The day of the thirdth. (Whilaroo and CnP)

A figure appeared in the vast, desert area. Sand blew at high winds around the dark silhouette, brushing against the entity's silver hair. This area was the west side of Janaisja. The peaked winds then began to blow, making the figure's hair flow with it. It was walking forwards, with a dirty cloak wrapped around it's body. It paced regularly, and did not stop at one step. There was no beings around, except for this sinister silhouette, marching in the windy desert. It went up dunes, and down them. After a few minutes, it stopped. The wind stopped blowing as it did so, and it's hair fell on it's back. The silhouette's head was lowered. It lifted very slightly. It sensed something. Something that he recognized in his days. Something that he had recognized in the past. And something that he would recognize in the future. One metallic hand shot out of the cloak, grabbing it tightly at it's side. It pulled the cloak off, and it drifted heavily before falling onto the ground. A black and dark green man was seen, with long silvery hair. He stood, one arm outstretched, for a long time. He knew that there was someone. Not something, someone.
"Serenity!" He yelled, "Show yourself!"

Ever so slowly, a single small figure surmounted the looming dune before the silver haired warrior. It was only visible in silhouette, it's pants and hair flowing with its movement. When it had reached the summit of the giant mound of sand, it ceased its motion. It stood stoically, gazing down at the darkly armored Clonoid below. "You wanted to see me, I believe, Mr. Hunter," the bell-like toll of a young woman's voice mixed with a mechanical sound resounded in the space between the two.

"Yes, I have called for you," Echo answered arrogantly, "But you knew I would of done it since a long time, Serenity. Our fates were bound to meet, by chance or by force." Echo looked at Serenity with an emotionless stare for a long time, the sandy wind falling quietly. Echo's silver hair shined in the sunlight.
"Yet I do not remember, Serenity, I know that we have already fought in the past," Echo continued, "I wish to do so again, so I may finish with you once and for all."
Echo slid his right foot behind him, and put his left arm to his mouth, and his right arm behind him. Two long, crimson blades shot out of the NeoClonoid's hands, shining with rage, and longing for a dual. He waited for the other entity to answer his challenge.

Impossible to see because of the angle of the sun overshadowing her, the Shiva smiled. "It would seem that we are indeed destined to be the plague upon the life of the other... Very well," Like a death knell did her voice toll. As she spoke, the symbols upon her body began to glow, starting from the chest and working outward. The last symbols to light were the ones in her eyes, a feral crimson-magenta aura that surrounded the energy channels that led to the different performance enhancers embedded beneath her skin. Her voice was now altered ever so slightly, laden as it was with power, "Know now that I gave you the chance to withdraw while your life was still in your hands. From now, you are dead to me." As opposed to striking the battle ready pose as did her opponent, Serenity stood atop her dune and stared down without moving, audacity fairly dripping from her. The only sign that she was made of stone was the slight movement of her chest as breath entered and left her body and the ethereal glow that emanated from her enhanced extremities.

"First off," Echo warned, "I want you to promise me one thing." Echo stopped there, as if time itself had. Everything went silent, and even the low growls inside the mechanism of Echo's pylonic blades had stopped humming quietly to themselves. "If you are here on the behalf of your commander," Echo continued, hissing, "Then you should terminate your actions now. I don't wish to fight a slave who succumbs to each and every one of it's master's orders!" Echo exclaimed, loud enough for Serenity to hear clearly. A wave of rage filled Echo's body, as his motors began turning for maximum efficiency. The circuits within him blared with many jolts of electricity. He was ready for this. He waited for Serenity's answer, however it may be.

How wide the smile which split the face of Serenity. "Many a man would presume to control me, and all believe that success has been his, but like you I bow only to the heart within my chest and the wind that might rend the skies," her voice contained a strange sort of joy, "No, our meeting is my choice, Dear Echo, not that of a dog obeying its master's commands, and it will fill me with the greatest pleasure if you would do me the honor of giving me this dance." Shiva's arms, which had been held at her sides slowly lifted, palm facing up, as if to welcome Echo into her arms. The circular markings on her hands glowed with a fierce intensity, obviously being charged with an incredible amount of energy. Over the dunes, the wind played a sort of dirge around the two, an odd howling accompanied by what could have almost been a flute whistling its deadly tune. Serenity's eyes flared with power as the wind coursed around her, flowing through her hair and billowing her pantaloons.

