Xzavier recognized this in Laddie and respected him for it.

So, he greeted the old mage calmly, like a friend.

"Senior mage Laddie, I greet you."

Laddie acted as polite as ever. There was a certain humility about the old man. He had never allowed himself to be exalted unnecessarily on the basis of his reputation. This case wasn't any different. He reciprocated Xzavier's courtesy warmly;

"Mister Xzavier, I greet you as well. That was some shot you took at me. Very impressive I must say."

"Thank you Laddie. I trust you understand that I wasn't really trying. It was just to test the waters."

"Oh don't be so modest. I would have been insulted if you had come at me with something weaker than that. I think it was cute."

"Cute? You flatter me old man!"

"Flattery has never been my strong suit. I speak the truth as it is. I am way too old to do anything but say it as it is."

Laddie was so relaxed. If Quaid were to see him in that moment, he would have assumed that the old man had completely forgotten that his orders were to arrest Xzavier.

"You know what happens next Xzavier. Is there any chance we can resolve this amicably?"

"It's just as you said old man, you already know what happens next. Neither of us is willing to compromise. You have your orders, and I have my will."There was a passive jab in there somewhere, but Laddie refused to take the bait. The old man was way too calm. It was as if he was completely unaffected by the thought of what was to come.

As his opponent, Xzavier's job was to read the senior mage's entire body language and aura. And for the first time, Xzavier felt a little nervous. Dawn was already breaking over the day, so visibility was no longer an impediment. And with the reassuring rays of dawn washing over the terrain, bringing everything into the light, Xzavier saw that Laddie was oozing confidence. This wasn't the regular arrogance that was often misinterpreted as confidence.

No, this was true and absolute belief in one's self. There wasn't even the slightest trace of worry or doubt in Laddie's eyes or body. It was as if the old mage already knew exactly how this was going to play out. And because he knew, there wasn't even the tiniest bit of doubt. Xzavier recognized this unflinching confidence and knew that this was a problem. His eyes saw what his mind already told him; this was a confidence that was deeply rooted in strength.

"It's too bad it has to go this way Xzavier."

"Well, it is what it is. May the best man win."

"Indeed, I will."

With that, the polite conversation ended. And the two opponents began to fight with great understanding. Xzavier noted the wind, the temperature, humidity and time before he started to fight. This was his routine. None of them had chosen this terrain as their battle ground ahead of time. so basically, they were on neutral ground. There were no traps hidden, there were no surprises lying in wait. All was correct. Having confirmed this, Xzavier attacked first.

Xzavier had learned a couple of things from his first attack using the cannonball; the senior mage was capable of disappearing and reappearing at will. Also, Xzavier deduced that his cannonball had been useless against this ability. Primarily because it was loud, flamboyant and prominent. Any fool would be able to see it coming. And a trained speedster like Laddie would have no trouble ducking it.

So, with all this, in mind, Xzavier whipped out the perfect weapon for the battle; the twin portable pistols with silencers. These lethal weapons were perfect. They were small, and the bullets were ultrasonic, making them impossible to detect and evade. Of course Xzavier was counting on the fact that these qualities would negate the old mage's appearing and disappearing technique. Thus, leaving Laddie with no other option but to use a defensive barrier.

It was a fine plan, and so far, Xzavier saw no reason why it shouldn't work out at all. So, he lifted up both his guns at the old man. He didn't waste time on locking in a good aim as that would simply give Laddie room to disappear again. Xzavier already had a very good look at Laddie and knew where to shoot already. So he pulled the trigger twice on each gun, bringing the bullet count to a total of four.

XZAVIER MISSED.

And it wasn't just that he missed, it was that he didn't realize it on time. While Xzavier was still counting on the fact that the old man's vanishing technique wouldn't keep up with his bullet speed, Laddie had disappeared within the fraction of a second. Xzavier was still operating on a different inertial frame, so it was only when he felt a powerful punch dig into his back that he knew that he had missed. He fell to the ground after taking the hit.

As soon as his hands touched the ground, Xzavier knew that he had seriously miscalculated. The old man's could move faster than sound itself! How could he have missed this? He gritted his teeth angrily. But this was no time for self-rebuke, in fact this was no time at all. Because of his opponent's ability to bend the time-space continuum, Xzavier knew that time was virtually not his friend now.

In the sight of the old man, he knew that he might as well be a log of wood trying to move in quicksand. He needed to think fast. As he struggled to get up, he felt another punch ram into him again from behind, only this time it was much harder and much more lethal. Xzavier was still on his knees, clutching both guns even though there were practically useless to him in that moment.

Still cursing himself for not anticipating this, Laddie began another barrage of attack, as if he was trying to tell Xzavier that he really couldn't afford to be lost in his own world right now. Blending in and out of the space, Laddie kept appearing and disappearing out of nowhere, leaving Xzavier with painful souvenirs in the wake of his visits. From Xzavier's perspective, it felt like he was battling an invisible monster with eight hands.

All at once, the hands besieged him from every angle, slamming into him with unbelievable force, forcing him to remain on his knees, holding up his arms to protect his face, and leaving his ribs and back totally exposed. Before Xzavier could realize it, he had already suffered about a dozen powerful attacks. In the midst of all the carnage, the system's voice came again and again;

"Major Xzavier, be advised a dozen attacks equals a loss of one hundred points on the custom black fitting suit."

This same message came again and again, with every combo attack. And within just a few seconds, the custom black fitting suit had lost one thousand six hundred defensive points! All in under a minute!

The numbers were appalling! It was just too bad for Xzavier really. It was all happening so fast. And even worse, he still hadn't figured out how exactly the old man was attacking him. And because of that, he had been forced to remain in a defensive stance. It was a horrible way to begin a showdown. A terrifying thought occupied Xzavier's mind in those last few seconds; the old man wasn't trying to kill him!

If Laddie truly wanted him dead, he wouldn't merely be punching away at him. All it would take was just a really sophisticatedly sharp axe, or sword, or even a dagger. Whatever the weapon, if it had been infused with the right amount of Laddie level magic, it would do a significant amount of damage to Xzavier's exposed body. This only added to Xzavier's problems. If Laddie wasn't being serious at all, he dreaded what his attack sequence would be like.

With the constant nagging of the military systems' report filling his ears, and depressing him with bad news, Xzavier couldn't bring himself to think. He had never done this before, but he decided that now would be a good time to try it. So, in an agonizingly bitter voice, Xzavier turned to the military system for help;

"Military system, proffer possible solutions to defeat Laddie! Stat!"

Xzavier knew that he was talking to a system. So, his words and request had to be definite in other for the system to produce competent results.

It was instantaneous. The steady incessant buzzing of the military system yapping away in his mind ceased immediately. The tranquil that prevailed wasn't much, considering the fact that his body was still suffering multiple blows from multiple angles. But at least, his head space was clear now. The system responded;

"According to logistics, the Major would be better off purchasing a c."

"What?!"

"As a human, you rely on your own senses to locate objects and threats, but the human senses are somewhat limited. The mini sonic locator exceeds the level of human technology, and simulate the sonar system of mammals with higher functioning echo-locators, such as bats or dolphins…"

Even before the system finished explaining, he caught the full picture. If he was somehow able to gain this mini locator, it would basically gift him the ability to read a person or object's location through the sound waves they emitted. Since his eyes and ears were basically useless at this point, this mini sonic locator was the key!

The system rounded up the short report with the price tag;

"…the mini sonic locator costs one thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine points."