard of the blade of legend that was coined the Mutant Slayer?"

Scott was surprised to see a woman come walking into the dojo, even more so that it was Juliet, the woman who had almost won against Sandra in the school tournament. He thought she would chastise him for trespassing and ask him to leave, but instead she simply commented on how he liked swords.
"Yeah, I was trained in all kinds of swords. Out of all of them, though, I liked the katana the most."
His surprise was magnified when she invited him deeper into her dojo, since they were complete strangers. Even so, he followed her into a back room and watched her open up a secret wall safe with a keypad lock.

"Wow," Scott said, not expecting such technology in a dojo.
Behind the wall safe was an armory, from which she withdrew a single sword that had clearly seen better days. It was a katana with a dull gleam that had several nicks and a piece missing, although the hilt was too new to be original. Scott could feel that the weapon Juliet presented to him had seen a lot of combat, and he grimaced a bit as he imagined the blood it had spilled. Scott listened patiently as Juliet explained that this was her prized possession, passed down for generations until her master passed it on to her as a dying gift. Knowing well how strong a student-teacher bond could be in the martial arts, he fully understood her connection to the sword despite its wear and tear.

Scott raised the sword he was holding to do a side-by-side comparison. The differences were pretty drastic, but then again, the sword he was holding and been kept in pristine condition and the sword that Juliet carried had been left in its original condition on the day it passed to her. She explained how she would rather take it into battle than any other weapon, though Scott feared such a weapon might fall apart in the heat of intense battle. He thought of it more as a sentimental charm, since Juliet treasured it so much. His curiosity was piqued once more when she said that the battered blade had a secret. Scott listened as she asked him if he had heard of a legendary sword known as 'the Mutant Slayer'.

"No, I've never heard of such a weapon."
Looking at it, Scott's face turned to stone.
"This is the Mutant Slayer?"
In Scott's own world, mutants had been hunted nearly to extinction decades before he was born, forcing Madame Shadow's father to found Shadowgreen as a safe haven for them. He only hoped that such a weapon had not been used for genocide.
"If it is...I hope that it was wielded in the name of justice and not prejudice."

Juliet understood Scott's concern, he was not the only one that had worried about this blade and what it was used for. "While not the official name, Mutant Slayer is what it's become known as though stories told of those who used it. Despite it's decaying look, the truth of the matter is this sword is still incredibly strong. The details of everything this sword consists of had long since been lost to the hands of time, every generation that passes knows a little bit less about this swords creation. However one thing we know for sure is this sword is fused with anti-mugen material of some sort, considering how old this blade is I can only speculate a mutant helped forge this, either that or some other worldly being. But for sure, humans did not have the technology at the time of creation to make this.

Currently humans and mutants are in a time of peace, but it has not always been this way. Back in the day there was little to no understanding of DNA and how the X-Gene affected people, thus people with usual abilities was looked at as using the dark arts, wizards and witches, sometimes mutants was even called demons."

Juliet turned her head away slightly. "Sadly due to the lack of understanding and fear of the unusual, I can only assume that many innocent people lost their lives to this weapon." Juliet was not proud of this part of the blades his, but it was important to know that we was talking about a completely different part of human history that this blade came from. "However my bloodline did not create the weapon. One my ancestors adopted the weapon after finding it on the corpses of a dead man during a demon attack. They saved the village but the last survivor of the original bloodline had died during the attack. Since this weapon was built for mutants and not so much the supernatural, we think this is where the damage you see originally came from.

Under the Velaraah bloodline, any blood this weapon had spilled was done so only in the name of protecting the innocent."

That last sentence not only eased Scott's mind at least somewhat about the weapons history, but it also means the damage this sword had did not occur recently. This weapon was damaged hundreds of years ago, maybe longer and had seen battles between then and now, but still survived. He was thinking maybe there was more to this weapon then even Juliet knew about, for this weapon to still be combat ready in the shape it was in. There was probably more then just anti-mugen material infused into this weapons makeup.

Scott listened as Juliet explained as much of the history of the weapon as she knew. He understood that a weapon with such a long history had been used by many different people for many different purposes, and was glad that it had not been used to harm the innocent in the hands of Juliet and her family. Looking at the blade, he could feel the cries of the innocent and the wicked emanating off of it, and he knew that there was only one thing to do.
"This weapon is powerful, but in your hands, it will never be as powerful as it could be as long as it remains stained with innocent blood. I shall consecrate the sword so that it is yours alone."
Scott set his sword down and gently took the Mutant Slayer from her hands, holding onto the hilt with one hand and resting the flat end of the blade in the palm of his other hand.

