Xavier Bloodbayne

[TZDL2017] Xavier Bloodstain vs Dias Blade - Semi Finals

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[TZDL2017] Xavier Bloodstain vs Dias Blade - Semi Finals

The Devil Makes Work For Idle Hands…

Too much time had been wasted waiting for a battle which never came, for too long he had soaked in the stale air of that Egyptian tomb; the insatiable itch to tear men limb from limb growing ever more consuming. Time dragged on and on, with Xavier's bloodlust shifting into a voice in the back of his mind screaming bloody murder; a longing embodied as the need to bathe in the blood of the innocent finally snapped his composure. With a bellow so fierce and strong it could be felt vibrating the crust of the earth, Xavier disappeared with a violent burst of red energy that left a crater almost a half mile wide in its wake. Time to kill.

---

It was an unknown world that would feel his unholy wrath; a village that under the blanket of night had found themselves under siege by creatures of almost demonic origin. They were at one point familiar to the townsfolk into which they sank their teeth and claws; they were the animals they had been tending to within their walls and the neighbors they had once called friends. There was but one stranger that took part in this massacre, a large ashen skinned man with onyx hair and glowing red eyes who marched up the main road; the monsters gathering upon his heels as he made for the Citadel. Xavier Bloodbayne, the visage of death and Chaos, had come to destroy all things these feeble men and women held dear to them.

“They have broken through the gate! Fall back to the cita-DECH”

Standing atop a large hunk of rubble was a large, broad shouldered man who was decked out from head to toe in gleaming metallic armor; fresh dents and scratches littering it’s surface. From within the man’s helmet, the tattered remnants of fleshy limb protruded from his mouth; the bone snapped off into a pointed tip that dripped flesh blood as the guard fell to his knees and gripped helplessly at the flesh between his jaw.

Before the darkness took him, Xavier would stand before him and use the heel of his boots to slam the man’s body against the ground; a metallic crunch sounding off that was followed by a wet tearing noise as Xavier forced his heel through armor and flesh in one fell swoop. With a blood soaked smirk upon his face Xavier would raise his right hand to the air and point his index finger to the Citadel; his minions reacting to the unheard order in an instant as they began their charge.

As the creatures tore passed him in hopes of tasting flesh, Xaviers perception of time slowed to a crawl as he became aware of something tugging at his very essence, calling him elsewhere in the cosmos.

So, we begin once more. Xavier thought to himself as he allowed this strange tugging sensation to pull him away; the Diseased creatures he had been fighting alongside of falling in limp heaps on the ground as their energy was torn from them.

All of a sudden there was a deafening explosion followed by a blast of several small arcs of emerald green lightning and Xavier was gone; the sound of uproarious cheering from the remaining townsfolk echoing in his wake. They had been spared; for now.

---

Upon the surface of the Red Planet and within the sheltered confines of the Southwest Porch area of the arena, an explosion sounded off in almost perfect unison with its brethren across the stars. The soft green glow of the computer monitor in the wall intensified for a moment as the green lightning cascaded along the surface of the wall. Xavier now stood broad-shouldered and unflinching in the corner of the porch, staring out through the opening before him so as to analyze the Arena in which he found himself and the landscape of this planet. Something spoke to him as he mulled over the scenery; an evil presence, ancient and beaten, that spoke with only whispers of what had been. Stale as it was, it was an energy that still reeked of Chaotic design and conduct; the mere presence of it was enough to send a pleasured chill up Xavier’s spine. With every muscle that quaked as this shiver spread from head to toe, a massive surge of Dread Energy particles manifested from the pores of his skin; pouring into the air like sand. Millions upon millions of particles gathered around their master, swirling and quivering with excitement before spreading themselves to encompass the arena inside and out; obscuring ones vision after 40 feet and coating the air with a metallic taste comparable to straight copper.

This cloud was for the most part a uniform density, save a small mass of vibrating particles that had swarmed upon the parasitic mass that lay within the center of the arena. The same energy he felt upon the surface of the planet seemed to lie dormant within this strange creature. What secrets did it hold?

For the moment, Xavier would remain where he stood and let the cloud of energy he released be the only actions he took. He was more interested to see who it was that he would be paired against this time around. Hopefully this one would show their ugly mug.

[TZDL2017] Xavier Bloodstain vs Dias Blade - Semi Finals

Player Name:Bloodbayne

Availability: Any day Beyond 10 Am to 10Pm PST.

Name: Xavier Bloodbayne

Age: N/A

Height: 6ft 3

Weight: To Be Determined – Skeletal structure has been altered drastically causing 3x density.

Race: Bloodbayne - Custom

Appearance:

[+]

Weapons or items:Xaviers body is his weapon and is limited only by his knowledge of varying weapons and items that can be created from metal.

Abilities

Dread Energy - On the base level, Dread Energy shares many characteristics with Chaos Energy. For the simple reason that they were at one point the very same thing. Where they differ is due entirely to Xaviers indomitable will. Which would go on to allow him to gain even more power.

• This is simply the base of Xaviers powers. It leans on the red color spectrum but I visualize it as a thick roiling cloud of black, purple and red.
• Thousands of small particles come together to create a single cloud. Xavier can feel each of these particles as an extension of his body and mind granting him absolute control over their structure. Allowing him to condense the particles to induce physical damage or he can disperse the particles over a wide area and utilize each individual one as a sensor to detect minisucle physical movements that are out of sight and even changes in energy levels of the surrounding area.
• The structural integrity of weapons and armor may begin to waiver after several direct hits and/or physical blocks of the Dread Energy. Unless said weapons or armor are in someway preventing direct contact being made. Such as generating their own energy in some way or being coated with a protective barrier. Other means of preventing physical contact can be accessible.
• Can induce insanity through sustained exposure to heavily tainted air or through several physical attacks of this or any other varying attack forms.
• Can gain power during matches from the mass destruction that can take place during matches. From starting large fires that rage on or off the direct battlefield all the way up to the collateral damage caused by high powered attacks.
• Being of custom mutation it removes the ability of others to directly control it or any of its counterparts. Indirect manipulation or misdirection is fine, but attempting to bridge the gap between man and energy would allow the energy to attack the mind directly.

Dread Metal – Xavier has replaced the blood in his body with a liquid metal form dread energy substitute. The Dread Metal, as it would be named, gained its special properties through decades of breaking down a stone lake bed before Xavier has found it. The Dread Energy had absorbed the energy from the stone and soon became melded with it; thickening its structure and granting Xavier and in depth understanding of how to manipulate Earthen Elements. With this knowledge and a little trial and error Xavier would finally settle on the Dread Metal he uses today.

• Auto-Defense Much like the Dread Energy itself, Xaviers Dread Metal is a full extension of himself which lies dormant within his body until willed into action. Via his direct commands Xavier’s blood is forced through the pores of his body wherever it is needed where it takes on the glisten of liquid metal and can harden in an instant to replicate the strength of heavy armor with almost half the necessary amount of material.
• Capable of solidifying even muscles on a whim to increase durability.
• Capable of creating any metallic object/weapon
• Runs on a reserve of 4x human blood levels. Utilizing an empty chest cavity for storage
• Is worked into muscles, tendons and skeleton.
• Twice as strong as steel; utilizing a living structure to absorb impact better.

Dreadful Flames – On the whole these flames would operate much like ordinary flames. They do however burn with a dark red hue. The infusion of Dread Energy grants them the ability to burn eradicate matter at a higher rate as well as allows Xavier to create his flames on a whim.

Dreadful Lightning – In much the same way as the flames Xaviers lightning is not much different than ordinary. It glows a bright red and he is able to manifest on a whim by altering the makeup of his Dread Energy. Several direct hits would eventually cause the Dread Energy to seep into the targets mind and cause hallucinations.

Earth Manipulation – On the whole, this is the generic ability to control the earth element. It is mainly used to allow Xavier to control his blood better. However Xavier can imbue stones with Dread Energy if they are made within direct vicinity. These could radiate Dread Energy and lace the nearby air with it; assisting in creating a battlefield specifically for extra-sensory perception by radiating the Dread Energy used to create them on a recycling loop to keep them charged. Likewise if an opponent finds themselves exposed to the Dread Energy from the stones for too long it could slowly warping an opponent’s mind.

Enhanced Body

Xavier is known to possess three to four times as much blood as a normal human of the same size and stature. The main reason for this is that Xavier is free from the burden of major internal organs such as lungs, kidneys, liver or hear. All these things are broken down during the change and their cells are used to produce more Dread Energy. Xavier’s blood is a combination of Dread Energy and earthen Energy that allows Xavier full control over his blood. Meaning not all wounds will bleed and if they do it is often for an underlying reason.


