Private White Phosphorus

[Penny Rasalas]

"Where the earth meets the sky, he hides from prying eye..." Penny mused allowed, for what could very well be the fiftieth time. Brow crinkled in intense thought as she stared into the desolate, hazardous wasteland in front of them. Intense enough to give the impression answering this riddle could be the difference between life and death. "That is literally the entire horizon. The earth meets the--have you met a more ambiguous species? Are they incapable of speaking plainly? Will their forked tongues fall out of their mouth if they try? How have they survived in this dust bowl for so long?!"

But there was no one to answer her. Zosma, her lone companion, was a kilometer behind jury rigging some repairs on their sputtering space-chariot. The small, seedy city they had almost crash-landed into offered some local bounties, yet the descriptions of the targets were vague and unhelpful, just like most of the natives she encountered. Penny made the mistake of asking what was on the menu at the cantina on the outskirts of the city. Even that turned into some kind of guessing game. Penny made an even greater mistake of ordering something without first trying to solve the riddle of what they were offering. Either her meal was sorely undercooked, or they had attempted to assassinate her with a land-lobster...beefy spider...armored dirt squid--she wasn't sure.

Her hunting and foraging skills were improving now though, so there was that.

It was alright. At the end of the day, this was what she wanted--needed. These challenges kept her busy. They kept her mind off of things she couldn't, and possibly never would, be able to comprehend or accept. They kept her focused on the present. Right now, the present called for her to hunt down a troublesome force user who called himself Jaster. That was about all she could decipher for sure.

In a time not too long ago, she might have cared who he was, or what he'd done. She might have been open to a fair discussion. A judgement, if you will, before bringing down the axe. Not anymore... If Penny had it her way, she would remove his head from his torso before he could distract her with words, and she could move on to the next vague target.

The single, massive, fiery red star that birthed life on this foreign planet whose name escaped her, was so domineering it took up a quarter of the sky. It burned cool enough not to bake them to a crisp, though. The nights were often treacherously cold, in fact. Vegetation, from what she had seen, was sparse and uninviting, if not hostile in itself.

Her eyes passed in squinty frustration over the jagged red and sandy-colored rock formations. This land would snap her ankles, if she wasn't careful. Then she let her gaze follow a curiously spiraled, rocky peak that loomed into the sky, rife with ledges and what might be caverns, if her eyes didn't deceive.

"...Ahhh......is that where you are, then?" A teeth-baring grin slowly spread, and she started in its direction, weaving and climbing through the labyrinth of badlands.

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

Jaster was camped out in a desolate cave on a desolate waste of a planet. He had crashed here around a week ago after a close encounter and subsequent escape from a couple Jedi on a nearby planet. Luckily, it seemed that he had managed to crash close to a town and so he had made his way there to try and find help with repairing the damage his ship had taken in the crash. Less luckily, he had been immediately greeted with the sight of his own face on the town’s local bounty board when he had walked in.

The snake tongued people that populated this rock had been quick to realize too. It had taken a lot of threatening and posturing to keep them from immediately calling someone to collect his head. For a while they had settled into an uneasy peace. He would travel back and forth between his crashed ship and the village while he tried to repair the damn thing, in exchange for not cutting their heads off or murdering their families.

It wasn’t until this morning when Jaster knew it wouldn’t last, not for much longer. The look in the locals' eyes had only grown more fearful each time he swung back to the village. Soon after Jaster had snapped and asked for directions to the next decrepit town with a spaceport. They had been more than happy to tell him. Not clearly of course, this species seems to fancy themselves as poets, but he was more than happy to be on his way and subsequently rid of them as well.

With no available speeder bikes to speak of, and his ship going nowhere, he had set off on foot. He headed back to his ship one last time to grab a pack of essentials before heading in the direction the locals pointed him. As he walked along a barely visible rocky trial he had plenty of time to think about how boring and annoying this was. Why did he always have to get stranded on the barely civilized planets? There was a tiny voice in the back of his head that whispered that at least he wasn’t being chased by all the factions in the galaxy out here but he ignored it.

He stopped and took cover in a cavern under a spiral rocky peak when the red star in the sky started to dim and the chill started to set in. He was currently sitting on top of a large boulder near the entrance to the cavern, contemplating his next move when a whisper graced his ears.