Closing his eyes, he started to shine with a powerful gold and white aura. He was holding the destructive powers of the aura back, and within the aura, purifying forces were at work. The blade glowed with the blue blood of the innocent and the red blood of the wicked before the blue traveled upward and the red traveled downward, leaving just the sword itself. His aura died away and he opened his eyes with a smile.
"This sword is like a virgin blade again, free of any blood that it has spilled. From here on, this sword will only spill the blood you choose for it to spill. It is a new dawn for this weapon, Juliet."
Scott handed the Mutant Slayer back to her with a grin before picking up his own sword again.

Juliet was taken aback a bit when Scott said he could consecrate her weapon. While Juliet never knew of anything that could break the sword, she had to admit that seeing it glow like that as Scott did his thing made her nervous. Not only did the weapon have such a extensive history, but it held so much sentimental value for Juliet. It was all she had to remember the man that trained her and raised her. She sighed a deep sigh of relieve as Scott finished and handed the weapon back to her.

The weapon looked the same, but as soon Juliet held it and took a grip on it, it somehow felt so different. Any sort of guilt Juliet felt over where the weapon had been or what blood it had spilled, seemed to be gone. Certainly the memories wouldn't fade and the weapons history would not be forgotten, but somehow it didn't feel... wrong? Is that the word Juliet thought? As Scott said it felt like a new beginning, a virgin weapon Juliet could make all her own without remorse or fear.

Scott stayed silent as Juliet steered almost dumbfounded at the blade as she examined it in silence, he felt how much this blade meant to her, he also understood that she was trying to process everything that just happened. He was respectful enough to give her a minute and let it all sink in. A few tears would roll down Juliet's cheeks, but they where not tears of sadness. Juliet felt so much more in tune with her weapon then every before. She felt like she could finally do her master proud, to step up and follow in his teachings. Grasping the hilt with a firm grasp she spoke up. "I knew I felt something special about you, but I never expected this. Thank you, seriously I mean that."

Juliet's words rang heavy with heart felt emotion, Scott could feel that this meant such a great deal to the young warrior, it made him feel proud he could help, even if Juliet never outright asked for it. Juliet took a few steps back and pointed the blade at Scott. "If I may I want to ask one more favor of you. Scott I want to challenge you to a dual. Nothing to serious, just a sparring match. Do you except?" With closely this weapon felt to her now, Juliet just had to try it out for herself.

Scott gave Juliet all of the room she needed to absorb it all, every emotion going through her meaning something to his own compassionate heart as well. Helping people was something that Scott loved to do, and it was the core mission that he had sworn to carry out when he agreed to be the protector of his own world. Scott nodded as Juliet gave heartfelt thanks for what he had done for her.
"You don't have to thank me, but I appreciate your gratitude all the same. I did this because I wanted you and that sword to be happy."
When she challenged him to battle, a broad smile broke out and joy entered his heart.

"Of course I accept. It's not every day you get to try out a new sword, after all."
Scott did a leg sweep a full 360 degrees to build up momentum and then jumped back to the opposite side on the floor where Juliet was standing. After he landed, he gracefully put his feet together, held the sword at his right chest, moved it to the same position on his left chest, and then got into a middle stance. This was a ceremonial and respectful way to begin a sparring match with the sword, and Chiang had always performed this with him when they prepared to clash swords.
"Let's have some fun," he said with a smile, ready to begin the sparring match with Juliet in earnest.

Juliet moved into a swordman combat stance, it was so thrilling to be wielding this cherished weapon once more, even though Juliet is only relatively new to the school and hasn't been apart from her families sword for that long, to her it had felt like a eternity. Steering across the room with thrilling excitement, Juliet launched the first attack. She moved suddenly, quickly and precisely. It became obvious to Scott how this girl would of handedly beaten Sandra if not for the phoenix, Juliet's body wasn't massive in mass, but she was well honed with great speed and reflexes. Being a sparring match Juliet knew her goal was to disarm Scott, she didn't intend to spill any blood today, that did not mean however that she was going to pull any attacks. Juliet was going to hit Scott with all she has.

Scott watched Juliet's movements, noting that she was definitely a well-trained swordsman. Every movement was precise with no wasted motion, a testament to her training and skill. It made sense that she had almost won against Sandra, and probably would have taken the fight if not for the Phoenix. That being said, he was also a well-trained swordsman and did not plan to hold back. Juliet would take it as an insult if he did, and rightfully so. Scott had always felt at home in combat, and now he was going to show her what he was made of.

