A Long Way Down

[Ben]

(OOC - Omnis will generally sit out this thread, so don't wait for me to post! However, I will make a post sporadically and obviously get involved towards the end.)

Omnis stood on the crack-lined and tumultuous and hewn stone of the 50 square foot area in front on the temple, the midnight sky dark except for the clear stars and planets moons. The ground was hardly even, littered with debris, and sloping off into mountains on both sides with a ravene opening towards one end and sink holes spattered across its surface, it was positively hazardous; the perfect ground for a duel. Omnis' elaborate robes of deep crimson whipped around his more modest black inner robes on the windswept plain, and his hair danced in front of his eyes like strands of black fire. The storm that had harried the mountains this morning had faded, leaving an eerie stillness to the air that even the violent wind could not take away.

He had intended to wait longer, but the display of mercy Draco had shown along with a general desire to move on to the serious one-on-one training he craved to impart pushed him to shorten the delay, or cut it out completely depending on how you looked at it. He had shown favouritism to the Umbaran girl, Zarathustra, and believed she not only grasped the Dark Side more naturally than the ex-Jedi, but also that she conducted herself with a modicum more control and skill than the berserker that was Draco. However, these factors did not rule Draco out in Rhuine's books, after all, the Master could appreciate the boys blind rage and hulking power; he could learn to be truly evil given time and the right... manipulations.

Omnis stood waiting, arms folded behind his back, standing tall and perfectly motionless despite the buffeting winds. He had called his apprentices to this spot, having given them both full knowledge that they would be duelling for dominance and the position of his pupil. He had not truly decided what he would do with the loser yet, or how he would progress the victors training, if he would cater to their strengths or enforce his own beliefs. In any case, all he could do was wait.

 

[Catharsis]

Zarathustra made her way from the academy with Rythra at her heels. The hound had spent too much time cooped up inside the past few days, so while she did her business with Omnis and her rival she sent the Vornskr off to hunt. Little more than a hand gesture was all it took to get the beast dashing off in the opposite direction to see what Lettow lay in store for him to get his maw into. He would return whenever she needed him, she knew, such was the connection they now shared. She fixed her gaze forwards to Omnis, half watching the Vornskr until it disappeared, before striding down the steps and over to her Master. Her rival was nowhere to be seen. The storm which had raged the night before was gone, yet the wind remained as insistent as ever. Beats a toxic planet I suppose the Umbaran mused to herself as she rooted herself several feet across from Omnis. Her hands both flexed at her side, one mere inches away from her hilt, although albeit it was the wrong hand; the gesture still held the same meaning. Zarathustra was ready, as she had been since day one, to end the behemoth.

 

[ShadowWalker]

Draco had been doing push ups when the droid had summoned him. He counted the last two and then pushed himself to a standing position. The experiments that he had been performing had taken a toll on him. He had tried tapping into the power that he could feel reverberate from the place, but it's presence was so overwhelming, he dared not take it further than trying to brush against, and try to manipulate it. His results so far were also little, it would seem that he'd need to take bigger risks to see better results. It was angering him as those risks could be either costly, or grant him great power and understanding of the force. The Umbaran was again dejected as usual, but it bothered him not. He'd win, one way or another. He summoned his armor to him, his lightsabers, the blood red double blade, and the reconstructed blue single blade, flew to their positions over his armor as it attached itself to him. Donning a fresh black cloak, and throwing up the hood, he followed the droid to the arena. Of course, Draco's actions had merited a swifter end to the competition. Good, he was sick of letting the Umbaran get off easy, if only so he could defeat her at full strength. He entered the arena, opposite of the Umbaran and Omnis, his Master. He liked this position, as it provided him an easy view of both, allowing for him to see whatever came his way. He sensed that the mongrel was not with the Umbaran, and chuckled slightly to himself. The debris certainly would make good for projectiles. He stood slightly to the side so he could better react to both of his probable opponents, his hands slightly flexing, putting tension on both sabers, but not taking either. Yet. He felt the dark aura surrounding him, and slightly wondered if maybe this would be a part of the test. He spoke coldly.

