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I'm tierd of waiting. Leon thought to himself, standing up he grabbed the scythe, and made his way to a small clearing not to far from Dahn. "Well lets get started..." Leon said to himself, taking a stance holding the scythe infront of him. I'm not as strong as Tal...I can't be swinging this around with one hand... well not right now any ways. Leon told himself. " Okay now lets, see.... What did that accursed master of mine say about finding my own style, oh yeah it was... 'When starting with a new and unfamiliar wepon, you must find your center and balance your mana with your spiritual energy, and find what works for you...' Wait! thats why he didn't teach me the final teckniques... he wanted me to develope my own...(A sudden flash occurs and Leon is standing in one of his memories, watching it like a movie.)What?"

"Now Leon, show me your Fliegenstahl, dreifacher Blitz."

" Yes Master!"

Leon shook his head violently, bringing himself back to the clearing. "So then it's time I learned to rely on my own teckniques, not the ones that old fool taught me. it's time for my own style, oh yes I'll carry on the blade teckniques, but it's time to practice with my new weapon this scythe, and my new style: Tanz des Todes* and my first tecknique Tal des Nadeln**" Leon swung the scythe in an arc so the blade imbeded in the ground causeing needle-like spinters of earth to shoot up,not as strong as I hoped, then he started to practice, slowly getting used to the weight of the large scythe, determined to get stronger, and he thought to himself, to keep my promise to Matt. He practiced until he felt his arms would fall off, then returned to the area where Dahn was.

*Dance of Death* **Valley of needles** (Lol Tal in german means valley)

Rajossi glanced around the clearing in the forest and sighed. He could see the distant glow of the lights that lit up Costa del Sol by night. The sunset was to his back, so he could still see in the clearing.

Sighing, he started to set up "camp" for the night, though, it was little more than his sleeping bag and a small fire. He withdrew a crumpled cigarette pack from his pocket along with his lighter. He lit the cigarette, and followed by lifting the small pile of twigs he had assembled with a few larger logs at the side to keep the fire going over night.

The sleeping bag drawn over his face, his bag inside with him to ensure it was not stolen, he drifted into an uncomfortable sleep punctuated with dreams of bags, shouts, fire plumes and screams.

Rajossi awoke, it was till early, he could tell, the sun was not yet fully risen, in fact, it was just a slight glow on the horizon, however, the effect was breathtaking, setting Costa del Sol and the sea like an enchanted jewel against a pink glowing backdrop.

Rajossi could hear a faint rustlings behind him, ignoring it, he swore as he realised the fire was out, instinctively reaching for a cigarette at this misfortune to feed the addiction and reduce his stress levels to somewhere more reasonable for early morning.


A glow growl ripped at the beautiful sunrise.

Rajossi spun around, a pair of gleaming yellow eyes glanced back at him.

Oh merde (funny how his mind would often re-cal ancient curse-words almost comically in moments so serious)

A hunched up beast surveyed him, bloodlust in its deep, blood-lusting eyes. The beast was slightly taller than Rajossi (though it WAS on all fours) it had coarse, filthy brown fur, a mouth with a graveyard arrangement of jagged teeth and a lean muscular build with small claws showing from it's paws.

"Well this fun."Kormea yawned simply inside Rajossi's head.
"Are you mad this thing is gonna kill us!" Rajossi whispered under his breath, never taking his eyes off the thng.
"Oh I'm sure you can kick its arse office boy." cooed Kormea mockingly.

Before Rajossi could retort the beast bounded for him.

He yelped and fled straggling up a tree, the beasts jaws snapping where his feet had been moments before. The thing's stinking breath could be smelled at such close distance. Rajossi felt like retching. However he climber further up.

He swore, loudly and in English. The creature began to dig its claws into the base of the tree and began to scale it’s way up the tree. Remembering he was actually armed (still a totally new and scary concept to him) Rajossi flicked his wrist, the twin blades on the gauntlet materialised into existence.

But how the hell did he stab the thing with this?!

For that he would need to get... sucidally close.

Desperation taking over, he instinctively rummaged around with his hand that was NOT clinging to the tree in his pocket as the beast edged ever so much closer up the tree, its stinking breathe almost at his feet, he rummaged for the orb, he panicked.

WHERE THE HELL WAS IT?

Then a red gleam caught his eye. It was slotted into the gauntlet! Focusing hard, Rajossi felt as if the air immediately around him began to implode for a brief moment.

There was a brilliant emerald light, a screech and a swoop, as a giant bird swooped down on the beast tearing at it's face, exhausted from summoning Deux, Rajossi accidentally let go of the branch, falling on the brawl bellow between the great falcon and the savage monster.

