Fate's Intervention

The lowest levels of the Royal Armory housed those rooms specifically designed to train Euno's many soldiers, firing ranges, practice dummies, a whole swathe of breakable equipment. In one of the lowest training rooms, Leila slashed and struck at a collected group of dummies. Her body burned with each strike, the ten lashes on her back burning, begging to be rested, be healed, but the Royal Guardsman would do no such thing. She deserved the Lord Commander's punishment after letting the Lady Banderas escape her in Mydar. She would be stronger, next time. No prey would escape from the Hunter's grasp, never again. With a cry of inarticulate rage, she slashed at the dummies, her magic fueling the strike and setting the wooden dummies ablaze. Above, automated sprinklers doused them, and her, in cool water.

It was not until the water ceased that the woman in the doorway stepped inside, clad in little more than what she kept beneath her armor. Gone with the metal that would grace her on the battlefield, the woman walked around the rim of the training room, eyes alight with a combination of amusement and deviance as she took in the sight of her fellow guardsmen. The one before her was known for her temper, Key Hunter that she was, and being a Wielder herself, it was far from safe territory for Signy to be in. That, however, was what made it thrilling, and thus it was the exact reason that she was here. There wasn't a soul in the Guard that hadn't heard of the misbegotten luck, the "failure," as the higher ups called it, of Guardsman's Scarlet, and as such, no one dared to cross her path, least they face the fire of her temper. Guardsman Joana bore no such fear.

Leila was well aware of her visitor, her eyes following the woman as she rounded the ring. Charred wood sizzles and hissed, and Leila found herself pacing opposite of Guardsman Joanna, hugging softly as she looked at the wielded with what could only be called disgust.

That cocky smirk that Signy was oh-too well-known for was on her face as quickly and easily as if it had never left her face. Of course the woman in front of her bore her no good health, nay, she hated her for the capability she held that the elder guard did not. There was little she could do about it; Signey could not just simple lose her ability to summon a keyblade, could not change the fact that it had chosen her. These things happened, and no matter how desired they were, they did not happen to everyone. In fact, the very truth that it did not, and could not happen to every member of the populace was what made it so desirable.

Leila waited until they had more or less swapped plwces, so that Signy was closest to the door, before speaking. "Leave, Signy." She almost growled, her body taut and ready to strike. "Or I'll make you." She finished, flourishing her gunblade, firing burning around her and between them as her magic willed the embers left inside the dummies to grow into raging pillars of flame...before the sprinklers turned on once more, drenching both women.

The burst of laughter that escaped the fellow woman came out as more of a cackle, her only element circling her like a maelstrom of uncontained hurricanes. Holding a hand out, she summoned her own weapon, an oversized, blackened blade that seemed like the woman could not possibly, rightfully wield it. Still, it seemed to have no encumbrance against her and nay seemed more like it made it easier for her to move.

"We both know that the more hot and bothered you get, the more power I have in this fight." Her eyes twinkled, the duel meaning of her words, innuendo and truth, retaining their rightful place as fact. As Leila summoned and let wild her own element, it brought the immediate, necessary attention of the sprinkles. And oh, honey, is water a wonderful conductor.

"Leave." She hissed out once more, her buckled slipping down to her forearm along its straps, stopping only when she grabbed it. The light glinted off her metal armor, hair dampened to her head.

"You've learned mercy." She teased, almost spitting the word as she emphasized it. The woman made no attempt to move, neither towards nor away from her. Her grip didn't even adjust, her eyes didn't blink, instead staring her down, daring her. That smirk of hers twitched, stretching further across and up her face. "You've graced me with not one warning but two. Either you're wanting a fight or you enjoy my company. Now," the guard said, adjusting her footing to better stay her balance and wait, though her hip was soon more cocked than steady as she shifted her waist, "Which would it be?"

Leila's eyes slowly narrowed, and she adjusted her guard accordingly. Then, in a single instant, she bolted across the room, feathered cape fluttering behind her as she flew towards Signy.

A laugh dissolved into a snort as the woman braced herself, waiting until the last possibly moment to dip down and roll to the side. Tempest was up and blocking any strike aimed down- or forward against the woman, held in front of her at an angle as she watched, skidding back until she was able to rise to her feet. Her motions were easy, but always seemed erratic and like they shouldn't quite do what they did. Smirking, she made a 'come here' gesture at the woman, still holding the weapon in the same stance, her grip steady on its handle.

