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Date & Time: August 10th, morning
Location: A mostly empty street
Characters: Elliot Nightray, Xerxes Break
Summary: Last month, Elliot challenged Break to fight him ~~for the 27th time~~. Break has been ignoring him ~~after whooping him 26 times~~. Elliot has had enough of being ignored.
Warnings: Sword-fighting and turnabout humiliation.

[Elliot had come to accept the horrible truth. No matter how much he didn't want to believe it, THE Xerxes Break really was the one to deface the final volume of Holy Knight. Despite his very unimpressive record against him, Elliot felt that it was part of his duty to attempt to teach him a lesson.

...And Pandora's strongest fighter really hadn't been cooperating with his punishment. Elliot had been trying to arrange time to duel him for nearly a month and was consistently being blown off. But not anymore...

He lurked not far from the apartment building. He was waiting, just waiting for whenever Xerxes Break would inevitably pass by. ...Though he really hoped it would be sometime in the next few hours. And that Break didn't spot him lying in wait.]

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[ He's had it with everything. He's had it with the rain, he's had it with the cold (it's August, come on), he's had it with the hopelessness of their situation. The United Earth is going to crush them like bugs, it's only a matter of time. Not only him, but all these kids he finds himself in the midst of...

Ugh.

Obviously the solution to existential angst is pastry, but Gilbert has been in one of his "I'm going to make delicious scones this time" moods, and so all of the baked goods available in his apartment are inedible. Fortunately there's a Transport-run bakery nearby (run by that little pink girl whose body he inhabited briefly, how weird), so he's on his way out, headed down a mostly empty street.

Mostly. ]

[Ah ha, ~~luck~~ justice is on his side! Elliot waits until he gets closer to his hiding spot, trying not to do anything that might give him away by look or sound.

Finally, as the much more experienced swordsman is only a few paces away, Elliot races out, his black sword already drawn.]

XERXES BREAK! YOU'RE GOING TO RECEIVE YOUR PUNISHMENT THIS TIME!

GAH!

[ HOLY FUCK ]

[ ...wait. ]

Oh, it's you.

[ His sword is half-drawn from its cane scabbard. He sheathes it again, heaving a great, irritated, very much put out sigh. ]

Honestlyyyyy~!

[ Ordinarily jumping out at him like that would be worthy of a merciless smackdown. But the poor boy is dead. That's worth some small iota of tolerance. For the moment, anyway. ]

Go play your games somewhere else, Elliot. The grownups are busy.

[ Already his mind has started to wander back to the very important business of pastry. Will Madoka have the glazed doughnuts with the sprinkles today?. ]

THIS ISN'T A GAME!

[He's used to Break not taking his challenges are seriously as he would have liked, but generally he'd still fight him. This time was just even more annoying because he deserved it.]

Unless you have some way of proving that you've learned to treat property that isn't your own with respect, we're going to fight RIGHT NOW!

[ ...

Right.

Elliot Nightray, you have officially used up your small iota, by way of obstructing Break's access to doughnuts. Tolerance and pity are all very well, but one must have one's priorities. Anyway, arguing will take far longer and be infinitely less satisfying than just flattening him on the spot. ]

Dear me, how tiresome.

[ This should take just a second. Half a second, actually. Without changing his posture in the slightest, he switches instantly from leaning on his cane to swinging it in a wide arc on purpose to twist Elliot's sword from his hands before he can blink, and then bring it crashing down on his head... ]

[ Except his cane suddenly feels like lead. He can hardly lift it. He manages only to pick it up off the ground and set down again abruptly. ]

I--

[ What on earth? ]

I don't--

[ Of course, he can't actually admit that he's having a problem, so he snarls: ]

I said go away, Elliot!

[You obstructed what could have been his only chance to read the ending of Holy Knight thanks to that aforementioned "dead" thing. Much worse than obstruction of doughnuts, okay?

And, while Break's movements do seem odd, he reasons that it's just his way of messing with him. Which is just making him more annoyed.]