Echo stood up straight, and his pylonic blades disappeared, wailing in the breeze as they did so. The minimal pieces of pylonic energy drifted in the air for a while, before disappearing into nothingness. He walked calmly over to his adversary, his fists clenched, a sly smile on his face. He climbed the dune ever so slowly but effectively, not slipping on one grain of sand. He arrived at the top of the dune, at two meters away from where Serenity stood tall. "Well," Echo blurted out, breaking the last moments of silence there would be, "You ask me to dance," Echo paused, lifting his head very slightly, to let the opponent look into his rage-filled eyes, "I'll gladly master the dance for you." Echo threw his hand backwards with incredible speed, one shining red blade shooting out of it. It lengthened slightly, as the other one appeared in his other hand. Echo crouched very near Serenity, and gave an upwards blow with his two blades.

Serenity smiled as Echo approached and that strange light seemed to cause her eyes to sparkle as he spoke. As twin scarlet beams of pylonic energy arced up towards her, the Shiva moved. Her own blades sprung to life, blazing through the air with loud growling noises as the tiny particles of dust floating before them were incinerated. These contacted Echo's blades on their upward path. Serenity used the force of the contact in conjunction with a push of her own and a leap to send herself flipping over Echo's head. She landed into a cartwheel, well, it would have been had her hands actually touched the ground. Her blades, which had still been active had gouged parallel lines through the sand, super heating and hardening the tiny grains into small glass channels. Where she landed, she crouched, readying for the second attack that was sure to come, her hands held in defensive positions at different levels in front of her body.

Echo growled as he noticed Serenity dodge the attack. Not only did she dodge it, she did it with ease, and every one of her movements was a humiliation for the NeoClonoid. Echo's silver hair twirled around his body at a high velocity as he sun around, the sand under his feet lifting in the air. Echo, still spinning, released the same attack as before on Serenity, but this time not crouching, and having slightly less angle to it, and a curve at the end. His crimson blades swiped at the sand, turning the sand to glass, turning the glass to liquid again, the force of his motion sending the sand he had blown with his feet high over the pale ground.

Serenity tutted as she saw her opponent simply pulling a slight variation upon his original attack. This time, she evaded to her left, simply parrying his blades with a quick activation and swipe of one of her own. Ducking lower, she unleashed a drop kick under Echo's defenses with one of her slipper covered feet, the force behind the foot ten times what a normal human could have delivered. This splayed her body, with her arms supporting her and her left leg providing the momentum for the right leg's assault. As she made the maneuver, the Shiva's hair whisked around her head, dark and straight. She wore a smile on her face at the exhilaration brought on by combat. True mental strain could be found here. The move completed itself by spinning her legs back under herself and giving her a slightly unbalanced stance, nevertheless perfect for extending another attack should the chance present itself.

Echo, having lagged ever so slightly at the end of his attack, was not able to get out of the way of Serenity's lower attack. The foot hit his left foot with exaggerated strength. Instead of breaking the armor, though, Echo had the reflex to move his defending foot very quickly, and thus gain momentum with this foot. The Shiva's foot made impact with his, a shockwave blowing the sand out of reach. Echo tilted forwards very slowly, and then found himself flying in the air, his red blades slashing the air, shrieks piercing the sky. Echo landed on his hands not far away, and he backflipped back to meet Serenity. He breathed heavily, his foot slightly aching. A low growl escaped from his mouth. He yelled as he dashed for his opponent again, one pylonic blade in front of his face, the other pointing at the Shiva. Just before reaching his target, he jumped, and attacked downwards with his blades, the cold scream of the weapons cutting the brisk air.

Serenity used her lack of balance to a strange advantage, throwing herself forward with all her weight, which wasn't very considerable, and adding a little oomph by pushing off with her feet. Her arms held so that the blades crossed before her face. Thus she lunged into the enemy's aerial deployment of force. She swiped outward with them as Hunter moved above her with a mediocre attempt at strength. Her teeth showed as she growled audibly, and, having evaded the attack, she instantly began to swing around with as much power as she could manage. This attack was only executed by a single blade, being arced around her as she swung. The other hand prepared for a stabbing assault. Shiva's eyes gleamed through the small could of dust beginning to accumulate about the two combatants.

Echo, seeing the attack come from a mile away, threw his blades upon the arced attack, and pushed off of it with all his might, his back being arched as the one of a cat's, his legs thrown above his head. He twirled quickly onto his feet, and he quickly ducked, hurling one foot under to gain momentum. The sand lifted at the line of where his foot passed. Using this newly acquired momentum, he heaved his two blades, one horizontally, and one diagonally in the same direction. The blades nibbled at the earth as he swept with them cleanly, throwing sand, turning a few grains, melting them, into glass. His blades screeched as they cut the wind in two, their red aura blazing with anger.

Serenity shifted from the stabbing motion to a deft blade twist, a movement that could only be sanctioned by a weapon as dexterous as a Pylon Blade emitted from a hand based hilt. She quickly tried to tangle Echo's blades to fling them aside. her footing had been lost slightly as Hunter had knocked her own blade, and she was pressed to recover while deflecting harm to herself. As she kicked up a veritable geyser of sand with some quick footwork, Shiva laughed. "You are a beautiful dancer, Echo," she called to her foe, "I would never have imagined with that body of yours." She spiraled, dragging her unengaged left arm around for another attack.

