Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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No Second Guessing

Matreya

Well-Known Member
Zaiden stood silent, clad in his Demon Armor, shadows of a nearby pillar hiding him in his entirety. Zaiden growled low in his throat, his own fears of not being enough ate at him until he had fallen..fallen right back into the darkness he had fought to get away from. Then he lost Ashlin, his beloved Ashlin...

That was why he was currently here, armed to the teeth with every weapon he owned, as well as dual Blaster Pistols at his hips. He needed someone to take out his newfound repentant fury on, someone whom was able to challenge him, on more then just the combative levels of the psyche. No other seemed better suited then @[member="Mikhail Shorn"], and he would challenge the master.

Damn that Jorus Merrill...Damn him for making me second guess myself...damn him for turning me back to what I was growing away from.... He thought, crossing his arms. He could try to deny his own role in the disgrace, but it would be a lie. His own insecurities and failures to believe in himself, they had cost him a multitude of credits recently.

Now he wished to prove he was capable to himself...
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
"Not every day I get summoned by.... a god," came a high, cold voice from behind the pillar. A raven-haired man sauntered from the shadows, shadows which Zaiden thought he owned, and came around to stand face to face with the armored Dark Jedi. They stood in some forgotten Rakatan monument, pillars standing in neat rows on either side of a high, vaulted ceiling. Yet neither of them seemed to care much for architectural design.

Shorn wore simple clothes of a somber hue beneath a black leather jacket, stark evidence of the derision he held for grandiose fops like @[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"]. A soft, continuous clink-clink-clink came from one of Mikhail's hands, which he held open at his side, rattling around a handful of small, metal spheres. Pale, mocking eyes glanced around at the pervasive shadows, before turning to stare through Zaiden.

"What would the Lord of Fog want from little, old me?"
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
"Once, I watched you duel. You are quite extraordinary. Or were rather, as from what I can tell you have only gotten more powerful. Recently the Fringe held a dominion, and during it a man made me second guess myself. One time, that was all it took." Zaiden growled out, seething with rage. It was so infuriating, to not have control over oneself and their selfesteem. It was as if something had been taken from him, and since that day he had even ceased his own Godly title. How can one believe themselves a god, when they cannot complete the simplest of missions?

"I have slipped up recently. During serveral jobs I have allowed my mark to escape, and this is the ultimate sign that I am losing my sanity. I have lost my grip on myself, and my own self control." He said, "And the only way I believe it possible to return my 'mojo' so to speak, is to prove myself worthy. If I can begin to see inside myself whatever it was I saw before, I can return to my rightful state of mind. I must take back my sanity. To do this, I wish to prove myself against a true opponent. I chose you."

After a moment of silence he finished, "What say you?"

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
"i could care less," Mikhail remarked, the right side of his face curling upward in derision. "You got humiliated, so what? I'm not here to be your self-help guru."

Shorn thought he might have a boiling anger at Zaiden's insolence. Instead, he felt only the cold void of utter indifference, along with a slight spark of irritation. "Your slip of sanity? It's called losing. Get over it. Fighting me won't help you out of your slump. Especially not when you're dead."

An aphotic hurricane of the Dark Side began to grow within Mikhail as he drew the Force into him, letting that sickly-sweet power flow through his body. Mikhail's eyes grew like chips of ice. "You're not worth my time, @[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"]. Now get lost."
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
Zaiden chuckled for a moment at first, then it grew to an all out laugh, "I did not ask your opinion on the matter Shorn. I asked you here to be my punching bag so I may regain some of my proper mind set. Don't get that wrong, your not my psychiatrist, nor would I want you as one." Slowly the veins running along his neck and lower jaw began to pulse, thickening with Force enriched blood. Soon they stood out against his skin, throbbing hard with the Darkside energies coursing within Zaiden. He may not be a master, or even sure of himself, but he knew he would not allow another to treat him as such. He was a count, and well before knowing his title he had earned respect.

"You want me to leave? Then you will have to make me." He called out, Ashins old Saber flying to his palm, where he held it without ignition.

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
Even before Zaiden finished talking, Mikhail attacked in a series of relentless strikes, one right after the other. Slamming one palm out, he unleashed a broad, telekinetic shove with enough power to smash the Dark Jedi into the pillar behind him with bone-crunching force. Immediately after sending out that shove, he gestured with his other hand. The small, dozen or so ball bearings he had been holding in his hand flew out in a scattered cloud straight toward Zaiden. Using ballistakinesis, Mikhail propelled them with incredible speed, enough to puncture the man's armor. As it turned out, they were made out of phrik and would not be so easily deflected by a lightsaber, or anything else for that matter.