I WOULD NEVER BACK DOWN FROM A CHALLENGE I ISSUED! WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS RIGHT NOW!

[ He'd come to the conclusion some time ago, that his sentient weapon had a learning disability. When the Initiative told him to "pick a weapon," he told them to get stuffed. He had a weapon, hadn't he? What need had he of anything else but his sword? Even after months of training, it never seemed to do anything remarkable at all - which was fine by him. Swords ought to behave like swords.

(Except that one time...but that's a memory he doesn't want to relive. Or re-die, as the case may be.)

But all right. He's got this. If his cane has decided to become heavy, then fine. He's the Strongest Man in Pandora. He'll just hoist it up and use it as a battering ram. ]

Noisy.

But well, you know. If you insist...

[ Yes, good. He's going to yank this thing up and-- ]

[ .......except his cane decides, just then, to be light as a feather. Which means he overbalances himself completely and staggers backwards. It's only through the most heroic of efforts he manages not to fall on his ass. ]

What the hell!

[ On the off chance you never heard about the Hatter's left eye, Elliot, you're going to see it. Or rather the absence of it. His hair flips up and he's too discombobulated to keep his lids squeezed shut. ]

[He'd heard rumors, but after finding out most of the stories about Reim weren't true, he wasn't expecting that to be either. So both his odd movements and the vision of his eye and no-eye catches his surprise.]

What the hell?!

[He tries to regain his composure quickly, rushing at Break with his sword ready.]

If you think you're can throw me off with that act, think again!

[Though really, the guy only had one eye to see with and he was still this good at fighting? Elliot felt just a bit more inferior now.]

[ He's off balance still; his mind is reeling, too. His precious sword, how could it betray him? He is already thinking of how he'll go back to the Initiative and demand that this ridiculous "sentience" be stripped from his weapon, and--

His instinct kicks in just in time for him to raise his cane to block Elliot's charge. But as he lifts it, it's as if his own weapon is recoiling hard against him. He's overbalanced and his foot slips, but he's just going to hang on, until something very hard comes up and slams against his back.

It's the pavement. His head hits it a second later. ]

Ah--!

[...All right, there was no way he struck THE Xerxes Break that hard. Something about that stumble looked completely out of character for him. Still, after losing 26 times to the guy, he wasn't ruling him out. Although the confusion shows on his face, he attempts to stay serious and points his sword so it's hovering over his neck.

...This wasn't over, right?]

[ KILL EVERYTHING ]

Ah--

[ One moment while the great Xerxes Break pulls something out of his ~~ass~~ hat. ]

Ha! Haha! Hahahahahahahaaha~!

[ He tucks his hands behind his head, brings his legs up, and crosses them, as if wet pavement were a usual sort of place for casual lounging, particularly when one has a sword pointed at one's neck. His smile is the same one that little Gilbert used to think of when perfecting his target practice. When he speaks, it's in his grating, maddening sing-song.]

How did it feeeeeel to finally beat me, Lord Elliot~? You should be grateful~~~~ Why, that's another life's regret checked off on your list. ♥

I...

[Elliot is too stunned for a second to properly reply. He was giving up that easily? Was...was this just...

Elliot lifts his blade, mostly because he's clenching both of his fists in his growing rage and the sword is in the way of one of his hands.]

DID YOU EVEN TRY?! OR DID YOU THROW IT ON PURPOSE JUST TO SCREW WITH ME?! I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS AS A VICTORY, XERXES BREAK!

[...Even though he really should, it's his only chance. Sigh.]

How rude~!

[ Still lying on the ground, he reaches into his pocket, draws out a lollipop, and unwraps it. ]

I'm giving you a verrrry generous gift.

[ His manner is insouciant; but he is actually vibrating with rage. He bites into his lollipop, hard. ]

You ought to show some appreciation~!

[Elliot's too busy vibrating in his own rage to notice that detail. He thinks he's just trying to annoy him with the candy.]

THIS ISN'T A GIFT! IT'S AN INSULT! AND I DOUBT YOU'VE LEARNED ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR BEHAVIOR!

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