• Xavier redesigned his entire physical anatomy from skin to skeleton. The bones were constructed of Dread Metal and their structure was almost identical to that of natural bone; holding an interior of slightly softer metal that bends and hardens as the bones require. Muscle was stacked atop of muscle with perfect and microscopic interweaving of Dread Metal; adding to their density and maintaining flexibility.
• Xavier’s skin has absorbed the Dread Energy magnificently and because of this it has a natural ability to repel energy based attacks and has a natural resistance to flame attacks. However slashing is still surprisingly effective against the upper layers of skin before making contact with muscle. Xx
• Xavier has enhanced the neuron pathways that send signals from his brain to his various limbs. Allowing his body to beginning reacting at an increased rate.

The Chronicle

As a young boy Xavier had always thought he had the good fortune of being born normal. In most situations, this would be the case. Normality is not such a bad thing after all. However if you live in a world of magic and wonder. How great is to be normal then?

Xavier did not know this right away of course. Xavier and his parents lived in a small town in the hills. Being this far from the Titanus, the lands capital, sheltered him from what the world had to offer.

It wasn't so easy to hide as time went on. Xaviers parents, Rayne(f) and Aton(m), began to hear news that more and more children were being affected. Gaining incredible abilties around their 10th birthday. It was something they hoped and prayed would happen every night.

One by one the children of his town began nearing and passing their 10th. It hadn't exactly been counted but it seemed as though every child in town could do something. Touch and play with fire, make the wind blow and move a pebble or a puddle. Everyone but Xavier.

They all held out hope for the first few months and did their best to encourage him. Even going as far as to let him train along side them in hopes he would pick something up. Though he never did.

Months turned to years and Xavier faded into obscurity. Cradled as best one can be by the comforting words of his mother. Aton took less and less kindly to Xaviers normality and became more likely to express that to Xavier on any given occasion.

Xavier had just barely turned 12 Just days before the village had been attacked by horrid beasts known as The Diseased. Vicious creatures that held forms near identical to the indigenous animals. Though it would look as though they had survived being skinned alive. Exposing incredible muscular structure which always appeared wet with a thick black substance.

The Diseased were well known all throughout the land. Though no one had ever seen one in the foresty hills around the village. This made it all the worse when the village was attacked in the dead of night.

Citzens awoke to blood curdling screams of agony as the monsters went to work. Many blamed the children and their abilities for attracting the monsters attention. They were also however, credited for saving the entire town.

All of them except for Xavier, who stood quivering at the front door of his home along side his father. On the other side a snarling monster was heaving itself against the door. Shaking it on it's hinges. With every thud the wood audibly split more and more before giving way. Aton charged in with a yell while Xavier fell back with a yelp. Sliding himself under the dining table.

The beast looked something like a bear whose skin had been torn away to expose the muscle beneath. It threw Aton like a paperweight against the wall and Rayne cried out from beneath the bed im the corner; gaining the beasts attention. Aton was still getting to his feet when the beast flipped the bed and began slashing at Rayne which caused Xavier to cry out now. A mistake as Its gaze now fell on Xavier for a just a moment before it leapt through the air. Xavier rose his arms, closed his eyes and screamed in terror. The sound of tearing flesh filling the room.

It was a few moments before Xavier opened his eyes, screaming again when he did and scooting even further back. Directly infront of his face was the snarling maw of what looked like a mountain lion. Gnashing weakly as the last of its life poured from its body. Upon a closer look Xavier saw a stone spire jabbing through the wood and skewering the beast.

Frightened as he was Xavier looked up to the doorway to see a 13 year old blonde haired girl with a smirk on her face. Though her green eyes and his brown had met for only an instant, Xavier could feel a lifetime of judgement and despair behind that gaze.

The pain of her look was nothing compared to that of his father. Who was staring so sternly at Xavier that it bore a hole through his soul. There was a mixture of anger and disappointment in his eyes. It was all Aton could do to shake his head. Standing up with a grunt he moved over to wear Rayne lay and gathered her bod in his arms; taking a moment to gather her one severed arm before shuffling out the door.

Aton never said a word to Xavier after that. He simply awoke one day to find that his father had left and cleaned out the cupboards; leaving only half a loaf of bread on the table. Xavier never gave up hope that his father wouldn’t abandon him and lived on his own in the home as he awaited his father’s return. Days turned to months and as Xavier was forced to into thievery to sustain himself day to day the hope began to wither and word of the dirty little beggar boy began to spread. The children grew increasingly merciless and with each year their torment worsened. Until by means of stoning the town forced him from his town and ensured he would not be welcomed back.

This was only the beginning of Xaviers hate fueled life. Hatred not only at his own weakness but at his father for abandoning him and leaving him to the cruel hands of the townsfolk. At the other children and their powers and most of all the girl who exposed him as a coward.

Xavier decided to learn to fight with a blade in place of magic. Hell-bent on proving that magic is not needed to be stronger and that he was no coward. The easy part was stealing a sword off the night guards when they fell asleep. The hard part was spying on the training sessions they held beyond the walls and not being caught with the weapon.

This allowed him to defend himself when the Diseased would come. Even if the town wasn't attacked Xavier had to worry about the strays that would come out at night. Try as he might though he was never able to fight alongside of or at the same level as his now grown ex-friends. His rivals. Driving him further into anger and hatred.

The years passed in much the same, miserable fashion up til the eve of Xaviers 18th birthday.

The day started out with an overall good feeling to it. A very strange sensation since he had taken to a life of squalor and good days were seldom seen. Be that as it may whatever cloud had been hanging over his head the last few years seemed to have faded away. For the first time in a long time, he decided that he would have a bath and clean himself up before heading into town.

However, the day would inevitably show its true colors when Xavier reached the Eastern entrance of his old town. The front yard was littered with mangled corpses of man and Diseased alike, leading through the portcullis and into the town.

A mixture of disappointment and hope cascaded over his body as he followed the corpses with his blade gripped firmly. On one hand he was disappointed that this would happen on the first day he chose to go to town. Hopefully though it would allow him a chance to regain himself in they eyes of even one person.

“Aarggh!” a mans voice cried out in the near distance.

Xaviers head picked up and a smile dawned his face as he heard Xaviers anguished cries. Which seemed to be coming from a few streets over. With sword drawn Xavier put heel to stone and set off to find the wounded man.

After running a few streets over and wandering aimlessly Xavier found himself at the head of his old childhood street. Each doorway of every house littered with blood, bodies and broken furniture. All that is, except for what remained of his home.

All at once the shame, fear and hatred that had haunted him so long came pouring back; cascading from head to toe in a chilling wave. In his mind he screamed for his body to turn and run, when Xaviers voice cried out once again. Though now much louder and more defined. It was the voice of Aton.

“Argh-help me!” his voice tore through the darkness, breaking Xavier out of the trance he had placed himself. With gritted teeth and a shaky iron grasp of his blade Xavier charged his home; using a well placed boot to throw the door open.

The pained screams of Xavier had continued up to the moment that Xaviers foot pressed against the door. Replaced only by the faint vibrations of an animalistic growl that emanated from the shadows of The bed nestled into the corner of the no bedroom house. Xaviers feet landed lightly upon the wood but sent out an audible creek which silenced the growling and highlighted a faint squishing sound from the same area.

Xavier could hear his heart beating in his ears as he shuffled his way slowly along the wooden floor. Try as he might he could never make out what it was that lay in the shadows, it always seemed to be just out of sight or hidden in darkness. The grip that had only moments ago been as steady as a mountain had begun to tremble at the thought of what he may see next.

It was only as he rounded the bed post that the picture began to come together; beginning with an ever widening pool of blood and Inside this pool was a set of limp legs. Xaviers heart sank a smidge, for they had been severed just inches above the knee and their respective body lay a few feet further. Xaviers eyes had widened and his breath had quickened as his eyes gazed over it all. When all of a sudden there was a quick jostling in the corner followed by a wet gurgle.

Xaviers breath caught in his throat as he shifted his vision and the tip of his sword towards the still abnormally dark corner of the room no more than 2 feet away from him. From the darkness stretched a pale, bloodied hand as though it were begging for help. However Xavier could only see up to the arms elbow; enough to see that it was a mans but the darkness was hiding anything more. He was hesitant to explore further.

As though something had sensed this there was a brief sound of rushing wind followed by a squishy piercing noise and another manly grunt of pain stifled by what sounded to be a mouth of blood. The hand that had been reaching out seemed to tighten together in a brief moment of pain before going limp and falling to the floor. The tip of Xaviers sword lowered suddenly and he began to move forwars as he felt a wave of terror come over him. Had his only chance of saving his father just been ripped from him?