Scott shifted his feet and propelled himself forward, gracefully gliding across the floor. His sword clashed with Juliet and locked against it as they pushed against each other. However, Scott immediately lowered his hands and pushed upward and back, breaking the struggle and immediately went on the offensive with a flurry of skillfully executed attacks. His sword struck Juliet's again and again, not leaving any opening for her to counter, or so he thought. A sudden counterattack from an unexpected angle forced him to jump back, and he was then on the defensive, though he turned his sword so that each attack slid off of his sword and gave him openings to attack. Juliet would realize that she was fighting another master swordsman who could easily hold his own against the best in any world.

Juliet was quick and strong, not making it easy for him to disarm her. Each time he tried she deftly evaded it. She tried her own disarming techniques, forcing him to withdraw to avoid them. Scott swung hard enough to knock her back when his sword collided with hers, giving him space once again.
"You're really good, Juliet," Scott complimented with a smile.
He then took his middle stance once more, standing strong and inviting her to attack once again.

Juliet hasn't had a fight this good in a long time, since her master died. Not to many still used swords as the weapon has become kinda a novelty next to superpowers and modern weaponry, and many of those who did where students in training that couldn't really push Juliet to any serious degree. So finding Scott was a amazing turn of fortune and luck, having somebody like him to really help push her to new heights by virtue of just being a legitimate challenge.

The two broke apart after the first flurry had ended in a clash. Scott complimented her which Juliet returned in kind. "Seeing I've been using swords ever since I was old and strong enough to handle one, then I would certainly hope so. That said, you've certainly got some extensive skill yourself. I'm very impressed."

Juliet got back into stance herself, her eyes completely locked on her opponent giving Scott no opening whatsoever to surprise her. This battle was going to come down to who made a mistake first. Given she went on offensive last last time, this time Juliet was going to wait or Scott to make the first move, opting for the defensive to start the next the next round.

Scott smiled wider as she returned his compliment.
"I had a great teacher."
He saw the hardening of her eyes and knew that she was going to make him attack first this time. Being on the defensive and waiting was a powerful strategy used in martial arts like Aiki-Jujitsu, the basis for martial arts like Aikido, and so he knew he could not take this lightly. Scott had not used in a sword in almost a handful of years, so right now, Juliet was the better swordsman. With that in mind, he could not afford to make a single mistake or she would defeat him in the blink of an eye.

Scott began circling her very quickly, making it hard to keep track of his movements and looking for any opening that he could exploit.
She has a good solid stance. No matter where I attack she'll be able to strike first. Perhaps it is safest to strike from the front, after all.
When he was back in front of her, he moved forward and began clashing his sword with hers, striking again and again with different combinations from before. He mixed them up to make them unpredictable, but Juliet was so skilled that she was able to keep up and back him up.

As I thought, I'm too rusty to beat her right now. Had this fight happened when I was at the peak of my swordsmanship skill, it would be much closer, but I won't win with a sword this day. You truly are a great opponent, Juliet, and I salute your skill.
Pushing her back with all of his strength, he sheathed his sword but remained in his stance. This was a different style of fighting with a katana, attacking each time the sword is drawn from its sheath and defending by removing about half of the sword from its sheath before returning it. When the sword was drawn from the sheath, one would not know until the blade was coming at them whether it was a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal strike, with often fatal results.

This was Scott's final gamble to snatch a win against a stronger opponent. Looking Juliet in the eyes, he left no tell of when his strike would be coming. Calm serenity and focus seemed to emanate from him like an eye of the storm. Either this attack would seal him the victory, or he would be defeated, a last roll of the dice. Gripping his sword, he drew it out so quickly that the human eye could never have seen it. A diagonal strike was coming for Juliet's sword hand at blinding speed, and whether she would win or lose depended on how quickly she reacted to this attack.

When Scott sheath his sword Juliet recognized the tactic he was about to apply. She knew she wouldn't be able to follow this attack with her eyes, she'd have no way of knowing where the sword was coming from until it was to late. She readied herself and started calculating Scott's next move. When Scott came at her Juliet moved instinctively to counter with Juliet's blade meeting Scott's and even slicing it in half as the two had put their best into the attack. The tip of Scott's blade went flying and stuck into the floor, Juliet sighed a brief breath of release. She figured she was most likely right, but there was never certainty in combat.

She sheathed her weapon the battle now over and spoke up. "I figured you would come at me with a diagonal strike, a horizontal strike seemed like something that would be to obvious for a guy like you." Juliet reached out for a handshake from Scott. "Fantastic battle, I hope we can do it again some time."