Private LOTS │ Sedition

[The Hyacinth]

B U S T E D ​

He knew as soon as Maliphant looked squarely into the door, arms crossed and expectant, that the jig was up. There was no other reason to face the opposite way without leaving unless he was waiting on someone - on them. Electric green eyes found his brother as he sheathed his sword and shut down the HUD’s analytical display. “I believe that, now, we are the ones in danger, Flower. You may want to disconnect from the feed.” The acute anger that originated from their Master was something that he could sense even through the technology and meters of ship that separated the trio.

So, when the doors to the room opened in front of him, there wasn’t a hint of surprise on his features. What did surprise him was who and what made an appearance. Four bald guards, armored and poised to strike at any moment. Behind them, an officer that the cyborg did not immediately recognize.

Hyacinth’s head jerked to the side three times in rapid succession, his wiring betraying him as empty eyes locked onto the officer and an incline of his head indicated that he could follow them to the dojo. His instinct and probability calculator quickly assessed that this wasn’t a situation that he could smash and slash his way out of, even if his brother took out his two guards successfully.

He followed cautiously behind the Imperial officer, glancing at his twin as they walked through the twisting corridors. Corner after corner followed in quick succession as a quick and unforgiving pace was set by their delivery man, the hallways and sharp turns only interrupted by an elevator lift or two. After ages, the man stopped as a final door opened and the Praetorians pushed them inside, placing them just across the threshold as the door closed with hissing finality.

"Spying on me is unacceptable."

All at once, his eyes took in the scene. Maliphant in front of them, the combat droid off to the side and disconnected, and Oda, lying on the floor still, her breath shallow. Broken or fractured ribs then, if breath came at such a cost. If he weren’t the one in a similar situation, he might’ve grinned. It wasn’t a lesson their fellow had been taught, it was humiliation. Knocked down a peg indeed.

“You will fight each other until one of you falls...” The rest of the statement fell on deaf ears as he calculated the diameter of battle that surrounded them. Within the next breath, Kitsana found its home in his left hand and the momentum left over on the back of the motion followed through with savage strength in a slash across his brother’s chest meant to travel from shoulder to pelvis.

This would be an interesting little duel. They knew each other far too intimately, though Maliphant knew that as well. Together, they formed a duo that was a well oiled machine, quite literally. That was evident enough from the prison break. Separate though, those strengths compensated for the other’s weaknesses. Where he was an iron fist, Asphodel was a soft touch, an embrace that killed before one even realized that death had claimed them as his own. Hyacinth’s reach and strength were superior, but Asphodel was faster and as cunning as a saber cat.

Time to see if those traits served him well.

Odanneth Mal (Darth Nyx) | The Asphodel | Darth Empyrean​

 

[Odanneth Mal (Darth Nyx)]

Oda had been about to speak when the strange occurence was made known to Maliphant. She hurt, not just in body, but her mind too. Perhpas Maliphant would catch her thoughts by the Force, for she still felt them strongly as she staggered to her feet, clutching the side with the broken ribs.

Yet even when I'm successful you treat with with the same disdain. Winning... losing.... it's all different shades of the same with you.

She shuffled to the wall where there is a side bench. She collapsed down and blinked slowly, bearing the pain silently in a cold sweat. Broken ribs and bruises? Nothing to hurry about, and besides, this should be interesting.

Darth Empyrean | The Asphodel | The Hyacinth

 

[The Asphodel]

U H - O H​

The sensation of dread washed over Asphodel between his brother speaking and watching their Master turn on the screen before being still, waiting. The lazy smirk so often on his countenance turned tight-lipped, no longer amused. "Unfortunately, you might be right, Perennial." His hands were a quick flurry of motion, disconnecting from the cameras and then gliding to his belt, ensuring that the daggers he so often kept on his person were indeed there. It would be just his luck (or perhaps more accurately, misfortune) that the lazy day had left him woefully unprepared.

When the door opened, he hadn't quite gotten up from his seat. A delicate brow rose as the ones in armor pointed their weapons, gaze drifting to his brother in a moment of 'Are we truly just going along with this?' Outnumbered, locked in this room with unfamiliar guards with weapons seemingly tailored to ruin them, was hardly an ideal fight. Yet, if his brother gave the word, there was little to do than try.

As the officer spoke from behind, Asphodel slid out of his chair with an unnatural fluidity. His head also tilted to the side, not quite in the jerking motions as Hyacinth, but still in uncannily similar increments. "So it would seem," he responded, vocal emulator whirring into action before his voice was once again his own. The look he shared with his twin, beneath a near-impenetrable facade of confidence, was a questioning one. A misplaced hope that Hyacinth had some insight as to what to expect as they were escorted to the dojo.