A hunter comes.

The force whispered the warning and Jaster immediately reacted. He couldn’t see anybody yet so he stayed still and concentrated, expanding his senses until they landed on something that felt just out of view. A force signature. He scowled, It seemed those damned Jedi had found him.

Wait.

Upon closer inspection, the signature felt different. While there had been two hunters after him before, now there was just one. And he didn’t feel the absence of a force presence that characterized Jedi shadows. This one was more open, untrained. They didn’t bother to hide their intentions in the force or were simply unable to keep them fully hidden from him. He dove a little deeper and could feel that they were hunting. And as for what, he could only assume that he was the target.

He couldn’t dive too deep into the hunter’s mind from this distance so he would have to wait until they were closer to discern their intentions. He flipped the hood up of his tattered black cloak to cover his tattooed face. If they were just some passerby, they didn’t need to die here today. But if they were foolish enough to try and hunt him...his Sith yellow eyes flashed in the darkness. Then they would be foolish indeed.

He walked further back into the cavern letting the shadows partially obscure him from view. He was not hiding, there was no reason for him to hide from anything. But the open mouth of the cavern would guarantee that he would see his hunter before they truly got to see him. He also withdrew his force signature as much as he could. He had never been the type who could fully hide it, so it still rolled around him, cracking with untapped power like a volcano on the verge of eruption, but it was no longer sweeping the wide area in front of the cavern.

He could wait. Let this stranger make the first move. Let’s see if they were really brave enough to try and kill him. If they thought they were coming upon easy prey, he couldn’t wait to surprise them.

Penny Rasalas​

 

[Penny Rasalas]

The distance was far enough that she hadn't bothered to search for any presence through the Force. Her reach could extend, but not to that length. There had never been a need for it anyway, but then, Penny wasn't being actively hunted like him. She could afford to relax a little. And perhaps, to an extent, she was a little more cocky than she wanted to admit. The only reason she spied the small, twisted looking mountain was because it was higher than the rest. She could get there before dark, but what came after, she didn't know.

Despite her inexperience with this exotic new planet, she moved with a fluid grace through the terrain. Small puffs of dust and skitters of creatures fleeing just out of sight accompanied her steady trek through the rocky, desert sea. If the journey was taxing or worrisome, it didn't show in her pace.

By the time she arrived at the base, she was coated in a fine layer of red and gold dust, with darker smudges on her pants and hands. The brown and beige cloth she wore now vaguely glittering. Thin streaks of red traced beads of sweat along her hairline and down her neck. She took a small break to peer up at the spiraling, tiered ledges and tunnels that made up the curious structure. Never before had she seen stone in such a shape. Smooth and fluid looking in some places, but rough and sharp in others. It was as if it had been sanded into some purposeful design, like an elaborate, artistic monument the size of...well, a mountain.

"Even their rocks are like riddles." Penny deadpanned with a quiet murmur to herself. Hands on her hips, she took a deep breath and traced the easiest looking paths up the stone. Through the stone, in some places. That's when she felt it. The small, but clear prickle through the Force of him. His energy. Like a zap of electricity. It was a sharp, intrusive sensation that made her stiffen. And then it was gone. Darting in and out like a stinging insect.

It was the first time she'd felt anything quite like it. Her mother had been a Jedi Master. She was no stranger to the Force. She'd been training since she was old enough to walk. It came natural to her. She had met other Force users as well...but not one with such... She didn't know how to describe it, other than raw hostility, and power.

Penny was quiet. The hand on her hip shifted idly to the hilt of her lightsaber almost instinctively. She listened, and searched, but couldn't trace his signature. He had been but an intense flicker on her radar. At least now she knew for sure she had chosen the right direction.

Sparing a quick glance to the sinking behemoth of fiery light in the sky, she hopped up to the first ledge. Moving with the same purpose and agility, but with a more focused mind, and heightened senses. Like him, she concealed her presence now. He would certainly know she arrived, but her exact location was muted.

((Pausing here just in case you had plans to do something. If he's just going to keep waiting though, it's fine. ^^ You let me know.))

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

Jaster stiffened when he felt the hunter’s force signature fade away. They were cloaking themselves. Had he been wrong? Was this a Jedi after all? If they had been trained enough to do this they must have some allegiance to either the Sith or Jedi.