"What is thy bidding my Master?"

 

[Catharsis]

Zarathustra glanced very slightly to her rival and wondered if he ever listened. They had both been told the reason for being here, just at different times, and his obvious ignorance caused her great irritation. She stretched her mind out through the Force and, through the bond they shared, traced Rythra's whereabouts. Brushing against his consciousness she found him hunting only a few miles away. Should he be needed, she knew, the Vornskr would come running. Zara then returned her sights over to Omnis and waited for him to allow them to begin. In the short time she had known Draco her annoyance with him had only grown, from his reckless reliance on emotion to his show of weakness during their fight with Omnis. She wanted nothing more than to rip her rival's head from his shoulders, but such a quick death was too good for him. No, Zara wanted to draw this ones life out as slowly and painfully as she could.

 

[Ben]

"You know your bidding" Omnis growled at him, snarling with contempt. "You two are to fight util a clear victor is decided. You must hold the other at your mercy - or rather within your power, there is no mercy - but do not land the killing blow unless I give the order to do so." He looked from the girl to her towering companion hoping to catch a glimpse of understanding from either of them.

"In addition to these rules, you may use only what you have now and what is in your immediate vicinity." He turned to the Umbaran "That means you girl, if you call that hound back I will toss it down the ravine myself. This is a test of your personal strength and skill, not one of your resources and tools."

With that he stepped back and made a jesture with his hands for them to spread apart, then bringing it slicing back down through the air like a blade and shouting: "Begin!"

 

[ShadowWalker]

His ruse had worked, but on more than he'd hoped Draco smiled. This was going better than he'd hoped. It was also affecting more than he'd liked, but no matter. As soon as his master said "begin" Draco needed no more words. He first unleashed a force wave at his opponent, sending various debris flying everywhere, and then used the force to propel him like a spear across the ground, sabers igniting half way there. He roared as he began to spin, twirling the sabers expertly, causing a beautiful, yet deadly aura of light to fly around him. He charged forward and began with a sweep, followed quickly by his spinning double blade, in an effort to totally destroy his opponent's defenses. He was no longer the caring, protective Draconis. No, now, he was an animal, a focal point for rage.

 

[Catharsis]

Zarathustra took the warning about Rythra with a pinch of salt and the moment he said they could begin she leapt aside. Her body catapulted over towards one of the cracks in the ground yet she expertly navigated her way aside from the danger to be behind Draco and thus not in his immediate view in very little time. Stealth and agility were two of her stronger attributes, yet she knew they would not account for everything. She began to draw upon the darkness which was nestled within her. The hatred she harboured for Omnis and Draco both, her anger at her parents and all other weak-minded fools, began to bubble over, waiting for her to expell it from her being; yet she didn't. She held it there with near-perfect control as she watched to see what Draco would do next. She called her lightsaber into her hand and ignited the sickly purple blade into the air with a slight crackle of static. Then she waited, watching Draco ready for the opportune moment to turn his rage against him. One thing she knew was she would enjoy this.

 

[ShadowWalker]

Draco stopped at where the Umbaran had been. The animal inside snarled ferally, as its prey was running. Draco whipped around and saw her behind him, lightsaber drawn. Underneath his helmet, he smiled. He decided to walk towards her. Not too fast, not too slow. Just a walk. But what happened next, Draco didn't do on purpose. Small rocks began to shake, as his rage poured forth, without Draco even willing it, they began to levitate. Rocks the size of his fist, and a little bigger, began to rise like an invisible string yanked them into the air. He continued to walk, slowly, menacingly. He was going to tear that girl limb from bloody limb. Then, the rocks began to shoot at the Umbaran, screaming through the air with great velocity. The new found projectiles first came in ones and twos, then, more and more began to fly in her direction. But Draco grew tired of using them as weapons. With a roar, he planted his foot in front of him, and unleashed a massive force wave. He was halfway to the Umbaran by then, and the wall of the shockwave was massive, practically gushing with raw power. With another roar, he rushed forward with the force, his lightsabers twirling through the air, cutting through the projectiles not fast enough to get out of the way. He was aimed at right past the girl, looking to cut her in half with a single sweep. The darkness in the air, the dark side of the force beckoned him, encouraged him. It called to him, but he wouldn't have it yet. Not till he was done with her.

