Faction Trials by Fire - Tournament [TSE]

[Gryylarc]

Gryylarc's alchemical toe-claws rasped on the gray stone, scratching deep as he gauged how much traction he could glean later. He watched Valeria de la Vallée carefully. She was an Echani and a Sith Lord, and those were labels he took seriously, even if she was a third his weight, little more than half his height, and one-tenth his age. The gray-furred Wookiee hefted his alchemized spear in both hands and powered up the humming vibrogenerators in the hewing blade. He'd left his lightstaff out of this fight: a powerful enemy could turn that weapon against him in the wrong moment. The spear was more dependable.

He started walking toward her at an unhurried pace, spear held loosely across his body. Closing the ground would be crucial here: her strength in the Force presumably dwarfed his. Get close, smash, rip, done. In a perfect world.

 

[The Amalgam]

Wearing: Resistance Epidermis

Armed with: Skin Shears


Fresh from her success advancing past an actual, full on Darth (Hey, she was surprised, whaddayawant?) The Amalgam had spent the next few days going on an anonymous killing spree.

She would find a family's home, break in, and feed on every living thing inside, draining them until they were ash, looking to saturate her body with as much suffering as possible. She had been careful, never hitting the same area twice, picking whole families at random to consume. Since the slaughter she had instigated at Castagne her powers in the dark had more than doubled...she certainly would have had a much rougher time with Vitium in the old days.

As it stood, after a few days of resting up, the signal to her comlink had arrived, and The Amalgam, clad in her flesh colored Resistance Epidermis finished absorbing the life Force of an elderly man in his own home, having fed on his wife and adult daughter beforehand. She had tortured him for hours. She had tortured all of them for hours.

The surface of her body bubbled and warped as she consumed the elderly Sith Citizen's life force, savoring his terror and pain, and his helplessness. She had made him watch it happen to his loved ones before even touching him so his death was a special kind of agony that strengthened her dark infused tissues.

Her flesh continued to wriggle everywhere on her skeleton for a few seconds after the man's body had disintegrated to ash like the rest of his family had. His home and its occupants had been only one of twenty-two households she had hit across the planet in the days before the second part of the tournament was to commence. Eventually, her flesh reset itself back on its bones and after inscribing a bloid spell on the wall that would remove all traces of her presence she walked out of their home in the dawn cloaking her body with the Force to avoid being seen, only uncloaking in the middle of the street once she was a fair distance away from the house, looking immaculate and near-impossibly beautiful as she made her way slowly back to the arena, flesh on her face occasionally wriggling as she marched down its blood tainted halls.

She was equipped only with her staff as she entered the vastly changed grounds, smirking as her body processed the stolen life force from the families she had destroyed.

She waited for her opponent, Cara Dorniarn to make the first move, her purple blades flashing on and spinning it around her petite looking frame as a taunt to her opponent.

Oh, if only they were allowed to kill...the Amalgam had to reign in the homicidal urge to violate the rules, wanting to kill not just her opponent but the guards keeping the overeager spectators from interfering so she could kill them too. Alas, there was a reason her Master had been overthrown...The Amalgam, ultimately, knew when to reign in the urge to slaughter. (however annoying it was to actually show restraint). Her master had not, and that was why her Master's absorbed mind currently provided The Amalgam with her intense ferocity and beastial urges and not the other way around--except briefly, a while back, on Anzat.

She wondered what Cara was capable of. But The Amalgam had gotten past a Darth (Somehow) so she was liking her chances against someone who didn't have a Darth in front of an arthousy sounding name like The Amalgam herself did. (This was mere arrogance on her part: Too easy was it to forget nowadays that a mere pirate had once come within inches of killing her.)

The Amalgam guarded though, because the part of her that was still sane knew you could not be a complete pushover making it to the second round. Plus, Cara's avatar had an insanely cool MK-esque robo arm, and avatars with robo arms should always be a reason for caution.

Intense caution.