As curious as he was, it wouldn’t matter. They were still only one.

He did not move from his spot. He could no longer locate the hunter now that they had withdrawn their own signature, but he did not allow that to unbalance him. He could always cast out his senses again but he did not want to give up his own location so easily. He would wait. And while he did he would give them one last chance. He allowed some dark aura to seep out, it wasn’t specifically targeted anywhere but it filled the front of the cave like an invisible cloud. As soon as they neared his hiding space they would feel his power, rage, and madness. This time he was not using this ability to attack but to warn.

The air pressure surrounding his hiding spot seemed to drop akin to a coming storm and if they knew what was good for them they would take the warning and run.

Penny Rasalas​

((You’re good! He’s not going to make the first move so come on up. ^^ Also, let me know if you don’t like how I’m writing the powers. I’m trying to make him seem strong but not op. Of course you can always react however you want as well, I’m not trying to dictate anything either haha. ))

 

[Penny Rasalas]

Jaster would wait long enough for the sinking red giant to cast a deep crimson glow through the atmosphere. Light bathing the landscape with sharp angles as the shadows slowly lengthened. A smooth, broad ledge jutted out before the gaping cavern that provided him shelter, with plenty of space to move freely, but a steep, bone-crunching drop awaited anyone who slipped over its edge.

When she arrived, she was a silent silhouette drifting over the glimmering stone. Steps unnaturally quiet and presence cloaked, like a ghostly assassin. This was no Jedi Master, but it was clear she received formal training in the Force, and her skills in the rogue arts were refined. That might explain her confidence in trekking out there alone...or maybe it had merely been less of a choice, and more of a necessity, that she honed such talents.

The silhouette faced the shadows within, now more easily illuminated by the sunset, but it wouldn't last. The bath of light behind her ignited her messy up-do into a smoldering halo. Whether he could see the details of her face or not from his position, several meters away, there was little to discern. She peered stoically in his direction, though he was still difficult to see as well.

He knew nothing of her habits or motives, but under normal circumstances, she would have struck before he could lay eyes on her. An infinitesimal flicker of panic or shock, and then he would be one with the Force once more, without explanation. That wouldn't work on him though, and she knew. The dark aura infecting the entrance like an invisible net was plenty foreboding. A passive miasma that may become reactive, if she tested it. She'd never encountered the trick before, but she gave it the space it demanded. For now.

From the outside, she seemed lost in thought. Weighing the benefits versus risks of this encounter. Maybe even second-guessing her decision to come out here at all. Meanwhile, her eyes traveled slowly through what she could see and sense of the cavern, and the defensive entity within. Eventually, they would settle on the dim humanoid shape within, and find yellowish eyes glinting with an unwelcoming light.

A Sith.

Not what she expected. Not something she had encountered before. Certainly not what was expressed in the bounty she was given. But she was not ignorant to their kind. She knew she would need to reassess her strategy before she even found him, but now that she was here... This was going to be an interesting evening.

"A proper host would have invited me in for tea already. This must be why you don't have any friends." Her voice echoed to him through the cavern, with a surprisingly unconcerned tone. One that he might find insulting, in a sense. But then...it didn't take much to insult a Sith, did it? Volatile little fiends, they were. Egos that were almost as fragile as they were massive, if she said so herself. But Penny had never been named a peacekeeper... The pause, the mockery, it wasn't necessarily a result of fear or doubt. She was recalibrating everything.

((It's okay. He's a Sith, so he's allowed to have badass Sith powers. But same... I'm sorta testing the waters with her abilities, so let me know if something seems off or nonsensical.))

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

He bared his teeth in a silent snarl. For some unknown nobody to insult him so brazenly, there had been a time when he had killed for much less than that. But no, not today. He was not a slave to his anger as he once had been. He would not let the words she spat affect him so easily.

“Oh? And are you a guest then?” Composing himself he responded with a question instead, matching her unconcerned tone. He peered at her from the darkness, yellow eyes searching, judging, but giving no indication of how he felt about what he was seeing.