“Dad!” Xavier called out to the darkness, stretching out his hand for the pale limb he saw as his father. But not everything was as it seemed.

The darkness ebbed away with each step he took and soon Xavier could see that the body attached to the arm and the sword which lay only inches from it. What’s more, there was now two faces staring back at him from within the shadows and the scariest part was which one he recognized.

Lying on the ground with a face twisted into a soft, dead grimace of pain was a man Xavier had never seen before. With legs attached and all but of his chest was gone though. The flesh torn open and innards eaten with the blood painted across the second face now staring back at him. The face of his father. Albeit a little different, seeing as half of his face was opened up presumably by a sword wound and was oozing a black liquid. For just a moment they stood motionless and held eye contact, before a small quiver touched at Xaviers lip.

“Dad…” Xavier whimpered, causing his father to shift his body sideways with only his arms; dragging bloodied legless stumps across the ground. “No..!” Xavier yelled and began to back away with shuffling foot steps, sword clanging to the wooden floor as his grip on more than just his sanity was lost.

As though answering his final yell, the Diseased that was his father opened its mouth and released a scream which managed to ring at every octave and sent a chill through his spine. Xavier turned as quick as he could and began to run away, but it was too late. Xavier felt nails digging into his skin just before he began to fall. As soon as he hit the ground he rolled over, allowing him to reach out and grab hold of the Diseased by its shoulders. Holding it just far enough away that it’s gnashing teeth were just out of reach of his face. Xavier let out an involuntary cry of anguish as he fought against the weight out; lessening his grip to grab his blade would open him up to attacks and laying here hopelessly would eventually run him dry. And even if he could escape he didn’t feel like he could bring himself to kill what had been his father. Plus it wasn’t like he had anything to live for anyway… there was only one thing he could decide to do.

Xavier looked into the black, lifeless eyes of his father’s face and managed a smile through the effort he was exerting. “I love you dad.”

Xavier shut his eyes and relaxed his arm's, welcoming whatever may came next as the Diseased released yet another piercing screech as it descended upon him. Xavier could feel the teeth beginning to gnaw at his chin when a brief quaking of the ground shook the floorboards. Followed immediately by a Splintering wood and a wet squish.

It took a few seconds, but eventually Xavier opened his eyes and was staring directly into the black orbs which had replaced his father’s eyes. Through its skull was a slender spike that seemed to be jutting from the floorboards.. Xavier turned his head quickly to the other side and was greeted by the sight of a beautiful green eyed, blonde haired petite woman who snapped her fingers when he saw her and made the spike retract into the ground and his father’s body fall onto him.. On her face was a thick smirk which oozed arrogance.

With sensual crossing strides the woman crossed the room and stopped just a foot from Xaviers head where she bent at the knees and crouched further to his level.

“I guess even as a man you don’t have the balls to make it in this world.” She spoke with a soft, but harsh tone. She looked over at the lifeless body of his father. “At least now he’s free from a life of shame. Perhaps I should have waited and let him take you with him. Lord knows he always talked about it.”

With a prominent smile and a wink she stood up straight once again. She spun upon her heel and flicked her hair with a whip of her head before making for the door. With each step her words echoed louder and louder in Xaviers mind. As she neared the door every negative feeling he had ever had began to swarm his mind with her face as the sole image in his mind.

”Are we going to take that from that bitch?” a deep voice called over the noise in his mind. And in a mighty roar Xavier drowned out the noise and answered the voice.

“Noo!” Xaviers voice boomed as he righted himself; grabbing his blade from the floor in the process.

The woman jumped from the vicious tone of the scream and turned in query of what it was; a mixture of shock and confusion on her face as she turned. Though she had barely turned and made eye contact with Xavier when she felt his blade tear through her back and up through her lung and ribcage. The look of confusion became twisted with pain as her hands moved to weakly grasp the blade jutting out of her while her eyes stayed locked on Xaviers. No longer were they brown, but a red/purple mix that looked like clouds.

As soon as Xavier pierced his blade through the woman Xavier felt an incredible surge of power deep within his chest. Putting his nose against hers Xavier let out a scream directly in her face, his arms flexing very visibly before the woman’s feet were lifted off of the ground; a quiet squishing sounding as the blade sank in deeper as all her weight was put onto it. Xaviers yell ebbed away as he lifted the woman a foot into the air, only to shout again as he rotated the tip of the blade in the air so that it and the woman’s face were pointed at the ground. With a heave Xavier thrust the blade towards the floor boards and embedded the tip with a very solid thud. Leaving the woman’s legs dangling helplessly in the air and her face pressed against the floor beneath her own body weight. By now she was managing intelligible gargles of help as her arms flapped uselessly.

Xavier took a step back and watched the woman choke on her own blood; his breath heavy and rapid as though he were a panting animal. It was only when the woman’s body finally went limp that Xaviers mind began to come back to him and when it all hit him; Xavier broke down in tears and fell to his knees.

They’re coming. the voice spoke to him again; making Xaviers head shoot up and his eyes go wide.

“Whose coming?” he called out to the empty room. “Who are you?!”

The only one who cares whether you live or die. Now move.

Before Xavier could answer the clatter of armor and volley of manly voices signaled that the guards had begun doubling back for cleanup and knowing what he had just done Xavier knew the strange voice had a point. Even with the warning Xavier was unable to escape through the window before the guards were through the doorway; allowing them to give chase.

No matter how fast he moved Xavier couldn’t shake the guard and they chased him clear out of town and for what seemed like miles through the surrounding forest. Eventually night began to fall and with no torches the guards decided to fall back to town; leaving Xavier all alone in the darkness with no idea of where he was.

Xavier stumbled aimlessly for hours in the darkness until finally he stumbled upon something; a tree root sticking up in the path. Thankfully by using his head he managed to cushion his fall, by means of slamming forehead first into a Boulder and protecting his body.

“Fuck!” Xavier yelled as he put his hand to his forehead once he felt the blood pouring down his face, bending his head down to keep the blood from his eyes.

Xa-avie-er.. his name was called out softly by innumerable women’s voices.

In an instant Xavier the chill of the night was forced away and replaced with a strange warming sensation; as though a fire had suddenly been lit beside him. Quick as a whip Xavier lifted his head to try and see where the voices had come from but he was quickly blinded by his blood and forced to wipe it away.

Xa-avie-er.. the voices rang out again, but more prominently.

Xavier lifted his head again with his eyes blinking rapidly in a futile effort to clear his vision. Though his vision was hazy he managed to see a dark figure not far from him and beckoning with its arm so as to guide Xavier.

Xavier followed the dark form for a short time but despite getting a hold on his bleeding he was never able to see more than her silhouette. Here and there Xavier would lose sight of the shadow entirely as it passed by a tree, only to have it reappear behind a different tree almost beyond his peripherals. It felt like a game of cat and mouse that finally ended as Xavier was led out of the tree line and into a small moonlit clearing with a lake at its center.

Looking all around him Xavier couldn’t seem to find the figure that had been calling to him in the forest. For that matter why had he been hearing voices at all today?

Before Xavier was allowed to finish his thoughts he had his attention stolen away by a bright red spark that suddenly lit up an area of land closer to the lake. Xaviers pupils dilated the moment he focused on the light and the warm feeling passed through his body once again.

As they dimmed away and fell to the earth yet another show of red light came about, a tiny set of twin lights no bigger than the tip of a needle that danced and twirled around one another just above the dirt. As they spun they released a shower of sparks onto the ground which sparked some growth within the soil as a small, pitch black plant stem broke through.

Xavier began to take small steps towards the light show just as the tiny orbs began to rise into the air, the black stem stretching up in unison. Both the lights and the stem would rise up to around Xaviers knee height before stopping, allowing the orbs to expand their rotations. In that same moment the orbs began to dim in brightness as the amount of sparks they created increased dramatically. The black stem split thinly at the top with a light shower of sparks, allowing 3 additional stems to curl away from the tip and drop lightly towards the earth.

At the very tips of these hanging stems gathered the sparks of the now faded light orbs and with just a few pulsations they took form. The light on these stems faded with time as well to expose a plump red plant bulb whose folds glistened with a red light hanging from the stems. The beautiful sight painted a soft and stupid smile upon Xaviers face as he dropped to his knees with outstretched arms. The tip of his finger had barely grazed the surface of the nearest bud when all three blossomed in unison and with strange force. With their forceful opening they released a hazy red cloud of toxic spores that would hit him square in the face and send him reeling. A howl of both pain and surprise echoing into the darkness as he hit his rear, scrambling backwards away from the lake and the plant.