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

Equipment: Personal armor, two vibroknives.
Tags: The Amalgam

________________________________________​

The days wore on at a pleasurable pace for Cara. She and her seeker droid, Aidee, spent their time in the Azure Star's workshop repairing armor and cybernetic damages. During their work Cara sampled the latest tunes, left holocrons of her master's teaching on repeat, discussed what variety of caf to buy before they left the planet, and made sure to catch up with her business associate Telis Taharin. It was rewarding to finally be working again, becoming so swept up in the dwindling hours she had forgotten about the tourney until Aidee reminded her.

The ultrachrome collar and vest felt familiar as ever as they clamped down about her chest, and she proceeded to call off a check-list with the rest of her suit's systems. Aidee hummed out of the ship as Cara made her way down the ramp, still checking her gear.

"Looks good as new. Fixed the boot too," she stamped her foot, checking the magnetic clip which kept the boot tight around her calf, "Time to lock him up." He, of course, was the Azure Star. The ramp sealed shut and Cara made her way to the arena.

- - -​

The new stone of the arena felt satisfying under the weight of her steps. She surveyed the crowd as she dropped the helmet upon her head. A bloodthirsty bunch. Cara couldn't relate, yet stayed aware of how infectious they could be if one was exposed enough. The aural sensors of her helmet stifled their cheers as the black dome of Glasteel slid over her face.

A flicker of red was projected from the helm, switching icons until landing on one for Bioforge Solutions. An idea proposed by Mr. Taharin for free advertisement in favor of their new company.

Aidee whistled a cheer from the seats as Cara entered then slammed her duraplast knuckles. Twice, as per tradition. Cara took that time to study the opponent waiting beyond. Across the arena, the woman's armor was an impressive feat of engineered fashion. And as Cara reached out with the Force the more she learned. Through mechu-deru Cara's own suit had a chatty network, but this "Amalgam" wore a gossip. Shield generators, stealth, and more to boot. Cara drew back her focus, not wanting to become distracted talking with circuitry.

The Amalgam was waiting for Cara, the woman's body language suggesting an artificial coy attitude. Cara wasn't budging. The Force wrapped itself around her arms, fortifying them. She felt the stone under her feet and felt a bit sorry to ruin new craftsmanship. With both fists and the Force she hammered down a blow onto the stone to form a small crater. She reared back up, shards of stone following her to line up before her hands. One by one the shards were launched at The Amalgam. If that hadn't made her move, then bigger chunks soon followed, thrown in sideways fashion.

 

[The Amalgam]

Geokinetic?

The Amalgam's superhuman reflexes allowed her to dodge most of the shrapnel, but one piece of rock still managed to clip her sideand a few other pieces shredded the flesh open on one side of her face, causing white blood to leak out. Pieces of white muscle tissue burst into flame as it hit the ground and she snarled, flesh on her body wriggling everywhere as she tried to force terror and fear into the mind of Cara Dorniarn , an attack she had used very successfully on some of the strongest of minds. But even if that failed she was already sprinting towards Cara at superhuman speed, spinning her staff in wide, violent, but focused slashes and stabs at her legs, wanting to see if she could make sure Cara left this place more of a machine then she went in. Of course, she wasn't exactly sure of Cara's defensive capacity but unlike before with Vitium, The Amalgam decided to go for outright vicious aggression to try and end the fight early, assaulting both body and mind.

Through the horrific wriggling of the flesh on her face as she attacked it was clear The Amalgam was grinning...

 

[Kelsie Sylvan]

B A S T I O N​

Equipment: Personal Armor, .48-caliber Enforcer pistol (overhauled to modern specifications), HL-27 blaster pistol (overhauled to modern specifications), Ice Gun, CryoBan Grenades (2), Taozin Amulet, Heart of Naboo, phrik vibroknives (2).
Tag: Anden Fancelo

---

Well, it was that time again.