The hunter who greeted him was not what he was expecting. A young woman seemingly of human descent with obvious training. Training in the force, and Jaster’s eyes did not miss how her hand closed around the hilt of a lightsaber. However, she lacked the common signs that would have signaled her as one of the Jedi shadows. She was strong and trained, but also somewhat unpolished. Seemingly lacking the iron tight control over her emotions and powers that the Jedi had. Because if his eyes did not deceive him, for half a second she had seemed caught off guard. As if she hadn’t been expecting to see him.

She recovered well, but no shadow that would come after him would react like that.

Force powers, a lightsaber, and raw untapped potential. She was a mystery. One he might’ve been interested in unraveling if he still went by Darth, or if she wasn’t likely here to kill him. He moved forward out of the shadows until he could see her more clearly, revealing himself in the process. While he was still wearing a hood, the tattoos on the left side of his face were now visible, a stark contrast to his pale skin and yellow eyes. Only matching the equally dark and tattered clothing that he was wearing.

“Well.” He repeated. “Are you here as a guest, or as something different?”

The air around him crackled in punctuation as he spoke the last couple words. His double bladed lightsaber snapped off his waist and into his hand with a minuscule flick of the force. It was not ignited, but the black handle gleamed a vicious red in the light of the setting star.

Penny Rasalas​

 

[Penny Rasalas]

There it was, the reaction she expected. A snarl, a look that could kill--wanted to kill, even...and then it was gone. Anger doused by willpower alone. Penny studied him with rapt attention, and it showed. At least in the severity of her gaze, now that he was looming closer. It wasn't just out of wariness either, but pure curiosity as well. No, she was not ignorant to dark Force users, or even the Sith, but this was still a new experience, and she sensed she could learn much from it.

Hopefully, she wouldn't be learning the hard way, though she couldn't tell what was in store. Couldn't gauge what the conclusion of their inevitable dance would be. That could very well be because it wasn't necessarily inevitable, despite what she believed. He was reluctant to engage. Not the aggressor by any means, even after she approached him so boldly. Something she found to be interesting, considering the energies he chose to immerse himself in. She half-expected him to launch an assault the moment she showed her face.

Either he was just as patient and calculating as she was, or a fight wasn't in his best interest.

"No..." She answered him plainly, after a thoughtful pause. "I imagine I'm no more a guest in your little cave than you are a guest on this planet. Hiding out in a cave, in no-man's land... You're aware of the bounty on your head, aren't you?" It was less of a question than a statement. Still, she did not move from her position. Choosing instead to inspect the sharply designed tattoos on his face as he crept into the light's reach. They appeared as menacing and intense as the landscape itself.

"But you don't want to fight." She murmured, almost to herself. Blue eyes squinting as she continued to scrutinize him. As she did, she let down her own guard to a small degree. Just enough to give him a clearer picture of her own chaotic energy. It paled in comparison to his, but it was like an insidious, slow-growing infection that was left to fester beneath the surface, and unconsciously influence her actions and perceptions. Rage and pain, at its core. The raw ingredients he was no stranger to.

"Why... Are you afraid of me?" She asked with an irritating tone of innocence, as if she truly didn't know. In truth, it was another cheeky jab at his ego. Meanwhile, she stole quick, vigilant glances to the longer than average lightsaber in his grip. A double-sided blade, was it? Oh... Her own remained lifeless in her palm. Ready, but silent, like his own.

Still, she did not move. Not even a tentative step forward. Her senses warned her not to enter the cave, at least for now. Not to play on his terms. Her feet, in fact, were planted firmly to the stone through the Force, just in case he tried to upend her with a Force push and send her sailing into he setting sun. She might survive that fall, if she could brace for impact...but then she would have to restart the long journey up that stupid fancy rock again to exact vengeance, and that would just be tedious. She had sweat enough today, and it would be getting cold soon.

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

As he got a closer look, her energies continued to intrigue him. It was muted, but he could still sense it. There was rage, and pain, and potential. No, she was not a real Jedi after all. He could feel that, with a little push, she could become something so much greater than that. It was a strangely nostalgic feeling, from a time when he had been surrounded by those on the verge of falling. It had been a true pleasure to guide them into the dark.

Though the thought was tempting, the next words that came from her mouth thoroughly squashed the idea. He was biting back another surge of anger because of her irritating tone and snide comments. However unlike last time, he couldn’t swallow it fully. This time it still lingered, simmering just below the surface.

