The Tale Of Xavier (PT 4)

Xifier rushed forward.

Xavier lost sight of him instantly.

Just as quickly as he disappeared, he reappeared directly in front of Xavier and unleashed a violent flurry of punches.

Xavier nervously thinks to himself

“If even one of these lands… I’m done for.”

It took everything Xavier had to dodge and deflect the attacks.

Xifier laughed wildly.

“Is that it?!”

“You’re just gonna block forever?!”

A grin spread across his face.

“Pathetic.”

He suddenly stepped backward.

“Let’s end this. Darkness Create: Armour.”

Dark armor rapidly formed around his forearms and legs. Xifier lowered his stance, becoming a wild beast as he prepared to attack.

“Now block THIS!”

Xifier slowly fades into the shadows as the air becomes still.

Xavier couldn’t read his movements anymore.

But he knew one thing.

He couldn’t lose.

Slowly, he raised his sword into a high stance.

Then began making deliberate strikes through the air.

High, low, mid. Changing rhythm constantly.

Xifier laughed loudly as he spoke.

“You think randomly swinging through the air is gonna save you?!”

Xifier appeared right behind Xavier and swept low toward his legs…

CLANG.

The armoured kick collided directly against the blade.

Xifier grunted and attacked again immediately.

Kick to the stomach, backhand to the face.

Both strikes collided against Xavier’s sword.

Then Xavier retaliated instantly.

Raising his blade high into the sky and bringing it crashing downward.

Xifier blocked with his right gauntlet, but the instant the sword connected, the armor shattered.

Xavier pressed forward relentlessly.

He dropped into a low stance…

Then launched a rising slash.

Xifier flipped high into the air, bringing his heel crashing downward toward Xavier’s skull.

But Xavier stepped aside at the last second and slammed the handle of his blade directly into Xifier’s chest.

The impact staggered him instantly, but Xavier followed through without hesitation.

In one smooth motion, he rotated the blade into his right hand and held the edge against Xifier’s neck.

Silence.

Xavier exhaled slowly.

“Well…”

A small grin appeared on Xifier’s face as Xavier continued.

“Guess I win.”

He tilted the blade a little further into Xifer’s neck.

“You can call me X!”

Xifier stared at him for a moment. Smug as ever. Then he burst into laughter.

“HAHAHAHA!”

Dark armor slowly rebuilt itself around his shattered arm.

“You? Winning?”

He cracked his neck.

“I laugh at that.”

The armor spread farther across his body.

“This was only a fraction of my power.”

A chest plate slowly began forming.

“Now let’s see what you REALLY got!”

Then suddenly, a voice yelled from the woods.

“STOP!”

Both Xavier and Xifier turned toward the forest path.

A figure stumbled through the brush, bent over, and breathing heavily.

“HEY!”

He raised a finger.

“…Hold up. Lemme catch my breath first.”

Xavier and Xifier exchanged confused looks before staring back at the stranger.

Finally, the man straightened himself.

“Alright, my bad. I can tell y’all are busy, so I’ll keep this short…”

No response

“Do either of you know where the nearest town is?”

Nothing.

“I really gotta take a shit!”

Xavier couldn’t help but laugh.

And in that tiny moment…

His grip loosened.

Xifier instantly slipped free.

“Never relax during a fight!”

The dark armor continued to spread across his body.

“That’s exactly how people die!”

The random man tries to speak again.

“Aye, like I said, sorry to bother y’all, but I REALLY gotta go.”

He looked around desperately.

“Can somebody just point me toward civilization or something?”

Xavier sighed heavily.

“Fine.”

“I’ll personally take you to the village.”

He pointed toward Xifier.

“But first, help me beat this clown.”

The stranger grinned instantly.

“Say less.”

He pointed toward himself proudly.

“You can call me Dom!”

Xavier finally got a good look at him.

A messy-headed blonde with a massive baggy jacket that covered most of his body.

Old headphones rested around his neck.

Xavier couldn’t believe someone dressed like that was hiking through the woods.

But for the situation he was in. Dom was completely relaxed.

“Watch out,” Xavier warned.

“His close-quarter abilities are deadly.”

He tightened his grip on his sword.

“Keep your distance, and we should be fine.”