Time to duke it out with someone else. She hadn't received many injuries during her fight with the Mandalorian -- after all, it hadn't lasted long. Her armor had done its job, as had she. Kelsie had only suffered a few bruises from hitting the ground and Shebs' vicious bear hug, but it wasn't anything a little bacta couldn't fix. Instead she spent the time in between her fights to tweak her gear a little for her next opponent and study him in depth. In terms of information, she probably had the upper hand. Anden Fancelo had participated in previous tournaments, along with his record as a soldier of the Sith Empire... she hoped that her profile from Imperial Intelligence wasn't very helpful.

Unlike the captain she faced, Kelsie couldn't truly consider herself a soldier. She'd fought on battlefields before, but she was more of a pilot or spy than a front-line fighter. Still, she believed that made her more suited for personal combat in this setting. His last opponent had made some critical mistakes during their fight, but Anden would find her a little more creative and consistent.

The armored woman made her way to the designated section of the arena for their fight, checking her gear one last time. Well, really it was Missy checking, but she'd asked. Whatever the case, the plan she had in mind was more important. This man was a soldier. He carried a rifle, a pistol, wore heavy armor. She'd be faster, close the distance, fight in close quarters where she could more easily get the upper hand. If she couldn't subdue him quickly, she'd switch to the long game: wear down him and his gear until she could land a finishing blow on a battle-weary opponent.

Kelsie finally got into position and looked across the sandy pit at her opponent. Her personal shield popped into existence, the blue bubble protecting her from any initial attacks he might pull. For now she remained where she was -- it was rude to make the first move. Not that she was the most polite. But right here, she was just acting. "I'll play fair if you play fair," she called playfully across to Anden.

This would be anything but fair.

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

The Amalgam charged as per Cara's intention, however the writhing of The Amalgam's flesh prompted only a raised brow as Cara assumed a defensive stance; a shallow squat and one arm outstretched and an open palm near her chest. As The Amalgam neared a tension grew in Cara's jaw. Servo-motors began to whine as micro-adjustments were made. Muscles tightened in her calves as she braced for contact.

The Amalgam wasn't there. In her stead was a shorter figure, clad in yellow ochre beskar'gam and wielding two pistols which began to fire at Cara.

It was confusing, perhaps an illusion, but the bolt that hit her chest pushed her back a step. Whatever it was, it had projected tangible results. To add insult to injury, it was a Mandalorian who charged her now, one who wore infamous colors. This was all wrong, and Cara was baffled. She positioned a forearm to block another incoming bolt, but instead a glimpse of gunmetal gray there was pale flesh.

"Augh!" A scorching pain radiated from the blast leaving a blackened sear. She clutched the arm with her other hand, it too somehow made organic. Her heart pounded in her chest and she grit her teeth, mind racing to calculate the cause of... whatever this was.

Aidee trilled in alarm as it watched its master seize her arm, breaking defense and with The Amalgam only meters away.

Cara could hear stifled strings of binary too faint to understand. She opened her eyes and saw the clear gray of the stone floor. The tint of her glasteel helmet was gone. The engineer wore nothing but civilian clothes. She swung her gaze toward her rival, the woman still bearing the armor but then without a helmet. Darkened skin. Black hair. Piercing eyes. Cara shuddered with disbelief.

"Lori?" The question caught in her throat as a bolt ripped through the left knee. Cara fell to the other clutching what had truly been hit, an ultrachrome knee brace. The blow had slipped down and caught the section of armorweave between brace and boot. None of this could be real. It couldn't be. Lori wasn't here in this arena, she wouldn't be wearing that disgraceful armor. Cara could never think of such a terrible fate for the woman.

The arena itself had shifted, blots of another environment seeping into reality. If this was Lori then that was a possibility that defied reason. All of this did, even if it had felt as real as yesterday. Cara roared, her confusion having turned to fury. The anger condensed then exploded, a large repulse following after.

 

[Dorian Sicarrio]

Tag: AMCO​

---

Honestly, that was... a real first. Being stood up was a new experience. He'd be mad if he knew what it felt like before then, but right then it was just... odd.