He was no longer a Sith master, and he had no need for an apprentice. Especially one who was currently here to take his head. One more quip and he wouldn’t hold back any longer.

It was apparent that it was time to kick out his unwelcome visitor. She was too far from the dark aura trap he had laid, and he was too far from her to get a clean strike in. He needed to close the distance or bait her into him. But he didn’t want to give her any more time to think.

“Oh, I’m not the one who should be afraid.” He said in a deceptively calm tone. He slowly moved forward as he spoke. “You’re the one who seems to be a little lost.” Another step forward. “And I don’t just mean out here.”

Two could play at her game. Time to see how much control she really had.

“What are you? A Jedi? I can tell you’ve had training. But it seems whoever trained you didn’t do a very good job.” He mocked his eyes gleaming with barely concealed ferocity.

Another step forward.

“You’re obviously...lacking. What happened to your master? Did they die before they could finish the job? Or maybe they left because they could sense the same things I do.”

He took one more step closer, a feral grin slowly spreading across his face.

“You would be a disappointment to the Jedi. Too volatile. I can sense the hatred, the rage, that you carry. You’re only a half step away from falling.”

He was lying. She had only barely touched the dark, but he hoped she wouldn’t know that. He was more or less throwing darts blindly and hoping one would land on the board. He didn’t know this girl well enough to really push her. He didn’t know her at all. But if she didn’t fall for his trap he would simply be close enough to strike anyway. And then another thought occurred to him. He had been focusing on the who and why she was here, that he had forgotten to consider the how.

This unwelcome visitor might actually prove to be useful.

“Tell me, where is your ship?”

With that the double bladed lightsaber ignited. As red, eerie, and infinitely more vicious than the color of the sky. Well, he doubted she would give up its location willingly, so he would just have to take it from her. If she lived or died in the process, that was all up to her. Only a couple more steps.

Penny Rasalas

 

[Penny Rasalas]

(( Time to get SPICY \(°□°)/ ))​

'...it seems whoever trained you didn't do a good job...'

'You're obviously...lacking...'

'You would be a disappointment... Too volatile...'

'...half step away from falling...'

The Sith drew closer and his words grew venomous. She did not miss the correlation. It took a couple tries, but she ruffled his pride. He didn't immediately jump to retaliate though. He danced to her tune, and responded with his own manipulative jabs.

It was difficult to tell on the surface how precise and potent his venom was, as her expression never hinted to anything beyond keen observation. In truth, he struck a chord somewhere. It might have been deeper, but she had never been affiliated with the Jedi, like her mother was. She simply used the Force as a tool. Well...that was the long and short of it, but she certainly wasn't entirely unbiased. The Sith were instilled as enemy number one, for as long as she could remember, and that meant the Imperials as well, by association.

But her mother was gone now. Everything was gone. Penny didn't always have the luxury of letting sound morals guide her anymore. Sometimes...Penny just needed to survive, and the rest was an afterthought.

"I would be a disappointment to the Jedi." She confessed after a pause, voice dropping an octave. "But that's alright... The Jedi disappoint me, too." They played in indirect role in the death of her parent's, after all. An interesting development, but she wasn't a straightforward read. Not unless he put real effort into splitting her mind apart, but that wouldn't be an imperceptible, or gentle, undertaking.

"I think the difference between us, in that sense, is that I never strived to be something I'm not. Whereas you..." Her eyes traced over him in assessment, "have been discarded by your own allies and pawns. Usurped by someone...stronger? Someone worthy of what the dark side--" fingers wiggled in the air in mock fear, "has to offer."

"Am I right?" She matched him, the pale golden light of her saber coming to life with a hum. "Or is there another reason you're hiding in a cave like vermin?"

There was no turning back now. Provoking a Sith was almost guaranteed to invite chaos in its purest form. Penny knew what she was doing, and she knew it was...a little bit insane. There were reasons for her daring antics. Excuses, her mother would say, as she violently rolled over in her grave. Penny wanted him out. He wanted her in. Though it seemed she wanted him to strike first, she wasn't intending to wait for the first move. She was intending for distraction, by more than one source.