Mikhail did not stop there. Atramentous might welled within him as he wielded the Dark Side to his liking. Zaiden might have been a skilled knight, but Mikhail had been the same when Zaiden was but an apprentice. The former Champion of the Empress, the Defier of Rulers, stretched out empty hands toward Zaiden, fingers curling like claws. @[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"] faced one of the most powerful telekinetics in the galaxy. Few challenged a Sith Lord and lived.

A telekinetic grip like a durasteel docking clamp wrapped around Zaiden's form, but Mikhail did not seek to choke, or to crush. He simply grabbed Zaiden in the Force and attempted to smash him against a pillar, then the wall, then another pillar, then the ground, relentless attacks trying to smash Zaiden's form around like a ragdoll. Even armored, that could break bones and cause head trauma.

"Don't tell me I didn't warn you," Mikhail's voice rang venomously throughout the complex.
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
The barest breadth of a second, that was what Zaiden had to work with as he watches Mikhail move to cut him off. Launching straight up, Zaiden was still caught in the push, and thus thrown hard against the nearby pillar. Groaning from the force of the blow, Zaiden rose swiftly and threw his own Force energies back at the man. Though they were aimed to stop the bearings, the push only knocked some of them back, but not enough to even damage the man. Damn...Zaiden thought, unable to concentrate enough on going offensive , as he ducked and dodged the remaining few.

Then suddenly, Zaiden was swooped up in an invisible hand, and started towards the nearest wall. Usually this was where he would summon his loving shadows, however having no longer the housing crystal for the living embodiments of the Darkside, he couldn't. But the premise remained the same. Calling to the force, everytime he would be slammed, Zaiden used the Force and his own abilities in telekinesis to make it like pushing through jello to the inevitable tap at the bottom of the bowl.

He was not as skilled in the arts of Telekinetic movement, but it was his greatest offensive weapon as well and could use it imaginatively. Focusing hard, Zaiden cracked a nearby pillar with a massive Force Push. However, it wasn't that simple, the crack was on the side facing Mikhail, so just as it began to fall, it was obviously going in the Masters direction. He would have to release his grip on Zaiden, hopefully. Nothing seemed to make sense as he no longer had his greatest ally, and he couldn't stop second guessing himself.

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
For Mikhail, telekinesis was not just an offensive tool. It made up nearly the entirety of his arsenal, defense included. Like now, for instance. As the pillar cracked and began to fall Shorn's way, the raven-haired Sith released @[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"] by tossing him as far as he could in the opposite direction, then transferring his formidable concentration onto the pillar. But he did not try to stop it from falling. A quick force assisted side-leap transitioned into a roll as he came down on his right shoulder and rolled diagonally across his back, springing back up well out of harm's way, but bruising his shoulder on the hard, marble floor in the process. His maneuver put the falling pillar between himself and Zaiden.

As the crumbling pillar crunched toward the ground, Mikhail loosed another Force shove, launching the pillar at Zaiden. Of course, Shorn doubted the Knight would be affected by that, so he gathered in a tremendous amount of Dark Side energy, which he promptly unleashed in a torrent of lightning from two splayed hands. The hissing, sizzling zigzags crackled across the distance. Mikhail didn't care if the pillar hit Zaiden or not, either he would be on the ground wheezing from getting hit by the pillar when the lightning struck, or he would jump over the pillar and straight into those forking blue lines.
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
If Zaiden had been thinking things through more clearly, he may have sensed impending danger, or not even have such and simply stopped the pillars movement and used it for cover for a moment. But instead, he leapt high and over the pillar directly into the lightning. Immediately the intense pain gripped him and held him in it's tight vices, calling out in agony for a moment before being closed off by a clamped jaw, Zaiden regretted his idiocy. For being inside a metal armor, he felt himself being boiled from the inside out, a deep searing pain that felt as if his skin were being torn from the bone and muscle below.

But he still fought to prove his worth. Doing is utmost to absorb some of the energy that buned him alive, Zaiden fought back with a torrent of Flames that appeared around the Sith Master with a roaring intensity, driven by the pain as well as fear of death.

