Vandalism? Or a greater purpose? (Kadaj)

[Cloud Strife]

Lightning struck the needles piercing the vast expanse Cloud stood in. There had been reports of someone out here. With malign intent. One of the Lightning Towers was fluctuating, so it seemed that the reports were true. The skies were dark, as always. The Thunder Plains were dangerous, so it made sense to make a move here. Who would dare go and investigate?

Cloud was naturally the one. It would take a little more than a lightning field to stop him enacting what was right. He pulled the Main Blade out as he approached, holding it over his shoulder. He couldn't clearly see anything yet, but from what he could tell, the tower wasn't working at all now. This was of little concern on its own, it would be fixed at some point, but if there was a culprit, they'd continue to break apart the matrix that kept the plains at a bearable and partially traversable level.

Lightning struck the ground here. The tower wasn't drawing in anything. What had transpired here? This work was not that of nature. A quick flicker of silver brought Cloud's attention into focus. There was someone here. And he was fast. He dropped his blade down into a standard guard. His eyes flicked left and right, searching for his elusive opponent.

Why have you done this?

The question was simple, to the point. Cloud didn't talk to vandals. Or anything worse than that. He questioned them. Then enacted his judgement with great fervour. No-one disrupted the peace on his watch.

Nobody.

[Kadaj]

For the heavy, thick clouds that loomed overhead, the rain was surprisingly light. That made working out here a bit easier. As you peer over the massive strip of land known as the Thunder Plains, it's very easy to see how they got their name. An eternal storm, forever looming ominously overhead, throwing down bolts of lightning to the ground to strike the fiends and unlucky travelers who dared to risk their lives to cross. Summoners and their Guardians had to travel this route to reach Bevelle to obtain Bahamut. High Summoner Yuna herself took this path and crossed without too much incident. It was also rumoured that a rare spawn of Cactuar known as Qactuar could be found and fought here. But that wasn't the reason for why a certain black-clad figure was lurking around in the Thunder Plains. One of the lightning rod-towers had malfunctioned and was not attracted the lightning bolts to it anymore as was evident as one struck the ground awfully close, causing the black-clad male to swing his head into the direction of the impact, his silver hair flashing in the light as he did so.

Turquoise eyes glowed mysteriously behind the straight silver hair as the Remnant of Sin returned his focus to the Lightning Tower. He had managed to climb up and disable the matrix that drew in the powerful bolts of lightning, but it wouldn't take much to fix it and make the plains a slightly safer place again. So, kneeling down beside the base of the tower, the male pulled out a device from one of his pockets. It looked like a tiny package of some sort with a wire and a remote control with a red button on. After gripping the control in his teeth, the silver-haired assassin attached the package to the base of the tower before darting off with swift steps across the thunder plains, out into the open where he could effectively get struck at any moment. The Remnant stopped and turned around, lifting up a gloved hand to remove the remote from his mouth before smirking with narrowed eyes at the tower.
"No one will pass this area again, so long as I remain alive. Cutting Bevelle off from the rest of Spira, should cause some concern for those Yevon dogs!!"
Kadaj said, his voice raising with anger slightly as he spoke. With a satisfied smirk, he hit the button.

It took a second initially, but suddenly the base of the lightning tower exploded, throwing lumps of rock and shards of metal from the tower off in every direction. A cloud of smoke started to bellow up from the base of the tower, only a second before another, much larger explosion followed that streaked up the entire length of the tower, blowing the whole structure into pieces that littered the Thunder Plains.
"Heh... Timber."
The Remnant cackled as he dropped the remote to the wet floor and crushed it under his boot. Still smug and satisfied with his mission, he folded his arms across his chest and remained where he stood, watching the smoldering ruins of the lightning tower.
"Those Al Bhed aren't half bad at making some interesting toys... perhaps I'll pay them a visit and take out th--"
The silver-haired Assassin had to cut short and instantly dive to one side, landed on the ground and rolling as a lightning bolt struck right where he was once standing. Standing up and dusted himself off, the Remnant smirked.
"... the rest of the Towers."
He finished up, still smirking.

It was now, that he spotted a figure off in the distance and seeing the flash of steel within their hand, it probably wasn't going to be someone asking which way would be best to cross the Thunder Plains. Intrigued that perhaps either a Yevon Hypocrite or a Non Serviam Dog had discovered him, the Remnant decided to hold his ground and wait in the Plains. If a fight were to break out, maybe the Remnant would use the destroyed tower to his advantage. With a dark smirk spreading across his lips, the Remnant ran a hand through his hair and awaited the arrival of his one and only audience member.