Hen landed on the thing's chest, knowing he only had a few moments before Deux faded, he drew back is right hand and brought it forward as hard as he could into teh thing's chest and jerked downwards.

There was a sickening tearing sound and red goo gushed onto him, the fight was over.

He stumbled more than leaped backwards from the corpse of the brute, the air seemed to become blisteringly cold for a moment, there was a ripple almost a tearing feeling at the air around him and everything seemed to flicker for a moment, dark shapes scurrying around and then all was back to normal and Deux was no where to be seen.

Staring at horror at the blood all over him, Rajossi began furiously wiping his hands on the grass.


Not again, not again, no more blood, it not my fault...


After he had wiped off the blood, he sighed, well the sun was up, there was no way he would sleep after what just happened to him (thought to pass out now would be a nice relief.

He walked to Costa Del Sol, it only took an hour of two as he had camped fairly close, all the way he was thinking about how he had had to kill the beast, he really hadn’t meant to kill it, he had just wanted to get away and survive, he didn’t like to harm wildlife if he could help it, and he was also worried about the same thing happening to him again before he reached the Costa, though he reasoned it was light now fiends at least would not attack him again. He also mused over what had happened as Deux dissipated, he discarded it as a hallucination due to exhaustion.


He rented a cheap room in a inn in Costa Del Sol, trying to ignore the growing feeling that it was not for himself he had come here but by the manipulation of Kormea.

Exhausted, even though it was only late afternoon, Rajossi lit a cigarette and dosed off with it, still smouldering in his mouth on the cheap, hard bed of the inn…

Rajossi was severely fed up.

He had spent ALL day self-confined to a stuffy dark library when he could have been lying in the sun on the beach watching the well built surfers with their perfect, short golden locks, tanned skin and rippling biceps going about their day on the beach and have found as much information as he had in this "library".

There was just about NOTHING here with any references to Merzion (not even a bloody footnote!), or the explosion in the Cosmo Canyon mines, or even for that matter information on any of the major players on the energy market, or, at least not anything in a bad light he though cynically.

He got up and left the library.

He had deliberately checked for any good clubs before he left for the library, and he had spotted a few.

Severely annoyed he intended to go and get toughrley drunk and enjoy himself after a day with such a crappy info turn out.

He headed back to the inn and showered, dressed again and headed out just as the sun was sinking below the horizon for the nearest club he could find that looked reasonable.

He opened a neon blue illuminated door. He was almost thrown back by the barrage of dance music and the swirling smells of alcohol, people and blissful chaos.

Sitting at the crowded bar, impatient to be served, he finally ordered a vodka and coke.

Finally! The guy with the baggy cargo trousers and the long black hair moved out of the set next to him, about time, he had A. been blocking Rajossi's view and B. had been in the way so he couldn’t get out of his seat easily.

Several hours later, Rajossi staggered back to the inn, severely drunk, he managed to get to his room and onto the bed without throwing up he closed his eyes, an odd numbness in his arms, which where jittering of their own accord as he dosed off, almost as though it where someone else’s arms acting on their own as he passed out (though in his drunken state he failed to notice this).....

Bane walked up to the inn, having found enough information on this up comming tournament, to make the decision to go. He walked up the stairs slowly, still drunk from the many drinks he had downed earlier. He was behind a man to seemed to be completely smashed who he recognised from the same bar he had been to. His room was right next to the mans, he went in, knowing little how much would change because of the man about to pass out. He floped tiredly onto the bed, taking off his scimitar's and tossing them onto the ground.

It didn't take long for him to completely pass out due to how much running around he had done and how much scotch he had drunk. He slept like he did on most nights; pissed drunk with enough alchocol in his body to down a bull elephant, his clothes still on, flailing his arms in his sleep muttering things to his long late girlfriend. He would probably wake the same as he usually did to; with a hang over that would make any Irishman proud; probably on the ground.

Not long after the Kormea had left Bane had rolled over and fell to the ground with a loud crash. He opened his eyes slowly and rubbed his head where he had fallen on it. He looked around the room as he stood up and saw the broken lamp; he also noticed the drawer with his things inside was left halfway open. He walked over to it and saw that someone had been looking trough his things, and morw importantly, his materia.

He picked up the small orb that held the ice majic within ald oyed with it a bit; it brought back some not so happy memories for Bane. Then he noticed a weak presence lingering about the rom that hadn't been there before. It was obvious someone ahd snuck into his room, and he already suspected the guy in the next room.

He placed the materia back in the drawer carfully, looking at his small reflection in the small glossy orb for only a moment longer before he closed it and floped back onto his bed. He could barely feel the effects of the hangover due to the fact that they where smothered by Banes thoughts on why someone would break into his room. These thoughts in mind he was slowly lulled back to sleep.