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Belizarius had been hobbling most of the way, he looked at the altar and noticed that it was similar to Sith in design. Obviously the Dark Jedi seemed to have more in mind than simply killing Pra'ct and luckily that worked out in his favor "Alright, stand back" reigniting his saber he threw it at the chain and sliced through it. As Pra'ct fell he used the force to slow his impact *thud* a bit. Belizarius was in no shape to do anything and needed medical assistance.
He hobbled over to the Jedi and knelt besides him, trying to examine his state "Pra'ct, are you awake? can you hear me?" this was one of the best researchers in the Republic and was valuable to the order. His exoskeleton was clearly damaged from a fight and he was in general pretty beaten up... hopefully they could get him the medical attention he needed in time.
After being freed from his chains and eased to the ground by [member="Belizarius Krusi"], the Verpine Jedi was on his feet surprisingly quick, and he had his wits about him even quicker.
The Verpine looked past the human Jedi and the Mandalorian, and toward the exit of the stone room with urgency while speaking, "He is still here, we need to get out of this cave, now!"
As he spoke the last word, a ball of shadow fell from the roof of the cave. A tall figure cloaked in shadows and black robes now blocked the entrance that the Mandalorian and the Jedi had walked through only moments before.
Pra'act ignited his lightsaber, and a blue blade sprung forth from the hilt. The cloaked figure responded in kind, a crimson blade jutted out at his right side, in his left hand was a vicious looking dagger.
His legs concealed by darkness, the figure seemed to levitate toward the trio, specks of lightning trickling across both the blade of his lightsaber and the ancient looking dagger. As he drew within meters of the three force sensitives, the figure clashed the blades together and a corkscrew of lightning arced through the air toward them.
Belizarius was in no shape for this, as the dark figure approached fear could be clearly seen in the Jedi's eyes. He was barely able to stand from a fight with what was obviously the lesser of two Dark Jedi. He was breathing heavily and was wobbly on his feet but he did get into position to fight.
He still had two people that he had to try and protect, if he was on his own he'd be trying to find some way to escape to fight... well run another day but that wasn't this situation and unfortunately due to him being trapped in this room there was no running. He saw the blade in the Dark Jedi's hand and it immediately got his interest.
"Pra'ct, what is that thi..." He was interrupted as a wave of lightening came his way, all the Jedi could do it try and absorb it with his lightsaber but this usually also took a degree of force concentration and he didn't manage to let it absorb all the blast. This meant that electricity started shocking the young Jedi but luckily it was not too severely but the wounds on his body were searing in pain afterwards to the point the Jedi fell into a knelled position.
It was at that moment, the Jedi realized how truly he was unprepared for such a fight.
Mereel turned from Pra'act and back toward the entrance as he heard the ignition of a second lightsaber blade. A two meter tall shadowy figure stood in the center of the dimly lit room, the red radiance of the figure illuminated only dark robes. Shadows concealed the figure's face and lower torso even as it moved across the room toward them.
He noticed the lightning playing across the surface of the blades far too late.
Pra'act V. Lightning: 15
A wave of lightning crackled through the air, threatening to envelop the three Jedi. Mereel was fully caught in the wave of lightning. Electricity surged across his armor, and he was thrown backwards across the ground. His back knocked up against the wicked looking altar. Simultaneously, his armor systems all went offline, and the nerves where his joints were exposed in his armor cried out in pain. His vision began fading.
In his weakened state, Mereel offered no resistance to the dark energy of the altar now ebbing on the edges of his mind.
He let it in.
Rage replaced the pain in his nerves. He embraced the hate of the altar.
The black tingles creeping into his vision were replaced by strings of red. His pain was replaced by an overpowering urge to kill his attacker and barbaric images of his need for slaughter filled his mind.
He looked past Pra'act with singular purpose. The Jedi held his blue blade strong, keeping the tendrils of lightning from knocking him over like it had Mereel - Pra'act was a bulwark against the storm.
Mereel had no such defense against this power, but he had anger and his own physical prowess.
He retracted the wristblades on his right gauntlet and painfully got to his feet. Blue lightning danced around the bluer plates of his armor, pain and anger fueled his slow march toward the cloaked figure. As Mereel walked past Pra'act, the figure hurled more lightning towards Mereel.