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud saw him again, just as the tower exploded. Al-Bhed technology? This one was loaded. And fast. Incredibly fast. Cloud ran forward a little, his pace quick as always, stopping in front of the silver-haired youth. He began to piece the Fusion Blades together as he ran. This would have to be fought out. No other way around it. He'd blown up a tower, and was now a menace to be reckoned with.

Flaming debris lay scattered about the shattered base of the tower. Lightning crashed around him, swaying away from his blades, the energy coursing through them diverting them just before they struck him.

You. Explain yourself, why have you destroyed this tower. Speak quickly, I have little time for vandals of your kind.

He pulled the last blade from it's holster, swinging it out, dropping the tip to the floor, the almost complete blade in his other hand raised up to his shoulder, standing at ease, but ever vigilant as always, watching the upstart carefully. He truly was bemused at what possible purpose this act of seemingly random violence served. His boots crunched on the vitrified rock, kicking aside small sections of the tower.

Cloud stopped a fair distance from the youth, as lightning crashed around him. He had somewhat of an advantage. The blades own energy was repelling that of the lightning, his blades flaring every time the lightning flashed in the sky. He steeled himself, for it was only the close proximity to his blades that was keeping him from being a target himself. Combat would not allow such a possibility.

[Kadaj]

Grinning to himself and visually as well at that, Kadaj could only be amused by the sight, sound and smell of the completely destroyed Lightning Tower. It would take months to build a new one, and hopefully several people would get killed in the process. Only for Kadaj to come back and do it again. They deserved it! Spira deserved it!! Sin was gone because of them and no-one, nothing and nobody was going to escape from Kadaj's endless, un-resolving and eternal hatred for those Non Serviam and Yevon bastards for killing Sin!!! Well, perhaps one woman, but now really wasn't the time to be thinking about her. Tifa was Kadaj's light of hope and whenever his mind thought about her, he changed to what she had made him. A kind, caring young man. Only when he wasn't around her, did the Remnant of Sin carry out these unforgivable acts of terrorism without feeling any remorse what-so-ever.

With his mind staying focused on and here and now, Kadaj forced himself to block out all his memories of Tifa temporarily. Now was the time for battle and it was against a Non Serviam lackey too it seemed. At least that was what Kadaj had assumed judging from how the young, spiky-haired man spoke to him. A Yevonite would have been carrying a machina rifle at that and had a couple of YAT-99's or YRT-63's with them. No... This guy was certainly a Non Serviam follower... perhaps maybe even a crusader, judging from the look of his impressive, multi-bladed sword. The Assassin merely raised his hands and folded them both across his leather covered chest and smirked, watching the blond man dash his way with bolts of lightning being redirected away at the last moment.

"Speak quickly?"
Kadaj repeated, his voice purring with a hint of obvious darkness and hatred. Though still with his smirk spread across his lips, Kadaj could only chuckle and answer spiky's question. Unfolding his arms, he spread them apart and arched his back slightly as he locked eyes with Cloud, watching him sharply as if the Assassin were a hawk and the blond haired man was his prey.
"Vandal, you say? Well isn't that a shame? How about you talk with that sword then and discover my reasons that way, eh?"
Kadaj said, purring again as he spoke with his calm and casual tone. The darkness and evil in his voice was also still detectable, but oddly enough, he didn't draw his own blade. Kadaj loved his fights. He loved to test himself against all the strong people he came across and if they ended up dying because of it, then that was only a bonus.

The Remnant of Sin was getting a strange feeling from this guy though. Almost as if... Nah, that can't be right. The odds of that were too slim to even consider it. Sure he looked strong and seemed confident and sure of his ability to use that large blade, but the longer Kadaj watched this man, the more he couldn't shake the feeling that fighting this guy would be an awfully bad idea. Not just by the fact that he could loose... it was a deeper, more serious meaning. Almost as if the spiky-haired man knew someone that Kadaj knew...
~A silly thought... this is just some Non Serviam fool who needs to be wiped aside and dealt with!~
Although still standing with his arms apart as if he wanted a hug from the Dragoon, Kadaj was already on full guard and ready for whatever came his way. He always liked making his opponent attack first whether from fear, provoking them or anger.

