Duel on a beach

[Bubák]

Opening his eyes, the sun blinded him for a while as the golden sand glittered all everywhere, together with vast blue sea licking the beach. It looked as a dream, a place where people went to spend their holiday. Too good to be real. The simulation truly looked beautiful. Fortunately for the Mon Cal, his race was so rare in the Empire that nodoby bothered to program his skin drying under the unforgiving gaze of the sun.

Avreet swiveled his large eyes around to see an impervious jungle. If he needed to hide from his opponent, it could be used. His amphibious nature also allowed Avreet to jump into the sea and simply wait for his foe to turn around. He picked the setting really good! Hopefully Yr'il would like it too, at least until he used the environment to his advantage.

Upon noticing a white haired figure in the corner of his right eye, the Mon Calamari turned to face her, happily waving her way. "Hello! This simulation looks great, don't you think?" he chuckled, "Remember, if you die here, nothing happens in the real world. We don't have to hold back." The Mon Cal took off his cloak and let it fall into the sand, then unclipped the curved lightsabers hilts on his belt and ignited their red laser beams. He had been waiting for this moment for so long, he could finally duel his friend without worrying of hurting her!

"Attack me when you're ready," said Avreet, hiding his Force presence with Force stealth. The human woman would not be able to sense him, no matter how hard she tried. The assassin pointed both of the lightsabers towards the ground, awaiting Yr'il's attack.

 

[LadyM]

I finished up some personal business and now that I had time to myself, I reread the message from Crusader Zatarus about dueling together. I knew my skills needed to be worked on, since my last duel with my Master ended badly for me. I jogged toward the ring and when I entered, I was overwhelmed by the scenario Avreet had chosen. "A beach huh? Home sick are we," I said taking off my cloak and unclasping Serpent's Breath from my red waist sash.

I ignited my lightsaber and moved into the Ataru lightsaber form and attacked. I charged him and just as we were close, I jumped over him, landed on both feet and spun my lightsaber at his legs then rolled away jumping to my feet. "Just testing you out Avreet," I said grabbing a boulder from behind the Crusader and hurled it at him.

 

[Bubák]

Avreet calmly watched as Yr'il approached him. Knowing her form certainly helped him a little bit, knowing it was full of pointless jumping around. He expected her attack a little bit, so there was no surprise when she jumped over him. Turning around to face her and crouching down, his lightsabers were already prepared to defend him when she attacked his legs. Avreet's left lightsaber went to meet her blade and hit it from the left, blocking her attack. Yr'il rolled away, too fast for Avreet to use Force lightning and zap her while she was unprotected.

The motion of her hand made him aware that she was doing something behind his back. That, or shoot him with Force lightning. Avreet's right hand prepared to meet a Dark Side energy and deflect it with the lightsaber, while his left arm remained free to meet any possible telekinetic surprise. And surprise it was! A large boulder flew at him from behind, but the young Crusader quickly sent a Force push against it, sending it to the sea. His eyes that could move independently watched Yr'il if she attacked him in any other way before the Crusader closed the space between them with three quick steps and his left lightsaber attempted to stab her into head, while the right lightsaber went to do the same with her left knee.

 

[LadyM]

I was not surprised that Avreet was ready for me when I attacked his legs. He was a better swordsmen than I was and though he possessed certain abilities that could render him invisible to me, I had to rely on surprises and trickery to best him in this duel. I watched as he deflected the boulder into the illusion sea but it was enough to let him know that I was taking this duel between us serious, even though he and I were friends, if that word existed amongst the Sith.

In three quick steps he attacked me and I moved into the Djem So form to repel his attacks. I stepped to my right to duck the attack meant for my head then brought my lightsaber down to parry his attack to my left leg, then I twirled around taking a couple steps back to avoid any other attacks and when none came, I took the advantage.

Knowing he possessed two lightsaber and I had only one, trickery it was. I moved into the Ataru form and leaped through the air. While in mid flight, I produced to smoke pellets from my waist sash and threw them down around Avreet, causing a smoke screen to appear around him.

I landed behind him and with my lightsaber, aided by the Ataru form, I slashed at his left leg then slashed at his right leg and then leaped over him again slashing at his head.

 

[Bubák]

His friend had managed to avoid the attacks, but that was not much of a surprise considering the young woman was a warrior, someone relying almost entirely on lightsaber combat. The Mon Calamari posessed two lightsabers, so the combatants did not have any major advantage over each other. Lightsaber skill wise, at least.

Seeing Yr'il massed the Force in her legs for another jump, the amphibian prepared to turn around and defend himself. He was not mistaken, the human truly did the same move as before, only dropping something like small smoke bombs on him. That did not really bother him, actually, since he could not see her, she could not see him either. Cloaking himself by bending light and anso hiding his presence, he crouched and raised his hands, his sabers pointing towards the ground and covering him.

