It was some time since Lyon had last seen Mortimer, and since he had taken on this form. He had some questions to ask that Lyon thought only Mortimer would know the answers. He also had to finish the battle they had started earlier. Either way, he searched his memories to find the place where Mortimer would most likely be and he remembered the place where Lyon had first met Mortimer. This was his best bet, so he started his journey.

Lyon walked for days before he reached the mountains. His tiger followed him the entire way. As he reached the mountain he remembered the creature that had threatened him before. He had no plans of letting anything get in his way and hopefully this thing would not show up, it would only slow him down.

"Stay close my tiger. Go silent." Lyon said to the tiger, as he complete his sentence the tiger turned invisible. Though it could only be invisible when it wasn't fighting this would be the time to use it. Lyon found the rugged path and started his movements on the mountain. It was mid day at this point and if all went well he would reach Mortimer's home by night.

Lyon entered the mountain range beginning the long steady climb to Mortimers home. The long plateus and sheer rock faces over the narrow rocky, and at times, entirely blocked path would have daunted most into turning back. Lyon however, was not most people. And it was as he made his way through the narrow passage that one creature saw him and licked its felid lips. This one... it wouldn't be tasty... but it was powerful...and by the laws of the mountains eating it would grant him his preys power.

Silently the gigantic cat, ten feet tall and nearly twice as long, extended its claws waited silently, almost blending in with the rugged landscape as its prey came into sight. Crouching down, its powerful muscles tensed for just a second as it jumped from its hiding place, claws extended, seeking to slice off the head of the armored creature which had dared to be too powerful and enter its hunting grounds.

Lyon climbed and moved slowly. Within a moment he heard something and saw a massive creature. Without hesitation he shundo'd to a higher path.

"So it begins." Lyon said, with his sword still sheathed.

This creature seemed different than the last time he was here. Either way, it was in his way so it had to be eliminated. Lyon readied another maneuver to counter the beast's attack.

"You're not going to slow me down." Lyon thought as he stood on solid ground.

Lyon would only have seconds between strikes and was still unsure of what this thing was capable of. Worst case scenario, he would get his tiger to join him in combat.

The mountain lions pounce landed only on rocks, not the soft squishy meat of prey. Twitching and sniffing, it didn't take the mountain lion long to detect his prey's movement to a higher ground. He had missed. Baring his fangs in anger , the mountain lion coiled again before springing at the small yet powerful prey. Determined to eat him.

Lyon anticipated it's movements and had slightly longer than he thought to react. He waited until there was only a second left then shundo'd to the left. The ground here was on a small incline but nothing Lyon couldn't move easily on. He watched as the mountain lion landed then quickly pulled out his sword. He was now ready to fight back and wouldn't hold back.

"My turn." Lyon said quietly. This mountain lion shouldn't take too long if there were no surprises, though he expected at least one or two.

Lyon charged at the creature, he wanted nothing less than to make it suffer for getting in his way.

As Lyon charged and the mountain lion made ready for another pounce, three thing black ribbons sliced down between them. Extending diagonally, had either of them followed the lines they would see them extending from the shoulder of a man wearing a long black coat. His eyes red and sleepy. His violet, almost white hair touseled as if he had just woken up.

Had either of them run into the ribbons they would have found them razor sharp, capable of piercing and cutting through both of them. The lion stopped in its tracks as the ribbons interrupted it's intended trajectory and looked up at the figure growling.

"Roke-Jaw... this is my student. I thought we agreed that we don't eat each others disciples." The lion grit its teeth baring its fangs and growling in anger at the figure but knew its word. A kind of the mountains did not break its word even with a lowly dishonorable valley dweller such as him. Slowly the mountain lion backed away once again seeming to fade into the dim rocky landscape.

The man standing atop the massive stepe looked at Lyon long and hard before speaking. "It's been a long time... I'm guessing that you need something?" Well versed in identifying his own students as well as the etiquite of his home, Mortimer was well aware that nobody came here without wanting something from him.

Lyon stopped his attack when he noticed the ribbons. He looked to where they came from and saw who he instantly knew was Mortimer. After Mortimer finished talking to the creature and it left Lyon was addressed directly.