The lightning forced him to kneel, and he grasped at his side for a moment. He stood once again - resuming his slow amble toward the cloaked man. He was now within two feet of the man - striking distance.
Mereel, with lightning still arcing around his armor and pain and hate filling his nerves, lunged at the man. He aimed his wristblades at the figure's concealed face in a desperate, vicious, and wild attack.
The figure swiftly ducked into and under the Mandalorian's attack. In retaliation, he struck his red blade into the back of the Mandalorian's armored torso. The lightsaber blade only glanced the armor. He swung again, with greater ferocity. This time the blade struck a little more precisely, but failed to cut through the man.
Instead, sparks began gushing from the Mandalorian's armor, and the red glow of superheated metal began emitting from the outer layer of the armor's backplate.
Simultaneously, the Master sent a wave of force energy hurdling toward the two Jedi still standing by the altar. He wanted them unconscious, and knocking them on their heads with a powerful force push would be a good method for doing so.
Belizarius wasn't ready to be sent backwards but in his experience he had been thrown against things many times, he rammed into the wall with a powerful force using his arm to take most of the force coming from the impact. He wasn't unconscious though but definitely was in no shape to fight. He felt the darkness emanating from the Alter but unlike his Mandalorian friend he was better taught in how to resist that sort of power. As he sat there looking at them fighting he closed his eyes and tried to calm him mind to gather what concentration he could in order to continue the fight. He was trying to block out the pain from all over his body.
He was no healer, his wounds were not getting better but he was managing to some what block out the pain slightly in his body, that was until he tried moving his left arm and realized it was broken. He had to concentrate, he had to get up otherwise Mereel was in far too much danger. He slowly pulled himself up using the wall for support and what strength he could get in his right arm to support himself. reigniting his lightsaber he used what was left of his force reserves to do one last throw at the Dark Jedi's lightsaber which he was getting closer to buckling under the assault.
After he threw the lightsaber he didn't even have the energy to call it back and collapsed again on the ground. He needed a few minutes to collect himself before he could even think of entering the fight again. His head and conscious screaming at him 'You need to get up! you can't let it go this way'
He felt the searing heat of burning metal plate at his back, and fell to the ground.
He knew far too well what it meant. In a single strike, the Dark Jedi had changed the hunter-prey dynamic and had shattered what Mereel thought he knew about his most prized possession.
His armor was not beskar. His family's tradition, his clan's history, it was all a lie. Under normal circumstances, the revelation would have left him completely demoralized. He felt no shame, no sense of defeat.
He only felt an insatiable urge to destroy.
Your clan has no honor, the truth of your armor shouldn't surprise you.
Mereel got back up to his feet, and slowly turned to face the Dark Jedi. He saw a wave of force energy send Belizarius falling toward the altar he had been thrown to, and Pra'act was sent flying over backwards. The Verpine's head hit the wall of the room, and the Jedi Knight was rendered unconscious.
In a brief moment of clarity, Mereel saw through his need to kill, and realized the peril of the scenario he was now in. His reason spurred him to draw his rifle, but his hate regained control a second after readying the weapon.
I've seen Coruscant fall. I've seen countless men die fighting against their sick conquests. I've walked among the charred ruins and scorched earth of Thyferra. Kill them all. Remove the heinous filth from the galaxy.
He switched the rifle into its full-automatic firing mode, and began firing round after round after round at the cloaked figure without even taking time to aim.
The cloaked man leaped up, hovering a few meters above the ground. Blaster bolts flew by harmlessly under him, but as he landed, a lightsaber blade struck the side of one of his flowing black robes.
Since the blade was not called back by its owner, the blade continued on its path after severing a bit of cloth. As the black robe fell to the ground, the figure emitted a sickening howl powered by the force, and the air around the figure exploded outward.
The torches lighting the room were all blown out by the powerful wind, and dust was stirred into action, further worsening visibility in the room. The only indicators of life in the room now were the glowing blades of lightsabers, which shone out as dim lighthouses in the sea of dust and darkness.
His mind was cracking under the pressure, he wasn't cut out for this. This is why he practically lived a life in exile in the first place. Attacking the raiders and scum which were in his path. At this point he was practically arguing with himself in his head. His head was screaming for him to get up and fight but he was too gone to be any use at this point.
