Chapter 24: Hiten Mitsurugi Style Vs. Seiken Style

I eyed Beatrix, cautiously. I reminded myself that I wasn't facing just any swordsman…I was facing the best swordsman in all of Gaia. She earned that reputation for a reason.

I slipped off my battle robe. I didn't want it to hinder me in the fight. I knew I would likely need all my strength and skill in this battle. I also removed my normal sword from my sword belt. I didn't want it to interfere with my fight. After all that, I was ready to fight.

I placed my right foot in front of me and turned it to the left. I placed my left foot behind me and rotated it to the left as well. I held my reverse blade sword scabbard with my left hand and griped the hilt of my sword with my right hand. I bent my knees slightly and turned my upper body to the left. I turned my head to the right so that I still had Beatrix in my sight. I was ready.

That's when Zorn and Thorn spoke. "Foolish, you are. Unbeatable, the general is."

I gave them a scathing look. "You two are interfering. Get out of here or I'll remove you both myself."

They were surprised by my tone and looked at Beatrix. She nodded her head and the two of them left the room. I smiled slightly 'glad they're out of the way' I thought.

Beatrix and I stared at each other. None of us made a move. We each eyed the other, cautiously. Neither of us wanted to make the first move. I waited, patiently, to see who would give in first. We continued to wait.

Finally, Beatrix spoke up "I don't have time for this. I'll end this quickly, CLIMHAZZARD!" With that said she ran at me and jumped into the air. Her sword was raised and ready to strike. This was what I was waiting for. Before she brought her sword down on me, I quickly swung my sword out of its sheath, performing a 'Battou Jutsu,' and blocked her attack. Energy exploded from her sword, but it didn't harm me or my sword.

Her eye opened in surprise, but I wasn't finished yet. I quickly swung my sword sheath at her with my left hand performing a 'Sou Ryu Sen.' It connected with her right side and sent her falling to the ground.

I placed my sword scabbard back in my sword belt and readied my sword. I looked at Beatrix's body. "Get up, Beatrix. I know that attack didn't hurt you."

Beatrix quickly got back up to her feet and looked at me. "A lucky shot, that's all. You won't be so lucky again." She readied her sword and charged at me.

She swung at me with a horizontal slash, aiming for my left side, but I blocked it with my sword. She quickly brought her sword up and tried to strike my chest, but I blocked her attack again. She jumped back and then jumped forward at me, raising her sword for a jumping vertical slash. I blocked her attack with my sword, but she managed to kick me in the gut.

I stumbled back a bit and barely had enough time to block her follow-up swing; which was aimed at my head. I jumped back, trying to get some distance between us. We looked at each other and prepared to continue the fight.

I decided to strike this time. I charged at her and she thrust her sword towards my chest. I quickly spun to my left and executed a "Ryu Kan Sen Tsumuji" aiming for her neck. To my utter surprise…she blocked my sword with her own sword. 'She tricked me' I thought, surprised. Due to my shock, I didn't notice her fist coming at me from my left side.

She hit me in the left side of my face and I fell to the ground. She quickly thrust her sword at me while I was on the ground. I saw the attack coming and I quickly rolled out of the way. She tried to stab me again, but I rolled away again. She kept trying to stab me and I kept rolling around; trying to avoid her sword.

Eventually, I rolled over my battle robe. I quickly grabbed it and threw it towards Beatrix. Her sword got tangled in my robe and she tried to free it. While she was doing that I hopped back up to my feet. I looked up and noticed that the ceiling was high enough for me to jump. By the time she untangled the robe I had already jumped into the air and executed a "Ryu Tsui Sho Sen." Both of my attacks connected, and she fell to the ground. I knew she wasn't finished yet. I jumped into the air again and executed a "Ryu Tsui Sen."

Beatrix wasn't going to go down that easily. She thrust her left hand up into the air. "HOLY!" as soon as she said that a large blue and white orb of light came rushing towards me. I couldn't dodge the attack while I was in the air. I was a sitting duck, or rather, a falling duck. The attack connected with me and I felt an intense pain burn through my body.

The attack threw me backwards and my back collided with the ceiling. I cried out in pain and fell back down to the ground. I hit the ground, hard, and was beginning to see stars.