Snarky provocation, the ignite of her light saber, and now--

The mouth of the cave above him all but exploded with a deafening shock wave. The Force user never moved, though her focus on him did wane before the invisible bomb detonated. Shatterpoint, an innate skill she had perfected over many years. She scouted the structure of the cave, tendrils of energy seeking out and pouring into the weakest, most unstable parts of rock, and blasted it. Normally such a feat required her to lose concentration of everything else in her environment, but she was able to keep him somewhat in her spotlight when she finally made her move, only because she had been slowly mapping it while they bantered. She would have used it on him, or his weapon, but she feared he would sense exactly what she was doing, and so she stuck to the inanimate.

She wasn't arrogant enough to think he would die so easily. This man was an outcast with an unknown history, but she imagined he had survived assaults worse than that. He was still a Sith, at the end of the day. That spoke volumes alone. Ones she did not wish to read.

Whether he evaded the bulk of the dense shrapnel or not, she was ready for a second, and third attack. Poised to use the organic ammo she had broken free to assail him, or smash into his way should he come for her, and her light saber was prepared to defend.

She never did answer his question about her ship. Maybe he would get to discover for himself...

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

((haha nice music choice! ^^ and uh oh, you made him MAD))​

Her next words showed that he had struck a chord and he grinned victoriously, but then it became apparent that he had missed the mark. Well, that was to be expected. He had been lucky to even get close without using something like drain knowledge. He would take what he could get. He was contemplating his next move when she continued talking.

...strived to be something you're not…

discarded...

Usurped by someone stronger...someone worthy…

Like vermin.

The pressure around him dropped as the words rang in his ears. In an instant all of his internalized anger flared up, consuming him completely. There was nothing but his rage around him, it felt like his bones were shaking from the power of it. He barely noticed the golden glow of her lightsaber ignite. His rage was all encompassing. He wanted nothing except for her dead.

His face contorted into a vicious snarl, his eyes burned red. His voice was deep and guttural when he spoke.

“Why you…”

He didn’t even have time to finish the sentence as the mouth of the cave exploded and he was suddenly engulfed in a hail of debris. He leapt back, using his lightsaber to cleave through any falling rock that got close. Because he was caught off guard a stray rock smashed into his shoulder, cutting open his sleeve and the skin underneath. The only indication of pain he gave was a small grunt but he abruptly switched tactics as the volume of debris became too much.

Extending his free hand above his head, he dug deep and used stasis to halt the falling rubble. In an impressive display of strength the surrounding rocks around him all froze midair until he exhaled and force pushed them aside. They crashed into the cave walls around him, some of them smashing into dust at the power of his push.

A small trickle of blood dripped down his arm under his sleeve. She was dead. No more games.

As the last few rocks came crashing down from the ceiling he gathered his power. His rage which was radiating around him in bursts suddenly drew inward. It sharpened and condensed, layering over itself until he had some control over it. Focused rage. He didn’t feel the small pain on his shoulder anymore. All he could see, hear, smell, feel, was his target.

His yellow eyes met hers over the piles of shattered stone. He raised his right arm and snapped his fingers, a short bolt of force lightning streaked towards her. And then without waiting he was moving forward, the force and anger boosting his speed. He leapt towards her with his lightsaber raised in both hands as if to strike, but at the last second he spun it around and shifted hands. One holding his lightsaber and the other raised to strike. Another bolt of lightning arced out his outstretched hand towards her. And the red of his lightsaber blade, ready to strike, followed soon after.

Penny Rasalas

 

[Penny Rasalas]

The boulders and jagged rubble that would have instantly pulverized anyone who wasn't skilled in the Force multiplied, sliced and fragmented by the blurs of red blades as the Sith reacted. He was quick. Not quick enough to evade everything that shot at him, just as she hoped, but much quicker than she was banking on. Penny would have preferred he suffered a more debilitating injury than he did, because now the element of surprise had passed, and his temper was violently pushed over the edge.

She made a gesture he would never see, blinded by the flailing, disintegrating cave, but the next intended attack became irrelevant in an instant. For a moment, time appeared to freeze as the fragments, large and small, suspended in the air around him. Then they smashed back into the walls of the cave, as if time curiously reversed. Sending another sharp shock wave reverberating through hollow cavern at his back, and the small mountain itself.