The younger brother was far less reserved as his eyes surveyed the room. The ghost of a grin, one that could almost be mistaken for friendly, tugged at the corners of his mouth as he caught sight of Oda bruised and broken on a mat, before shifting back to a blank expression as he steeled himself under Maliphant's glare. 'We weren't spying on you, not really,' he nearly retorted, mouth already opening to speak before he thought otherwise.

"Oda, if you believe I punished you - then you will soon learn." Dread once more washed over him, though not so much to be followed with repentant regret. He and his brother both were faster, stronger, better than their fellow apprentice. Surely they could handle whatever punishment she'd experienced and more.

Maliphant's following statement, coupled by the sudden motion of his brother, sent Asphodel plunging backwards to avoid most of the attack he'd seen his brother use many times both in training and on the field. With dagger flying to one hand, and the other arm aiming to sweep at his brother's legs, he took to a more literal interpretation of the orders given, at least for the moment.

The Hyacinth | Odanneth Mal (Darth Nyx) | Darth Empyrean ​

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[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant was quiet, watching the fight with disdain as the Praetorians positioned themselves at the edge of the room nearest the door. Strike after strike, the only thing Maliphant seemed to bother noticing was if they were pulling their punches - and if they were, they would find a punishment twice as bad as they assumed the current one to be. Maliphant had already settled that thought in his mind - now it was simply a matter of monitoring them.

Quiet and waiting, waiting for one of them to fall and not be able to get back up.

The Asphodel The Hyacinth Odanneth Mal (Darth Nyx)

 

[The Hyacinth]

T I N K E R ​

​

Exactly as he wanted. A predictable, rehearsed move that the pair often used to test reaction times. However, it created distance between the pair that he’d need to re-establish later, if he got the chance to do that again. Unfortunately, that wasn’t likely with Asphodel. Maybe it was. He could throw farther than his arm could reach so, for now, they were on even ground.

His head tilted to the side as he briefly considered his next move, his sword hand twirled the weighted blade in an idle flourish.

Meanwhile, the probability calculator raced. There was a high chance that they would either fight for hours trying to outdo the other as well as a low chance of one of them winning against the other in conventional combat scenarios. 96.8% and 3.2% respectively, to be exact . “What are you waiting on, highlighter?” The beginnings of a smirk twitched at metallic sinews and muscle replacements.

An alternate approach was needed and, though he didn’t need an AI to tell him that his own flesh and blood wasn’t likely to win in a match of strength, the odds were still helpful if a bit staggering.

Kitsana was pulled up into a simple guard while his right hand extended and he seized his junior’s core, sending forceful and twisted energy from the Force as he began to manually shut down some of Asphodel’s vital systems beginning with his primary and secondary oxygen replicators. A learned knowledge of their individual systems and similar aspects finally became useful. His teeth grit as he split his focus on remaining aware of Asphodel’s actions and on imposing his own will over his brother’s systems, causing it to spread up and down with the aim to squeeze out the ability to accomplish motor movements.

As before, his head ticked in rapid succession as he held everything in place. With any hope, it’d grind his brother to a literal halt.

Odanneth Mal (Darth Nyx) | The Asphodel | Darth Empyrean​

 

[The Asphodel]

S P A R K P L U G ​

The distance was good. It gave him a moment to gather himself, think before the elder brother's brute strength locked him into a close combat he'd likely lose. It also gave him a slight advantage, the younger favoring multiple daggers over one lonely sword. Another dagger flew to his free hand in the moment of distance, arming himself for the coming onslaught while the implants in his head whirled with calculations. But who had time for numbers and predictions? No, Asphodel was more inclined towards a gut feeling over climbing numbers.

His brow furrowed at his brother's taunt, scowling at the nickname Hyacinth had been all too gleeful to assign. A dagger flew from his hand, aiming for his brother's chest before quickly grabbing another. He always kept three on hand for just this purpose, five if they were assigned a particularly long-winded mission. But he didn't dare cross the distance between them himself, instead sliding into a more defensive position, ready to strike like a viper the moment Hyacinth moved in.

"That's cheap, asparagus," he hissed, feeling the Force roll over him, locking his systems as they were. His brow furrowed, caught between trying to shrug off his brother's hold and forgoing function for the shock value of attacking anyway. Wait, shock value. Now that was an idea. Energy gathered in his hand, spurred on by the growing panic of everything slowing, before a bolt of lightning shot from his hand, catapulting to Hyacinth. The burst of electricity was a shock to his own systems, a grunt of pain furth accentuated by the brother-induced shortness of breath.

The Hyacinth | Odanneth Mal (Darth Nyx) | Darth Empyrean ​