17th Combo - [Video]

[redcladidealist]

There! I-

[Locked from Eridan]

-did it! Good. That'll keep him from listening in on this. Thanks, Genis. I owe you one.

[Yup, somebody begged his best friend to show him how to lock. That done, he turns his attention on the Dreamberry - and Somarium in general by extension. His expression is very serious, and perhaps a little chagrined.]

Hey, everyone. I... kind of need some help. I need to get stronger, so I need to train, but I also need help learning how to fight magic users. [He makes a face.] Especially magic users that can fly.

[No, he's not talking about anyone in specific. What makes you think that?]

Does anyone want to spar? Or have any advice?

Comments

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[sigh. why could no one ever be on time. oh well, he's used to it so he's not too disgruntled about it.


plus he. may have been distracted by marveling at the perfect symmetry between the two golems that operated the teleporter pad.]

Yes, I am. However, I think it would be best if we properly introduced ourselves. Lloyd Irving, correct? I am Death the Kid. [and holds out hand.]

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd takes the hand reflexively, but his eyes are wide with shock.]

Yeah, I am. How'd you know?

...your name is Death?

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

I looked at the caller-id during our conversation.

[a small sigh. he really has to get used to this.]

Yes, but I go by Kid.

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

[Wait.] You mean... your Dreamberry can tell you who someone is? Even if they didn't say?

Kid. Got it! ["Kid" is still a little strange for a name, but not near as much as "Death"!] Nice to meet you, Kid!

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

Yes.

[reaches behind his back as if to pull out his Dreamberry, calls Lloyd, and holds it up to show Lloyd.]

Right here.

[and pointing.]

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd peers at the Dreamberry, specifically at where Kid is pointing, and sure enough, there's his name.]

Whoa. I never noticed that before. That's amazing! So, you can always tell who you're talking to?

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

If you pay attention and the caller doesn't mask their name. It seems it's possible for one to hide the caller-id to make it unknown.

But enough of that. I believe we are here to help you train, correct?

[and walking over to the teleporter.]

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

Huh. [That sounds... complicated, but it also sounds like something he'll never need to know how to do himself. He's got no reason to hide who he is.

Shrugging it off, he follows Kid, smiling.]

Yeah, you're right. Let's do this!

[He steps onto the pad with the other boy.]

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[and up they go!

Kid normally just used his skateboard to fly up there, so he took the moment to enjoy the view until they landed up on the floating mountain.]

What would you like to do first?

Re: [ action ]

[redcladidealist]

Hmm...

[Lloyd takes a moment to think about that.]

Guns are fast, right? They'd be good to work on my speed and defense. I'd have to get good at dodging and using Guardian. You said you can fly, too, so if you're in the air, that limits what I can do to fight back. I'll have to use long range attacks, or figure something out.

[Which is the point of this to begin with.]

But I think this'll be mostly speed and defense.

Do fake bullets hurt?

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[and holding out his hands, black streams of energy (were those skull silhouettes?) flowing over them as two identical handguns appear. Kid holds up one.]

These guns are special in that they do not fire physical bullets but my soul wavelength. If you are hit, it will hurt, but it will not be fatal nor will you sustain any real physical damage other than some burns and bruises. However, the pain will feel a little different than if you were hit by a physical bullets.

[a pause.]

In some ways you could consider them similar to 'magic bullets' or blasts of condensed energy.

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

Magic bullets. Got it! [Yeah, that bit about soul wavelengths had lost him, but he can understand a simplified explanation like that.

...man, that's so cool how his guns just appeared.]

Okay.

[He draws his swords, preparing for the start of this fight.]

I can use mana, just to warn you, but I'll try not to hit you with anything too strong. You ready to do this?

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[locked and loaded, ready to go.]

That's perfectly fine. You can use whatever you have against me.

[and aiming.]

Ready.

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

Then... go!

[Lloyd bursts into motion, dodging to the right. Kid is still on the ground, but he doesn't know how long that will last. Better to take advantage of this while he can.

So, focusing on long range attacks, then. He'll start with-]

Demon Fang!

[He doesn't make it as strong as he could, but the shock wave of energy that lashes out from his swords will still hurt if it manages to hit.]

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[Kid was rather intrigued by what Lloyd would do—and the dual sword technique was even better—but as soon as he released the attack, Kid simply jumped to the side to avoid and immediately opened fire, letting out three shots aimed directly at Lloyd's legs.]

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

[He probably could have dodged, but Lloyd stands his ground instead, shifting only enough to avoid a direct hit. Throwing his arms up so that his swords cross, with every ounce of focus he can muster he flares his mana out. With a flash of green, the mana forms into a shield that surrounds him.]

Guardian!

[He needs to know how effective his shield is against this attack. Barely in time - the bullets hit and flash out.