To be fair, if his opponent had shown himself, the outcome would have been the same -- Dorian was moving on to round two, as he'd expected. Still, it had been rather boring to stand around, all alone in the arena. The people hadn't gotten to see him fight, and more importantly, they hadn't seen him win. Ever since the first day, he'd been itching to show them.

Today, he'd get that chance.

Of course, he hadn't been idle during the break in between the fights. He was confident in his abilities, but he wasn't dumb enough not to at least check out his opponent's abilities beforehand. He watched Adrian's last fight, as well as the recording of the last tournament. While beating a Zambrano in combat was certainly one way to get noticed, knocking out the reigning champ in the second round would get him some serious cred.

Still, Vandiir seemed like the type to do his research. He was a sorcerer, spellcaster, whatever -- the type of man to stay back, out of range, keep firing off deadly spells. Dorian had to assume his opponent was as prepared as he was. A strategy had already been formed in his mind by the time he stepped out into his sandy-floored home. After all, his style tended to keep fights short.

"Hey, you're not gonna ditch me like the last guy did, right?" The warrior grinned cheekily, easily spinning his crimson spear. "I didn't even get to say hello to him. Hope you stick around longer." But not too long.

 

[AMCO]

Fighting for the privilege of fighting? Not exactly Adrian's style, as he would much prefer a discussion with the Dark Lord of the Sith, perhaps about the intricacies of Sorcery, but oh well - the Knight was sure he could find some way to levy a second victory for political capital, though he privately rated his own chances of winning yet another tournament as dubious at best.

After a few days of relentless indulgence intermixed with sorcerous studies, he was ready for another fight, albeit reluctantly. The report on his opponent had been sadly vague - for a gladiator, holorecordings of his fights were annoyingly scarce, and betrayed little of his Force-based abilities.

What he did know was that the man was fast and devilishly good with the spear - that his own odds of winning a "fair" fight were nigh onto nil...

... so basically like every fight he'd ever been in. Stepping onto the smoothly polished floor, he eyed his opponents, smiling cheerfully at his cheeky remark. "Oh, don't worry - I intend to." Smile twisting into a smirk, he winked at his foe. "No offence, but I have little interest in playing with sticks."

The moment the call came, the moment the battle started, he was ready - unleashing the energy he had been bottling up, he shouted a phrase in Sith, smoke billowing forth from his hands and twisting into a pair steel-garbed knights, or rather torsos held up by columns of smoke. A blue glimmer in their eyes, they hefted swords crackling with lightning in gauntleted fists. It was time his opponent learned the difference between a common brawler and a Sith Sorcerer.

Dorian Sicarrio​

 

[The Amalgam]

The Amalgam smirked, feeling the fear and confusion of Cara Dorniarn as she managed to get inside her head, one of her blades managing to strike a kneebrace of Ultrachrome. But then Dorniarn rebounded, instinctively triggerin a Force Repulse.

The Amalgam was weak at telekinesis, so there was little way for her to resist except to use her superhuman speed and reflexes to desperately try to out run the wave, cartwheeling backward at shocking speed, but the wake still partly caught her, blasting her backward. She hadn't been in the range where she would have been crippled irrevocably, but half the skin on her head was missing, exposing a white muscled skull. A lot of the skin on her left arm and leg were shredded, both eyes sulfurous with hatred.

There was a notable shakiness to her movements, as she moved slightly less superhumanly fast then she did before. She had dodged the worst of the repulse damage, but it was clear what had still caught her had packed a wallop.

But mental assault seemed to work wonderfully on this one. But Cara would be no doubt prepared for the direct assault.

The Amalgam, as befit the teachings of The Cult of The Brain Demon, went for a more subtle approach as she sprinted to Cara. Her muscles swelled violently, skin turning pale, eyes turning black as she slipped into a Force rage, her flesh wriggling everywhere every few seconds, the exposed muscles in her face and limbs bulging violently as she split her staff in two, speaking her psychic fire spell. As her jaw was partly fractured, there was a notable, sickening slur to The Amalgam's words as she spoke, voice an animal hiss.