I heard Beatrix's voice "pathetic. Is there no one who can give me a real challenge?" These words motivated me to get back up.

"Don't you think…for a minute…that I'm finished" I gasped out as I slowly rose to my feet.

Beatrix looked at me in a curious way. "I didn't expect you to survive that fall. You've got stamina I give you that, but that doesn't make you a warrior, or a match for me."

I gave Beatrix a hard look "I underestimated your skill, general. I won't make that mistake again. I was just testing you. I assure you…I'm through playing around. This time I fight for real." I readied my sword and prepared to fight her, again.

Beatrix charged at me, jumped into the air, and brought her sword down in a jumping vertical slash. I stepped to my left side and executed a "Ryu Kan Sen." I hit her in the back of her neck and she fell to the ground. I decided not to make the same mistake I made a few seconds ago. Instead I swung my sword down towards her back.

She managed to roll away. I missed and my sword hit the ground instead. She quickly got back up to her feet before I could recover, and readied her sword. "THUNDER SLASH!" she jumped at me. I didn't have time to dodge, so I brought my sword up and blocked her attack.

I regretted my decision. My blade conducted the electricity from the attack, and it was so intense the electricity flowed from my sword and up the entire length of my arms. My arms went numb and I let go of my sword.

Beatrix quickly tried to slice my chest, but I jumped backwards. She tried to strike me with a follow- up thrust and aimed for my gut. I stepped to my right and delivered a roundhouse kick to her face. She didn't fall to the ground, but she was temporarily stunned.

My arms were still numb and unresponsive, so they were useless at the moment. I decided to kick her in the gut. She doubled over and I kneed her in the face. She fell to the ground. I lifted my right leg up and was about to bring it down on her gut when I felt a stinging pain in my left side.

I clenched my teeth and took in a quick intake of breath. I clutched my left side with my left hand and I felt it grow wet and sticky. Risking it, I glanced at my left side. It was bleeding from a sword wound. 'When did that happen, Beatrix didn't do that' I thought. That's when I remembered Cleyra. 'Dammit, just my luck, and I can't take a potion or I'll be forfeiting the duel. I'll just have to bear it' I thought.

My temporary lack of concentration allowed Beatrix to recover from my attack. I looked up just in time to see her blade rushing at my face. I quickly stepped back from the attack. I managed to save my face, but she managed to cut my chest. It was a shallow cut and didn't pose any threat, but it stung a little. 'Just what I need…another cut' I thought, wearily.

I dodged Beatrix's blade for a few minutes before I started to get some feeling back in my arms. During the time, she managed to cut me across my right shoulder and my gut, but it was nothing serious. My side wound was still bothering me, though. She swung at me again and I grabbed her sword. I quickly punched her face and ran to my sword.

She saw my attempt and said a word that immediately stopped me from running. "SHOCK!" I spun around and saw that she was gathering energy. She thrust her sword forward and a large blast of light was heading towards me. I quickly dove to the side and managed to dodge her attack. She immediately jumped over to where my sword was and stood in front of it. She had effectively blocked my way to the sword.

'I have to get my sword back…but how?' I thought. Beatrix began to charge at me. I knew she was purposefully giving me a chance to get to my sword, hoping that I would take the bait. I decided not to play into her hand and instead dodged her vertical slash.

She began chasing me around the room. She kept swinging, and I kept dodging and hitting her when ever an opportunity arouse. Eventually, she backed me up into a wall. I felt around behind me for anything I could use to defend myself. My hand closed around a metal object. Beatrix swung her blade at me and I blocked it with the metal object…it was a candelabra. I managed to catch her blade in-between two of the candelabras branches.

Beatrix was now frustrated with how long this battle had been going on. I noticed that the candelabra still had candles in its branches. I looked back at Beatrix and decided to take a gamble. I blew out the candles as hard as I could and blew the melted wax into her eye. She recoiled in shock and pain.

This was my chance; I rammed my body into hers and knocked her to the ground. I immediately jumped over her body and dove for my sword. My fingers wrapped around the hilt of my sword. I quickly rolled back up to my feet and faced Beatrix.

She had gotten back up to her feet and was now looking at me with pure hatred. Her eye was red around the edges from rubbing it. "Enough of this! I'm growing tired of this!"