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud glared at him. An anarchist maybe? It seemed like the only semi logical explanation. He stood his ground, analysing his move. Over confident. Just like a child who's just broken something. Ready to do it again. His eyes narrowed slightly. He seethed slightly. He sensed the malice within his tone. He slid one foot foward.

If that is what you wish...

He brought the final section of the Fusion Swords together, the blade completed. He dropped the blade behind him, staring into his adversaries eyes. They were cold. Cloud gritted his teeth a little. Why did it always come down to this...

...so be it.

Cloud leapt at the youth, blade raised forward, much like a lance, stabbing out as he drew closer. The youth dodged it, swaying to the side. Cloud counter spun, bringing the mighty blade around in a crushing arc, then sweeping it over head in an overhead strike.

Cloud rolled right, planting his feet on a larger piece of metal, propelling him towards the youth, blade sweeping out in a diagonal slash, before landing on another shard of the shattered tower, spearing it with the Fusion Blade, looping over it, standing on the thick blade like a platform. He looked down upon his opponent, one foot in front of the other, ready to drop down and meet his opponent should he prove able to match Cloud's aerial skills.

[Kadaj]

So it begins.

It was too late now to just apologize and leave. The damage had been done. The Tower was destroyed and the Thunder Plains had become a much more dangerous place. That was the last thing on the Assassin's mind right now. Currently, two things were. One; the spiky-haired, Fusion Sword wielding crusader launching an attack at him, and Two; that horrible feeling that something awful was going to come about because of this fight and kick the Remnant right up his bottom. Yet the time for thinking about such things had to end and the concentration on the fight had to start. Already from only having cast his glowing eyes upon the Crusader, Kadaj knew that this was not going to be an easy fight.

For either of them...

Kadaj remained rooted to the spot, watched as for instant that his opponent attacked. When he did, it was a lot faster then he was expecting. Spiky seemed to be able to handle that massive blade without any trouble. First came a spear-like lunge to which the Remnant of Sin stepped away from, in an almost instant movement, he zipped to one side and watched as the spiky blond quickly reeled up and span, slamming his blade down in a huge arc. Kadaj smirked and dug his heels into the wet floor of the Thunder Plains and instantly retreated back to his previous position, allowing the completed Fusion Sword to narrowly miss a second time. His eyes not leaving Cloud for a second, the silver-haired Assassin just continued to smirk as a third counter came in the style of a fast, power overhead swing. Again, probably to the Crusaders annoyance, the Remnant dodged the attack, jumping backwards and lifting one of his hands up to shield his eyes from the rock shards that flew up when the Fusion Blade crashed into the ground.

~OK, he's really fast and has no trouble with that huge sword... Seems like he'll be able to swing that around for quite some time to come.~
The silver-haired Remnant thought to himself as he lowered his hand from shielding his eyes, keeping his glowing orbs focused on the amazing blue ones that Cloud owned. Still, that horrible gut-wrenching feeling that this guy knew someone Kadaj did, which would ultimately end up in something serious happening, was still lingering around in the Remnant's mind. Forcing himself to quickly forget about it for now, Kadaj watched as the Dragoon rolled off to his right and used a piece of the destroyed Lightning Tower, to propel himself at the Assassin. Kadaj had little time to react now, so he quicly draw his twin-bladed katana, Souba and slashed it in a defensive blow at Cloud. A 'KING' of steel hitting steel was deafened by a loud rumble of thunder overhead as Kadaj whirled around to notice the Crusader her impaled a second fragment of the Tower, to hold his weapon as he stood upon it, ready to attack again.

Only a Non Serviam would use such an onslaught against an opponent he knew nothing about, and it was clear to Kadaj now that whoever this guy was, had been tried by the Crusaders. Kadaj's fist clenched around his Souba tightened at the thought. This guy was trained by the people who's sole purpose, was to defeat Sin and protect the towns and villages from Sin Spawn and the fiends that followed. As the Remnant kept his eyes on his opponent, the battle seemed to have slowed down for a second before Kadaj made his own move.
"Who are you?"
The Remnant asked, his tone the same as usual. He flicked his wrist that held the Souba, causing it to flash as the light hit it as the blade spun within his grip.
"There aren't many people out there who can use such a weapon with such ease..."

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud stood, watching him. He was fast. Very fast. And such an unusual weapon. And yet still, he didn't strike...