A shock wave that was echoed after a brief delay, from a separate source deep within the rock formation. Distant, and muffled...its magnitude of power was misleading, if noticed at all.. Penny, for one, was too focused on the immediate threat before her to pay attention to such a small detail. If they sparred for too long, the inevitable consequences would impossible to overlook. ((Dun dun DUN!))

She sensed the chaotic energy emanating from him in angry lashes. They surfaced in an uncontrolled eruption, and then furled inward, creating an ominous void in their absence. Something that felt as if it wanted to suck the very lifeforce of everything around it with its own retreat, and weaponize it into insatiable, hate-filled energy. It was fast, electrifying and abrasive, and then gone in a blink.

Penny found it fascinating.

As the saying goes... Play with fire, and you're bound to get burned. She had a small library of metaphorical burn scars. A testament to her persistent and daring nature. But she was about to finally discover the perils of challenging a malevolent Force user who'd weathered perhaps far more than she had, in her shorter life.

The cold wrath he promised with his gaze was met with a determined, if not excited one of her own. Part of her could sense the possible disparity in their skills, though she couldn't know for sure. It didn't sway her. There was more than one reason she chose to initiate this hostile chess game. It wasn't just because she needed his bounty to finish fixing her ship and beef up her credits. That was true enough, but she was also just...angry. An angry soul with a turbulent nature that was looking for a fight, moulded by the recent catastrophe of her home planet. The truth was nebulous to her, but Penny just craved the destruction. Potentially at the price of her own.

The streak of lightning that came for her was about the last thing she expected though, and it showed in the smallest flicker of surprise, right before it hit. Having never faced a Sith before, she was unprepared. The parry she made with her lightsaber was instinctive and impromptu. It successfully prevented the raw energy from striking her, but its effect was still unnerving. The pale gold blade blazed as if strained, or amplified, until the electricity dispersed. The feet that had planted so firmly stone, skid backwards in a clumsy shuffle.

There was no time for awe. He followed the bolt with an impending lash of his own saber, and Penny braced to counter it, only for another vibrant blast of light to flash from his hand in his feigned strike. Gold and red ignited into sparking magna at the collision of their sabers, but it left her open for the second assaulting bolt. If the first one hadn't caught her off guard so effectively, she would have sought to evade entirely, and reposition behind him.

Instead, white hot pain seized her nerves. Penny didn't hear the scream she let out, and it took a couple seconds for her to reopen her eyes and discover she was no longer touching the rock at all. She soared backwards into space, thrust off the ledge by its sheer power.

It wasn't panic she felt. There truly wasn't time to feel anything. She simply reacted. A hand outstretched, seemingly in vain, but Jaster would likely sense the massive chunk of rock lift and hurl towards him like an asteroid. Its aim wasn't perfect, but its size alone promised him a fate similar to hers if he didn't move. But it wasn't meant for him...

Unless he found a way to atomize the thing, it would follow Penny in a wide arch into the air. Its weight would pull it down steeply to the earth below, but not before the girl could use it as a springboard to launch herself back towards the ledge. Not a move she had planned by any means, it was just intuitive. This left her open for another attack as she came down on him, but she didn't wait. While still airborne, she aimed both open palms at the Sith, throwing a Force push into him. Whether it knocked him off balance or not, as long as it bought her time for a clean landing, she got what she needed. If it worked, she'd waste no time sliding into him with a upward arch of her light saber. Intending to split his face in two with an angry clench of teeth.

((Heavens to Betsy, that was a bit longer than expected!))

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

Elated, he watched her scream, stumble, and then fall off the cliff as his bolt hit her. He ran forward towards the edge as she soared backwards and peered over. He didn’t have time to spot anything as his instincts screamed at him to move. Knowing better than to ignore them he threw himself into a dive roll to the side and dodged without looking. He looked up just in time to see a large rock go flying past where he had been standing, disappearing over the ledge just like the hunter. He crouched still for a half a second in slight disbelief before peeking over the edge again.

This time the surprise came from below as the young woman used the falling rock as a springboard and launched herself back up towards him. His lightsaber was up and ready to block an incoming swing but she drew back both arms and threw out a force push instead.

There was no way to dodge so he went flying back. It was not enough to knock him off balance, but he slid back away from her, giving her a clean opportunity to land. He remained up on his feet, a shower of dirt and sand kicked up as he dug his heels in to slow himself down. Giving him no additional time to recover, she leapt forward and swung her lightsaber at him in an upwards blow.