As Yr'il's red plasma blade cut through the smoke, it got blocked by the Crusader's left blade. Avreet did not allow Yr'il to break the lock and attack again, to he pressed against her weapon with his own, his strength far greater than her's thanks to the cybernetics. As he was doing that, leaving Yr'il's left side entirely uncovered, Avreet pushed his right invisible weapon through the smoke, slashing from right to left, striking at her belly. If she did not move, the attack would almost completely sever her in half, otherwise it'd leave a slight cut, which was painful nonetheless.

 

[LadyM]

I gritted my teeth trying to match physical strength with Avreet but he was far more superior than i in that category. My attacks had failed and he was to halt my serious of attacks. It was time to change tactics. I felt a tremor in the Force alerting me to danger and I broke off the saber lock moments before his invisible weapon split me in two but I did not get away unharmed. The blade cut through my robes and cutting my side just enough that I could feel a small trickle blood run down my side. I embraced the pain i was feeling.

I gave up on the Ataru form for now for and went back to the Djem So form. I circled Avreet slightly trying to assess any flaws in his fighting prowess but figured there was only one way to find out. I leaned in quickly and slashed my lightsaber blade from left to right at his midsection then moved back slightly.

I stepped to his left and again slashed down with my lightsaber from right to left at his left arm in an attempt to negate his two lightsabers. I took care not to make attacks that would result in saber locks so I moved in and out quickly, falling back just as quickly.

 

[Bubák]

After scoring a hit, Avreet knew he had to end Yr'il quickly. Wounded people, just like animals, were very dangerous, even more so if said person was a Sith. The Mon Calamari remembered what kind of power pain gave him in many of his duels, and that sort of power must not have been underestimaded. Carefully turning himself to always face her, his right lightsaber pointing at her, he studied her movements, his left lightsaber pointed down. Knowing she could see his footprints, he decloaked himself again as the smoke around him dispersed. Every little bit of energy was needed to win this duel.

The attack at his midsection was slowed down, his right lightsaber tapping Yr'il's as the woman's blade got close enough. This gave Avreet time to leap back, the crimson plasma harmlessly passing in front of him. The two stared at each other again, searching for some mistake, until his adversary quickly closed the distance in between them and attacked his left side. He slightly raised his left arm and flicked his wrist up, his lightsaber pointing up and hitting Yr'il's lightsaber again, giving both of them time to get back.

Immediately after that, Avreet leapt forward, his right lightsaber pointing at Yr'il's chest, while his left weapon protected his own body, currently being raised. If Yr'il blocked the attack at her chest, Avreet would extend his left arm and slash her across her right knee with a light cut.

 

[LadyM]

I took a deep breath as I watched Avreet's hips. Master Megara had told me that all motion started with the hips and I was a fool to forget that until now. So after both my attacks failed, I found myself once again on the defensive but Djem So was just the form I needed.

I blocked the attack at my chest but failed to see the attack that clipped my knee and once again, I felt the pain from Avreet's lightsaber. The pain erupted through out my body and now i was more than angry with myself and I began to fear what my Master would say or do to me when she learned how poorly i performed in the duel.

Then I remembered something about Avreet. His cybernetic eye. I quickly used Force Flash in an attempt to disrupt his vision in his eye then I struck with ferocity as I called on the Dark Side power known as Force Rage and began to infuse my pain and my fear into this ability making my strikes more powerful and my speed more enhanced.

I turned back to Ataru and with the Force and Force Rage guiding my hand, I struck quickly. I kicked at Avreet's right leg with my left leg and lunged my lightsaber toward his face and with my free hand I Force pushed his other arm back leaving him with only one lightsaber to defend with. He had two options, get hit in the knee that would either knock him down or snap his leg, or have my lightsaber plunge into his Mon Calamari face.

 

[Bubák]

His feeling of victory after hitting her knee did not last for long. The Force power he had learned together with her from Megara blinded his left eye, and made the cybernetic one adjust the level of brightness so the user could see. Yr'il's light had proven to be too much for it though, so it did the only thing it could - restart itself. Avreet had to rely on the Force and his left eye, once it recovered from the bright flash, until his cybernetic wonder started working again. Not giving him time to recover, Yr'il struck almost immediately.

Luckily, Avreet could feel her rage and pain as they empowered the woman, so he was not completely blind. By the time his healthy eye recovered though, she was upon him and kicked at his right leg. The reinforced bones saved it from being broken, but the Crusader stumbled backwards. He saw as his opponent lunged her weapons towards his face, so both of his lightsabers came up to meet her blade. Well, one of them, as Yr'il delayed his right hand long enough to make Avreet improvise and hit the white haired Acolyte's blade from the left, pushing it to his right, away from his fishy face.