"Yes." Lyon said staying where he stood, his mask hid his face so his facial expressions meant little.

Lyon was after answers to questions he did not have. Only now, while he looked onto the face of Mortimer did he realize this. He thought for a moment before he continued.

"But are you really prepared to listen to me? After what happened in the desert?" Lyon asked, he remembered the short fight between the two in the desert.

Though he was questioning if Mortimer would listen, Lyon wasn't only there to talk.

"Whatever happened there Lyon, you are still my student. Even if you have stepped onto this path you are still my responsibility and I will do whatever I can to help you even if you don't think so. Now tell me, why is it you have come seeking my aid?"

Despite his words Mortimer felt only bitterness when he looked at Lyon. He had told the truth that he was his responsibility, but that also meant that Lyon was also his greatest failure. It was his duty to ensure his students remained safe. His responsibility that they were happy. His responsibility that they learned. And of course, his responsibility that they didn't hurt anyone else.

From the looks of Lyons soul now... he had added more lives to his total than Mortimer wished to know. And it was with this knowledge in mind that Mortimer stirred the shadows of the mountain, still acting as his students teacher, while at the same time, making ready to put the blackened soul of his student out of its misery.

As Lyon listened to Mortimer's words, he didn't feel right. Something had changed in the air and it wasn't good.

"What are you planning?" Lyon thought.

"I have not come to seek you're aid..." Lyon said bitterly. "I came for answers and to ask you some questions of my own." Lyon's voice was cold and emotionless.

Lyon was looking directly at Mortimer as he spoke, though his tiger was moving silently and stealthily around the area.

"And those questions aaaaarrrrre?" he continued his charade. He needed to wait for Lyon to go off guard. Maybe if he was rapt in a question and answer session he could strike before his "student" realized what was going on.

Unfortunately for Mortimer, he could not sense the soulless tiger, and so any sensation that another creature was creeping around, would be nonexistent.

"Let's start with a question of you're understanding. Do you understand anything about the shadow realm?" Lyon asked, his attention staying on Mortimer.

Lyon wanted to see if Mortimer knew of the realm or anything about it. Though he doubted it he wanted to be sure. As he talked his tiger stayed alert, it could sense something changing in the area. It walked silently towards Lyon and touched a paw to the back of his leg. Lyon didn't act on the touch but he understood what it was trying to do. The tiger went back to exploring, focusing on what it sensed. Lyon figured it had to do with Mortimer.

"Let's wait and see what you have planned." Lyon thought as he crossed his arms.

At the mention of the shadow realm Mortimer thought for a moment. He DID know about it...whether it actually existed or not was entirely different. "Are you referring to the philosophical mindset as proposed by Socrates given the Helenistic views of knowledge and metaphysics? Or do you want to know about the theoretical plane of existence in tangent with the two existing planes we know of which can be physically traversed?"

Either were interesting topics for discussion, but Mortimer felt that Lyon had a greater interest in the later. Still, their conversation however enlightening was little more than a ruse as Mortimers magical energy steadily permeated the shadows in the area. Just a little more... he just had to keep Lyon speaking and interested a little longer.

"I would like to know more about..." Lyon stopped speaking as the tiger appeared beside him, nudging his leg. It was at the time that the tiger made it's presence known to Mortimer.

Lyon looked at the tiger, he knew it would only appear if Lyon was in danger. Given the situation, Lyon figured it had something to do with Mortimer. He looked back at Mortimer.

"My guess is you are preparing something for me. I dare you to tell me I'm wrong." Lyon said in a hostile tone. He had come to talk for a bit, but if his thoughts were correct this wouldn't end with a simple goodbye. Though he never really planned for an easy goodbye.

Mortimer scoffed lightly at the statement trying to keep his pupil in place long enough. Hopefully he wouldn't look behind himself. "Prepared?" raising an eyebrow in a quizzical look. "I only realized you were here once you entered the mid point in the mountain range. That's about as far as my abilities to sense people go... now do you really think that in the time it took me to wake up and fly from my nap I could have planned ANYTHING for you? I didn't even have time to make cookies...although come to think of it I probably should have done that first.." he continued, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully with a finger tiliting the side of his chin.

