On Blade's Edge (Christian Slade)

[Dalansa]

"I can do hatred." She muttered through clenched teeth, the words snatched by the winds. Her vision was in a red haze now. She stepped sideways, varying herself forward, but not directly. She felt something rushing through her, as if her very soul was on fire, trying to force it's way out. Before she noticed, her hand readied itself. She continued to move forwards, moving as to draw closer to him while keeping his back to the edge. The Force felt as solid it was ripping through her, burning her, and the anger, the rage, the hatred at the world for Salæn's loss, at [member="Christian Slade"] for his contempt, his treatment of her like some flower, and of all the pain of her life rushed through her. A scream of rage forced through her lips as the Force push blast from her hand at him.

 

[Christian Slade]

All of a sudden, Christian's eyes went wide as he realized what the woman was doing. She'd been so eager to rely on her weapons to try and best him that he hadn't expected her to use the force. Without much time to react, Christian stepped to the side and avoided the brunt of the attack, the force snapping past him in a flurry of power, but he had acted to late. The tail end of the force whipped his legs out from under him and carried him over the edge, his right shoulder popping the edge of the platform and flipping him to the roof where he landed on the ledge and toppled over it, managing to reach up and grab it with his left hand before his body fell hundreds of stories to the streets below.

Hanging there, Christian glanced down at the busy city beneath him and looked back up. The next moment his grip slipped a bit as he realized his right arm, for the moment, had been made useless from the blow his shoulder had taken when he's toppled off the edge of the landing platform. "Help me, Dalansa.", Christian called out, looking up towards the platform with those golden eyes he had waiting to see her face peek over it's edge.

[member="Dalansa"]

 

[Dalansa]

"I never thought I'd hear that." She said, moving to the edge. Clipping her saber to her belt, she reached for his arm, wrapping her hands around it. Pulling as hard as she could, she told him, "Grab my arm." She could feel [member="Christian Slade"] slipping. She needed him to hold on if she would have a chance of saving him.

 

[Christian Slade]

Just as [member="Dalansa"] grabbed for Christian's arm he slipped from the ledge and began to fall, but there was no protesting scream heard from the man. Where there should have been fear in his eyes, there was nothing, and the only thing displayed on that youthful, chiseled face of his was that same old, all too confident smirk as he fell one, two, three stories...

...and then his form rippled like a mirror about to shatter and all at once he vanished.

The very next moment, a firm hand took hold of the woman's silver hair and drew tightly into a fist, tugging her head back as a snap of energy rang out in the air. Soon a red glow washed over the bare neck of the woman who would now be looking directly up into a pair of golden brown eyes she would find annoyingly familiar. They were Christian's eyes, and he was looking down on his bested apprentice with a glowing red blade buzzing only inches from her neck.

"Never lose sight of your opponents...", Christian whispered down to her, the grip he had on her loosening lightly as he continued, "Never underestimate your opponents...", he continued, dawning that perfect white smile of his.

"...and the most important lesson of all. Never underestimate me."

 

[Dalansa]

Sighing as she looked into those eyes, and only one phrase came to her mind. "I hate you so much right now." Her mind planned out a reaction as soon as that blade moved. She hated being here, in this position. Twice before, she had been here, and both times, she had turned and killed them. Here, she didn't think [member="Christian Slade"] would be slow enough to be bested so easily. She continued to stare into those eyes, waiting for him to move again. "Next time, I won't bother catching you."

 

[Christian Slade]

Gently Christian released the woman's hair, stepping round her and offering his hand in order to help her to her feet. "I was never in that position, my dear.", he explained, watching her carefully with those golden eyes as he raised his red blade and slid his thumb across the scanner panel on the hilt. Immediately the blade snapped back inwardly, the red light vanishing with a high pitched squeal before he reached down and clipped it back to the leather strap beneath his arm.

"Force Illusions are easily conjured when you maintain eye contact with an opponent, as long as your experience with such techniques are greater than their own. In this case, you lost sight of me, and the first thing you saw when you peered over the edge of the platform were my eyes, but instead of seeing me simply standing beneath the platform, you saw me hanging helplessly over the ledge... begging for your help."

[member="Dalansa"]

 

[Dalansa]

Smiling for a half second, Dalansa commented. "And so you slip up behind me." Nodding, the offshoot stepped away from the edge. She hadn't done her intentions, which would have been to let herself drop backwards as soon as she let go of her hair, activating one blade of her saber and paring his when he struck. She may not have been fast enough, but it would have been as bit more of a fight. She'm d killed two people like that.
[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

"Back up on the platform.", Christian said, jumping from the spot and performing a considerably long leap from the roof to the platform with relative ease, despite having not used the force. He strode across the platform, noting the few scrapes and burns from [member="Dalansa"], and further the few dents from the force impact he'd released with his Alchemy.

Turning on the far end of the platform, Christian waited for [member="Dalansa"] to reappear opposite from him before they continued. She wasn't going to get off that easily. Not on his watch. They were far from done.

"Hurry up, woman.", Christian said as he pulled a roll out of his coat pocket. He then reached up and pulled the coat off, tossing it across the platform before starting to wrap white bandages around his right hand. "I'll just use my hands this time and we'll see if you can draw some blood."

 

[Dalansa]

Shaking her head and following [member="Christian Slade"] back up, her chest still feeling like it was on fire, every muscle in her begging to continue fighting, she stood across the platform. Pulling her saber off her belt, she readied herself for the next bout. Her hands wrapped around the metal. It felt good. She stared at him, as if waiting to pounce. Her every thought planned her actions in the upcoming seconds. She was reading herself to fight. And win.