"Unnnholyyy sssspirit pourrr foorrth myy haaatredddd..."

Purple flames erupted from her throat as her blades came within striking range, non lethal, but designed to coax out terror and confusion in a victim, and lower their morale, while her muscle strength enhanced to its absolute limits with The Dark Side in an attempt to overcome her cybernetic strength, violent slashing directed at Cara's arms. Had she recovered? Could she dodge? Could she resist the purple flames?

Had The Amalgam left the stove on back at the ship?

 

[Dorian Sicarrio]

Tag: AMCO​

---

That was cute.

He was rather surprised to see his opponent up and summon a pair of armored figures to fight for him. To be fair, the robed man's build wasn't one of a warrior -- but he'd already thought enough about that. The appearance of two more opponents didn't really change his strategy in the end, but it did mean he could pace himself and make the show a bit more exciting for the audience. It seemed most of the other fighters were taking their time, so the audience would watch whoever started now. Dorian was certain he was the fastest one there.

"Well, if you're not going to fight yourself, shouldn't you have just entered these two goons instead? They look pretty scary; I'm sure they could win," he said, a playful smirk on his face. They might've had a chance, if Dorian hadn't entered. He wasn't about to lose to a few suits of metal and some pasty space wizard. It was game time.

The gladiator spun his weapon easily, comforted by the familiar weight of the blood-red spear. Playing with sticks? "My my, Adrian, you should know that this is no ordinary stick." He began to walk forward. His weapon seemed to glow faintly, but in the Force it seemed to be a concentration of power. Even on a physical level, a weapon so dense and heavy would be extremely difficult to handle for any normal being... but he'd show off his ability in the Force first. It made for a good show.

The crimson polearm eventually floated out of his grasp, spinning on its own. Finally the gladiator and his weapon stopped, a dozen meters away from the smoke-formed knights. The spear hovered just over his left shoulder, and he simply smiled, his gaze not wavering from his true opponent. Finally, he uttered something quietly -- his mouth moved, but the words were so faint that none would know what he had said. Once he had said it, though...

The spear seemed to disappear from his side. Its speed likely surprised all those who watched; the most perceptive would still see a flash of red as the weapon shot like a bullet at the summoned warrior to Dorian's left. The gladiator himself did not sit idle, though. Once his weapon had gone, he rushed the knight to the right. His own speed was only a fraction of his weapon's for the moment -- even without the Force, he was an agile combatant. He moved quickly, leaping and spinning, bringing his leg around in a vicious roundhouse kick aimed at the knight's head.

 

[AMCO]

Chuckling wryly, Adrian's eyes never left his opponent, power held at the ready to manifest a force barrier at a moment's notice. This opponent was an unknown. He did not much like unknowns. "Trust me, if you ever find yourself facing a Champion of my creation, you will know."

No ordinary stick indeed. He would need a closer look for the details, but the weapon was Imbued, that much was sure.

When Dorian finally made his move, it was spectacular. Almost quicker than Adrian could register, the spear surged forth, tearing into the chest of the creature to his right, a crackling groan emerging from its helmet as its body seemed to grow less real around the wound. Dorian too was quick, but not quick enough, for the creatures he had bound were not entirely of this world.

As his kick struck the helmet of Adrian's second creature, it simply passed through what felt like heavy mist as the creature allowed its form to partially fail... only to consolidate once more as a gauntleted fist surged towards the gladiator with surprising speed.

Trusting that the creature had it handled, for now, Adrian turned his attention to the wounded one, smiling coldly as he clenched his fist and uttered a phrase in ur-Kittât. "Merji vi nuozmus!" The demon screamed in pain at his utterance as its body was wrenched in one itself, woven into a lightning-wreathed cylinder of densest smoke that promptly fell to the floor, where it boiled ominously.

"Let's see how well you fare without that glorified stick."