"I can't do it" he said to nothing as he felt the pain surge over his body but it was at that moment he managed to turn his head and saw Mereel fighting this Dark Jedi on his own. He saw the corrupting influence and started to collect himself. The Mandalorian wasn't going to stand alone. As the dust started going around he closed his eyes and started to really focus on what needed to be done. He felt his lightsaber through the force and slowly reached out to pull it towards him.
As the lightsaber came towards him, it slowly started moving faster and faster. He had to get himself back into the fight. He had to make sure everybody was safe.
The burst of wind blew Mereel back several feet, he managed to remain barely standing by digging into the floor on the back of his heels. When the burst of wind stopped, he realized that he could no longer see the cloaked figure amidst the whirlwind of dust and dirt. He could only clearly make out the red light put off by the villain's blade.
Raising his rifle once more, he continued firing the weapon in its fully automatic mode. He marched forward as he fired, enraging thoughts from his past were once again at the forefront of his mind.
Exile from an honor-less clan.
Azure streak after azure streak sailed at the lightsaber blade, only to be batted away in different directions.
Betrayer of Mandalore.
Blue blaster bolts spat from the rifle, often sailing far too high or far too low for his target to even bother batting them away with his blade. Still Mereel fired as he marched forward. He was almost in melee distance again. Blaster boltd were now beginning to be batted away from the blade and back toward his armor.
March on.
He walked through the pain, absorbing it to bolster his rage. He was within striking distance of the man, and he could see the dark robes fluttering in the winds now. Not once during his march did he stop firing his rifle, and he didn't stop as he aimed the weapon toward the figure's center of mass.
Blade hitting Mereel 1-10
Blade hitting the Master 11-20
Roll: 20
The Master continued batting blaster bolts away, but as the Mandalorian drew closer, it became more and more difficult for him to bat the bolts away. Once the Mandalorian had walked within melee range of the Master, he relinquished his right hand holding the saber from the defense for a moment to make a heavy downward swing at the man with his crimson blade.
If the lightsaber blade landed, the blow would cut the man's brains in half after sinking into his durasteel helmet.
As the Master moved his lightsaber to make the blow, the ancient blade in his left hand was struck by a lightsaber blade. The ancient blade was cut in half, and the tip of the blade fell to the ground with a clang.
The Master shrieked in rage, his goal of keeping the Jedi alive for the ritual was now useless.
Dark, deep voices echoed throughout the entirety of the chamber, easily heard above the wind and the buzzing of sabers,
YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT WITH THE LIVES OF YOUR FRIENDS, JEDI
The lightsaber came into the hand of the Jedi, who was now standing upright. he was thinking back to his days of training as a Jedi Padawan under his master. It wasn't about being stronger then your enemies but playing it smarter.
He decided that faking confidence was important "Well, you go around carrying such a fancy knife, leaving a Jedi alive over an altar and then I am seeing the affects it's having on my Mandalorian friend... people can make certain conclusions" the Jedi starts stepping back towards the altar, he was obviously in pain as this was happening.
"Now you can try to kill them, that's true but I am guessing this Sith altar is strengthening your connection to the force. Allowing some second-rate sorcerer wannabe to think they could take on an actual Jedi. You waste time killing them then what little power you've gained from this Altar so far will start to disappear. I am the more logical target in the long term" He was now standing next to the altar, at this point a mischievous smile came over his face. Belizarius had lost so much in his past, he was a Jedi and even though there were times he hated the responsibility that came with that title.... It was what defined him.
Belizarius took his lightsaber and with all the strength he could muster in his right hand swung it around at the Altar to slice right through it. He would destroy this Altar and with the force to guide him he would defeat this Dark Jedi. He wasn't sure what would happen from slicing the Altar, he managed it wouldn't destroy it completely but it might just give him the edge that they needed to win this fight and he could worry about destroying it with explosives later.
His continuing peril pulled him back into reality, and the rage in his mind began to simmer enough to give him back the refined motorskills of his Mandalorian training.
The figure raised its crimson blade above its head, and brought it down in a strike toward his helmet. Mereel flung his left hand to the hot tip of his rifle, and swung the weapon out and above his head horizontally with a rapid extension of his right arm. Simultaneously, he sprung back on the heels of his feet.
The lightsaber blade connected at the midpoint of his blaster rifle's barrel. The blade cleaved through the tool's center, but Mereel's quick footwork and replacement of his head with his rifle caused the Dark Jedi to slightly stumble forward in an unexpected loss of balance.