Upon impact the spores would infect the body and cause instant sensory hallucinations, which is why Xavier howled as he did. To him, that simple burst of air felt as though it had torn straight to the bone of his jaw and on top of this there was a bright red flash as the spores touched his eyes. Frantic pawing and a copious amount of fear filled tears made cleaning his eyes relatively easy and allowed him to get his bearings.

While he had not thrashed about he strangely enough, was no longer facing towards the plant or the lake but rather away from it and towards the forest. Quick as a whip Xavier turned 180 degrees to face the lake and plant again. A deep sense of Dread welled up within his chest as he stood and stared the plant down, a cold sweat dripping down his brow. From inconceivable place a deep and throaty chuckled endlessly, standing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

Deep inside his mind a voice was screaming, urging him to turn and run but this voice was silenced by an undying curiosity. This time a curiosity to see exactly what it was that was starting to bubble beneath the surface of the dark lake. From the murky water a single pitch black tentacle stretched towards the sky until it towered high above Xavier. Whose eyes were glued to what was going on. omg
When it reached around 12 feet high the tentacle finally stopped growing but it began to make an ungodly noise. As though a large creature was heaving and readying to spew vomit. With each heave the tentacle would quiver, eventually making a small orb appear at its base. With each heave that would follow the orb would rise higher and higher until with an audible *pop* it reached the top; at which point the tentacle would spring into movement once again.

The strange tentacle fell back and downwards towards the surface of the lake in an almost free fall like state. Curling itself at the last second so that it shot through the air just above the water with such speed it rippled the water behind it without ever making contact. It moved at this incredible speed towards the bank Xavier stood upon, angling at the last moment so that it was now headed towards his face. A sinking feeling entered Xaviers stomach as he was overwhelmed with fear but found himself unable to move other even close his eyes as it closed in on him.

A quiet gasp slipped from his lips; the tentacle stopped only an inch from his nose. Again the voice inside him screamed to run and again it was smothered by sickening curiosity as the mass began to heave once again. Almost out of nowhere a slit began to appear on the surface of the mass. A slit through which long and thick strands of matted black hair began to protrude, more and more falling through as the tentacle heaved.

With more and more being exposed it wasn’t long before patches of lightly tanned skin began to come through. A severe chill ran through Xaviers spine as everything came to a rest, his jaw dropping open in a silent scream. Staring back at him was the severed and mangled head of a man with emerald green eyes whose days of glistening were far behind him. For Xavier, it was the very same face of the man who had been trying to eat him earlier in the day; his father. .

Adrenaline began to flood through Xaviers body, bringing about a light tingling across his body showing that things were coming back online. Even now his scream was beginning to come through piercing and loud. But, it wasn’t from his mouth. The muscles of the face staring back at him had not moved an inch, yet through its slightly open mouth came a terrified and ear splitting yell. Horrified as he was Xavier tried harder still to scream and still his voice was stolen from him.

Just as he thought it could get no worse, the once distant eyes and relaxed muscles of the face began to distort and change. A look of intense ferocity crept over the once dead face as its gaze locked with Xaviers, its once terrified scream twisting and distorting until it became a beat like roar with its mouth still hanging open.

In one quick movement the doppelgangers face closed the tiny sliver of distance which remained between itself and Xavier. Going so far as to graze the tip of its nose with his own so as to inspire the most amount of fear possible; with great success. Xaviers voice was his own once again and it came out in a shrill yipe as he spun on his heels, turning away from the tentacle and the lake and starting on a dead run.

The moment he turned from the creature he felt a brief moment of peace at not having to see it anymore and he seized it. Putting his feet to the ground with as much force as he ever had before, hell bent on never seeing this place ever again. However Xavier only felt the glorious thud of freedom beneath his feet for three steps when it was suddenly ripped out from beneath his feet. Almost to literally.

On the 4th step Xaviers monstrous, adrenaline fueled step met only air as it came down and it sent an icy chill through his entire body before it suddenly met a thick, gooey substance. Just like moments before his vision was suddenly masked by a horrid flash of red light, revealing everything for as it had been all along. Where he had thought that he was running back to the confines of the forest he had infact turned and ran directly into the black lake. While he would never understand it in his last moments, a hallucination had caused him to misread the position of the black lake and caused him to run straight into what he wanted to avoid. What he did understand, was this lake was far from being filled with water.

The black substance was thick as syrup and worse than that it seemed to grasp at his body and yank him down further now matter how hard he struggled. In an effort to scream one last time Xavier opened his mouth and reached to the sky, only to have the thick substance shove its way down his throat just moments before his vision is covered entirely.
[/hr]

All at once his senses clicked off. Darkness, emptiness, nothingness. The feeling of his tense muscles simply faded away and he left with a warm sensation over taking his entire body; beginning with his toes. It wasn’t possible for him to move his head to look at them but Xavier was almost positive that they were gone.

Xavier was floating in the nothingness for what felt like hours; having lost sensation in everything save for his neck and head. When out of nowhere and from everywhere a deep voice spoke again; his words creating a rippling mass of energies that seemed to stretch into infinity.

Ahh Xavier.. it spoke softly. We finally get to meet…

As the voice trailed off another light show began before Xaviers eyes, before his own face suddenly appeared from the darkness. Staring back at him with dark purple eyes.

Face to face. The voice spoke through the copy of Xaviers face. A huge grin stretching impossibly an inch beyond each ear.

Slowly the real Xaviers face began to twist with confusion as his lips pursed together. “Wha-“ Xavier started slowly.

Whaaat is going on you ask?! the fake face called out, pressing itself against Xaviers face as it spoke. But Xavier couldn’t feel it at all.

Long story short; I’m stealing your life little man! On the last syllable the face gained a full head and grew a neck.

Xavier tried to have a reaction, but his face felt frozen now. No longer taken over by warmth.

“Don't worry” Xaviers voice spoke from the face in front of him. “This is what you were destined for! I have been watching you for quite sometime and I’m here to tell you that you’ve finally made it!”

With a quiver and shake the floating head produced a bare chest down to the abdomen and it sprouted two arms and hands; one of which was holding a small hand mirror. Quick as a whip the hand brought it between Xavier and the strange being before him; allowing Xavier his first sight of himself. Xaviers eyes widened at what he saw.

In the mirror staring back at him was only a pair of brown colored eyes, wide and glistening with fear.

“Aaaaaghhhhh!!” Xaviers voice yelled through the darkness before the mirror moved away, showing it was the fake Xavier screaming from his mouth. “I do believe that was the word you were looking for, no?” The fake Xavier sat cross legged in the darkness with his elbow resting on his knee to help prop his chin up with his fist. Entirely nude with the cross of his legs hiding his junk.

“Well great, now I feel like I should explain!” The fake Xavier threw his hands up on feigned exasperation.

“You see, your world isn’t exactly ‘your world’” The fake used air quotes now before pounding his hand against his chest. “it's ours! And you shitheads are only borrowing the space.”

What? a disembodied voice echoed in the darkness.

“That’s it!” The fake Xavier snapped his fingers and pointed towards the eyes in the darkness. “You catch on quick my friend! It took me centuries to figure out how to speak here! But still; shut your god damned mind.”

“Now, as I was saying, this world is ours! The gods! We created everything you all take for granted!” The fake Xavier had begun to pace now; a black rectangle hovering over his dong as he strolled in perfect loopty loops in midair.

“Even those powers that you all drool over and fantasize about are nothing more than cheap knock offs granted to you by the gods. But do we get any sort of thanks? No!”

No we…Only…You

“Eh?” The fake Xavier stopped in his tracks, angled diagonally in the air with his head pointed down in relation to what Xavier viewpoint. The naked body seemed to tense for a moment; before raising a hand and swatting at the air as though to wipe away the subject. “Yeah yeah they aren’t what’s important right now.”
Xaviers body rotated quickly on its own to right itself as his legs became crossed once again and he moved to face the disembodied eyes. With both hands raised the thumb and forefinger of each hand snapped together and left the index fingers pointed at the eyes.

“YOU are what’s important right now my friend!” Now he clasped his hands together and interlinked his fingers so that he was holding his own hand and he painted the same cheesy smile on his face. For once in your miserable little life you actually matter!” Pulling his hands apart Xaviers body created a shower of sparks that danced as he wiggled his fingers. “Hurraayy!”

Seconds of silence passed by and the smile melted away from his face. “Well don't start blinking for joy or anything.” He let out a soft sigh before starting again.

“Okay look; I am a God too. Through difference of opinions I found myself locked in ‘god jail' “ the air quotes made their way back. “Sure I spent the first few centuries crying and the next ones enraged but eventually I realized that if I didn’t like it here I was going to have to get myself out. And so I worked up a plan that was centered around a piece or human garbage. One of the only children the gods saw unfit for their gifts. You!” Xaviers hand reached out and jabbed one of the disembodied eyes straight in its pupil; popping it in a cloud of white smoke.