Dorian Sicarrio​

 

[Dorian Sicarrio]

Tag: AMCO​

---

It was still early in the fight, but it seemed that Adrian wanted to skip to the climax. Taking his spear, using a little dirty trick to avoid having his minion destroyed... Dorian would have to work with that. It was annoying that others had so little respect for showmanship. This was, after all, entertainment for the masses. There had to be appropriate build up, such that the crowd cared about the fighters, such that they cheered more loudly when the villain was finally defeated. He'd have to make a few adjustments for today.

As his kick went through the knight's head and it aimed to strike him, Dorian braced himself to 'take' the hit. The still-reforming spirit warrior's strike wouldn't have done that much anyways, but Dorian angled himself to seem like the blow had struck him in the gut, then launched himself back with a Force Push directed at himself. In the eyes of the crowd it seemed as if the knight summoned by the sorcerer was more than a match for the gladiator without his weapon. Dorian landed on his feet, but feigned stumbling from the force of the blow, and fell to one knee momentarily.

There was a pause, momentarily. This was the part where the audience watched with baited breath -- would the warrior stand up once more, or was this the end? He couldn't hear them, considering how far away the crowds were, but he assumed there were a few gasps as he rose to his feet once more, his gaze leveling at the sorcerer as he began to speak. "You may take my weapon, you may land a thousand blows on me, but my resolve will never break!" Sometimes he felt bad about spewing bantha droppings during these fights.

He settled into a fighting stance and clenched his fists, using a bit of telekinesis again to cause bits of sand to rise up around him, giving the impression of power, of preparing for a decisive blow. Finally he moved. As always his grace and speed were unmatched as he shot forward. First he aimed for the summoned knight, his Force-empowered fist moving to slam into its steel breastplate.

He waited for the moment he'd pass through the thing. The next moments would decide the match.

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

Her knuckles ground into the gritty stone. After the repulse she had slumped over, catching her breath while focusing. She opened her eyes, a light tap of water hitting the inside of her helmet. She blinked. Tears? A hot surge of embarrassment flushed through her mind. Binary clicks were audible in her comms as Aidee inquired about her health.

She rose to her feet and sucked in a breath as pain throbbed from her leg. The saber strike left no blood trail but melted the armorweave of her suit, the fibers then having burned into her leg. Her hands gave their familiar mechanical whirs, an ironically comforting sound after the previous episode. She raised her gaze from the gray phalanges to The Amalgam . The white-clad woman had been damaged but was racing forward with new resolve.

So it was an illusion. Cara felt a twisting in her gut, and a tumultuous wave of indignation started to wash away all distraction. Yes, the blots of fake reality still materialized within the arena, but this... Cara had begun to breath heavily, servomotors whining as fists clenched too tight. She turned to face The Amalgam's charge as the Force resumed to wrap about her arms.

Hatred burned as visible rings of yellow in her eyes, "You...oh, you'll pay for that," She opened herself to the Force, allowing it to invade both muscle, bone, and metal, "You had no right... No right at all!"

Purple flames poured forth and Cara reached up with both arms. The flames licked past then broke through as The Amalgam's saber strike knocked her arms down. As The Amalgam went to strike again Cara would (at least try) to seize the blades in hand, pushing back against the freakish strength brought on by the Dark Side. The purple flames, for all their brilliance, would have to be endured.

Cara's howl echoed only in her helmet as she lurched forward to attempt to smash her helmet into The Amalgam's face.

The Amalgam

 

[The Amalgam]

The Amalgam could smell victory on the horizon, watching how her blades found their mark, the purple fire bathing her. The Amalgam fed off her confusion and pain, bolstering her will.

The Dark Side whispered a warning as her hands were seized by Cara Dorniarn attempting to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. She saw headbutt coming and let it hit her, the dark side rage preventing any pain from registering.

She retaliated, letting Cara keep holding her arms and instead used her greatly strengthened body to yank backward with all her might in an attempt to flip Cara over her, and to confuse her further, The Amalgam decided to cut the Lights.

