Tree of Life. (Alberdyne ~V~ Khaos)

For the third time, the astral crystal in his possession burned with power. Once again, just like the other times, something was calling out to him. Al looked up from the text he was studying and then walked over towards where he usually kept his astral crystal. The crystal was glowing with burning energy, it was time for war. Reaching out, he grasped the small object in his hand and felt the power burning through it.

Always, when he clutched his astral crystal, he felt heart beat rapidly in his chest. Al was a proud Kanassan warrior gifted with his people's psionic arts. As capable as he was, he always felt a sense of apprehension as well. For to battle on the fields of the tree of life, meant endangering the very soul of the psionic. Al felt that rush of emotions being tugged at when the crystal pulled at his mind.

In an instant, the crystal's native power transported the young Kanassan to the fields of the tree of life.

Before he could step foot on the ground something he had not foreseen happened.

His astral form was harshly pulled to a very specific branch of the ancient tree. Feeling his heart sinking, Al knew where he was being summoned to. As the other two times, Al had been summoned to one of the more dangerous planes of the tree of life. This sphere, was the 110th sphere of the sephiroth. As Al was pulled to it, he wanted to resist the pulling instinctively. He knew though, he could not break the power of a summon once it was already enacted. The astral crystals possessed a dangerous power.

One Al's eyes opened again he knew he was in the 110th sphere. Manifesting before him, he growled instinctively. Knowing what type of denizens that particular sphere held, Al focused. He readied himself, and began walking across the scorched floor. Sun-bleached concrete had steam swelling off of it's form. Al was not bare-foot, he wore his usual boots and they made a soft sound as they touched the ground.

Gravel was everywhere where once there was concrete. Clenching his fists, he did not bother to suppress his ki with the ki control technique. Instead, he allowed his nimbus cloud to burst out from his body and touch the very burning hot air that surrounded him. The air was almost toxic and hard to breathe from how polluted it was. Al knew exactly where he was.

This particular sphere of the tree of life was one of the most dreaded of all. It was a dark dimension that was a harsh representation of Kanassa. The largest city of Kanassa was present in this sphere, but it was a blasted wasteland. The sky was a muddy, sickly colour as debris from a constant whirlwind storm burned through it. Al could see the skeletal remains of ancient Kanassan buildings surrounding him. A suitable war-zone. Al knew that this place was likely a representation of the cities that ancient Kanassans once controlled before their advanced technology fell.

Al did not want to bump into the creatures that lurked in the war-zone so he walked towards a cluster of buildings that were to his immediate North. Walking carefully, Al's eyes darted from side to side as he studied the environment. Whatever summoned him here would feel the wrath of the Son of Cormyr.

WC=571

Still practicing his sword arts in the hills surrounding Central City, Jeraph is suddenly aware of a new sensation, the crystal he bought a day earlier thinking it a pretty bobble is suddenly hot in his pocket. The heat is almost too much for his shin side to handle but Khaos the demon know's exactly what it is.

"We are being summoned" Khaos snarls.

"Summoned to where?" Khaos asks unknowingly.

Khaos has always used his Teleportation ability to travel unknowing that the gem actually will take him on to the astral plane for a battle, he is naive.

"The Astral Plane, a worthy opponent awaits" Khaos answers, the anger and excitement in his growl can be felt by Jeraph."Just touch the crystal" he instructs.

Jeraph does as instructed replacing the sword in it's sheath, instantly he is taken to the ruins of a once great city. There is dust and pebbles every where, the remnants of towering skyscrapers are every where, but there is little to no sign of life.

"What is this place" Jeraph asks himself in a shaky voice.

"Home" the reply from the demon is simple.

With that the demon completely emerges, Jeraph's calming presence is no longer in command. Jeraph's normally ice blue eyes are now glowing a blood red, his hair is now red and black mixed instead of the normal black. Instinctively Khaos reaches for the blade on his back unclasping the sword from the scabbard and gripping the pommel with a death grip. He draws it to his side, not exactly in his battle stance but at the ready nonetheless. His mouth twists into a sadistic grin. As begins to walk the deserted ruins.