 

[Catharsis]

She felt his lack of control over what he was doing, bringing her lightsaber around to carve through the majority of the projectiles or parry them aside, yet a few broke through and cut at her limbs. She cursed mentally as she was flung back against the rough terrain, rising shortly after with a slight grunt of displeasure. Her left arm was sore and bleeding but she simply used this to fuel her, to harness the annoyance and create something... Beautiful. Using the damaged arm she raised her hand very subtly and emitted a Force push towards her rival, moments later pooling all of her pain and anger out from her very core. Tendrils of static-y lightning pooled from her outstretched palm towards Draco, enhanced by the sudden bout of rage she felt making it slightly stronger than it had been the night before. In her free hand she span her lightsaber to clash with his double-ended to hopefully knock it off course; all in all she was aiming to not be subject to a Sai Tok, she quite liked her body as it was: whole.

 

[ShadowWalker]

Draco skidded a little to the side as the little Umbaran lightly nudged him to the side, and then sent the lightning at him to try and get him to move. The animal inside pushed him onward, taking the lightning with his newly rebuilt singleblade, and the Double blade connecting with her fleeting parry. The Double blade missed its mark, but now Draco was much closer to this foe. Keeping his momentum, he spun, twirling his double blade to not only ward off her lightning, but also her lightsaber. He also struck with his lightsaber as well, going for a direct stab at the Umbaran, to either force her to commit to this fight with her blade, or force her to retreat to continue with her lightning attack. He didn't care which happened first, but he wanted blood, blood he was about to get.

 

[Catharsis]

Zarathustra knew when to kick an horse and when she was kicking a dead horse, and the moment the lightning was pushes effortlessly aside by his lightsaber she withdrew it, dissipating the Force used away and focusing purely on her lightsaber. Her free hand came across to clutch her saber and she directed it at a slight angle so that his blade would be parried down hers and away from her body. She sidestepped to avoid the other lightsaber, knowing that the double edged blade could quite easily be her nemesis, and aimed a sly kick at the back of his knee, yet her focus remained on the defense. She would wait until her opponent tired and made a mistake. While this could be deemed a Jedi-like way to handle a lightsaber, somewhat resembling Soresu, she thought it to be the best way to handle the behemoth for now.

 

[ShadowWalker]

Draco was about to finish the spin, when his knee buckled, bringing him to a kneeling position. His rage built as that happened, and he immediately did something unexpected. Using the force, he catapulted himself straight at the girl, aiming to slam into her, and knock her to the side. He swung his sabers to bring hers to the side so she wouldn't just cut him out of the air. He roared as he rocketed at her, his rage now clearly visible. The animal broke its chains, and began to take control. The first thing it did was reach for the darkness surrounding Draconis, and called it to him. Its dark tendrils began to take hold in his mind. This wasn't going to end well.

 

[Catharsis]

She managed to get him to his knees however a moment later she was flung to the ground by the body of the great behemoth, saber knocked aside in a parry causing her to hold it single handedly once again. She grunted, before he lost control, muttering, despite the situation "You could have simply asked if you wanted on top of me..." however a moment later all the jest in her tone was gone and she pushed him from her body through the Force to try and put some distance between him and her fallen body. Rolling aside she rose and frowned, feeling the darkness which began to overwhelm him and sensing his inability to control it. This would end VERY badly for one of them.

 

[Ben]

OOC - for the sake of the continuation of our story as well as your own Shadow, please let Zara beat into a position where she is waiting for the go-ahead with a kill blow. Then you can lose control, overpower her and escape.

