Shanty City

[Bloodbayne]

By the time the man's intentions became clear to Leo it was far too late for him to make another move, he would simply have to go along as best he could with whatever happened next. As Leo lashed out with his attack his eyes were drawn towards Strakhovs blade, a studying glance revealing the blades angle and setting a new plan in motion. The 2 blades met with a solid impact, sending a solid reverberation back through Leo's forearm before it began to raise higher into the air along with his blade; a directional change out of the question as the vibration removed some mobility. At this point Leo realized there was only 1 choice to avoid the incoming attack so he suddenly released his hold on the hilt of his weapon just before Strakhov stepped forward. With quick thinking Leo suddenly jumped backwards from the ball of his left foot, landing a half foot behind him on his right foot with his eyes focusing on his feet to ensure balance before looking back to Strakhov and readying himself to release his own counter attack. Having turned his attention away from the fight Leo has been unable to see his opponent readying for another strike, one he would not be able to avoid so easily.

A blur of movement came from his hands as he position them in front of his, hoping to at least lessen the force of the hit he was about to take. As one final precaution to the impending blow the muscles of Leos abdomen flexed to their full strength to create a solid wall of muscle. even these combine precautions for not enough to fully sponge the damage that threatened Leo, as a sudden gasp showed the wind leaving his lungs before he was pushed backwards a foot before stumbling to the ground. Not wanting to be caught off guard he kept with the momentum of his fall, throwing his legs over his head before pushing his hands against the ground. This allowed him to pop up into a crouched position, his feet sliding along the stone floor a few inches before coming to a stop, now a total of 5 feet away and glaring directly at Strakhov, Leos eyes a light and hazy blue, while openly rubbing his sore stomach and breathing in long deep breaths. It seemed as though the fight would be unwinnable for Leo, Strakhov had excellent fighting skills and to top it off he had some tough armor which weighed a ton. But now Leo would attempt to use the man's weight against him.

A few seconds after his body came to a stop the air which surrounded both him and Strakhov began to rapidly decrease in temperature, dropping to a temp of 25 degrees Fahrenheit. As it dropped Leo brought his hands up to his face and cupped them around his mouth before beginning to breathe deeply into his hands, making the breath as hot as he could to create more steam, which began to coat his hands in a thin layer of frost. A relatively similar process would happen to Strakhovs breath, though the steam which it created would fall to the ground around him like a fog, dampening the ground around him. 5 more seconds passed and now cracks and pops sounded randomly through the air, veritable cries and moans from the ground as it was slowly frozen. One final breath was released from Leos hands, which were now almost completely covered in frost, before he would gently touch the ground with both hands which caused a half foot circle of ice to surround each hand as the frost seemed to melt from his skin to transfer the stored Ice Materia into the ground and keeping only a small amount in his right palm.

Having already wasted 8 seconds Leo felt it was time to act, digging the toes of both boots into the ground; beginning to sprint but keeping his body hunched towards the ground. As Leo sprinted towards his opponent he made for sure that at least a single fingertip dragged along the ground to keep his command of the Materia at its peak until it was needed. Leos eyes never left Strakhovs form as he charged towards him, intending on leading him to believe a straight forward attack like the others which preceded it. When he reached a distance of 3 feet the Materia placed within the moistened stone suddenly sprang to life, freezing a quarter inch layer beneath and above the ground 5 feet in front of him with a width of 3 feet. The instant this freezing came about Leo straightened his body, cocked back his right hand which showed a brief flash of the stored energy in the palm and locked his eyes dead center of Strakhovs face. There was only a foot and a half between them as Leo began to throw his punch towards Strakhovs, throwing a fake swing which would stop a foot from Strakhovs face before Leo suddenly dropped to the ground and slid along the ice on his knees with his back bent backwards slightly. The intent would be to slip between Strakhovs open legs with little to no problem, stretching his right arm back behind him and slamming it down onto the ice by Strakhovs left foot and using the stored energy to create a small pillar of ice which created a pivot point for Leos body. As he felt the momentum of his body shift he quickly swung his legs in the newly acquired direction of travel, rotating quickly to his left which would bring him around for a chance to sweep at Strakhovs legs from the front in an attempt to bring him down to the ground, Leo kicking with as much force as he could muster. If the attack was successful Leos legs and body would swing passed Strakhovs form as it tumbled and Leos hand would release from the pivot point, allowing him to slide a few feet away from, his right hand pressed firmly against the ice as he would wait for Strakhovs returning blow.

[Rayn Night]

• His strike towards the now altered Peace Keeper hadn’t gone as planned, but still permitted Strakhov to have the upper hand. The punch toward his side had not connected, but left the man disarmed and also had himself opened up for an impact to the abdomen. Even though the weight and for of Strakhov’s impact was considerable, his adversary seemed that have found a way to lessen the blow slightly. Strakhov knew this wasn’t a game or a ‘trial’ anymore; this was a battle for life or death. It was a trench fight all over again, except this one had no weapons to defend himself but his magic. And so, Strakhov admired the acrobatics of the man and came back into his Khadorian CQC stance, with hands forward and legs shoulder length apart again. Strakhov knew he needed to end the fight as quickly as possible; he would have the upper hand. Even if Strakhov had experience in long lasting battles, being a soldier of war, he couldn’t overpowered someone so lightly equipped and rapid like Leo was… He didn’t want to shoot the man down, but he knew his options were limited.
  