Lloyd grins.]

Hah, pretty good! Now try this!

[He dashes forward. What he's planning is still technically long range, but he needs to be closer than this. If he can just get close enough...

He summons his mana, preparing to attack the moment Kid gives him a chance.]

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[...oooooh! Kid couldn't help but notice the symmetry in Lloyd's actions, so he admired both that as well as the shield.

but now he had to be on his guard again as he sees Lloyd rushing at him.

he had two options: stand his ground and wait or run forward to prepare for a counter.

Kid decided to wait, shifting his stance just a bit so he would be able to react at a moment's notice.]

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

[Perfect, now's his chance! His next attack isn't quite so symmetrically executed as he twists briefly to the side, swords back, then one sweeping down, forward, and out.]

Beast!

[The mass of mana he'd gathered follows in its wake, and even though he's still several feet back, the snarling visage the mana forms lunges the rest of the way, seemingly intent with a will of its own to slam into kid with enough force to knock him off his feet.]

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[...why could it not be symmetrical?

but Kid just waits until the very last moment, watching Lloyd's movements. the moment he saw Lloyd take that twist and step to the side, he knew he was about to do another attack, one that was most likely ranged like the last one since he was still some distance away. Kid took that second to time the dodge perfectly, raising an arm to help block and deflect the attack with the side of his gun as extra insurance. it was a little strange since he hadn't really fought against opponents who used such skills, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

sliding down low and twisting his own body around, Kid instantly fired several rounds at Lloyd's now exposed side. so far he's been rather conservative, mostly so he could get a feel of Lloyd's attacks and style. but soon he was going to have to go on the offensive if he really wanted to help Lloyd deal with ranged attacks.

and he had yet to whip out the flying skateboard to go aerial, too.]

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

[SHIT! He's not used to such near-instantaneous attacks! No time to form Guardian, the only thing Lloyd can do is lunge to the side, throwing himself into an awkward sliding roll that he can't let Kid take advantage of. At least one bullet skims past narrowly enough that he feels the sting anyway, and he hisses, trying to ignore the pain enough to concentrate his mana. He doesn't have time. He needs more time.

Not waiting to form any real attack, he slashes one sword across the ground, trailing mana in its wake. The mana doesn't go far, not as weak as it is, but it does what he intended, throwing a spray of dirt and grass in the air, hopefully masking his movements enough to make it difficult for Kid to aim at him. He just needs enough time to get back to his feet and able to defend!]

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[better get used to it, Lloyd! one of the advantages of long distance is that with the right weapon, if it's fast enough it can reach and disrupt a target a lot faster than if someone just tried to run to them.

however, Lloyd's attack was also effective. Kid had to raise up an arm to shield himself from the spray before he turned to where he thought Lloyd might be]

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

Guardian!

[The shield is up barely in time to shield him from the bullets. He makes a note to himself that he really needs to work on his speed with that. He drops the shield quickly, not willing to stay in one place for long, but instead of rushing forward again, he jumps up. He needs to move faster, and he knows one attack where he can. It'll also bring him into close range with Kid, and for a fighter like him, that's even more valuable than if he can land a hit with this.

Mana collects, then when he's at the peak of his ascent, he shoves it against himself, propelling himself like a shot at and angle toward the ground, right where Kid is standing. His swords are out and ready to strike.]

Rising Falcon!

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[Lloyd was fast, and Kid barely had time to register and try to predict where he would land. of course it was easy to assume that he was aiming for him.

however, Kid had two things on his side. One, he was faster, and two, he wouldn't have to wait for Lloyd to land before he could attack. technically if he wanted to he could have side stepped and moved just enough so that he would be out of the target area and fired on Lloyd while he was still in mid-air.

instead his natural fighting instincts kicked in and he jumped back just a few precious seconds before Lloyd reached him and fired.]

[ action ]

[redcladidealist]

[Rising Falcon is a dangerous technique, not only for whoever he's attacking, but dangerous for Lloyd himself. It puts him in the air and on a course where it's difficult to dodge - but this time he's prepared for that, half expecting the attack.

There isn't any time to form a shield, but with his mana already around him and in play, he hurriedly strengthens it, sacrificing some of his forward momentum to create interference.

Pain lances through his shoulder anyway, but it's not as painful as it could have been (at least, he assumes that's the case). He hisses, clenching his teeth against a cry of pain, but the moment his feet touch down, he's lunging after Kid, striking out with his uninjured arm. No way is he going to give up the shorter range he just gained!]

[ action ]

[soulsymmetrical]

[Kid had to really give it to Lloyd for his tenacity. forced into defense, he quickly stepped back, raising the guns to block and deflect the blades as he tried to create some distance.

but if this continued, he would have to be forced to close combat techniques—which he didn't really mind.]