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
Flames leapt high around Mikhail, their orange and red hues demonic and hungry. Their consuming tongues licked at his clothes and skin. Shorn ceased the flow of lightning from his fingertips and jumped backward. Unimpeded by armor, the Force carried him far from those hungry flames, but tendrils of fire still clung to his jacket, burning quickly through the leather. Mikhail quickly slipped out of his jacket and threw the burning clothing off to the side. Only now did he feel the red weals forming upon his arms from the flames. The acrid stench of burnt flesh filled Shorn's nostrils. He grimaced and reached down, dragging out a bag from his belt. Grabbing a handful of the contents within, Mikhail tossed them into the air.

Thirty-two phrik ball bearings zipped toward @[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"] like a malevolent cloud of angry insects, with enough speed to punch through durasteel armor.
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
Freedom, a mere moment to breathe freely, then a painful crumple as he landed on the ground. He was lucky he had decided to agree to that training with Ashin, else that could have killed him. Slowly pushing himself to his knees, Zaiden took a slow deep breath to center himself, already sensing his incoming dangers. Just as before, Zaiden hurled his own wall of telekinesis into the fray, halting near half the initial attack instantly. Next, Zaiden threw his massive arms up to block his face and neck, as his gauntlets were Phrik fragment filled as well as on his right arm he bore his Conquerors Lanvarok, prize from the recent zombie horrors.

Being on his knees, as well as with a torso made of Ultrachrome, there was few space for the bearings to hit..soon enough the powerful blows began to rain down on him. Some were less powerful, but those that were definitely did the trick. For soon enough, the sounds of metals clinking together sounded loud enough for @[member="Mikhail Shorn"] to hear. A bearing had gotten past his defenses, broken his armor and lodged itself between the metals beneath the synthflesh. He had effectively given up usage of 2 fingers on his left hand, making it near useless in a direct saber battle.

The only way Zaiden could win now, was sheer Force Power..with that Zaiden cast up a Force Cloak fueled and driven by the desires to be better, and the pain coursing through his veins like molten magma. He would have to use stealth, his utmost skill. Many across the cosmos had acknowledged him for his strength in the ability, he was one of the few known to hide themselves in the force as well as visibly. But already he had lost energy, the use of his hand, as well as the entire complexity of his left gauntlet. He was bleeding, and wounded...

But to give in, that would be the ultimate defeat. Come to prove his worth, flee a weak and broken man...? I'd rather die, he thought to himself, as he continued to immerse himself in the flow of energy around the men. If his blood or own lack of confidence didn't feth it up, Mikhail would begin to sense Zaiden from all directions as well as see him vanish from sight. Nonetheless, he quickly moved to circle the man, his Lanvarok aimed at his chest. The poison was not the most effective against a Sith, but the darts would still do damage, being shot like a Slugthrower.
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
@[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"]
A sense of satisfaction that only a sadist enjoyed coursed through Mikhail like a blast of molten magma. It was the only way he felt anything anymore. Because he didn't want to feel the anguish of so many deep, unhealed wounds. Now, he reveled in the pain of others. They would feel what it was like to endure agony.

The sound of a dozen metal balls rebounding off of Zaiden's armor in a cacophony of metallic screeching was music to Shorn's ears. He could sense Zaiden's pain at withstanding the barrage of ballistakinesis. His lip curled in a sneer. The feeling of anger within him was mounting, the type of anger that could only be satisfied by the breaking bones, the rending of flesh, and the spilling of blood. There was nothing like that... satisfying the blood boiling need to rip your enemy's throat out. His arms trembled at the unadulterated urge, no, the need, to obliterate Zaiden, to see his scarlet insides spray across the room.

And then, Zaiden simply vanished.

Mikhail's pale eyes widened with rage and a snarl turned up half his face. The blistering pain on his arms only heightened his sense for immediate retaliation.

"Zaaaaiden. Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

He raised both hands and unleashed a torrent of Force Lightning. The tendrils crackled through the room, fueled by the power of the Dark Side. Zaiden could make himself invisible, but lightning cared little for his trickery. The area of effect attack flooded the space in front of Mikhail and the Sith Lord began to move his hands to either side and then behind, lightning spraying from them like sprinkler heads on overdrive.
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
Just as the lightning began it's onslaught, Zaiden dove the rest of the way behind the man. Instantly his shroud dropped and he became visible in viewable light yet again. Next, he ignited his saber in good hand and used it to block the most he could. The raw power of the lightning near overwhelmed him multiple times, and he almost gave in, but he fought on. Aiming his Lanvarok at the man's chest, and allowing his Shadow Dagger to be yanked and whipped threw the air at his neck, Zaiden propelled them with his own Balistakenesis. However, this was not it's only form of attack, the entirety was in the fact he cast his absolute concentration and energy into a Force Cloak that covered them both.