"Who dares send a challenge to me via the Crystal" The demon growls, looking for the person or alien responsible and awaiting the response.


Word Count: 464

For the better part of an hour, Al walked in a general Northern direction.

Without knowing what he was looking for, Al carefully searched as he made his way to the buildings he had discovered. For a brief moment, he wished he was armed. Then, he remembered that the Kanassan warriors were always arm. The very environment itself would become a weapon! Feeling relieved, he grabbed a small, but heavy stone that was on the ground. Feeling it's weight and texture, the young Kanassan rotated it in his massive hand for a few resolutions. Then, he gripped it tightly. It was malleable. Al reached out to the small stone and touched it at a molecular level. The particles inside were dense and strong, bending sharply against the weight of his mind. Al suddenly heard a voice call out.

There was an arrogance to the voice.

Al thought about his battle against Yamcha, and nodded. I need power. This is one way to get the power that I need. Clutching the stone weapon in his hand, he walked towards the source of the arrogant call. Soon, he was upon the hybrid warrior. Al had never seen a Shin before, and he had never seen a Demon before. So what he found before him was completely unsettling.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Al found himself asking out loud towards the creature. "Nevermind that. The crystals have summoned and I suppose you know what happens next. If not, allow me to get the ball rolling." Compared to the hybrid, Al must have appeared like quite a savage. And Al liked knowing that. "Here you freak. Try this out." Utilizing full control of his psychokinetic powers, Al condensed the molecules within the stone, and excited them. After a moment of doing that, he tossed the stone in the general direction of the creature's body. He hoped it would connect. The stone was super-heated by that point by Al's psionic power's and would hurt like hell. Al used his telekinetic abilities to control the arch of the thrown projectile, and then, when the apex of the throw was reached...

The stone exploded.

WC=363
Alberdyne WC=934

Actions-
1-Prepare stone.
2-Use Psionics on stone.
3-Throw stone
4-Cause it to explode using psionics.

"You must be the one that summoned us here" the demon growls at Alberdyne. "To answer your question I am Jeraph Kaious or at this point Khaos." The demon explains never taking his eyes off of the being standing before him.

Watching the humanoid alien toss the stone in his direction Khaos lets out the most evil growling laugh that has shaken this part of the astal planes in a long time. He watches the stone arc in his direction. His eyes never moving from the stone, although he is careful to keep Alberdyne in his perepheral vision as to be able to counter or block a sudden lunge attack.

"Are you that much of a savage that you are using a rock and slingshot against me?" Khaos growls lightly.

The attack Khaos was waiting for never comes so he raises his sword to knock the stone away, he waits for it to get close before swinging. As it approaches he swings, before he connects, the stone explodes with a violent boom much like a human hand grenade. The demon is cut and burned by the shrapnel that comes hurtling at his body. He doesn't flinch or even have a second to dodge it as it hits him. Searing holes in his clothing, and flesh. The wounds are not bleeding as the heated rock cauterized them as it hit. Every single one of them is painful especially in the areas of his chest and legs. As he gets hit by them the image of the ground behind Alberdyne becomes fully imaged in his head, every bump. pebble and crack in the concrete is now visible in his minds eye. In less than a blink, Khaos is standing there sword in hand. The demon is not used to this ability, so it takes him a moment to realize he is no longer just visualizing it, and that Jeraph is the actual one who concentrated on this spot. Seizing the moment he swipes the sword with power and some finesse, aiming for the left leg of his assailant. The attack is not meant to be a death blow, but to injure his opponent making it harder for him to move and use any agility based attacks. He sneers as he swings and makes a sharp intake of breath. As he swings he keeps his free hand two fingers pointing towards the ground, ready to block if he needs to.

Actions:
Take explosion
Teleport
Sword swipe attempt


WC:410

edit made to delete a / that was not supposed to be there, and after an explanation of the explosion.

Gotcha! Al thought to himself as he saw the small stone explode. Shrapnel damage flew everywhere, and some large pieces flew in Al's direction as well. Some of the sharper stone bits stabbed their way into Al's body making him grimace in pain. Then, as he cringed, he no longer saw his opponent. Blood poured from the injuries he suffered from the larger shrapnel pieces, the heat from the stones adding to his pain.