I smiled. "Sorry you feel that way, but I'm not going to back down."

She narrowed her eyes. "You fool. Tell me, why do you insist on playing games with me with a toy sword?"

I looked at my sword. "This is no toy. I just don't want to kill you. I don't seek your death, general."

She shook her head. "How foolish; I'm going to end this once and for all."

I readied my sword "by all means…try."

She charged at me and we clashed swords. We were now in a deadlock. Neither of us was overpowering the other. I stared into Beatrix's eye and she stared into mine. I respected her for her strength and skill. I had never been in a battle that was as tough as this one. That's when something unexpected happened…Beatrix kneed me in the groin.

My eyes widened in pain as I struggled to hold my sword and keep my power applied to it, but the pain was too great. She overpowered me, knocked my sword from my hands, and flung me to the ground.

I clutched my groin and looked up at her. 'You dirty little bitch' I thought.

She looked down at me. "What? You blew melted wax into my eye."

I slowly got back up to my feet, but she kicked the wound in my left side and I fell back down in pain. I clutched my left side which was now throbbing. I could feel that she was standing over me. "Give up…you can't beat me. I must admit you've lasted a lot longer than any of my past opponents, but I knew I would beat you in the end. …It was a good match."

I slowly got back up to my feet and looked at her. "No…I'm not finished…yet." I punched her in the right side of her face. She was stunned so I tried to hit her in the gut. Surprisingly…she caught my punch and punched me in the gut instead. I doubled over, completely winded. That's when I saw her foot come up and kick me in the face. I stumbled backwards a few steps, and looked at her.

She was gathering energy again. I knew what was coming and I tried to dodge it. "SHOCK!" the light was rushing towards me again. This time though it caught my right side. The force of the blast was so great that it sent me spinning through the air. I hit the wall on my left side and heard a loud crunch.

I screamed out in pain as fell to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of me. I struggled to breathe as I glanced over at my left arm. I saw some of my bone sticking out through the skin in my upper arm; it was broken. 'Dammit, this isn't good.' I thought.

I tried to get back up to my feet, but my progress was slowed by my newly broken arm. My strength was leaving me and I could feel it. I leaned against the wall and looked over at Beatrix.

Her face showed no emotion as she looked at me. "You are battered, beaten, and broken; do the honorable thing and surrender."

I held my left arm with my right hand before I responded. "I…will…never-" she cut me off.

"Now you're just being stubborn. You can't beat me in the condition you're in. surrender or die."

I gave her a hard look. "I won't back down."

Her face grew dark. "Fine…then die, fool."

She charged at me and thrust her sword towards my neck. I dodged to my left, but her sword managed to impale my right shoulder. I screamed out in pain again and looked down at the blade that had pierced my shoulder. My shoulder was pinned to the wall and bleeding badly. The blood was running off onto Beatrix's sword, and dripping off near the middle of the sword.

She withdrew her sword from my wound and I sank down to the ground in pain. I tried to grab my right shoulder to staunch the flow of blood and was rewarded with a sharp shock of pain which reminded me that my left arm was broken. My vision began to blur from the loss of blood. 'I can't give up' I thought, trying to remain conscious.

That's when I noticed a dagger was flying towards Beatrix. She sensed the dagger and spun around to block it. I looked over and noticed Zidane was back on his feet and that one of his daggers was missing.

Beatrix looked down at me. "You're friend has interfered with our match. You lose." she said, wiping my blood of her sword and sheathing it.

I looked over at Zidane. "Zidane…why? I could have…taken her-" he cut me off.

"Don't be stupid. You would have been killed. I won't let you die."

I looked at him and sighed in defeat; I knew he was right. I had been beaten.

Zidane turned to Beatrix. "You're the general of Alexandria, right?" She looked at him as if he were stupid. Zidane continued "as the general of Alexandria isn't it your duty to protect Dagger, your Princess Garnet? I'm sure you know who that is sitting over there."

Beatrix looked over at the couch and was stunned. "It can't be…Princess Garnet!" she immediately rushed over to the Princess's side.