Choosing to maintain his offensive prowess now, no matter the risk, he instantly battled the repercussions as the lightning coursed along the saber. It's strength didn't cease, it continued to bash against his meager defense until it finally broke free. With his saber launched clean across the room, Zaiden felt his muscles tense to an unhealthy degree as the electricity used him for a rod. But this to, he used to fuel the Cloak. For the pain was so great, it was an entire backing of strength in it's own sense.

If he succeeded, the man wouldn't have even seen his right arm move, or even the Dagger...if he succeeded he would truly turn the tides. He would be that close to beating him, and regaining some of his sanity.

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
Zaiden almost succeeded. The poison-coated disc would have cut right into him. But the Knight tried to do too much with too little. Already electrocuted and battered, Zaiden's stamina was steadily waning. The usage of Force Cloak, however prolific the wielder, took a toll. But it was not simply a Force Cloak. Zaiden attempted to do three simultaneous and very different actions in the Force at once. First, he tried, however little, to block the lightning, then he launched a disc-blade and a dagger at Mikhail, before capping it off with a Force Cloak meant to cover them both. Too much and too little to power it. Pain could fuel a Dark Sider's power. But at some point, pain became debilitating.

The weakened Force Cloak flickered, allowing Mikhail to see snippets of Zaiden, enough to see what was happening. He ceased the spray of lightning and raised his hands, palms up and out, stopping the weapons dead in their tracks with telekinesis. He was almost too late. The disc blade sat a mere centimeter from his throat, while the shadow dagger's tip pressed deep into Shorn's neck. Blood trickled down, hot and slow, and there was a blossoming of sharp pain. Shorn's nostrils flared, eyes staring wide in fury.

Zaiden had not turned the tide. He'd only managed to piss Shorn off.

Sure, the cloak was back in place, but Mikhail now knew where Zaiden stood. He hurled Zaiden's disc and knife back at him with such speed that they would shatter stone and rend durasteel to shreds. The blood dripping down his neck made the Sith Lord rise up to his full height, ice blue eyes full of a piercing hatred. He unleashed a telekinetic, bone-bruising push at Zaiden's chest, making a punching motion with his fist. Then he punched again, sending a second push. Then another. He kept it up with a barrage of punches that would pummel Zaiden to pieces, launching wave after wave of telekinetic shoves that would send any normal human flying.

"Even gods bleed, @[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"]."
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
Zaiden managed to knock the disc to the side with the force, albeit weakly, and couldn't avoid his own Neuranium dagger plunging into his collarbone, through his ultrachrome breastplate. Calling out softly, Zaiden hissed as he exhaled, removing the blade just in time to be hit with the first blow. Staggering back, Zaiden instinctively threw up his arms as defenses - thank god for those recent boxing sessions. Damage being done with initial blow however was impossible to ignore, as a crack was slowly crossing his plating, starting at the point where his dagger had sank threw flesh like a knife through butter. Each blow pushed him back, inch by inch. Building back the gap he had sought to close. But then even his armor couldn't take it and the hinges holding it in place cracked and the body plate fell to the side.

Blow after blow rained down on Zaiden, and he found himself feeling despair at not being able to do more. He should be able to, had to...

There's the chance, he thought as Mikhails rhythm slipped on one single blow. That was when he decided to strike, grabbing the dagger he lunged forward, crossing the short distance quickly. Intent on driving the dagger into the man's chest, all the while Zaiden immersed himself in the flow of the darkside to slowly feel the wound on his collarbone seal. He wouldn't pay attention to bruises, those were minor and didn't effect much. Regardless of whether the blow struck home, Zaiden used the knife as a honing rod to accentuate his torrent of lightning he called forth.

Synth flesh burned, muscles screamed, and his hand ached but he didn't release his hold on the dagger or the electricity. He would prove himself or die..

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
Each blow pushed Zaiden further and further back, until the barrage of telekinetic shoves left them nearly on opposite ends of the room. The distance between the two was neither short, nor easily crossed, though in Zaiden's mind perhaps he thought his powers extended beyond mere barriers like distance and time. Yet Zaiden bounded across the intervening space, knife raised, ready to plunge into Shorn, while lightning lanced out. Mikhail's eyes flashed and he drew in the power of the Dark Side, not striking out again, but drawing the energy into him, preparing himself for the coming blow. Somehow, Zaiden managed to make it across that distance in nearly the blink of an eye.