Echo's blades were taken by the agile trick, and the three overheated weapons emanated so much heat that a normal human would be pouring sweat, bus since a NeoClonoid has a different 'ventilation' system, sweat does not exist for them. As the Shiva tossed his blades aside, and wound up for another blow, Echo imitated the elegant gesture, twirling on himself. He knew that a twirling attack would be the best defense against another twirling attack."But you dance as elegantly as me, Serenity," Echo announced to his adversary, "The grace of your movements make up for the strength of my blows. This dance is going to get tactical..." His blades ran through the air, prepared to face the Shiva's attack.

"How sweet of you," her teeth showed as she whirled, grinning widely, "Dancing out a strategy is so much more fun than any other type of execution though, is it not?" Her attack came around and met his counter, a block that she had anticipated. The Shiva allowed her arm to slide upward , shifting the direction of Echo's blade enough for her to slip underneath it and past him. As she swept by with a good deal of speed, Serenity's right arm extended for another attempt at Hunter's legs. As the blade reactivated, however, she realized it would be too short to reach its intended target. Thus did her mental synapses tell the blade to lengthen itself, sacrificing density for extension. A forward lunge was added with the intent of insuring the damage.

Echo crouched, pulling his blade behind him, about to counterattack the blow that Serenity gave to his feet at the precise moment. Time itself seemed to have slowed down as he calculated efficiently. The efficiency boosters lodged into the NeoClonoid's brain worked as hard as the could, thus making time seem slower for Mr. Hunter. As these chips worked, his movements were not slowed, but even acute. He slashed upwards, falling in a backflip, then trying to kick the Shiva with his foot as he heaved himself backwards, also jumping out of the blades' range. He landed not far off, his crimson blade shining, as he prepared a second battle stance, as a spear. "Of course it is," Echo replied, "But it's even better if the enemy does the same, ney?"

The Shiva felt her blade make contact, but not with its intended target. That plan was obviously not of any more worth, and so she abandoned it. Utilizing the momentum generated from Echo's strong counter she spun back and to the side, neatly evading the kick that she had only seen coming at the last moment. Serenity smiled, had she not preplanned an escape, Hunter might have knocked her senseless with a kick so adequately aimed at her head. "Wherever did you learn such beautiful grace and coordination?" the toll of her bell like voice was taunting. The whole body of the modified Alphaclonoid was aglow with that magenta light whose center was a heart of crimson. Even through her clothing the lights on her many enhancements blazed, forming strange symbols all across her small body.

Echo stood a moment, frozen in his aggressive stance. He scowled as an answer to the Shiva's taunting, and his eyes glistened of anger. His blades gleamed of hatred, spouting a bloodlike aura around it. "The power lies within, Serenity." This sentence shocked Echo. It wasn't the one he had planned. He had wanted to say, 'When I got an infinite part of my memory back, when you left the dome where you had recuperated me...', but he didn't. He wondered why. The sentence echoed in his mind for a few moments. He remembered himself saying it, but not sure to whom. He then stared at the Shiva, not really knowing what to do, else than to concentrate on his ready move. His eyes opened wide, as he had another flashback, and black and white images filled his head.
Echo swung his blade massively on the floor, propelling many shards of rock and glass from the floor onto the dark entity. His blade stood in the air, glowing of fury, as he brought it down again onto the foe.
He closed his eyes tight, and then slowly opened them to look at Serenity. She was somewhat calm, to Echo's opinion. More than he was. Was his battle style only fueled by the emotions within, or truly thought of? Echo stood up, and decided to know.
"Serenity," he called to his opponent, "Even though it seemed as if you saw me for the first time back at the dome, I seem to remember you from before... What was it that happened? Is the memory inside my head faulty, or have you lost yours as well?"

The first comment had already caused Serenity's brow to furrow. The shiver of a hidden memory torturing her like a spider crawling up her spine while her mind's hands were tied, unable to pluck it off and examine its tormentor. Slowly, her peaceful expression returned and she nodded. "Yes, I suppose it does make sense that we have met before," the Shiva's voice came as though through a lethargic fog, "Yes, it begins to fit together now. Unlike you, Dearest Mr. Hunter, my memory was tampered with purposefully by the very same men who yet seek to control me. They payed dearly for that mistake. I had showed to much free will for them, so they sought to erase my plans... But that is for another time, I think." A slow wind once again blew around her, making that same ethereal whining sound as it did. The glow that emanated from her seemed to dim slightly, growing more red than pink. Serenity's blades had deactivated the moment she had ceased immediate combat in favor of conserving energy. "Of course," she lowered her gaze to the sand, "That would mean that you were... Yes, yes, but now I understand so much. You're the reason." With a sudden shock she looked up at Echo, eyes wide. The surprise in her eyes quickly faded to that same smile. "You are right, Dear Echo, we have met before," she readied her arms once again to fight, "And something tells me that this is not the last time our paths shall cross."