Hopefully the constant chatter and his act of being his "normal" self would disarm Lyon. He didn't know about the tiger or why it was there but he figured that it would have to be taken care of as well. His enemies shadows begining to coalesce behind them. Soon they would work their way beneath his students, and the cats feet...holding them in place and allowing Mortimer the opportunity to do what needed to be done.

Lyon knew Mortimer would be smarter than that. The thought of Mortimer having nothing planned wouldn't be like him.

"You lie to me and all you can think about is cookies. How pitiful." Lyon said as he finally sensed the shadows move.

Without any further delay he shundo'd away from his position, closer to Mortimer. He had closed about half the distance between them with his shundo. The tiger turned invisible again and moved away from the shadows.

"Did you really think shadow magic would go unnoticed by me? It would seem you underestimate me." Lyon said calmly. The questions he had were now left unsaid, he no longer wished to ask them. "Shall we begin?" Lyon said with his hand on his sword hilt.

Mortimer sighed once more. "Y'know...I had high hopes for you Lyon. More than any of my other students you showed promise and experience beyond your years.... had you continued on your course I am certain that one day you would have surpassed me...I'm sorry Lyon, but I shall always remember you and how greatly I failed you." With a resigned look downwards, the black ribbons shot out of Mortimers sleeve this time. A partially formed nocturna Nigridinis. Faster and easier to cast than the full spell but much less versatile.

The ribbons shot directly at Lyon, from there his student only had so many alternatives. Blocking would be possible but he doubted his student was capable of producing a barrier strong enough to prevent three of the spearlike protrusions from getting through. Given this, Lyon could either deflect or dodge, but based on their last fights, Mortimer found Lyons style to rely on evasion of attacks outright. In that case, the area behind Lyon was covered in shadow and if he retreated he would find himself entangled in Mortimers shadow.

He worried about the tiger but he couldn't do much about it. Normally Mortimer would be arming himself to the teeth with layer after layer of defensive spells but he wanted to end this as quickly as possible. The more time he spent in combat with Lyon, the more likely he would be unable to deliver a killing strike.

Lyon didn't have time to reply, nor did he plan on replying anyways. The problem became that he hadn't many options in combat. He knew Mortimer was stronger than him, he would have to go into greater offense than Mortimer and hope to finish the battle soon.

"So you're going to rely on those ribbons for offense. We'll see about that." Lyon thought as he dodged the ribbons with relative easy, moving to the left side of them.

He took a blatant run at Mortimer, hoping to catch him off guard. He didn't want this fight to last long, the longer it lasted, the more time Mortimer had to use stronger magics. Though Lyon did not have his sword drawn, if Lyon had a chance to use Isi at a close range there might be a chance Mortimer would be cut in half. If that didn't work Lyon would stay as close to Mortimer as he could, he planned to take shot after shot against Mortimer and hope he could keep the fight close range as much as possible. After all, his sword skill was unmatched and close range combat was his specialty.

With Lyon's deft dodge Mortimer prepared himself. Keeping the three ribbons extended he waited for Lyon to enter close quarters combat. Manifesting the last shards of his shadow, he formed a small knifeblade on the tip of his left shoe. If delivered in the precise spot, it could easily sever an artery in Lyon's leg. Still, Mortimer had to wait for Lyon to draw closer. Getting ready to perform his killing strike, he relaxed his body and adjusted his footing to be as stable as he could make it for what would come next. He needed a single blow, a decisive one, to put a stop to his greatest faliure, and so, Mortimer allowed Lyon to close the distance between them.

Lyon closed the distance between the two very quickly. He had planned to use Isi, but with a bit of a twist. Though Lyon wasn't sure of what Mortimer was capable of he would go for a more tricky approach. As he was a couple steps away from Mortimer, Lyon shundo'd to Mortimer's right and as close as he could get. It was at that point where he used Isi.

The speed of his blade being drawn and the sharpness of the blade would have easily cut through almost anything it touched. Though it wasn't 100% on mark, had Mortimer not moved it would have still cut off an arm. The downside to his attack was he was wide open for a counter attack after using Isi.