The crimson blade burned over his right shoulder, vaporizing the flesh and and bone that had gotten into it's way. It really hurt, but pain gave him power. His cybernetic eye now rebooted and worked as normal again, giving him a view of Yr'il's lightsaber blade. Grunting, Avreet pushed it further to the right before using his strength to make it point down together with his own weapon, which kept it down. The Mon Cal then pressed even more against it as he leaned on the lightsaber, his left leg kicking out to hit Yr'il into stomach. At the same time, his free right hand allowed the two longest fingers to let go of the lightsaber and point at Yr'il's face, Force lightning powered with pain erupting of them.

 

[LadyM]

I was able to turn what started as another disaster into something positive in the duel. I had managed to temporary shut down Avreet's cybernetic eye but I knew he could still sense and see me through the Force. The attack on his eye was merely a distraction but it had caught him unawares allowing for me to press my attacks.

When my leg connected with Avreet's leg he stumbled backwards but was able to protect his face from my sizzling blade by pushing it away but Serpent's Breath had once again been locked by one of Avreet's lightsabers. Just as I tried to break the lock, I caught a boot to my stomach staggering me off balance and as I looked up I saw that Avreet's fingers where turning blue and I knew what was coming.

I barely raised my blade so that it could absorb the Force lightning that was meant for my pale face. I sneered at Avreet for his attempt to change my good looks and decided to play fire with fire. I shot my hand out and from my fingers I shot out Force lightning aimed for his lower regions

 

[Bubák]

Yr'il was a strong woman, that was for sure! Even with a burning cut in her right knee that had to hurt like Void, and possibly a few shattered bones after absorbing the cybernetic kick that could decapitate people, the white haired Acolyte kept fighting. Avreet would have to applaud her after the duel, she was tougher than him. Not losing any of her ability to defend herself, she blocked his lightning, but it looked like she was getting slower. No wonder, Force rage must have drained her, and combined with the wounds she had suffered, the woman must have been running out of energy.

Force lightning proved she still had enough energy to send Force powers his way. Avreet effortlessly blocked the lightning aimed at his sensitive parts by lowering his blades and crossing them. Turning off the lightsaber in his left hand and clipping it to the belt, the Mon Cal teased the woman by making a threatening gesture with his finger, "Now now, Yr'il, how are we going to have children if you're trying to hit me in there?" Taking off the medpac, he tossed it towards her as an offer, though he was prepared if she attacked him. If she accepted the medpac, he waited for her to apply the medicaments before taking his second lightsaber again and striking at the young woman's left side, both horizontal cuts, one aimed at her shoulder, the other at her left knee. If Yr'il refused his offer, the Mon Calamari attacked outright.

 

[LadyM]

I was growing weary from the fight physically, mentally, and through the Force. Master Megara had always instructed me that when fighting a duel to end them quickly but Avreet was far more superior than I was. I would have to double up my training sessions in lightsaber combat before dueling again.

I channeled the pain through my body as I eyed the medpac. I stooped down and opened it taking out the syringe and quickly injected the healing serum manufactured from kolto. I instantly felt the pain subside. "Kids! I do not have time for kids Avreet," I jested then prepared myself for his attack.

I saw his attack coming and I parried the attack at my shoulder but with the pain I was feeling and the exhaustion kicking it more, I failed to repel his attack toward my knee. I dropped to the ground, my lightsaber shutting off as I reached out to cradle my knee. I had lost the duel but I had learned from my mistakes.

"Well fought Avreet, well fought indeed."

 

[Bubák]

His friend had parried the upper attack with ease, but once again, failed to block the one aimed at her knee. With both of her knees destroyed, Yr'il fell to the ground. Although Avreet knew this was just a simulation, he still felt bad when he saw his friend like this, knowing it was him responsible for her state. It was a sad sight, but such were the ways of the Sith. Yr'il became stronger now, learning from the experience. Perhaps she'd defeat him one day. Avreet smiled at the girl, "You have fought well too, friend. Now let's get something to eat. What do you like, Yr'il?"

Without waiting for an answer, he ended the simulation, making the trees, beach, sea all collapse into nothingness, leaving only the two Sith before their consciousness became part of their real bodies again. Hearing just his own breath for a few moments, Avreet sighed and opened his eyes, seeing nothing but blackness at first. It wasn't until the simulation machine opened and he got blinded by light. Stumbling out of it, Avreet looked around, seeing Yr'il. The Mon Cal walked closer to her, giving her a respectful bow. "Good fight, my friend, good fight."