Even though he was beyond his physical body Xaviers consciousness could feel the incredible pain caused by that and he screamed out in pain as his other free eye closed. The darkness around them trembled as Xaviers voice boomed through it; causing random jolts of a thick red energy to light up the darkness.

What little bit of a smile was left on the face of the man in Xaviers vanished in an instant before he began to float in a slow circle to take in everything that was happening. “That…is a new one….” He spoke quietly.

“Anywho!” he hollered as he snapped around to look at Xaviers disembodied eye. “When I saw that none of the other gods saw you fit take their gifts; well I just had to have You! I could feel your misery and jealousy and it was oh so sweet. So I grabbed hold of your life and I shat all over it! The father that never accepted you and ultimately despised you for being a weakling. The mother who loved you so dearly and yet you were so helpless to stop her slaughter. The friends and town that cast you out like the true human garbage you are. It was all me ! Mitsurashi! God of Chaos!” He exclaimed cheerfully.

“I got you nice and mad at the world and all that hate started to open a doorway for me to finally grant my gift on someone. Today, when you finally lost it and absolutely massacred that woman you burst that door wide open and now: here you are!” With a big grin Mitsurashi unfolded the legs of Xaviers body and floated away from Xaviers disembodied eye. While motion towards his entire body with graceful strokes of his hands in the air Mitaurashi spoke again. “Or here I am actually! With all those chaotic feelings bouncing around inside you and the chaotic life you’ve lived you’re now this big writhing pool of Chaos Energy that's going to allow me to gather enough Chaos Energy at one moment to finally break free. And since it’s the old switcheroo my brethren will be none the wiser until it is too late!”

Mitsurashi brought his hands together once again; creating a shower of purple sparks that danced briefly in the air before swimming to the tips of Mitsurashis fingers where they would shine brightly. “Now, all that’s left to do is to syphon the energy away from you and I will leave you to float aimlessly in this prison for all eternity!” As he spoke he turned slowly and began separating his fingers, causing purple energy to ark between his outstretched fingers. As though teasing Xavier, Mitsurashi was wiggling his lit up fingers as he approached Xaviers last disembodied eye. “This is only going to hurt for a moment.”

Xaviers eye was frantically scanning the scene before him; it was about to run itself out of its socket when Mitsurashi reached out and placed both hands of glowing finger tips in a perfect circle around Xaviers eye. Xavier could feel a strange pulling around his eye socket.

“Ahh yes” Mitsurashi spoke softly. “I can feel the energy within you. Just let it slip away boy. Give your life to me!”

What remained of Xaviers vision was overcome by flashes of purple lights and visions of his past. On the whole he began to feel very sleepy. Each flash of purple energy caused a different piece of his life to flash before his eyes; each scene darker and quieter than the last. So this is what it was like to die.

No.. The word echoed quietly, but in its wake it created pulsating waves of a dark red energy. Just before Mitsurashis fingers flashed from purple to red and caused him to cry out and retract his hands; eyeing them suspiciously. But they were purple again.

“What was that..” Mitsurashi spoke quietly. Looking over at Xaviers eye, it was crying and still looking for any kind of way out. It didn’t seem to be him. With a Vigorous shake of his head and a flex of his hands Mitsurashi readied himself to try again. “I just have to rip It out of him.”

With a deep breath Mitsurashi slammed his hands back around Xaviers eyes and his muscles visibly tensed as he worked himself. Xaviers eye rolled back to expose the whites of his eyes before they started turning a dark purple color. Xavier blacked out in an instant, but only for an instant.

Nooo!! This time the voice boomed like thunder before a thick, red lightning bolt appeared from the darkness and collided with Mitsurashis neck. Wrapping itself tightly around his throat.

“What?!” Mitsurashi exclaimed.

The purple color that had overtaken Xaviers eyes was starting to change; a swirling red mass growing in its center. The purple lights of Mitsurashis fingers shifted to a dark red purple as well and he found that he was no longer able to pull his hands away.

“I don't understand…what is this power?!” Mitsurashi screamed.

The last of the darkness in Xaviers eyes faded away leaving a dark red color in place of his whites. His eyeball rolled back to center, exposing a glistening red iris.

“It's your gift to me; remember.” Mitsurashis mouth moved in perfect unison with the booming voice that tore through the darkness. Mitsurashis skin began to crack and fracture, allowing the dark red energy to pour from within. No matter how hard he tried; Mitsurashi couldn’t scream about what was happening. Xavier was starting to regain control and even better; he was taking over what remained of Mitsurashis as well.

Mitsurashi threw his head back as his own eyes were forced to change from purple to red; a look of pain twisting his face. Though it wasn’t for long as Mitsurashi face fractured and cracked before his entire body exploded in a majestic puff of red energy. The darkness came to life with a volley of red lightning strikes; each of which grew stronger than the last until…
[/hr]

It was no more than a minute after Xavier had first fallen into the black lake, time passing much slower in the real world. The pitch black darkness of the night was briefly lit up with red as a massive bolt of dark red energy tore through the air and smacked dead center in the black lake.

Xavier had managed to work up enough energy to break through the prison and the black lake acted like a magnet for his power. Providing him a sanctuary where he would be able to figure out how to sustain a physical form.

Inside The like he found what remained of his body lying at the bottom; already a skeleton as the Chaos Energy had eaten away the flesh. It gave Xavier a base to work with though and through trial and error Xavier would manage a roughly doppelganger that would allow him to obtain another body. When he did obtain a body, Xavier went on a series of killing sprees to collect several different specimens that he could add to the black lake. Learning their muscular and bone structures as he could feel them being broken down bit by bit.

Xavier also found that the Black Lake had begun to dissolve the stone surrounding it, breaking it down to an atomic level and joining the two as one. The liquid was essentially a living, writhing form of a Chaos/Earth hybrid.
[/hr]
Within a few years Xavier had learned an incredible amount about his own bodies possibilities, the liquid that would in time serve as blood and the muscular and skeletal structure of the human body. Using this knowledge Xavier fashioned himself a new body and set about a plan if revenge that would bring about the fall of his town and it’s defenders.

With each defender he dragged back to the lake, Xavier was able to add their power to his own. Amassing a collection of 3 different elements before he was banished from his world. Fire, lightning and stone. Shortly after he was banished from his home in the multiverse and now moves randomly between worlds in search if battle.

[TZDL2017] Xavier Bloodstain vs Dias Blade - Semi Finals

Availability -
Thursday through Monday from 8Am to 4PM. (PST) This availability is subject to change.

Sounds good to me!

Paradox vs Xavier Bloodbayne

“Get off the road ya fuckn' moron!” A man's deep voice bellowed from within a passing town car; its window rolled down so as to better deliver his almost sage-like advice. Without allowing a moment of silence, the man thrust his palm into the solid rubber at the center of his steering wheel; a low pitched and high volume honk sounding off in quick succession. The vehicle had been traveling in the right lane when Leo jumped onto the bridge and the driver simply saw nothing more than a hooligan climbing into the road and was now merging into the left lane so as to speed passed him. Leo threw the smallest of glances to his left as this vehicle came up beside him and saw a heavyset white male with black, messy hair giving “The Finger” as it passed him; the man's face was contorted into a look of absolute fury, as though he hoped to strike Leo dead with that stare alone. This look of hatred visibly softened as confusion and terror took hold on the man's mind; Who and why was this man running on the bridge with a sword and battle armor? The man slammed his foot onto the gas pedal and the car hastily drove away; swerving to and fro as the driver attempted to watch Leo through the rearview mirror

In the next instant Leo’s attention would snap back to the battle at hand as his gaze shifted back down to Rakhana; just in time to see the large fragment of the guardrail get thrown by some unseen force above her and collide with the building beside her. This one was chock-full of nasty surprises, and he had to say; he liked it.

From his vantage point alongside the guardrail, Leos eyes were able to pick up the faintest twinge of movement from the woman’s body before it seemed to lock in position; the exact same set of actions he had witnessed when they first met and her position had changed very quickly. There was also a faint, hazy glimmer in the air around her still form as though the sun were beating down upon it, but Leo had only just noticed it when Rakhana came back into view. The barrel of her gun was clearly aimed at him and it was all Leo could do to widen his eyes once more before the purple-blue energy exploded from the barrel. From the Pauldron upon his left shoulder there was a faint, white glow that sparked into life the very instant that Leo knew he was about to be shot.