 

[ShadowWalker]

Draco was flung from the Umbaran, when the tendrils of darkness began to take root. It was painful, much more so than when he experimented by brushing up against it. He began to lose control of his mind, and body, a much darker form twisting his will, making him believe he was still in control, when he couldn't be farther than the truth. He cried out as the tendrils finally had control over him, a cry which began to change into a chuckle, which escalated into mad laughter. The darkness made him so much more powerful, and show'd him so much, Draconis didn't care anymore that he wasn't himself. He felt like a god. He looked at the Umbaran with a look of malice, and threw both lightsabers at her. They flew of their own accord it seemed, and attacked the girl with abandon, swinging, stabbing, and spinning, trying to take off limbs if possible.

 

[ShadowWalker]

OOC - Zara will win, Draco is just beginning to feel the power that's taking over him. And he's made a crucial mistake, if you notice, he's now unarmed.

 

[Catharsis]

Zarathustra grunted and flung her body to the side the moment he released the lightsabers. How quaint she thought of his sudden use of telekinetic lightsaber combat, and from the way he handled it, the way he laughed, she knew he was somewhat new to it. She manuevered her way around the lightsabers without even bothering to bat them aside with her own and again tried to beat him back with a second Force push, which if it struck would knock him off focus and cause him to lose his lightsabers and his control over them. She flung out a hand and allowed more darksided tendrils of lightning to bounce through the air, jolting towards his unarmed body while Draco was in his hysterical and obviously pained state.

 

[ShadowWalker]

The darkness raged at his attack being completely avoided, and even more so when the force push slammed into Draco. He stumbled backwards, only to have the lightning begin to connect. He dropped to a knee as the pain began to overwhelm his senses. He'd never been in so much pain before. The dark tendrils were still working inside him, sealing his fate, and the lightning only made it worse. He couldn't even scream he was in so much pain. His body began to twitch under the lightning, but one thing was certain, Draconis was done. His vision began to blur as the darkness called to him. Told him to quit resisting, let it have control. He couldn't give in, no, he had to control them. But he could hardly stand let alone try to control the darkness. It wouldn't be long before it had him done for.

 

[Ben]

Omnis had been watching the duel in delight, the pure power exhibited by Draconis was exhilarating, but the reserve and control of Zarathustra, perfectly countering and avoiding every maneuver... it was like watching moving art. He had felt when the hulking apprentice had began to draw on the Dark energies suffusing the area around the temple, and detected the subtle change in his aura indicating the breaking of his sanity; Omnis had been right to favor the girl. For all his raw power, for all his tenacious assaulting, he lacked the will power and mental control necessary to harness the powers of the Dark Side of the Force.

As the behemoth fell under the girls lightning assault - already advancing leaps and bounds from what she had produced on the temple rough top - Omnis stepped forward, chortling to himself and reveling in the malice that corrupted the air. "Good, feel the Dark side coursing through you, let your hatred for this weakling fuel you." Omnis cooed to her. He looked back at the boy, tensed and twitching under the assault, he would usually let him live, his power could have served him greatly; but his sanity was lost. He was uncontrollable now. He was useless.

Without a shadow of mercy or pity, Omnis eyed the armour clad Sith with contempt, his orange eyes burning bright, stating simply: "Finish him."

 

[Catharsis]

Zarathustra heard the words of Omnis as the lightning continued to jump through the air and into the body of her rival. This was it, the moment she had waited so little time for, it had come around so quickly that it felt more like a fleeting dream than reality, but the end was nigh and Zarathustra was winning. She felt the man before her fight to keep control yet her innate telepathic abilities allowed her to note the moment when his sanity finally snapped. She didn't delve into his mind, he wasn't worth it, but the surface thoughts were more than adequate for the Umbaran to know he was finished. Lightning wasn't worth the effort on the one who had turned out to be such a weak foe, unable to control even his own abilities in the Force, and so she used her free hand to swipe the lightsaber over towards his neck, aiming to carry out a Sai Cha on her fallen opponent the moment Omnis instructed her to finish him.