"Unnnhooleee speerit..." she hissed through a partly fractured Jaw. "Darkennnn theeee worrrrlld..."

The magic caused everything in the Amalgam and Cara's immediate radius to turn pitch black. As she was Sithspawn she could see just fine. Could Cara.

More importantly, could Cara counter that flip attempt?

 

[AMCO]

What an overdramatic blowhard. Not deigning to respond to his challenge with anything but a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk, Adrian almost shook his head at the crowd's ignorance. Of course, they were buying it, the commoners anyway.

As the Smoke Knight seemed to shift in anticipation of evading yet another attack, Adrian's eyes widened slightly, a harsh command at his lips.

"Csact'isi!"

Rather than evade, it met his foe head-on - and paid dearly for it. A fist should not be able to harm steel, but the creature was not truly made of steel, and the fist struck with the fury of the Force. Bringing with it a resounding bang, the impact pushed the creature slightly backwards, even as cracks began to branch outwards.

All but snarling in annoyance, his brow caked with a thin layer of sweat, Adrian glared at the creature. Its purpose was to protect him, not itself.

"Resolve matters little Dorian, only results." Even as he spoke, tendrils of lightning burst forth from his hands, impacting the Smoke Knight and doing the exact opposite of stabilising it. Armour cracked further, lightning wreathed its form, and it surged forward with inhuman speed.

Dorian Sicarrio​

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

Sabers sparked as they met the Force. Cara held fast to the violet blades, her hands then slipping downward to grab hold of The Amalgam 's.

Before she could attempt to crush them The Amalgam yanked the engineer forward in an attempt to flip her. At least Cara held a slight advantage with height as she used their proximity and her upward trajectory to maneuver a small outside hook of the ankle. To a martial artist it was a quick and simple move, and if you're in a more milky galaxy that move is called a Kosoto Gake.

The lights went out as soon as Cara pulled an ankle upward. The sensors of her suit were tripped, triggering her suit's helmet lamp to turn on. More Sith sorcery. Utter rubbish to Cara but a remarkable tool in the hands of others.

There was the matter of whether The Amalgam was slammed onto the stone, where Cara's fist would be anxious to follow through with a nonlethal blow to the diaphragm. If The Amalgam had gotten away from her, Cara then assumed her low squat arms up in a boxer's block and braced for another impact.

 

[Dorian Sicarrio]

Tag: AMCO​

---

Dorian hit like a repulsortruck, his fist denting even the summoned steel of his opponent's minion. It wasn't been the result he had been expecting, but he could work with it -- the crowd roared anyways when he struck, bringing a smile to his face. The gladiator retreated only momentarily as the sorcerer cast his spell, watching as the knight cracked apart, lightning arcing across its form. He withdrew a little further as the summoned warrior approached. Its speed reminded him of when he'd just been learning to control his own power in it...

The agile warrior dodged his burlier opponent's first two strikes. It was clear whatever Adrian had done had made his minion faster, but Dorian kept up easily, evading even as his opponent moved faster and faster. He was really exerting himself now; he found single bursts even at top speed to be easy, but prolonged use of Force Speed was incredibly draining. Still, the warrior kept up his grin as the fight continued.

He dodged around the steel creature, ducking under a blow and spinning past Adrian's minion. Dorian faced his true opponent, spitting a retort even as the knight turned to strike him. "The result will be nothing-" he ducked under a swing from the creature, and a shadow flitted in front of the knight's chest as Dorian struck it with a vicious roundhouse- "But your defeat!" His movement was so rapid one would likely miss the fluidity and grace with which he struck. He wouldn't allow his opponent time to appreciate it, though -- his foot hit the ground and in an instant he launched. He hadn't really planned to go all out in this fight, but with his current speed he could ignore the smoke knight long enough for him to take down the sorcerer, assuming the summoned warrior was still standing.

