There was a disturbance in Porter's mental pool, a rippling that wouldn't stop. The focus retained its strength though, still lending Porter power. Now it was mingling with anger and desires to protect that which was once lost to the young man. It was different from prior emotions to save his friends. It traversed into a deeper portion of his heart, into his psyche, and pulled out a new energy. It pulsed down his arms and coursed through the White Storm, electrifying the air and creating a hum around the chassis of the battlesuit.

"No flashy build ups will do anything to help you now little boy." Sigmeund held his shield out in front of him, lance pointed at his foe, as he circled around Porter slowly. "You need to perfect your fundamentals. You are running before you can walk and it isn't going to help you overcome this particular challenge. Not like before at least."

"I'm not like I was before." Porter vanished in a plume of snow that drifted back down to the ground like a miniature squall. Sigmeund stood still on the mountain, trying to zero in on his enemy's location. Bolts of lightning shot down out of the sky, crashing into the ground all around the Artisan general but he did not flinch. Suddenly, Sigmeund spun around, his lance flashing and blocking the reappearing Porter.

The two combatants leapt back from one another, entering into their stalemate once more. Porter dashed forward after catching his breath, a flurry of swipes and strikes forming around him as he drove forth. Sigmeund rejected each attack callmy, turning them aside with his shield and lance combined.

"How is Porter doing?" Nami whined from the ground. "I can't see anything down here under Chase's butt."

"Many people would consider it a privilege to be in your position down there," Chase replied, examining his fingernails out of boredom in his cockpit. He was getting tired of watching Porter hold all the attention, especially since this fight could have technically been over a long time ago.

"Quiet you two, we have to watch carefully." Ardwen waved his hands to try and silence the arguing couple as he stared intensely at his viewscreens, watching the different statistics going by. "If anything goes wrong, we have to intervene to save Porter, or run if Sigmeund lashes out at us."

"Sigmeund doesn't fight like that," Raul observed as he saw Porter try an overhead swing with his two swords that the Artisan rolled away from. "He is honourable, even if he is an enemy. He won't ever turn his blades on us, especially with fear that the android might come out at any moment."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ardwen asked as he scrolled through readouts of Porter's chi levels.

"Look at Sigmeund's movements. His footwork, his strikes, they are rush and hurried. There is a little bit of urgency to them, as if he wants this to end quickly. And he does, because he knows that Sigma could be out here at any second and would obliterate him in an instant. It's the only reason Porter is still in this battle. That and because Porter only knows offense. He has no defensive mechanics other than his speed and so Sigmeund has no chance to be the offensive master he normally is."

Porter spun away from a lance thrust and quickly leaped up over Sigmeund, lashing out with his twin swords and clipping the Artisan's shoulders. The round shield knocked the teenager away right after that, smashing into his chest and sending him careening into the nearby trees. As the Enian pilot stood up his overactive chi kicked in, causing a whirlwind of slashes around his body, forming a spheres of attacks that shredded the surrounding forest. Porter's arms had become a blur, revealing themselves in momentary glimpses as they changed directions. His body had little shocks of electricity crossing all over it and they jumped the gaps to the ground.

Within the cockpit, Porter's eyes were ablaze, his mind completely unravelled and destroyed temporarily, unlocked to the cache of power hidden within. The sphere of strikes kicked up snow all around, turning the area into a snowstorm and disguising the White Storm's aptly coloured form within the flurry.

Raul gasped at seeing Porter's actions, drawing the attention of the rest of the Crisis Rescue Unit. "That's the kaze no wa he's using."

"Kaze what now?" Chase spat back, butchering attempt after attempt to repeat the phrase.

"The kaze no wa. The circle of winds. It is a very advanced technique from one of the ancient ninja air clans, utilizing incredible speed to create an area around the body of defense through offense." Everyone nodded in mock understanding of Raul's explanation, except Chase, who rolled his eyes and blew it off. "As you can all see, it is also useful for creating winds that can alter the environment you fight in. It is the sort of thing that comes from the highest form of training, from a deep understanding of fundamental techniques." Raul cursed internally. He had been trying only the beginner stages for that particular technique for months and here was Porter jumping right up to it immediately.