  Strakhov took the time to put his mask back on while the man seemed to be getting his breath back, would have to get out of there or kill him. It was a hard choice, even for a soldier like Strakhov, since this was someone trying to bring peace to the people. Reaching behind him to grab his Riot Gun, he noticed the sudden change in temperature getting a lot cooler within seconds. Strakhov took a hold of his gun to notice the frost on the white haired man’s hands. Holding his shotgun forward, he had time to turn the barrel to scatter shot, the next bullet being a smoke grenade. And right at the moment he was about to press on the trigger, the man dashed forward… Strakhov wanted to make sure his shot would hit, so held off on firing for a second, preparing for the next move.
  
  All it seemed to be was a harmless charge to punch his face, so Strakhov stepped forward and lifted his sword arm to deflect it with his forearm, but came to a surprise from his opponent’s tactics. The ground below his feet suddenly froze, leaving a layer of slippery ice. Not only that, but the punch fell short and Leo slipped right under him… So Strakhov turned his upper body and pivoted lightly to face behind him, but it was too late. He felt his right leg give way from the swing and was going to hit the floor quickly, back first… But Leo was still in Strakhov’s view. While hitting the ground, he noticed for a milli second that Leo would still be on the ice… Meaning he couldn’t just jump away as easily as before… And so he brought the riot gun to point to Leo and fired of his scatter shot, aiming a little higher in case he would try jumping or dashing… Immediately following that action, he brought the Riot gun back to point in front of him, a wall nearby would provide him with what he needed. He fired off the smoke grenade, wouldn’t take time before it would create a large smoke screen in which he’d be able to move freely while still having sight.

[Bloodbayne]

The weapon which Strakhov had taken from his back before had caused a twinge of fear and self doubt in the back of Leos mind, it was never a desired outcome for a melee fighter to find himself at the live end of any form of ranged weapon. Regardless of what he saw before him Leo held steadfast to the strategy which was held in mind, sliding between Strakhovs legs and successfully sweeping them out from beneath him and sliding safely along the ice until he came to a slow stop with his body upright but hunched over and his right hand touching the ice. Deep within his mind Leo could feel excitement beginning to grow, an excitement for the fight, to win and rip Strakhovs head from his body! The final thought echoed in silence as a cold shiver raced down Leos spine, it was unnatural for him to think so violently but the thought simply came from no where as though he had no control over it; while unnerving it had to be ignored for the moment. Looking ahead after he was upright he saw that Strakhov had taken the time of his fall to get a rough bead on Leo and now that Strakhov was on the floor his aim was becoming more sure which brought Leos eyes to focus on Strakhovs hands and a light glow coming to the tips of his fingers.

As he watched Strakhovs hands Leo could see that the gun had reached its final position and at that moment his fingers suddenly pressed upon the ice to shatter its surface and sink up to the first knuckle, while the glow in his fingers suddenly shot into and through the ice towards Strakhov which would cause a relatively small pillar of ice to suddenly shoot towards the sky from the layer of ice covering the ground; sacrificing size for overall speed. The pillar of ice would be intended to hit Strakhovs right elbow and it's objective would be only to throw off the already angled shot hopefully at the very instant before the trigger was fully pressed, Leo believed that he simply had to get the muzzle pointed away from his body before it was fired and it would miss. Watching Strakhovs hands allowed Leo to watch for movement on his trigger finger to act without causing an early pressing of the trigger, shifting a majority of his weight to his right hand before his body suddenly dropped towards the ground with his feet sliding back along the ice a few feet before he threw himself forward in timing with the ice pillars movements. The throw was not very powerful but it would allow him to stay close to the ground to avoid the shot, though at the same instant that he threw himself he suddenly felt a dull small warmth radiating from his lower right hip though he forced it from his mind for the moment as he made contact with the ice on his chest.

Kill! As Leos chest made contact with the ice the end of his coat began to ruffle as a dull yellow glow began to appear in his eyes, the dagger upon his back suddenly coming to life and releasing a gust of wind towards Leos feet which sent him hurtling towards Strakhov. The yellow glow would be the final electric charge Leo would be able to muster for the night, seeing this as his best chance to use it and it was focused towards the soles of his boots to bring them alive with jolts of electricity, his legs lurching around to swing his body around and upright with his legs pointed towards Strakhov. Kill! As he spun his eyes widened for a moment at the sight of his opponent readying another shot, though a closer look at the weapons angle showed the shot was not directly intended to hit him. At this realization another burst of air was released from the dagger on his back, propelling him forward at the same instant the second shot rang through the air while his knees bent towards his head in preparation.

Kill! Now practically flying along the surface of the ice Leo traversed the remaining distance in only 2 seconds, a thin layer of smoke clouding his vision a small amount though he was close enough to keep sight on Strakhov. At the point that only a foot would remain between them Leo mustered every ounce strength he had in his legs and aimed to slam the heels of his boots into the center of Strakhovs chest in an attempt to crush his armor, cause damage beneath the armor, send him skidding into a nearby wall from the ice and hopefully paralyze some part of his body by delivering the electricity directly over his solar plexus. Should the kick land it would be strong enough to halt and change Leos direction, at which point he would reach for the dagger at his back in order to dig into the ice and halt his movement for good, taking note of the smeared blood trail which followed him.