Cloud Strife. Ex-Crusader. And you? I should like to know the name of the culprit so I may report who'm I have defeated.

He leapt at the youth again, dropping his feet down, pulling on one of the blades making up the side of the completed blade, hurling himself at him, using the slight resistance from the fragment of the tower he had been standing on to spin him round as he attacked, shards of metal splintering out as his blade was wrenched free.

He swung the larger blade over his head, bringing it down in a driving slash, spraying demolished rock into the air, before spinning to deliver another rapid and powerful strike with the other blade. His assault was relentless, swinging his two blades in a deadly series of powerful blows, each swipe being followed by another, the air humming as the blades flashed with each impact, the striking blade falling into a guard after each strike, great gouges being left in the plains with each miss and deflection.

He leapt over the youth, striking at him as he leapt, landing and sweeping his smaller blade across, spinning and snapping his foot out in a kick to the chest. He jumped back, assuming a defensive stance. Time to see what this one was made of.

The Crusaders trained me well. I'd be interested to know where you learned your skills.

Lightning flashed around him as Cloud stood amidst the flaming wreckage of the edifice that this upstart had destroyed. He was good. Quick and possessing great finesse with such an ususual weapon. It suited his style, allowing for rapid strikes, grip changes and fast slashing strikes. It would suffer at a longer range. But from the speed of his opponent, it didn't seem that it would be much of an issue. Most would be dead before they even realised it.

[Kadaj]

Keeping a close eye on the blond haired man, Kadaj flipped his Souba with his hand a couple of times, hearing the dual blades sing as they sliced through the air, before tightening his fist and halting the spinning blade. Now held in a reverse handed grip, the blunt edges of the weapon were resting gently against Kadaj's back. Kadaj found defending multiple, fast attacks easier with a reverse handed grip. Not so good for attacking, but the Remnant of Sin was still in the process of learning who his new enemy was and whether he'd be able to walk away from this victorious. As far as things were for now, the answer was unclear. Unmoving once more, standing as if he were a mere statue, apart from the almost invisible raising and falling of his chest, Kadaj continued to smirk as he watched his sparring partner.

The stern and strong blond haired man had revealed himself to be Cloud Strife, an Ex-Crusader. That made no difference. He was still trained by, and had the knowledge of the Crusaders. That made this guy his enemy through and through, even if he had no direct link with the defeat of Sin.
"Cloud Strife, eh? I think we're going to have several interesting encounters together in the future."
The silver-haired assassin said with a smirk. Should he tell Cloud his own name? Normally, he might have but it was thanks to this horrible, gut feeling he continued to experience, telling him it was going to be a big mistake. Due to that, he only took a single step backwards before bringing his Souba out from behind his back and held it defensively across his chest.
"Sorry Cloud, you're going to have to beat my name out of me."

Suddenly, another barrage of attacks came from the Ex-Crusader. More powerful blows that this time, started to slice into the ground and carve out large trenches as the pair of them moved backwards. Kadaj jumped back, using his Souba in the reverse handle grip to slam his blade against Cloud's doing his best to keep up with Cloud's speed and blocking or deflecting his strikes away. This guy was good, perhaps too good. Each one of Cloud's strikes drew closer and closer before the Remnant managed to intercept his large weapon with his Souba. As the ex-Crusader leaped over head through, the Remnant squatted to the ground to avoid the overhead swing, yet instantly popped back up to parry the smaller sword coming his way. Oddly enough, even though Kadaj had the chance to move away from the kick, he didn't and Cloud scored the first blow in this match.

The impact was strong and it easily knocked the silver-haired man off his feet. Traveling backwards, Kadaj threw his weight back and flipped himself over, punching a fist into the floor to complete his rotation and land back on his feet, skidding a short distance across the wet floor. Staying crouched for a second, the Assassin stood back up and wiped at the wet, boot-sharped stain across his chest.
"Not bad at all. You're certainly stronger then you look. Looks like that Crusader Training has paid off.... but... I can see room for improvement."
Kadaj said with a grin now, his smirk vanished for the time being. Cloud was very good, and maybe he didn't actually have room ti improve. He merely just wasn't using any of his strength yet. Naturally, opponents need to warm up before the real fun begins. Wiping off his chest once more, Kadaj flipped his Souba around and held it normally, before lifting up his arm and pointing the blade towards Cloud.
"I'm almost completely self taught... but I was given great inspiration by my deceased idol..."
Was all Kadaj explained about his own training. Perhaps he would reveal more as the fight progressed.