Despite this white glow, Leo was relatively unable to defend himself against at least the first blast and in an instant it screamed through the air and tore through the cement barrier infront of him. At almost the same time, Rakhana let loose with another shot from her weapon and it was screaming towards him now. Some of the power that the first shot contained was lost as it made impact with the stone, but nonetheless it tore through almost unimpeded; smacking home against Leo’s chest in a brilliant display of purple and orange as its energy dispersed around Leo. Just an inch before the round was set for impact, the heat which the plasma round was trying to impose upon Leo was, for the most part, rejected by the Flame Materia that was residing within the buckle of his armor. The armor pieces which took the brunt of this hit (left Pauldron & pectoral and upper abdominal plates) were covered in flakes of pitch black soot where the paint had been burned away; exposing brilliantly colored pearlescent emerald streaks to the air where the paint had crackd away. As the energy was forced around him, Leo could feel stings and stabs of pain on his face as he was pelted with strings and strands of the deflecting power; lining his face with a dozen strand like blisters. The impact of the shot slamming home with his hand had sent Leo into a back pedal which his left foot was already shifting back to correct, while his right hand lurched through the air in what could be seen as an attempt to regain his balance; a white, smoky aura surrounding his open palm.

The second round that Rakhana had fired smacked home just shortly after the 1st; but just before impact had been made it was met by a previously unseen wall made of several translucent, white hexagonal sections. As the plasma made contact with this wall there was a brilliant flash of bright light followed by an ethereal shattering sound as the hexagonal sections scattered to the wind; carrying the energy of the plasma along with it. It was only the kinetic force of this round that would have any kind of impact on Leo, adding to the backwards momentum which had already caused him to backpedal. With a trust of his left foot down, Leo transferred his weight upon it so that it would act like a pivot; his body twisting in a quick blur of motion that would allow the third shot to careen passed his body and into the sky.

Leo would allow this spin to continue until he had spun around 360 degrees in only a half second, allowing his knees to bend during this spin so as to remove himself from the woman’s view. When the spin had finished, Leo’s armor was quick to dislodge three of the magical orbs to which it held; the Flame Materia in his buckle, the Barrier Materia in the Pauldron and the Ice Materia still resting within the strap on his left bicep . Before the orbs had traveled even an inch Leo was rearranging them; swapping the flame and Barrier Materia with one another and placing the Ice Materia into the last free slot on his weapon, which was instantly covered in a thin layer of frost. Meanwhile, beneath the Guardians Pauldron, a brief glimmer of light began to glisten.

I just need a little time… Leo thought quickly to himself; his mind picking apart the situation with minimal timing.

With naught but a simple flick of the wrist, Leo’s blade would glide through the air infront of him with a blur and a soft metallic pi-ing as it met the guardrail and slid through it like a hot knife through soft butter; simultaneously releasing the Ice Materia which had been stored within. With another blurred movement Leo’s right hand was thrust forward and a massive gale was born at the palm of his hand and tore down towards Rakhana. The sliced slab of concrete had only begun to shift out of it’s position when the temperature of the air around it took a sudden substantial drop, and a myriad of ice crystals began growing rapidly upon its surface until they became one large and thick piece of vibrant blue ice. As soon as the gale from his right hand slipped over the frozen stone, it joined with the ice Materia still present in the air and sent a wave of freezing air towards Rakhana around 60mph. In a mirror opposite of what Rakahana could do, Leo had released a massive cold front fueled by Ice Materia directly at his opponent; which would start out as wide as the swing that called it to life but would widen very quickly to a massive wave as it tore towards the ground below. Placing 6 feet between the woman and safe ground in whatever direction she would choose to move to.

On this day, with the bitter sting of winter already heavy in the air, Rakhana would be facing a cold front that boasted temperatures just shy of -400 degrees Fahrenheit; more than cold enough to coat everything it touched in a thick layer of frost and ice as it traveled.

Paradox vs Xavier Bloodbayne

Leo didn't have to use much time to retrieve his weapon, but it seemed that even a few seconds was more than adequate for this Fifth Apocalypse to make considerable changes. When he had darted back into hiding, the woman had been standing on the side of the street opposite of the Walkway exit. As he would throw himself from his cover he could see that there was still a distinctly feminine form in that location, but its features were blackened a its entire form was unnaturally still and fixed into a position of obvious muscular tension. In this fashion the copies would line the path between Leo and Rakhana with random placement; the only similarity being that each body was pointed roughly toward the one behind it. With eyes darting back and forth frantically Leo took in all this information before he had even made contact with the cement after his initial lunge; his right foot now landing gracefully upon the ground and carrying his momentum forward.

As Leo allowed his focus to fall on what he believed to be the real Rakhana, he noticed that there was something preventing him from getting a clear picture. Some sort of hazy disturbance…

It’s coming again! Leo screamed internally as he recalled the same visual disturbance he had seen before almost beimg burned just moments before. The trail of smoke seeping from the heated up objects and area between the two of them was the final giveaway.

Leo’s left foot hit home against the concrete now and as his attention focused for an instant on a small steel pole that was embedded within the center of the cement walkway; marking the beginning and ending of the path on this side. As the momentum of his stride was being carried through to his right foot, Leo bent his left leg at the knee so as to drop his body just an inch before he would quickly re-extend it; lifting his body into the air. As soon as his body was aloft there was a bend at the knee of his right foot as it readied itself for it’s own bound. In a flash Leo’s right would be atop the steel pillar of the walkway and then lifted away as he extended the leg out; sending him higher into the air at a diagonally left path from the pillar. The knee bending swapped legs once again as Leo prepared his left leg for another leap as its foot drew nearer to the top bar of a chain link fence at the end of the walkway. The hollow metal tubing withstood his step, though it couldn’t help but buckle under the force he quickly exerted upon it; leaving a small bend in his wake.

Like a kite riding upon a warm summers breeze Leos body would glide majestically through the air at a slightly faster pace than he had been sprinting; his actions appearing as no more than twitches. In his hand, the Mako Blades handguard was shimmering a brown color once again and one would be able to see him raise it up and over his head just before he would vanish from sight; landing upon the overpass of the Williamsburg Bridge that was beside them.

Upon landing, Leo would slam his weapon home into the cement and release the Earthen Energy in his blade in a controlled shockwave towards the guardrail of the overpass near where Rakhana would have been standing. When the shockwave would reach it’s target; just a second later, a series of stone spires would be created within the concrete and then expanded so as to tear a large chunk of it free. This massive chunk, roughly half the size of a car, would be plummeting down towards Rakhana.

Meanwhile, Leo would have removed his blade shortly after landing and would continue his distance closing sprint from the safety of his overpass cover.

Paradox vs Xavier Bloodbayne

It was shortly after the massive arc of lightning had left the tips of Leo's fingers that he began to realize he had made a rather large mistake; the Mako Blade had not been retrieved in his last course of actions. Continuing to battle without it was a fool hardy venture, he would have to sacrifice any ground he had gained in these last seconds so as to obtain it. With this thought in mind he began to separate his hands as quickly as he could so that he would be able to reposition them.

Still 'floating' through the air, Leo watched as the bolt of lightning smashed home with a brilliant display of light and sparks; but it had been stopped and it's energy diverted before it could connect with the woman. Well, that happened. Leo thought to himself while watching the lightshow. As it faded away he could see the gleam of the woman's barrel as it was trained upon him and his eyes began to narrow. At this point, his hands were around shoulder width apart and just about even with them in height as well; still raising into the air as the woman's firearm went off. Leo had been expecting a mundane firearm that would operate in much the same manner as anything he had seen in this town, but there was a surprise awaiting him within the barrel. There was a quivering mass of light purple energy tearing into the world and it was pointed straight at Leo; causing his eyes to begin to widen.

Leo's arms were raised infront of him at a 45 degree angle in relation to his shoulders when Rakhana fired; both wrists angled with fingers pointed to the sky and palms facing outwards as an almost unseen glimmer of light began to escape his Pauldron. In that same moment one might be able to see a ripple upon the skin of Leo's forearms as it was visibly displaced by the summoned energy being forced towards his hands.

As the ripples would reach his wrists Leo's position in the air would suddenly shift in perfect timing with a high pitched screeching the filled the air. When the energy reached Leo's hands he had summoned a pair of monstrous gales with speeds of around 45mph to come from the palms of his hands. Together, they would send him flying in a backwards diagonal path towards the ground as well as send him into a quick but controlled backflip from the kick of the action; causing the plasma round to fly harmlessly overhead with its own incredible heatwave trailing behind it. Would he have been so lucky if he hadn't had to go back for his blade? Leo could not afford to dwell on this question and put it out of his mind as the ground drew closer and closer to the soles of his boots; already a plan forming in his mind.