Dom reached into his oversized jacket and pulled out two pistols.

The air around them slowly began heating up.

“Keep my distance?”

Dom smirked.

“Too easy!”

He slipped on his headphones and pressed play. Then, he began stretching casually.

Xavier sighed and mumbled.

“I just hope you can actually fight…”

Xavier raised his sword into a high stance once more.

Xifier laughed loudly.

“You really think teaming up with some bum idiot in the woods is gonna help you win?!”

Dark armor spread across his entire body. A helmet slowly formed over his face.

A full suit of armor.

Darker than darkness itself.

Dom slowly stepped forward.

As he approached Xifier, a grin spread across his face.

“So..”

He rolled his shoulders.

“You wanna go first?”

Dom raised one of the pistols and taunted.

“Let’s see what you got.”

Xifier closed the distance instantly, throwing wild punches and kicks without any clear rhythm.

But to Xavier’s surprise, Dom wasn’t getting hit.

If anything. He was getting faster.

Xifier’s frustration started showing.

“Again with this bullshit?! STOP MOVING!”

Xifier accelerated immediately.

His attacks became sharper. More precise. More violent.

Dom grinned like no tomorrow.

He threw a quick 1-2 combo, as he spun sharply to the right and slammed the side of his pistol directly against Xifier’s helmet.

SSSSS, the armor began melting away instantly.

Xifier jumped backward as Dom burst into laughter.

“HAHAH! Talk about running away!”

He turned his music louder.

“I’m just getting fired up!”

Dom rushed forward again.

Xifier smirked.

“Well, you got more guts than sword boy over there!”

He raised his stance and stepped forward.

“Let’s see what you got.”

Xifier lifted his right leg off the ground while bringing his left arm across his chest.

His helmet slowly faded away.

“Heat ability…”

Xifier was analyzing very carefully.

“He melts through my armor.

And the closer he gets… The hotter the area becomes.”

Xifier slowly let the armor fade from his body.

Waiting.

The moment Dom stepped into range, Xifier exploded forward.

His knee launched toward Dom’s head.

But Dom ducked instantly.

Xifier grinned wildly.

“GOT YOU, BITCH!”

He slammed both knees together.

“Darkness Create: Armour.”

Dark armor rapidly reformed around his legs as he crashed downward from above.

“Sword Skill: Slice!”

Xavier intercepted immediately.

His horizontal slice collided directly against Xifier’s armored knees.

Dom slid underneath the clash.

As he slid across the ground, he twisted his body and laughed.

“Well? Who’s the bitch now?!”

“Fire Materia: Flamethrower!”

Flaming materia flooded from Dom’s pistols.

The surrounding leaves ignited instantly.

Flowers burned. Even the nearby water began steaming violently.

The air around them started to boil.

Xavier gritted his teeth.

“HURRY! SHOOT!”

Dom grinned wildly.

“Let’s see you put this out!”

He fired. Not a bullet…

A massive wave of fire erupted forward, tearing through the plant life.

The heat became unbearable.

Xifier laughed loudly.

“You think you got me?!”

He kicked off Xavier’s blade and launched himself high into the air.

The wave of fire roared directly toward Xavier.

“Shit. I’ve gotta stop this before it kills me.”

Dom immediately turned his pistols upward and continued to fire at Xifier repeatedly.

But every shot missed.

Dom blinked.

“Since when can this dude FLY?!”

“That’s not even fair!”

Xifier couldn’t help but laugh.

He landed directly behind Dom.

“Well, well, well…”

“Looks like your playlist’s over.”

CRASH!

The back of Xifier’s hand slammed into Dom’s spine.

Before Dom could recover, Xifier quickly rotated to the front of Dom and drove his elbow into his stomach.

“I’M NOT DONE YET!”

Dom collapsed against Xifier’s knee, barely conscious.

Xifier instantly locked his arm around Dom’s neck and drove his knee into his back.

“Dragon Sleeper!”

Xifier tightened the hold.

“In this position…”

He pulled down harder.

“I can snap your spine and neck whenever I want!”

A grin spread across his face.

“And after that? Death!”

The flame tsunami is just mere inches from Xavier.

He steadies his breathing.

“Stay calm.

I can do this.”

He closed his eyes.

Slowly, he raised his sword into a high stance.