Dorian's image flickered and disappeared for a second before he arrived at his destination -- right in front of Adrian. He looked into the Sith's eyes, hoping to watch them widen in surprise at the sudden appearance of the gladiator's grinning face. Of course, hopefully not long enough that he actually had time to react to Dorian winding up and swinging a Force-empowered fist towards the sorcerer's gut.

 

[The Amalgam]

Dammit, she'd countered. It seemed there was more going on inside the skull of Cara Dorniarn than just the wrath of The Dark she had visited upon it.

The Martial Arts move wasn't bad. She cursed herself for not seeing it, because that meant the next bit was going to hurt.

Slightly.

Still in the grip of rage, The Amalgam only knew she had impacted the ground, her sabers knocked clear from her, but she was far from helpless. Her knowledge of Atrisian Crane allowed her to dodge the follow up attack springing up and rushing Cara, launching into a complex flurry of Atrisian Snake Fist attacks, trying to aim for pressure points as opposed to bringing Cara down with just brute force, because it was clear Cara wasn't going to be any easier than Vitium had.

"There's martial arts and then there are Martial Arts." the Shi'ido hissed through a torn, fractured face leaking white, slimy blood messily in the arena as she rushed her.

Her snake style was beautiful, even in its savagery as it aimed for Cara's joints and neck, her speed massively amped in her rage state.

Most of these special Forces types stick with the obvious stuff. Stava. K'tara. The Amalgam rarely ran into one familiar with such an ancient technique, but Cara had surprised her so far...could she do it again?

 

[AMCO]

A battle of attrition, he could live with. He could feel the beginnings of weariness, but one did not become a Knight of the Sith by collecting bottle caps, and as poor as he was with the blade he had to be equally masterful with the Force.

More bravado, but the man was fast. The Smoke Knight shuddered at the impact, its form fraying further, the lightning around it only intensifying. Adrian would make the damn thing explode, if that's what it took to win - demons were the definition of expendable, after all.

Before he had the chance to implement such a strategy, however, Dorian flickered - one moment he was there, the next he stood before him. The Sorcerer's eyes did indeed widen, energy manifesting with the speed of thought to ward off the inevitable blow, though the flimsy barrier could only hope to slow the Force-empowered fist, not stop it.

Toppling to the ground, Adrian coughed violently, his gut aching - with a nearly instinctual flick of his wrists, he surged backwards, slender form dragged across the sleek stone by way of his own will. His eyes glowing a sullen orange, the Smoke Knights - the one still standing and the one bound to contain the gladiator's spear - faded further, even as the Knight waggled his fingers, pouring his resentment into a mental assault.

Everyone had regrets, failures, and losses - it was time to see how well his opponent would face his.

Dorian Sicarrio​

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

It was quite unexpected when The Amalgam engaged in her martial assault. Cara kept a low block but The Amalgam, much like a snake, was quick to uncoil her attacks. She felt the fists rocket against her torso, shoulders, and neck area. All the while she kept a squared footing to brace herself. The attack was rapid, and if she had attempted to block them all she would have failed.

Pressure points. After the first few fists Cara recognized their placement, the course which her attacker plotted for each strike. She was unfamiliar with the martial style The Amalgam utilized but the intent was universal. Several moments may have passed before the Shi'ido realized that beneath the armorweave of Cara's suit there was little to no give.

At this point in life pressure points were few and far between in the engineer's body, a fact she accepted with minor chagrin. Granted, she knew she had just received a sizable quantity of dents into her plates.

"There's martial arts then there are Martial Arts." The Amalgam seemed to taunt through slurred speech. Her style was beautiful, perhaps even flawless. Cara was pushed back, the stone grating beneath her boots as the force of the blows crashed against her.

"I agree." Cara managed to comment through the attack before breaking defense, swiping to backhand The Amalgam with a mechanized fist.

Of course, not everything had to be beautiful.

- - -​

Spoiler

Just for clarification, this is the surface of her cybernetics I drew up over a month ago.
I posted it to the Sith Discord as visual reference for the character.