Al began to shift his body weight. Then, he felt a new sensation. Something sharp pierced his leg and tore through his worker's clothing. Blood streaked easily from his muscular body and splattered all over the scorched ground. The blood splattered with a sickening sound. Al suddenly realized what had just happened. Now that was just plain...rude. Al turned towards the creature and his weapon.

"I commend you." Al said. "That...really...hurts." Al was having a difficult time standing on his injured leg. However, he decided on a different tactic. Levitating himself off the ground, he used some ki to initiate his flying abilities. Then, his eyes searched about for a suitable weapon. They were everywhere, but he knew the limits of his power. So far, he was not the gifted psionic that his Father was. So he had to use what was in his capacity of using. His eyes went to the man's weapon. "Now that, is a fancy sword you got there." Al reached out to the cold metal of the weapon, grasping the molecules of it. It was inorganic matter, and was well within his reach. "Allow me a chance to repay the favour." Al suddenly pulled with his mind in an attempt to remove the sword from the man's grip.

If successful, he would pull the weapon away and toss it several feet into the ruins. If not, his maneuver would just tick the fellow off. Blood continued to flow from his newer injury, but Al focused. The pain was a drive, and he couldn't back out from the battle now. The first priority was getting control of the man's sword. Cold steel would oft turn against the swordsman.

WC=363
Alberdyne WC=1,297

Actions-
1-Activate Flight.
2-Attempt a telekinetic grab of Khaos's sword.

"I thank you for the compliment, under different circumstances a warrior such as yourself should be fighting side by side with me it's just too bad that the stone summoned us here to fight" The demon growls, knowing that the fight he has been waiting for has come finally. The anger inside has reached it's limit for the demon, as well as gaining a respect for the unknown warrior he is facing, it has been a long time since any one has not fallen to his knees after taking that sword attack.

As he speaks the words, the sword in his hand suddenly begins to try to pull it self free from his grasp. He has the firmest grip on the pommel he can manage but still keeping the blade in his grasp is becoming a challenging feat. He can feel his grip slipping the longer he fights the unseen force.

"You have got to be kidding me." The demon thinks to himself as he fights to maintain control of his own sword. "Very nice trick" The demon screams with rage at the unseen force, almost as if he is calling it out to fight.

A few moments pass and nothing changes. Realizing he is losing the battle for the sword the demon then speaks directly to Alberdyne,"then it must be you causing this, another trick like the exploding rock. Are you going to make my own blade explode?"

Thinking quickly on his feet the demon realizes this must be some sort of technique that the alien knows well, trying to counter he takes a few paces forward, and at the same time uses some of his ki to rise off the ground matching Alberdyne's altitude, he then releases the blade, but as he does he summons some more of his remaining ki into the hand he has kept at his side. As he does he makes a slicing motion with his two fingers unleashing the on ki attack he knows Ki Blade. This attack is aimed at the torso of his opponent. As he does this he quickly tries to re-grasp the pommel of his sword which is floating in the air moving towards Alberdyne.

WC:370

Actions
Flight
move forward
Release sword
Ki Blade
regrip sword attempt

It all suddenly came undone. What should have been a clean grab attempt fell apart. Al growled as the warrior's ki blade technique connected across it's body totally throwing off his concentration. Al's flight was canceled in the process and he landed on the ground, hard. He was a mess. Al had bruises all over his body, and there was another, fresher slice across his abdominal region. The cut was quite serious and bleeding heavily. It was not lethal however. Al would fight until he was dead, or could no longer fight. He tried to stand but the burning hot pain crippled him where he laid on the ground. He cried out loud. He never heard Khaos's thoughts, despite how loud they were, he was too being feeling agony. Shouldn't this battle be over? Al found himself vaguely thinking, and somehow managed to move into a sitting position. He clutched at the injury to his stomach, powerful abs visible and splattered with more blood. Al had received heavy injuries. He leaned up facing Khaos with one hand faced palm down against the ground.