For now though, it was his turn. Taking a couple of steps forwards, Kadaj instantly burst into a sprint as he closed the gap between himself and Cloud in seconds, slowing his pace down as he entered the blond-haired man's striking range. Cloud's Fusion Sword was much greater in length then Kadaj's Souba was, so he needed to get in close to make his own attacks count. The Remnant took another step forwards and raised up his Souba in more of an attempt to push Cloud's sword up and out the way, before bringing it back down and slashing the twin blades towards his stomach. Not waiting to see if he hit or not, the Remnant of Sin span around 360 degrees and let out one of his own legs in an attempt to kick the ex-Crusader away.

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud's stance didn't falter, even as the youth spoke to him. Discourteous. Definately not a properly trained warrior. His style seemed to reflect this, as much based around dodging as deflecting. He gritted his teeth as the silver haired man, if that was the appropriate term for him, ran towards him with blinding speed. The Main Blade was lifted away, but his Dagger Blade served to stop the slash at his stomach.

The spinning kick was more problematic. The Dagger Blade wasn't wide enough alone to be able to stop it, and his Main Blade was still in the process of moving back into position. For once he was caught off guard, recieving the kick in the chest.

The force of the kick was sufficient to force Cloud to roll back with the blow, hitting the deck and pushing his legs out to fling himself backwards back at the tower fragments. He absorbed the landing, reassembling the blades to form the completed form. Bringing his blade forward into another lancing blow, he launched himself at the youth again, feinting a swipe at him, before planting the blade in the ground, pivoting his momentum around, swinging the blade around in a mighty arc, the air screaming in protest as the blade wrenched out of the ground, ripping great chunks out of the bedrock.

Without pausing, he began swinging at the youth again, exchanging blow after blow, Cloud's strikes being dodged and diverted, his opponents being stopped dead or deflected. The two were evenly matched, because of their differing styles. The youth was noticably weaker than Cloud, but possessed a level of finesse with his double-bladed katana that the Fusion Blade would never be able to be wielded with.

It was also the youths speed that was to be noted, able to strike a couple of blows in the time it took Cloud to attack just the once at his fastest. It wasn't so much that Cloud was slow, but the Fusion Blade wasn't suited to the rapidity that his opponent wielded it with. As a completed unit, while able to drive his opponent back with every strike, he was struggling to match his opponents speed.

Arcing his blade overhead, the wind howling with defiance, he ejected the Hollow Blade as he planted the blade in the ground, spinning around with the blade in hand, striking out before rolling back behind the semi-completed blade, blocking the subsequent strike before rolling backward, tearing the blade back out of the ground, launching backwards, giving himself a bit of breathing room.

For someone self-taught, you aren't too shabby. I'm afraid you're outclassed. Do the honourable thing and give up, and no blood has to be spilled. I'll even let you keep your name to yourself.

Lightning crashed around him as he spoke, flames from the explosion still burning gently. It would look to most bystanders like they had caused the damage. Great rents were torn into the ground, and into parts of the shrapnel. It looked worse than most warzones.

[Kadaj]

The sweet, satisfying sound of a durable leather boot slamming hard into a sturdy chest of another male, was music to the Remnant's ears. It was unfortunate for Kadaj that he had temporarily forgotten that his opponents huge sword could be pulled apart in several others, which was what happened when the Souba Kadaj aimed for Cloud's gut was blocked away. It didn't matter, since with that weapon the blond-spiky man wielded was too great to match the Remnant's speed and his kick hit home with a fierce thud. Though Kadaj did lack strength compared to Cloud, his kick was still more ferocious then any normal human as was evident by the way the ex-Crusader was forced to counteract his balance. Kadaj could only grin as he watched with his kick still extended, slowly twisting his body back into an upright position before placing his foot back to the ground beside his other.

"An eye for an eye."
Kadaj grinned, smiling at Cloud as if he were actually enjoying this match and playing along with it. Underneath that sly and somewhat eerie grin though, was a very strong sense of concentration. One slip, one untimely move and the match would instantly fall into Cloud's favour. Yet the same thing could be said for Spiky. His strength was great and so was his speed whilst carrying such a blade, but compared to Kadaj's agility, he was only second best. It wouldn't be much longer before Kadaj proved it. Strength wasn't everything. What's the point in having the worlds greatest strength if you don't have to speed to hit your enemy? It was clear to Kadaj now. Cloud was fighting this match with strength, hoping to land a single attack to slice Kadaj in half and end it there and then. Kadaj was the opposite, willing to play out this match with speed and attack with several small slices. Since the Remnant's weapon had two blades on it, those slices would double up in no time.