Leila slid onto the ground, rolling that last bit of inertia away and looking up at Signy with hatred in her eyes. Fire exploded out from her as she smashed a fist into the grouns, prompting another torrent from the sprinklers before she haphazardly charged again, buckled in front and sword at the ready.

Signy grinned wide, shameless as she sent a bolt of electricity at her opponent. Even as she did so, the wielder all but danced out of the woman's way, on the off chance that the magic wasn't enough to stop her fellow guard.

Leila jolted and spasmed in the air, crashing onto the ground and rolling like a ragdoll for a fee good feet, armor clattering anf, in some places, coming off. She pushed herself up, panting softly, her hair an erratic mess. She glared up at Signy, anger turning to murderous intent.

"So much faith in your own actions..." The wielder taunted, walking a wide arc towards the woman, swinging her keyblade in her hands as she did so, "And yet, so little control." She stopped short, some two or three yards from the other woman, blade buried at the tip into the ground, arms and chin resting over the other end. "How do you expect to control the battlefield when you can't even control yourself, hmmmm?" That taunting smirk of hers twitched to life once more, "Or for that matter, even control me?"

"Stop mocking me!" She yelled, slamming her fisting into the ground, spreading flames again. This time, there was no response from the sprinklers. Either they were dry...or someone else had intervened. Leila stood on shaky legs, drawing her weapon and tossing away her buckler. "Fight me..." She snarled, though her weapon shook in her grip.

Signy seemed all too amused, leaning back and pulling her weapon from the ground. Holding it in front of her, she grinned, a mischievous smirk that was a silent taunt in and of itself. Saying nothing, she darted a wide arc that broke in a zig-zag towards the woman, aiming for a sideswipe as she passed, quickly retracting it afterwards to act as a guard.

Leila loudly cursed as Signy's blade skidded against her armor, causing another piece to fall off and exposing the black unitard she wore beneath, that cover her groin and torso, up to her shoulders. Skimpy, really. She turned to face her opponent, lunging madly forward, aiming for her fellow guard's heart.

The guard set her own underarmor alight in bolts. It crackled as it traveled along the surface, her attire a poor conductor without her full armor to accompany what she wore, now. In silence, she moved her blade from a guard position to a side strike, aiming to push the other woman back and possibly to wound her as well. Even the blade was electrified.

Leila felt the electricity before the pain, as Signy's blade cut through steel and fabric and cut a gash along her side. Her body went rigid, shaking lightly as electricity coursed through it. She gritted her teeth, glaring at Signy before falling to a knee in front of her, sword dropping to the side.

Without a word, Signy kicked the discarded blade out of reach, removing her own from physical existence. She knelt in front of her, ignoring the bow that was strung on her back. "You'll need that treated, Captain."

Leila reached forward suddenly, her hand gripping Signy's throat. "You think...you're better than me?" She asked, eyes turning to meet her fellow guardsmen through eyes of hate. "You think...just because you have something I dont...that you're superior?" She snarled, starting to rise slowly, fires starting to ebb and flow around them. Her free hand clenched as she reached her full height, the pressure in the room growing unbearably heavy.

Signy escalated the amount of electricity running over her form, using all of her concentration to maintain it. Even still, her physical strength was waning, instinct demanding that she try to pull herself away from the other guard.

Leila started squeezing harder, gritting her teeth in pain, and jerking a bit, but otherwise maintaining control of herself. "You're not...better... Youre a fraud. All of you... Each keyblade wielder, who just got to have what I had to work for." The flames were gone, now, energy starting to pool in Leila's right hand, while she glared up at Signy.

The woman worked to control her breathing, fighting for ever sliver of air she could muster in herself. Electricity began to fade as her energy tried to give way.

Suddenly, a bright light enveloped them both, shattering the glass window to the outside corridor and spilling out into the hall. When it faded, Signy was on the grouns, and Leila was holding a pillar of light, which slowly twisted and warped into shape, before ceystalizing and becoming real. A keyblade, gold and black, wings of Angel and demon fused into one.