Echo wanted to reply aggressively, but contented himself of a sly smile, and snickering at his adversary. He closed his eyes, and laughed quietly. "Dear Serenity," he announced, "I think that you are wrong." His head, as slow as ever, lifted to see the Shiva in the eyes. A maniacal expression slid onto his face. A demented smile, that seemed that could only laugh demoniacally, and the eyes of a sane man opened wide, to gaze at the Shiva. The wind blew once more, throwing sand over the dun faraway, but it soon stopped, and Echo's silver hair flowed behind his back once more. "I think this is the last time we meet." Echo got ready, the sadistic expression disappearing from his face. His red blades glimmered with delight, as the thought of slaying his opponent would be very delicate, but would appeal to the greatest euphoria. He charged at Serenity. But the manner he accelerated wasn't normal. Instead of using a normal straight stride, he used a diagonal one, using the slight centrifugal force to accelerate in each step he makes, making him go very fast very quickly indeed. Once arrived at the Shiva's reach, Echo spun around on himself by pushing off his right leg, making him turn counterclockwise with great velocity, aiming his two screeching blades for Serenity's head.

Theatrically, Serenity bowed before her aggressors onslaught. The blades only barely swept above her hair, slightly singeing the uppermost strands upon her head and severing others. Without discharging her blades, she thrust forth her hands and ascended from her lowered posture. The effect was to use Echo's incredible momentum to propel the neoclonoid above her head and into the sand directly behind. This, of course, took an incredible amount of force on her part to minimize the damage done to her own body. Such output of strength caused her to once again glow with an immense fierceness, like an earthbound star shining out across the desert with a ruby light. Following the maneuver, she used her upward driven body to back flip, following the body of her fellow combatant with the intent of landing on him.

Echo was astonished as he noticed that the Shiva had dodged the attack with deconcentrating ease. He fell forwards, somersaulting in the air to land heavily on the vulnerable surface of the sand. He hadn't thought that he would be able to stand up immediately after such a boost, but he kept his balance, on his two feet, sliding over the crawling sand. Suddenly, a very forceful impact was felt on his back, and he fell forwards, head first into the sand. He felt the Shiva stand on him while they descended the dun, faster and faster. Echo's crimson blades shrieked against the sand, transforming most of it into liquid glass, which solidified the moment after. Sand shot out from the point of Echo's body where the force was the most degreed, his head. His silver hair flattened on his back, almost camouflaging with the sand that covered it.

Serenity struggled to keep her balance. This art was made even more difficult with the added friction of Echo's blades carving their way through the sand. yet, thankfully, the wind had died down sufficiently and the Hunter's blades were quite powerful to provide little enough distraction that she remained aboard her living transportation. As the sand flew up around the neoclonoid's head, however, the Shiva became slightly disoriented. This situation being what it was, it took only this small amount of disturbance to dislodge her. She tumbled downward alongside Echo for two or three meters before she managed to right herself in a strange acrobatic manner, and despite the sharp incline of the sandy mound upon which she had just been so helpless, Serenity lightly put her feet beneath her and halted her descent. So there, about two-thirds of the way down the face of the slope, with a calm sort of coolness that was quite out of place in such a dry hot place she stared down at the being called Echo Hunter. As she watched him she quickly reviewed information gleaned from the battle that had just transpired. Particularly prominent was the assessment of the data from Hunter's combat readings. The thought that occurred to her was somewhat as follows, "He is strong, and even since the last fight he is improved, though he has not even left a mark upon me. Yet... Still his temper clouds his mind. Still emotions rule his core, and he allows discipline to flee from him if in return he may have burning anger. He has much yet to learn, much to remember." With that, she slowly started to descend after him taking a slanting path so as not to fall prey once again to the precarious slope.

Echo lied still in the pale sand, as it slowly descended around him, blown by the very faint breeze that had followed both Hunter's and the Shiva's descent. The NeoClonoid's silver hair shined in the boiling sun, reflecting the light all around him. Suddenly, his arm shot upwards, and fell onto the ground again heavily. It shook unsteadily, as the other arm imitated the previous motions. Both arms vibrated violently, and Echo pushed himself up slowly. He hacked, and he lifted his right knee under him, and he pushed himself up the ground. He wobbled weakly from side to side as he adjusted himself to the ground. Sparks hopped now and then, shooting out from his chest protection. He coughed, and turned his head around, glaring at the Shiva.