I reached into my pocket with my right arm, and pulled out a potion. I uncorked it using my teeth. I drank its contents. I could feel the potions healing properties work on me immediately. I looked down at my right shoulder and saw the wound close up, but it didn't close up all the way. Sighing I drank another potion. This time the wound closed completely and I could feel my left arm again. I tested my left arm to see if it was alright. Thankfully, I was able to move it.

I got back up to my feet and looked at the couch. Dagger was awake. A smile crossed my face as I looked at her. That's when the doors opened. I spun around and saw Queen Brahne enter the room. "What is all this ruckus?" she asked, as she entered the room. Zorn and Thorn entered the room behind her.

I gave her a hard look. "We're taking your daughter out of here…and if you really want to stop us…kill us."

She didn't seem too concerned about this. "I don't have time for this…Garnet shall be executed for her crime. Zorn, Thorn, throw Garnet in prison."

The jesters spoke in unison. "Yes, your majesty."

Beatrix walked up to the queen. "I won't allow that." she said, as she readied her sword for battle. While they were distracted I walked over and gathered both my swords and put my battle robe back on. I looked back over at Beatrix.

Beatrix was in her battle pose. "All of you leave here at once."

Freya immediately ran to Beatrix's side. "I'm staying! Zidane go, now!"

I ran up and stood beside Freya, drawing my normal sword out in the process. "I'm staying as well."

The queen looked at us in amusement. "You three are joining forces? How amusing…" she paused, and turned around. "Get rid of them" she said, and walked out of the room.

I picked up Zidane's dagger, and threw it towards him. He caught it. "You may need that." He smiled and put his dagger back in its sheath. I turned back towards Zorn and Thorn.

I heard Zidane's voice behind me. "Freya, Michael, be careful."

Both of us responded, "Don't worry." I sensed that Zidane and the others had left the room.

That's when a huge rabbit-like dog with big, sharp teeth and a long tongue barged into the room; it was a Bandersnatch. Zorn and Thorn spoke in unison "Bandersnatch, bite off their heads." We readied ourselves for battle.

I looked over at the other two "I got this one…I need to work out some aggression anyway." Both of them nodded at my consent. I charged at the Bandersnatch, jumped into the air, performed a "Ryu Tsui Sen Zan," and pierced its head. It roared in pain and flung its head around, but it died after a few more seconds. I withdrew my sword and jumped back down to stand next to the girls.

Zorn and Thorn were not amused. "Many more Bandersnatches, we have." That's when two more Bandersnatches arrived.

"It's getting a little crowded in here. Let's move to the underground area." said Freya. We both nodded and ran down the no longer secret passageway. The Bandersnatches followed us.

I jumped down to the spiral staircase and the others joined me soon afterwards. The Bandersnatches jumped down after us and surrounded us on both sides. I looked at Freya and Beatrix. "I'll let you ladies handle these two." They nodded in agreement and moved into action.

Beatrix attacked her Bandersnatch with a 'Shock' technique. It died instantly. I looked over at Freya and saw her throw her lance into the creatures head. It thrashed around in pain and Freya just managed to retrieve her lance before the creature fell off the stairs. 'I hope that doesn't land on anyone' I thought as I saw the Bandersnatch's body fall.

That's when I heard a familiar voice "Beatrix…Freya…Master Michael." I looked over to my left and saw Steiner ascending the staircase. He stopped in front of Beatrix.

Beatrix was surprised. "Steiner! What are you doing here?"

Steiner caught his breath and looked at us. "I am Captain-" I cut him off.

"Yes, we know who you are, Steiner. If you're here to help us, help us!" He nodded and readied his sword as two more Bandersnatch's jumped down towards us.

Freya and I decided to team up on one of them while Steiner and Beatrix teamed up on the other. Freya charged at the beast and cut it across the face with a 'Lancer' attack. The best recoiled and I charged at it. I executed a "Ryu Sho Sen" and decapitated it. I looked over at the others…they had successfully killed their Bandersnatch. I sheathed my sword.

I looked at Steiner "Steiner, we're the others?"

He looked up at me. "They're taking the Gargent to Treno to see Doctor Tot. He can help us."

I looked at each one of them. "I'm gonna go help them. You guys think you can handle things here without me." They all nodded. "Alright, good luck." I ran down the stairs.

"Michael!"

I stopped, turned around, and faced Beatrix. "When you get stronger…I wouldn't mind challenging you, again. This time it will be a fair fight."