Just as he made impact, Leo commanded an orb to dislodge itself from the strap on his arm and a radiant white orb would do just that; falling from it's socket and actually began rising up as Leo's began to bend his knees and drop upper body very quickly. With a quick flex of his legs the movement was stopped and reversed almost instantly which would cause the orb to slingshot down through the air as Leo began to leap backwards. On impact, his arms would have dropped to his sides and now the left arm pivoted slightly so that the fingers were pointed toward Leo's back with the palm pointed up towards the sky. As Leo would leap backwards he would do grasp hold of the white orb tightly in his left hand, now ready for at least one more energy blast as he practically flew backwards through the air.

Without shifting his gaze from the woman Leo would land back behind his stone structure in just a few seconds; hopefully without being shot at once again. Once there Leo would shift the white orb into his right hand so that he could place it into the Guardians Pauldron of his left shoulder and draw his sword from the ground with the left hand; once again gifted with the surge of power that comes from wielding it.

Damn that was close Leo thought, I need to be more careful; obviously this Fifth Apocalypse woman is going to be trouble.

Digging his foot into the ground, Leo would sprint out from behind his stone cover; leaping between the stones and the right (Rakhanas left) fence so that he could hug the wall as he sprinted. A ranged battle was not going to benefit him this time around, the woman was clearly far better suited for that than he. But what if he could close enough to deal some physical damage? It would be tough; but perhaps not impossible.

With this thought in mind and unrelenting focus upon the woman, Leo would move in almost a blur up the right side of the walkway; aiming only to close the distance now that he had made so many small mistakes which had almost cost him his life.

Paradox vs Xavier Bloodbayne

Obviously, Leo hadn't given much thought to how his words could have been misconstrued given the exact settings in which their paths had crossed. It was shortly after he opened his mouth that the specific context of the moment began to set in and he could feel a proverbial foot being shoved into his mouth; the fat toe causing him to choke on a correcting response.

"I-I don't mean.. I'm not like a...I..."

The rambling was cut short when Leos eyes picked up a brief twinge of movement from the woman's body before it seemed to fade out of sight and reappear a good distance away under hazy cover. The sight caused Leo's pace to slow and the woman's voice and words stopped it entirely; had he found the Fifth Apocalypse after all? Or had his words simply rubbed the right person in the wrong way? Before he could discern this, Leo's eyes picked up another disturbance in the air; a faint line of smoke seemingly streaking towards him from the sidewalk between them. Further examination showed that a hazy cloud of air rocketed infront of this initial disturbance and was just about to make contact.

Shit.

The hand which held unto the large sword tensed and began to raise both hand and sword in a seemingly terrified and defensive fashion; as though he were attempting to shield his face from the incoming blast of heat and this would be half true. As the blast of heat made contact with Leos body there was a magnificent light show of glittering orange as the wave came into contact with the layer of Fire Materia that had coated his body for temperature control just moments before. For just a moment Leo could feel the cold sting of singing nerve endings before he focused on shifting the action of the Flame Materia in his buckle to a defensive nature which would cause the light of the orb to dwindle as it's power was used. As for his face, Leo was able to raise his blade to cover it and caused the majority of the heatwave to disperse around it; subjecting his bareskin to but an instant of a portion this heat as he followed through with the upwards motion of his sword, which would cause the skin of his neck to visibly redden. Leos right hand had been nearly practically entirely protected as it was now behind his back, grabbing hold of one of the daggers upon his back.

The orange glow that had been fractured just an instant before began to condense as the heat was rejected and Leo's left arm continued on with its movement without losing its momentum; a quick twist of his wrist swinging the blade over his head in one swift movement so that the tip would curve around to be pointed behind him. A brown light glistened very subtly in the light of the bridge just as Leo torqued his wrist and fired his hand forward in a blur of movement; releasing his blade at the end of this action so as to fire it through the air seemingly towards Rakhana.

Upon firing the blade forward, Leo would do the exact same to his own body and with a quick tense and release of his lower body he was in motion; darting diagonally forward to his left in the blink of an eye and leaving a faint trail of smoke in his wake as small amounts of paint on his armor began to burn away. Soon after this, his blade would be set to make contact with its intended target; the ground around halfway between the two of them and just to the left of where he had been standing before where. In perfect timing with its impact with the cement the blade passed its stored energy into the ground and erected a bouquet of cement spires that would grow to 7 feet tall and encompass the walkway and sight down it as the blade embedded itself further into the ground, until the brown light finally dwindled away.

Under this cover Leo would dash forward with the intent of covering the ground as quickly as possible before she could reposition herself for a good shot; a yellow glow emanating from his left shoulder whilst he began rubbing his hands together. The tips of his hair seemed to become frosted with blonde at this moment

"So this is how we are gonna play it, huh?" Leo said aloud but more to himself.

Without losing momentum Leo would have himself into the air above his erected cement structure and the crossbeams of the walkway overhead. Needing but a fraction of a moment to designate his target; he would clap his hands together with minimal effort but the force which tore from his hands would be awesome. The instant his hands were brought together, the electrical charge building within them was released and given Rakhana as an intended target; a single yellow bolt of lightning lashing out to embrace her from Leo's airborne position.

Open challenge t1 mp (ranked)

Alright, perfect! I've been trying to get some experience outside of my main anyway. You can go ahead and start.

Do you think I could take a look at the character I'll be facing?

Paradox vs Xavier Bloodbayne

Three Hours Earlier

Passenger Cabin of ShinRa Private Jet

En Route to Teterboro Airport, NYC from Melbourne Airport, Melbourne AUS

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The sun looms high in the sky at just a quarter of an hour shy of 2 O'clock in the afternoon; bathing a sleek private jet in rays of sunlight, which the matte finish of its black paint job ate up greedily as it tore high above the countryside of Northeast Mexico. On the tail of the plane there was a simple stencil tag that read 'ShinRa' in dark red paint; a private military corporation operating from undisclosed locations across the world. The people need only call-out to them with the right amount of cash on hand and the forces would swarm to their aid. Beyond that; their planes and helicopters can be seen picking up and dropping off seemingly random personnel for unknown reasons. It's a mystery as to where the planes or helicopters come from; but they always seem to have the proper clearance to come and go as they please with little warning. Today the jet had appear almost spontaneously in the airspace south of Melbourne Australia; giving air traffic control a brief scare before their clearance was called through immediately after their appearance. They had come to pick up one of their operatives who had been away on vacation for quite some time.

The man within the passenger cabin of the plane was Leo Maxim; his head hanging back in his seat while his light blue hair jostled gently in the circulating air. With arms crossed over his naked and chiseled chest he slumbered on as he rocketed towards his destination; electing to rest his feet and black denim covered legs upon the table in front of him rather than getting up and moving to the sofa in the back. Already he had been bothered to show up at all; why should he bother with anything else til arriving?
Then, as though sensing his general outlook upon the entire operation, his right front pocket gave off two quick and hard vibrations before going silent; Leo’s arms flinched and visibly loosened their grip upon each other as was startled into awareness. When his pocket sounded off with two more vibrations after just two seconds his arms lost their hold all together and slumped to his side. While sounding off an exasperated sigh Leo fished into his pocket and pulled out a black Samsung S7 (awesome phone) and proceeded to chuck it into the area behind him without even glancing at it.

“I’m not here!” he grumbled angrily whilst flipping the bird to the still airborne phone. Crossing his arms over his chest with a huff Leo proceeded to listen to the phone vibrate again and again and again. At some point the phone stopped vibrating and he managed to doze off once again, unsure of which had happened first.

“M-mister Maxim..?” a gentle, feminine voice awoke him this time around; causing his eyes to dart open and his head to spring to attention.

Glistening light blue eyes seemed to peer into the soul of the young, blonde haired stewardess that stood no more than 6 feet from him in the onboard kitchen. The sight of his eyes caught her off guard and the woman could feel a bit of heat rising in her soft cheeks; bring about a small smile to Leo’s.

“The Company just radioed ” she began quickly, staring deeply into his eyes as she did. In her hands was a vanilla folder sealed shut at the folds with red tape that read ‘Classified’. “They said that I should give you the hard copy of the files they had given the Captain Incase they were unable to reach you.”

Leo never lost his smile, but sounded off with a soft sigh as he began to shift his weight; taking his feet off the table so that he could stand upright in front of his seat. At attention, Leo was an impressive 6ft 1 and had the muscular definition of a heavyweight fighter. The sight would have struck the woman dead in her tracks; if she was not first drawn to the multitude of scars which dotted, lined and zig zagged along his upper body. Eiher one on their own would have constitutes a freakout of their own variety, but together they helped to create a kind of normalizing effect; though she could not shake the blush from her cheeks as he walked over and stood before her. With a shaky hand she handed the folder over to Leo and left without waiting for a reaction from him and it only made the smile on his face that much bigger.