"Ugh." Al began. "That...was unexpected." Al managed to finally compose himself and stand in at least a hunched over position. He kept cradling his blood-soaked stomach. "You're good, man." Al continued. "That last one caught me completely off guard." That was when Al began to cough up blood. "Crap." Al cursed. The blood was trickling down the side of his lips. He knew in his current condition he could no longer fight. "The day is yours." Al said. "By the way..." Al started to walk back in the general direction he came from, back towards Kanassa and home. Al turned back towards the warrior at a slight angle. "My name is Alberdyne Cormyr." More blood was coughed up. "Look up my house if you're ever on Kanassa. My Father is Michael Cormyr. Ask around, you'll find us." Al was having trouble thinking straight. "One other thing man. Don't linger too long out here by yourself. There are dangerous things in this sphere. Far more dangerous than me." Al managed to laugh ever so subtly, coughing up blood the whole time.

He started to limp back towards Kanassa, and slowly, but surely, the psionic's atma began to vanish. And soon, he returned to his waiting body and the astral crystal in his hand cooled down from the power that had just been released by both parties. Repeating it in his head, Al smiled as he went to sleep. Though mentally he was in no condition to keep fighting, physically, he was perfectly fine and would require many hours rest. The day is yours. Al thought again. And yet, strangely enough, he knew he would sleep well. It was a hard-fought battle, but his the strange creature had earned his victory. Dreaming of ways to become stronger, Al's lips turned upward into a smile. The realm of dreams would be his to conquer.

Fin.

WC=501
Alberdyne WC=1,798

Watching his maneuver connect with the abdomen of his foe, he feels the tugging on the sword he re-grasped come to an end. Much to his surprise his adversary loses all concentration and falls to the surface of the planet. Moments later he is calling for the spar to end. A smile crosses Khaos lips, as he receives the warning and he controls his ki long enough to land on the ground. As he watches Alberdyne vanish back into the plane from which he came, something happens. His anger subsides completely, the demon doesn't understand at first what is going on until Jeraph explains it to him in their head.

"Hows it feel to actually respect a foe and not think of him only as some one to kill?" Jeraph asks the Demon light heartedly.

"That's what this is? It's called respect? I don't like it, it feels different makes me feel like when you are in control of our body."The Demon growls in response.

"Well get used to it, on these planes there are going to be many battles awaiting some are going to be like our new friend Alberdyne Cormyr was, a worthy opponent, others will be just ripe to be killed because of what they stand for."Jeraph responds still light hearted but impassioned.

"So you're telling me that it's ok for a Shin to kill. I didn't believe that was possible." Khaos growls his last response in control.

Seconds later the demon's eyes are no longer glowing red, and have been replaced by the calm and collected ice blue eyes of Jeraph. He looks at the blood on his blade and on the ground. He knows the battle was hard fought for both of the individuals in the battle, he also knows that they weren't the better men, that they just had the right timing with their maneuvers. As he walks towards the point to where he entered this sphere of the Astral Planes it strikes him that the moves that the young Kanassan used were unseen by even the shins.

"We must remember not to let ourselves believe that we control anything that we are actually using if we ever face him again. He used his mind to try to take our sword from us, some how using the same mental trick he made the rock explode and left these." The shin's mind races as he looks at the scars from the shrapnel. Well fought Alberdyne Cormyr" he thinks loud enough hoping the Kanassan can hear it.

As he continues to walk, the aches and pains of the battle begin to show in his every step. As his astral form fades from the sphere into almost a fog. Back on Earth only minutes have passes since he touched the crystal, and it is still clutched in his hand. Now cool to the touch and no longer emanating the light. Sore from the battle and the shrapnel Jeraph sheathes his blade and then lays his head on the ground watching the clouds as the float by in the sky. The memories of the mental abilities of the young Kanassan still fresh in his mind, the replay of the spar still running like a movie over and over so he can study it and make any improvements where needed to his strategy in battles. Each mistake that he made is noted and will be practiced next time he trains here in the wilderness but for now the final thoughts that cross his mind are off his new friend and his wounds, as his eyes close and he falls into a deep blissful sleep.


END


WC:613

Final WC Khaos/Jeraph:1857 words