Quickly the silver-haired Remnant's eyes focused on Cloud. He had already caught himself and used his massive weapon to send shard of the sodden rock upon which they both stood, in every direction. Kadaj flicked his Souba back into reverse hand, also as quick as blinking before lifting it up and slashing away at some of the larger chucks of earth that came his way, slice them in half and pushing them off to one side where they slammed back into the ground with a thud and a cloud of dust. A bolt of lightning stuck the earth a few feet from Kadaj, but his posture remained unchanged as he merely continued to stare at Cloud, waiting for the next assault to start. A couple of ripples of electricity streaked down the Souba due to the bolt before dissipating at the tips and vanishing.

Here it came.

Another impressive assault from Cloud, but his blocks were stopped just like before with the sounds of steel slamming against steel, piercing through their ears each time their weapons came into contact. Flashes and sparks darted off each time the Souba and the Fusion Blade came to blows, just showing how much force each opponent was putting into their attacks and blocks to keep the match even. Though Spiky was stronger, his blows were forcing the Remnant to step back each time he had to block. Doing his best not to trip over any of the tower debris as he moved back, Kadaj kept his eyes solely locked onto Cloud, just staring at him with a smile as they continued to 'dance'.
"You're too tense..."
Kadaj said as he took a moment to speak, lowering his Souba and ducking a swing that came within inches of slicing his head off his shoulders.
"Stop holding back! Show me what the Crusaders taught you! Show me the power to defeat Sin!!"
The silver-haired man said quickly in response to himself.

As Cloud jumped back to give him some breathing space, Kadaj took advantage and quickly moved in. As he ran towards the ex-crusader, the Remant chuckled before speaking.
"Better keep your head..."
Was all the silver-haired man said, the instant his figure turned blurry but continued to move towards the blond-haired man in an attacking movement. As Kadaj had spoke though, his voice had come from in another three directions around Cloud. Three more afterimages of the Remnant were coming in at him from all sides each with an attack of their own. However, they were merely ghosts or mirages, and all four of them passed through Cloud without even a scratch.
"...UP!"
Echoed a voice from the sky and a second later, the real Remnant hurled down from out of nowhere, Souba swinging out at speed as a strike was aimed from the crown of Cloud's head. The whole move happened fast. Cloud would only have seconds to react.

[Cloud Strife]

Another facet of this combatants offence became apparent. 3 mirages came at him, each one as harmless as a summer breeze. They were there merely to disguise the real threat. Reflexively, Cloud's blades went up, blocking the strike, but only just, the blade edging close to his eyes. He held him there for a moment, eyes locking, before he flung his opponent skyward.

Cloud, sprang into the air (Jump used), pursuing the youth, swinging his blades frantically, trying to gain some purchase, his advantage in the air having been drilled into him in his Crusader training, becoming starkly apparent as his strikes remained fluid and consistent. He was a master of aerial combat, as capable in the air as on the ground.

His blades spiralled round, clashing against the double bladed sword repeatedly as they rocketed upwards. Cloud stopped rising after the youth, and lashed out with both of his blades, hoping to at least hurl his foe into the ground, propelling himself backward off of the blade to remain airborne.

In his moments in the air, he could feel the intensity of the weather. His hair felt like something was pushing it back into his head, the wind buffeted his every move. It was like a war was being fought up here. It matched the intenstity of the mortals struggling below. Lightning flashed, veering around his blades, smashing into the ground.

Cloud began to loop round, reassembling his blade as he did so. He was ready to begin his descent, blade held behind him.

[Kadaj]

The ringing of steel impacting against steel rung through the Remnant's ears as he stared down at his opponent with a dark smirk. That last move was no techinque or ability. It was just the Remnant showing off some of his speed. To be able to travel to three different positions and create three mirages of yourself, all instantaneously attacking the single target, was no easy feat to pull off. Especially when you can watch your own after images move from a higher vantage point before revealing yourself truly. Cloud was impressive. Remaining calm and focused and even blocking the attack from the real threat.... only just though. Even so, Kadaj could only smirk and watch his spiky haired opponent use his brute strength to fling him up into the air.