"I thought Porter didn't know any real base movements though?" Riya inquired, cutting through Raul's self-depreciation of his skills.

"It seems that by attaining such an explosion of chi energy," Ardwen mused, "one can skip to some of the more advanced techniques without even realizing or practicing. Obviously it will not be perfectly executed and it cannot be replicated unless they're in that exact state but still, it is quite fascinating when you consider it all. Imagine the strategies you can graft with a person of that capacity..."

"Focus Ardwen," Riya cut in.

"Right right, sorry."

Sigmeund eyed the approaching Porter through the localized blizzard, amused that the youth was continuously increasing his abilities with every passing minute. "You don't even know what kind of moves you're using, do you?" he asked, not expecting an answer and not receiving one. "And so you wouldn't know that there are a few counters that have been developed over time." Sigmeund was suddenly caught off guard as Porter appeared beside him, moving in the blink of an eye. He only barely managed to get outside the range of the sphere, after being nicked and scratched by a few slashes, one of which had cut particularly deep."Fine, watch and learn then."

The Artisan held his lance up, closely watching the motions of his opponent and waiting for that perfect chance. But Porter was out of control, flickering in and out of existence as he moved chaotically around the general. Every so often one of the blades would glance off of Sigmeund but he remained undeterred, retaining his focus on patience.

Then the lance jabbed forwards into the kaze no wa, and both Porter's blades caught on either side of it, stopped in their tracks. The shield followed up, delivering a harsh uppercut that sent Porter flying through the air. Sigmeund didn't wait for him to crash down again though,. This time leaping up after his opponent and stabbing up with his lance. Porter managed to twist in the air, letting the weapon slip between his arm and torso, grazing the armour off of both portions of the machine but not critically damaging either.

Sigmeund continued his aggressive moves, swinging up and around using the lodged lance. He placed his shield down at his feet and smashing it into the chest of the White Storm and driving it straight down into the snow-covered ground, sending up an eruption of the frozen precipitation. Sigmeund stumbled off of his fallen foe, picking his shield back up and looking over his body and the damage it had taken.

Up above, Nami had finally managed to free herself from under Chase, only to spring up and see Porter shot into the earth. She wailed at the sight of Sigmeund standing alone, throwing herself upon Riya and sobbing, the older girl trying to contain her emotions as she comforted the smaller teen. Raul came and pulled the two apart though, spinning Nami around and forcing her to look down once again.

The Artisan general suddenly lurched forwards, stepping forward enough to save his own life from the x-slash Porter had attempted. The tips of the swords still managed to cleave through the Silver Hawk's armour, ripping into a couple of circuits but not hampering the functions of the Goliath. Sigmeund spun round to face his risen foe, smiling within his cockpit at the resiliency of youth.

"Incredible. Just incredible. Your willpower and drive are truly the treasure of your age. It is something that the future of war should look forward to, and always does. There will always be someone younger, someone with more energy, with more spring in their step, who is unrelenting in their attacks." Sigmeund gave a little bow of respect to Porter. "But the older generation doesn't like to give up their hard-earned spots so simply. My admiration is not a victory, but you certainly shouldn't take it for granted. Let me offer you another chance to end this fight and walk away alive. You are running out of energy, we can both see that, and i haven't used an ounce of my own."

"You have none to use," Porter snapped.

Sigmeund laughed in response, the laugh of an older, middle-aged gentleman listening to his son's first quick-witted response and patting him on the head. "Alright, you caught me. I'll admit, I'm a bit beaten up as well but I am still miles ahead of you in technique and it will lead me to a win here. So please, let us end this as two living men."

"Go to hell."

"Oh no, my friend, I'm afraid I will be the one leading you there."

A/N: Let the battle...continue! Still no winner as the fight rages on. Can chi overcome fundamentals or will experience be the deciding factor?

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