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.