Mortimer was careful to do two things when Lyon got close enough. The first was to allow his arm to be cut...off. Normally he could have avoided it, at least partially. Perhaps suffering a deep gash or maybe even a harsh knick. Now, wasn't the time for evasion. He grit his teeth at the sensation of his arm being cut off and his lifeblood draining away from the gaping wound. He'd need to stop this soon now.

The second thing he ensured, was to make direct eye contact with his former student. "Evil Eye" encanting the brief action phrase as he looked into Lyon's eyes. The technique was designed for the singular purpose of debilitating a lone foe. Assuming Lyon hadn't blocked the light speed attack with a transparent surface or magical barrier, he would find his speed cut in half, and his constitution so low that he felt nauseated and dizzy. Almost like the worst illness he'd ever had...times three.

WIthout waiting to see if Lyon had been hit by the debilitating move, Mortimer spun on his heel. His left arm severed, he charged his right arm with magical energy seeking to bring his open palm to Lyons forehead and incant his finishing spell "Fulgoris!" The words would have left his throat lick a choking sob as the teacher saught to put an end to his student.

When Lyon felt the blade cut through Mortimer's arm his thoughts then moved to getting away from Mortimer's next attack. The 'Evil Eye' had no effect on him, thanks to his mask. Unfortunately he didn't have enough time to fully dodge the 'Fulgoris'. With the attack aimed strait at his head his only option was to jump back.

Despite his efforts he didn't get far enough away from the attack. Though he was far enough away that it wasn't fatal. He was blasted back with massive force, he was almost pushed off the small space of land they had fought on. He stopped with his head leaning off the face of the cliff and his mask flew right off his head, his sword was also knocked away from the blast. It was only when he stopped that he started to feel the pain flow through his body. His left arm and leg were damaged the worst. Though he wanted to scream from the pain he did not. He could feel the blood flowing from his leg and arm. The tiger did not appear, as Lyon knew it wouldn't. He had told it that if and when the fight began that it should not interfere.

Lyon's thoughts now went to what he could do. There was no way he could use shundo and his sword was too far away for him to acquire. There was no way he could fight back had Mortimer decided to continue. What Lyon didn't realize is that Mortimer had not seen his face since before he had taken over this body.

"I guess that answers that..." Lyon said in his old voice, somewhat to Mortimer but more to himself.

As Lyon said this Mortimer felt his heart break once more. It was the third time in his life now... First with Delilah. Then Kagami. Now Lyon. A lump formed in his throat, partially of sorrow, mostly of self disgust and hatred that he couldn't save Lyon. No matter how strong you were, the soul was always out of your reach.

Raising up his right arm, a black ball formed in his hand. "I'm sorry...Lyon" Mortimer finished as a black line extended from the sphere, seeking to strike Lyon cleanly in his forehead, leaving only a single round penetration mark as Lyons brain was obliterated from the inside out.

Mortimer felt warm water on his cheeks as he let out his simple quiet killing blow. He was crying...yes. that was normal wasn't it. When you're sad you cry... kneeling down next to his arm and looking at Lyons prone body, Mortimer cried silently, his heart heavier than ever before, and wondering if he even deserved to keep his left arm, or to leave it off as a form of penance....

Just before Lyon was hit in the head there was a hint of a smile, it was as if this is what Lyon was seeking. When his head was pierced he simply died, every muscle in his body went limp. His eyes were still open, but all life was drained from them. They stared blankly at Mortimer as he cried.

Beside Mortimer, the tiger appeared. It stood there silently, looking at Lyon. It had no intentions of fighting Mortimer, not because of fear or hatred, it knew this was going to happen. After a small while of looking at Lyon's lifeless body, it nudged Mortimer, almost as if to tell him or lead him to something. Though it was not sure how Mortimer would react to it's presence this is what it was told to do in the event of Lyon's death.

"And what is it that you want" he said to the tiger as it nudged him. Water still trailed from his eyes though the rest of his face remained blank. He was too depressed to try resisting and so halfheartedly walked in the direction the tiger nudged, leaving his arm behind as he walked after the predatory cat.

The tiger walked over and stood beside Lyon's sword. After walking around the sword a couple times it looked back at Mortimer. The sword itself seemed to be different than it was during the battle. It seemed longer than when Lyon had charged Mortimer, almost a foot longer than the battle. The blade had reverted to it's original size and weight.