Mereel quickly drew his pistol from his side, and fired off two rounds aimed at the Dark Jedi's torso.
1: The Altar sends out a wave of force energy, repulsing its attacker and avoiding the strike of his saber. This will likely empower the Dark Jedi.
2: Belizarius' saber slices the Altar, but an evil heap of rock is an evil heap of rock, even if you add some pretty marks to it. The Altar is not destroyed, and the Dark Jedi is amused by your feeble attempt to destroy the altar. - Reroll
3: Belizarius' saber slices the Altar, but an evil heap of rock is an evil heap of rock, even if you add some pretty marks to it. The Altar is not destroyed, but there are no repercussions for your attack. - Reroll
4: Belizarius' saber strikes the Altar, and bits of rock crumble off of the main altar, but the majority of the altar remains intact. The dark side power of the altar is diminished, but not eradicated.
5: Belizarius' saber strikes the Altar, and the relic collapses into rubble. The altar will no longer taint the galaxy with its dark side presence.
6: The saber strikes into the very core of the altar, but something strange happens. With the blow to the altar being seen as an act of protection of his friends, Belizarius' blade has turned the dark heart of the relic to light. The altar is now a lightside relic.
Roll: 6
Across the room from the Master and the Mandalorian, the tide of the battle was determined. In one of the strange turns of history that the galaxy sometimes incurred, a Jedi plunged his blade into a relic of the long forgotten past.
The saber's slash pierced the center of the altar, and years of darkness was overridden by a singular act of light. Wisps of shadow began trailing away from the altar, and the mark of the saber upon the stone surface brightened.
The scorched stone began brightening, and continued to do so until the entire room was illuminated by the altar's radiance. Where darkness had held sway in the room only seconds before, now there were no shadows beside those cast by the four lifeforms in it.
The Master felt suddenly sick from the aura now pervading the room. He could feel the light clashing against his pores, and he struggled to maintain anger.
This sudden burst of tranquil feelings and his misstep in trying to kill the Mandalorian caused the Master to take a blaster bolt to the gut, and he just barely batted the second blaster bolt away before it struck him. The Master used what little was left of his anger to throw a minute wave of force energy at the Mandalorian.
He was of little concern to the Master now, he had to try to recover the altar! The heavy robes and cloaks of the figure fell away as he sprinted to the altar, ignoring the two Jedi positioned near it, even ignoring [member="Belizarius Krusi"] who stood next to him as he knelt at the altar's side.
Tears began to form in the man from Lok's eyes, as the force confirmed what he already knew. He sensed only light in the altar.
For years he had been satisfied with political and material power as a Senator on his planet, but the Altar had provided him a way to achieve more. He had even built his own lightsaber in the presence of the relic. The Confederacy had taken away his political power on Lok, and now the Jedi had taken the Altar - his latest method to attain power - from him. Tears began to roll down the man's face, and his lightsaber fell from his hand and onto the floor, the blade shutting off as it landed.
"Take -" Horib Leman sniffed as he wiped tears from his cheecks, "take me into custody, Jedi dog."
Horib fell to his knees, slamming a fist against the cobble floor he muttered, "I surrender"
Belizarius looked stunned, he honestly had no idea what was going on. The lightside of the force emanating from the relic... wait what!? that was something that could happen? The Jedi guess if the darkside can have a corrupting influence then the same could happen for the lightside. The aura though did help him calm his mind and allowed him to see the funny side.
His greatest accomplishment so far as a young Jedi, something that was actually probably book worthy and it was completely luck. He started laughing as he collapsed in the pain now returning to his body. He was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face which was probably much to also the Dark Jedi's confusion.
His body was absolutely destroyed by this experience. his chest sliced, broken arm and the other covered in burns. It wasn't until this moment he realized how heavy his legs were and he was finding it incredibly difficult to get back up. He was level to the Dark Jedi now, a smile still on his face as he bathed in the aura from the altar.
He looked over and really absorbed this man. Belizarius smile went more sympathetic as he more empathetic side started to settle in.
"It get's easier" Belizarius got himself up and starting hobbling towards Pra'ct. Who still seemed unconscious and starting speaking "You really need to wake up, we already have a decent amount of prisoners that need to be looked after"
The pain in his body was unbearable at this point. There was no laughter, he again fell to the ground with a thud and his body refused to get back up to him. He was physically and mentally exhausted, he had no more fight left in him and the irony was the Jedi he came to rescue was probably going to get them out of here.