Mikhail attempted to avoid the blow, deflecting the strike with a forearm, but Zaiden's arm was strong and his aim true. The dagger, deflected from its target of Shorn's chest, plunged deep into the Sith Lord's shoulder, sliding easily in. Pain ripped through Mikhail and darkness blossomed in his vision. The lightning coursed into him, through the blade, searing his flesh. A yell of agony came from Shorn's throat. Zaiden might well prevail after all. But then that yell turned into a gargled chuckle. The lightning feeding into Mikhail no longer burned him, instead, the area around the knife embedded in his shoulder seemed to glow as he sucked in the energy with tutaminis. But with tutaminis, one needed an outlet for the absorbed power.

"You think you can kill me? You... are... nothing!"

Reaching up, Mikhail grabbed Zaiden's head with one hand, thumb pushing into the eyeholes. Then he released the energy. All of it. Such a torrent of lightning cascaded from his finger tips that it illuminated the entire room in a brilliant, flickering glow of vibrant, crackling blue.

"Ashes to ashes."

@[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"]
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
(I envisioned Zaiden not being knocked that far *shrug*)

Despite knowing a little tutaminis himself, Zaiden coildnt withstand an attack of such magnitude. Roaring in utter dreadful agony, Zaiden fought to not lose consciousness, focusing his damndest on channeling as much of the energy he could. But it was so much..soon enough he began to lose sight and sound, falling prey to the darkness that was the sea of full black out. He felt trickles of a wet substance begin to fall from his eyes, nose, ears, and both corners of his mouth as he continued to roar in sheer suffering.

If he was going to go fall prey to the ocean like tide of sleep, he was doing so with utterly no reserves of energy left. Guiding the current of electricity that was frying his brain, he weekly grabbed his dagger hilt and attempted to reach the man's throat with the other hand. The current would now run full circle, even as Zaiden blasted the last of his own energies into the electric pull shooting into the dagger.

The master had his head, but Zaiden still had his heart within range of mortal danger. The only thing keeping him from utter death being his training with Ashin Varanin, the reputed greatest lightning caster since sidious himself. But even that, and his own endurance could only take so much. Without a proper mindset he had entered a battle, and now he was losing. But with that much energy coursing so close to ones heart Mikhail couldn't risk it..could he?..

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]
 

Lord Ghoul

Guest
L
The lightning Zaiden poured into Mikhail was simply absorbed by the tutaminis and converted into the lightning to spray from Mikhail's hand straight into @[member="Zaiden James-Greyson"]'s head. By upping the intensity of the lightning he was pouring into Shorn, Zaiden only made it worse for himself, adding more fuel to the fire as he continued to dig his own grave. In essence, Mikhail's body had become a conduit which fed the energy through him and unleashed it back at Zaiden. With Zaiden using a little tutaminis, it would prove slightly more difficult to turn Zaiden's body to ash, but this was where the difference between a Knight and a Master became apparent. In an open battle, anything was possible, but pound for pound, Mikhail outweighed Zaiden in the Force in this area of expertise.

As Zaiden reached a hand for Mikhail's throat, Shorn's other hand slipped behind his back and drew out his dagger, which he had affectionately named Ouch. The beskar blade was imbibed with devaronian blood poison. One scratch would cause enough pain to leave a grown man crying on the ground. Zaiden's fingers wrapped around Mikhail's throat and the world became a bit darker as the blood flow began to cut off. Struggling for breath, the Sith Lord jammed the dagger upward, straight for Zaiden's exposed armpit.
 

Matreya

Well-Known Member
Zaiden refused to give in, finally realizing death would be another failure. He couldn't take that. Just as he was sure the man couldn't take a dagger in his shoulder surging lightning into his hearts area. All he had to do was hold out...then came the knife plunge. Deciding to take it and lose the entirety of his left arm, Zaiden whipped it against the man's other arm just as the knife sank deep, any poisons irrelevant as it sank into snthflesh and Phrik metal components. Zaiden aimed to course the remaining intensity of the Masters own energy as well as his continuously into the dagger as he hadn't ceased.

His body shook, bled, and clenched of it's own accord. Knees nearly buckling, and his fingers shaking on his hold, Zaiden fought for each gasping breath. But the Master wouldn't be able to deny any longer the dagger and elecrricty plunged inside his upper torso. Lungs should begin to seize, heart should be near bursting by this speed, even Ashin couldn't take coursing lighting directly inside their respiratory and musculature system forever.

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]
 

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