“Some women fluster so easily.” He said aloud to himself as he watched her walk away; swatting his hand gently with the folder absentmindedly. As soon as she was out of sight Leo pivoted upon his foot and fell backwards into the seat across the aisle of where he had been sleeping. A quick glance at the front of the file shows that it reads 'THE FIFTH. With a shrug and a quick flick and pull of the wrist, Leo removed the Teflon exterior of the security tape; leaving a streaky red and white mess in its wake to show it had been opened. Leo is a man who had almost seen it all; but when the file fell open so did his jaw.

At the top of the envelope was the mission header “Gather Intel on 5th Apocalypse”
The first image he was greeted by was the above the waist profile of a woman living in NYC who’d been bound to a chair in what appeared to be a living room. The woman’s head was visibly being held up for the photo by a pair of blue latex gloves; the fingers having to grip around the nail hammer which had it’s claw embedded in the top of her skull. Upon the woman’s forehead and face there were innumerable scratches and gouges of varying lengths and depths that stemmed from the empty sockets where her eyes should have been. Her jaw hung limp at her neck in the photo as the lower portion of the jaw was visibly dislocated and the flesh binding it to the upper portion had been torn apart; creating a horrific sight that churned Leo’s stomach just abit.

This was simply the first photo of the case, the pictures would go on to reveal that the woman was surrounded by 3 other bodies that would be identified in the report as being her children and they were all maimed in similarly gruesome fashions. Leo flipped as quickly as he could through these but still could not shake the sight of the bloodied children from his mind. Finally, he would arrive at the police report itself, where the story was finally put together.

The husband had recently started seeing a psychiatrist after a trip he had made to the Wisconsin area to see his dying father. Therapists notes say that the man mentioned seeing a 'flash of red light’ while flying back from the Wisconsin area and that the plane suddenly suffered electrical problems that caused it to plummet momentarily. During the plummet the man claimed that his life flashed very vividly before his eyes and even went beyond that point to show him that he would not die on this plane. But that he would instead be killed at the hands of a large, barbarian looking man who wanted to break his bones and eat his face off. When he was finished with that, he would tear him limb from limb and throw them to the demonic forms of his friends and family while their voices screamed ‘Beware the Fifth Apocalypse. The Fifth is now! THE FIFTH IS NOW!'

When the ordeal was over, the man remained visibly shaken and is reported to have spent the remainder of his flight muttering “Beware the fifth…” over and over; even tearing the nails from his fingers trying to engrave those words into the seat rest infront from him. No one else on the flight could verify the red flash the man claimed had started the entire thing; there wasn’t even anyone that could testify that the plane had suffered any problems at all and the man was left to deal with the problem on his own, to the aforementioned end.

The therapist reported a lessening hold on reality on the man and was leaning towards institutionalizing him for his own safety and the safety of his family. It was that very night that the man would home and brutally murder his wife and children before scuttling away to the basement where he would scratch and claw at his own ears and eyes until they were nothing more than scraps of destroyed flesh. Using the blood from these wound’s the man painted the phrase ‘Beware the Fifth!” all over the walls before he succumbed to blood loss – the final blood smear being only two letters 'XB'.

“Wow…” Leo said softly, turning his body to face the table before throwing the file onto it. “What the fuck is going on here.”

With a heavy sigh Leo shut the file and shoved it to the end of the opposite end of the table. Upon peaking at the next attached police report he saw only that the woman in the next picture was the therapist the man had been seeing. When he could stomach to continue reading later in the flight, he would find that she had reportedly stumbled into a children’s hospital soaked in gasoline and holding a flip-open zippo lighter; the night after the murder suicide. That terrible story could practically tell itself. In the woman’s home police would find tons of carving on the walls, floors and ceilings that said “The Fifth is now”.

But for now, Leo would let the file fester at the end of the table while he wrapped his mind around what he had just seen and read as he leaned backed against the planes enterior wall; rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers.

“So, I guess I’m to investigate these death scenes and figure out if there’s anything stranger than the deaths themselves at play.” He let his head roll back against the wall of the plane and shut his eyes; taking in and releasing a deep breath. “Should be fun.”

Mentally Leo was constantly reciting the words and phrases that had been written and carved in numerous ways in the report. “The Fifth Apocalypse…”

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“How long is this damned bridge?!”

Leo had only landed in the city an hour ago; but already this was proving to be one of the worst places he had been to in a long time. It wasn’t even the city itself that irked him, but the bitter, stingy slap of winter air that hit him square in the face when the plane door opened earlier. They had brought him all the way from his Australian summer to a Manhattan Winter?!

Regardless of how he felt about the entire situation, Leo still knew that there was a job to be done and a specific reason he had been chosen to do it. So the moment that door opened; Leo was strapped and ready for bear. From shoulders to boots Leo had equipped, latched and fastened every piece of painted armor that was brought with him. None of the paint was gaudy, one would be hard-pressed to notice the paint job at all, but rather subtle and resembling the colors of a natural suit of armor. (There’s a lot of pieces to describe… so I will leave it at he’s wearing them all lol)

For an hour Leo walked and walked and walked around this freezing city; visiting first the office of the therapist and the various places she habited in her life as she was the closer of the two specimens. At every point of interest there was at least one mention of 'The Fifth' to be found around the areas or blocks away from them. The further south he traveled through Manhattan and the closer he got to the main point of investigation, the more frequently he began to see The Fifth Apocalypse being mentioned; even taking note of a large, graphic mural depicting several dead bodies contorted into the letters 'XB' that was being painted over in an alleyway.

At the present moment it was around 4:45 and Leo was halfway finished crossing the Williamsburg Bridge and for the first time since he arrived in this city it seemed he would have a moment with his thoughts; and he was aimed to use this glorious moment curse this town and it’s damned bridge

“It’s cold as tits out here and you want me to walk over a mile in these unholy windchills?!” he screamed practically at the top of his lungs while shaking his fist into the air. “Beware the Fifth?! Beware my foot in your ass, more like!”

Practically stomping along the cement walkway, Leo reached up to his left shoulder where the large metallic piece of armor know as the Guardians Pauldron was located and he began to fish underneath the metallic lip. Rummaging for but a moment, he pulled a glowing orange orb from a strap located on his upper bicep and moved it quickly to the buckle of his belt. With a high pitched clink of metal on glass this glowing orb sank into the depression on his belt buckle before it was grabbed hold of by 4 thin metallic arms to hold it in place. An orange glow rippled outwards from the belt buckle to spread across the armor plating he wore and the skin beneath it; leaving the orange hue in its wake. When the flow reached Leo’s neck, both the armor and his skin began to produce gentle plumes of steam and he quivered visibly in his step.

“Oooooh yea-ah” he sighed out in relief as the warmth passed over him, his now unnaturally warm breath creating a thick plume of steam with his sounds. “Next time; I’m demanding a helicopter for cross city travel. This is some bullshit.”

Despite his angry words, the force of Leo’s steps began to lessen and the natural little smile that his face adorned began to return as his body was warmed. Perhaps this trip could turn out to be – who the hell is that scary little girl in the middle of the walkway?

Leo was still a quarter mile away from her, but even from that distance his eyesight was impeccable and he could visually pick apart the child that he saw before him. The hair, the face, the mouth, the eyes- those eyes! No matter how young she may have appeared to be; Leo knew what it looked like when it someone has already endured a lifetimes worth of torment. Joining her rough demeanor, out of place clothing style and the strange long barreled pistol she held forward; Leo surmised that she would have to know something of the elusive Fifth. If she wasn’t the Fifth Apocalypse herself!

Reaching up this back, Leo grabbed hold of the blade attached to his back by the holy; releasing it’s clasps and freeing the blade into the frigid air. Upon contact with the holy, Leo’s already glistening eyes picked up in lumens as the energy coursing through his body practically tripled; his hair taking on a light glow that accented the blue strands and their red tip highlights. With but a thought this time, a glowing brown orb fell from the strap upon his bicep and dropped freely through the air for a moment before Leo swung his blade around to catch this orb in the slot on its handguard with expert grace and precision. There was no way he was going to take the chance that she would be friendly; she sure didn’t look like the hugging type.

As he drew within 60 feet of Rakhana he called out to her, deciding to test the waters of her hospitality with a snarky remark.

“Hey you!” he yelled, pointing his free right hand at her. “Come over here little girl! You shouldn’t be out here all by yourself! Besides, I have a couple of questions I’d like you to answer for me!” Leo would not stop walking as he spoke and it probably wouldn’t be to long before he was within touching distance; with every two seconds bringing about another 2foot stride.