It took a second to recover from the recoil, but after flipping himself around in the air, the Remnant of Sin prepared for ariel combat now. Cloud was incoming quickly so the silver-haired man had little time to figure out what to do. Ariel combat wasn't his most preferred choice of battle, but it didn't matter either way. Gravity would bring them back to the ground once more eventually. For now that, there was a blond-haired man with a large sword to be dealt with so the Remnant of Sin did his best to block and parry the blows coming inwards, but after the ex-Crusader fell back slightly and stopped following, Kadaj was caught off guard as his opponent lashed out. Thankfully his Souba was already across his chest so that took most of the impact. Kadaj's weapon though did recoil back visciously and smacked himself in the chest. The force of the Non Serviam's blow easily propelling the Remnant back down to the ground at a fast velocity.

As the wind whistled through the long silver hair upon the Remnant's head, Kadaj himself could only wonder how far he was from the ground since all he could see was the figure of Cloud Strife growing quickly smaller the further he fell. Second before impact though, Kadaj managed to catch himself and flung his legs back over his head, flipping himself around the once before something odd happened. The Remnant slammed into the ground in a crouched position and his Souba stuck in the wet, hard floor to keep his balance. As he hit the ground, a cloud of dust was thrown up as the Remnant sunk into a small crater that his impact made. Yet as the dust cleared, a single, large jet-black angel wing could be seen sprouting out of the villains right shoulder. It was a good 8-9 feet long and covered from end to end in beautiful, dark black feathers.

Kadaj has summoned his Heartless Angel and had used it at the last moment to decrease his falling rate before landing on the ground. As the silver-haired man stood up, his wing flapped the once and blew away the dust that was starting to settle around him. The rain was still falling as usual and the small drops of water started to drip and run off the feathers. Kadaj's eyes were glowing more brightly now and left small trails whenever he moved his head. Looking skywards, Kadaj's eyes met Cloud's.
"I have to say I am impressed..."
The Remnant said, his voice sounding slightly deeper now too, yet awfully calm and controlled.
"It's not every day someone managed to put a speck of dust on my body, let alone make me have to use this..."
He continued, pointing towards his wing with his head in a slight nodding motion. With the black wing now tucked behind his back, Kadaj raised up his Souba and readied himself for Cloud's next move. Unknown to the ex-Crusader, the Remnant's agility and speed had not greatly increased due to the slight transformation.

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud didn't heed the words of his opponent as he began to streak toward the ground, blade outstretched, bringing it back, before swinging it in a crushing overhead blow, smashing his blade down. (Jump resolves) His opponent once again dodged, an event he expected, and Cloud transferred his momentum into rolling away, springing at him, his blade flashing as he brought it round in wide arc. He continued to swing his blade, each strike as brutal as the last.

His opponents blade was making it difficult to properly break through and land a blow, the unusual design making it a perfect weapon for disarming a foe. His blade was almost flung from him, had it not been for his resultant roundhouse kick that his foe swung out of the way of. He swung the blade overhead, bringing it down, flicking his blade out as he did so, the Hollow Blade being ejected from it, as his strike was deflected.

Cloud span with his off hand weapon slashing out, the other held over his back, acting as a guard for him. His assault began anew, his blades flickering dimly as he struck rapidly. In a rapid succession, he thrust the smaller of the two blades out, seeing a possible weakness in his defence, aimed at his foes shoulder. Not letting up, he brought the larger blade around, his attack pattern emphasising much on body rotation, never staying on the same facing, his head snapping back and forth to watch his foes movements.

His foe responded with his own fervour, his attacks coming in fast and from odd angles. Their combat was balanced precariously, neither gaining an upper hand decisively, his foe landing a minor blow on his forearm. The wound was light, but served as a reminder that his foe was still a capable combatant. Cloud had never truly been properly matched, and he now found himself in the unusual situation of apprehension as to the next turn of events.

Sweeping his leg out, before rolling his upper body around, his blade trailing a deadly arc, then counterspinning to bring his other weapon on him, he sought to breach his foes defences. His opponent lashed back out in response, forcing Cloud to leap backward, out of the swirling melee. He slotted his blade together again, holding it before him, a versatile stance.

He watched his foes eyes, the cold dark eyes. They were plotting something...