The force push that the Dark Jedi had thrown before running off to the altar had achieved its purpose. Mereel didn't get up to continue fighting though. Either intuition or the force told him that the fight had gone, and with it went his energy, strength, and the remnant of his anger.
In the place of all of his dark emotions, he found serenity, peace, and tranquility. He even felt levity in the air where before he felt only rage. Although it didn't rejuvenate his body or stop him from feeling all sorts of pain as his adrenaline and anger left him, he couldn't help feel that his mood was heightened and his thoughts were clear and calm.
With his back resting on the floor, Mereel stared up at the stone ceiling. He didn't move a muscle, and he didn't think a thought. For a few moments, Mereel would merely breathe and exist on the chamber's floor.
Pra'act sprung awake in a room familiar yet different - he recognized instantly that the altar's presence had been replaced, but didn't know how or why. The Jedi Researcher swiftly stood to his feet, slightly embarrassed as he came to the realization that he had missed the latter portion of the battle. Pra'act's embarrassment was quickly overridden by vehement curiosity as to what events had unfolded after he had been knocked unconscious.
He observed that both the Mandalorian and the Jedi that had come to rescue him were both on the ground, and that the Dark Jedi that had captured him was now crying in front of the altar - which was spewing forth light in a literal sense and in relation to the force. The Verpine realized he probably wouldn't get any trustworthy answers as to what happened from the Dark Jedi. He would have to follow up the mission by talking to the Jedi and the Mandalorian. For now, he seemed to be the only one capable of dealing with the trio's new prisoner.
Pra'act activated his lightsaber, but held it defensively so that the Dark Jedi didn't think he was about to be executed, "Here, I think these belong to you."
Pra'act tossed the Dark Jedi the stun cuffs which had been previously been used to bind Pra'act's hands. "If you are indeed surrendering, put them on. "
With great reluctance, Horib obliged.
Without taking an eye off of Horib, Pra'act addressed [member="Belizarius Krusi"], "I do not mean to sound ungrateful for your rescue, but I think we should be going now."
He slowly got himself up from the floor after breathing for a few minutes, groaning in pain as his body resisted all movement. He hung his lightsaber on his belt and it was then he realized his entire outfit was filled with cuts and burns from the days events. He was not in good shape.
"I am not picking you up if that's what you're waiting for" he said to [member="Mereel Vaun"] hoping the Mandalorian could get himself up as a matter of pride. The Jedi was definitely in no shape to assist him since he could barely stand himself. He let himself take in the aura from the altar for a little while longer. Maybe one day he'll return here.
He turned to Pra'ct "Ok, let's go" he moved over to Horib and pulled him up, making him walk in front of him. He knew there was a chance that if the Dark Jedi had a change of heart... he could try and pick up from where he left off. Though with those stun cuffs it shouldn't be possible.
Also it's about time that he got a new change of outfit because these robes were beyond repair and not suitable for combat like this. He also needed to start carrying around more tools since today he could of used multiple other gadgets.They had lost people today and next time he would be fully prepared to handle such a large group like this.
"I think I can manage without being carried. But, -"
Mereel clambered onto his feet and took off his helmet. He wouldn't be needing the protection of the helmet's cracked visor anymore today, and if the Dark Jedi tried to escape . .
Apparently the history surrounding his armor was a lie, or at least the parts of it relating to the armor being beskar'gam. He wondered if any detail about the armor was true, and why his father or grandparents hadn't told him about the armor's true material.
He pushed his questions about his armor to the back of his mind as acute pains tormented his body when he stood. With the light of altar encompassing the room, and with his own demons mostly back under control, Mereel limped over to the trio's new prisoner, and smacked him hard across the head with his armor gauntlet. Pra'act looked surprised; the Dark Jedi looked unconscious.
Good.
Pra'act sprung to support the falling Dark Jedi's weight, and Mereel fell in on the other side of the Dark Jedi's now unconscious form to help Pra'act carry the man, "Sorry vode, I didn't want this di'kut to try running off as soon as we got outside."
Mereel and Pra'act began walking the unconscious man from the altar room. Mereel looked back for only a second to see the remains of his rifle that had been split in half. It had served him well, but maybe it was time for an upgrade.