“Sword Skill: Slash.”

His eyes snapped open.

And suddenly, he unleashed consecutive slashes against the massive wave of fire.

The flames were split apart violently and scattered throughout the forest while the heat exploded in every direction.

Then Xavier saw it. Dom is trapped.

“Think.

Think.

ONE chance.”

Then suddenly…

His body moved on its own.

“Sword Skill: Spin!”

Xavier exploded forward at full speed.

As he spun through the burning forest, the surrounding flames began gathering around his blade.

He remembered something. One focused strike had shattered Xifier’s armor earlier.

Xavier screamed at the top of his lungs.

“I’M NOT A BITCH!!!”

Xifier’s eyes widened.

He couldn’t release Dom fast enough.

So instead, he braced for impact.

“Darkness Cre…”

But at the last second, Xavier changed forms.

“Sword Skill: Pierce!”

The surrounding flames converged into the tip of his blade.

The sword collided directly against Xifier’s chest plate.

For one brief moment, the two struggled against each other.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The explosion sent all three of them flying across the clearing.

Xavier slowly pushed himself off the ground.

“Damn, that hurt.”

He looked around frantically before spotting Dom lying nearby.

Xavier rushed toward him immediately.

“DOM! DOM! GET UP!”

Xavier grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him.

Dom groaned loudly.

“STOP! That shit hurts…”

Dom slowly opened his eyes and tried sitting up.

“FUCK! MY BACK!”

He glared at Xavier.

“What the hell took you so long?!”

Xavier frowned and responded swiftly.

“I had to deal with a GIANT WAVE OF FIRE!”

“It almost killed me, by the way!”

Dom burst into laughter.

“Pretty cool though, right?”

“When I shot it, my favorite song came on.”

He grinned.

“I couldn’t hold back.”

Xavier laughed quietly.

“Okay, maybe a little bit.”

Suddenly.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

Both Xavier and Dom turned instantly.

Xifier stood in the distance, barely conscious.

“Think y’all won?!”

He tried raising his hand.

“Darkness Create—”

“…Arm”

“…our…”

THUD!

Xifier collapsed face-first into the burnt grass and flowers.

Silence.

Xavier cautiously approached and poked him with his blade.

“He just passed out. He’s okay.”

Dom let out a long breath.

“Thank God!”

“That dude was INSANELY strong.”

“The amount of materia he has is ridiculous.”

Xavier nodded slowly.

“Yeah. You can say that again.”

The faint crackling and pops of the burning forest echo throughout as Xavier continues.

“It’s crazy, all he wanted was a spar.”

He looked toward Xifier.

“It felt like he was trying to kill us.”

Dom awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Uh… Sword guy?”

“Yeah?”

“I still gotta take that shit.”

Xavier stared at him blankly.

“Seriously?”

Dom groaned painfully.

“I’m NOT in a position to really move right now, bro.”

Xavier sighed heavily.

“Fine. I’ll carry you.”

Dom immediately celebrated.

“THAT’S MY GOAT!”

As Xavier prepared to leave, he suddenly stopped walking.

Dom blinked.

“What now? To the toilet, my noble steed!”

Xavier slowly turned back toward Xifier.

Dom stared at him in disbelief.

“Bro. You cannot be serious.”

“That man almost KILLED us.”

Xavier looked at the unconscious Xifier quietly.

“Yeah. I know. But we can’t just leave him here.”

Dom groaned dramatically.

“WOW!”

“So it’s REALLY like that, huh?”

Xavier picked Xifier up over his shoulder.

Then slowly started walking back toward Mr. Manji’s home.

For the first time in years…

Xavier smiled naturally.

“So this…

…Is what it feels like to have friends.”

All three eventually made a full recovery.

Including Dom finally taking his long-awaited shit.

Time passed quickly.

Days became months.

Months became YeaRs

Dom and Xifier remained under Mr. Manji’s guidance, training alongside Xavier.

Every single day, Xifier challenged Xavier to a duel. And every single day, Xavier continued sharpening both his swordsmanship and himself.

Ten years passed.

Xavier mastered the sword.

But more importantly, he mastered his inner self.

And he wasn’t the only one growing stronger.

Xifier secretly continued evolving his darkness.