I smiled at her and nodded. "Alright, I'll take you up on that offer when I have a chance…farewell." I turned around and ran down the stairs again.

I had just reached the central platform when I saw two figures running up the stairs; it was Marcus and Blank. They spotted me.

"Michael, were are the others?" Blank asked.

I was relieved to see that Blank was no longer petrified. "They're upstairs fighting. I left them to help Zidane and the others, were are they?"

Marcus pointed behind himself. "They ran into a trap, but we sprung'em out. They'll likely take the Gargent to Treno."

I nodded. "Thanks you guys, and Blank, it's good to see you're alright" Blank smiled. I looked at them both "you guys go help Freya and the others. I'll go help Zidane." They nodded and ran past me.

I quickly ran down the stairs to my left and found myself in a large room with a gate that had come from the ground. It was blocking my way. This was no problem, however, since I jumped over the gate rather easily. I continued on my way until I reached the station. They weren't there. 'They must have already left. Oh well, I can still catch up with them' I thought, as I jumped down into the mist.

I ran down the tunnel and it wasn't long until I heard the sound of battle up ahead. I unsheathed my normal sword and picked up my pace. After a few seconds they came into view. They were fighting Ralvuimago; A giant green snake with two red, flexible tusks. I quickly ran up to assist them.

I jumped into the air and executed a "Ryu Tsui Sen." I managed to slash the creatures head, but my attack did less than I had hoped it would. I jumped back and landed in-between Zidane and Vivi. I looked back at the snake. It coiled around itself. Vivi cast a Blizzara spell and the creature cried out in pain. It decided to retreat for now. It slithered back into the mist. 'Well, that was easy' I thought.

I sheathed my sword and looked at the others "you guys alright?"

Zidane looked surprised. "Michael, I thought you were helping the others."

I smiled. "What? You're not happy to see me?" I asked.

He smiled. "No, I'm happy to see you, but we're the others?"

I waved away his concern. "They're still back there fighting, but they'll be alright. After witnessing Beatrix's strength first hand, I know they'll be alright."

Zidane nodded. "Alright, let's get out of here" all of us nodded and we boarded the Gargent.

The Gargent was moving slowly, and Zidane decided to comment on this. "Why is it going so slowly? Hey, hurry up!"

Dagger quickly came to the Gargents defense. "Don't yell at it. The poor thing must be scared to death." Zidane was about to comment when the Gargent started moving faster.

Zidane smiled, triumphantly. "See? It can go faster."

That's when I looked behind myself and saw Vivi staring at something. I followed his line of sight and saw what he was looking at…my eyes widened. That snake we just fought was chasing the Gargent.

"Zidane! Look!" I yelled. Zidane turned around and looked. It didn't take him long to see what Vivi and I saw.

"Dammit, it's chasing us."

Dagger spoke. "We'll pass Treno if we don't stop soon."

I turned to look at her. "I think reaching Treno is the least of our worries."

After a few seconds we passed a landing site, which was obviously Treno.

"I think we just past Treno…" Vivi said.

Zidane kicked the ground in frustration. "Dammit, we can't jump off at this speed."

That's when we heard Dagger yell, "Zidane! Look!"

Zidane turned to look. "Huh, what the…shoot!"

I turned and saw what was going on. The tunnel was twisting and turning every-which way.

"We're gonna fall!" Zidane said, urgently.

"Everyone, hang on!" I yelled, and grabbed Vivi. I looked into his eyes; he was afraid. I smiled at him "Don't worry, Vivi. We've survived worse, just hang on to me." Vivi obliged and held onto my midriff tighter. He was squeezing the air out of me, but I decided to let it be.

"An exit"

I looked up at these words and saw light at the end of the tunnel. I knew what was coming next. I braced myself for impact and held Vivi a little tighter than I probably should have. There was a loud crash; all of us were thrown through the air. I felt myself land on the ground hard, flat on my back. I quickly fell into a peaceful oblivion.

Battou Jutsu
The user draws his sword from his sheath so quickly; he can kill with a single stroke. If he misses, the user is left open.

Sou Ryu Sen
The user uses Battou Jutsu and when/if his sword is blocked, he uses his sheath to get in a hit.