He blocked her strike and immediately went to go on the offensive. Defensive duels were not his forte. He had always favored ataru and other offensive forms so he pushed forward with relentless aggression. He made a feint, blocked, parried, and struck, testing the range of his opponent’s capabilities. Force powers forgotten for the moment, they exchanged a round of blows, red and gold clashing repeatedly.

His movements were hard to predict. He made good use of the space around him for large acrobatic movements and tried to strike from unexpected angles. He was well aware that both sides of his lightsaber were a weapon, and he used it to the fullest, switching which side he would attack from seemingly at random in order to throw her off. Most importantly, when he fought he used his whole body. He waited until there was a lull in the fight, until she got used to the rhythm, then he suddenly dropped low and threw out a kick, aiming to sweep out her legs from under her. If she went down, his lightsaber would soon follow in an attempt to cleave her in two.

Penny Rasalas

((When they're both too busy to pay attention to inevitable consequences … uh oh))

 

[Penny Rasalas]

The push was enough to skid him through the dust, but not grant her the opening to land a blow with her saber. It didn't come as a surprise, but it did add to her frustration. Irony at its finest, because if she had managed to bisect the Sith's face, part of her would have been very disappointed. His end would flush the kerosene to her flames away with him, and then she'd be left with the kilometers of dreary and uninteresting desert again. Penny wanted to win, sure...but she also wanted the fight.

The blurs of red and gold matched one another in their speed and ferocity. He would quickly realize he wasn't the only one who favored Ataru. It made for an interesting duel, as they clashed in a whirlwind of hums and angry zaps, each opting for aggressive tactics over defensive. She blocked or parried when necessary, but preferred to dodge and glance his strikes if possible. His physical strength exceeded her own, and she sought to use that against him by letting him expend his energy on the air, rather than her. Continuously looking for little mistakes or an overextension for her to take advantage with a quick slash of her own blade. When she did weather a direct hit, she'd grunt with a clench of teeth as the impact would percuss through her very bones.

Their dance was unrelenting, but it was only a matter of time before one of them made a fatal slip from fatigue. Though there was no conscious thought on the matter, too engrossed in the fight itself, the Force user made enough unconscious calculations to sense she was out of her league in a long-term battle. The last time she had sparred with a proper duelist like him was on her home planet, and none of them had fought with the ferocity and creativity that he did.

Eventually, he regained the upper-hand when he dropped and swiped her legs out from under her. She didn't have a chance to roll to a safe distance, as his saber came down for a cleave. Penny blocked it with her saber, but there was no way to redirect just yet. The crisscrossing shafts of light illuminated the streaks of grit and beads of sweat speckling her face. Her breathing was fast and labored, and her arms shook lightly in the sustained tension.

In a fleeting moment, her eyes met his. Something snapped under the strain, and her own energy billowed in a wave of rage and defiance. She refused to die here. Refused to let some infuriating, backwoods city end her with their unforgivingly vague, bullshit of a bounty. There was too much she needed to do before her dismembered corpse could litter some forgotten rock in the ass-crack of this desert.

The red blade sank closer to her as she relaxed her muscles slightly. Close enough to feel the effects through her sweat and dust-stained shirt, but it was worth the pain. The fabric itself began to discolor as it singed, and inevitably burned away. The skin beneath it flushed red, and would blister in time. With a flash of bared teeth, Jaster would feel the Force turn against his person. A surge of raw hostility ignited like his own Force lightning, though there was nothing to see. It penetrated his chest like a electric vice, skittering around his own heart, as if it intended to compress it into stillness.

It wouldn't succeed. She was nothing close to a Sith Lord. He had his own power to counteract such an an assault, as well. But it would be alarming in its intrusiveness.

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

She was a lot more trained than he thought, and even favored ataru as well. He could see it in her eyes that she was looking for an opportunity to strike but her skills were not quite up to the task, and Jaster continuously kept her on the back foot with tireless chains of attacks. Again, he wondered at her story. She was as well trained as a Jedi knight, but he recalled her saying that the Jedi disappointed her. So she was definitely not affiliated with them.

Not that it mattered. She was going to die soon anyway.

A small smile tugged at his lips. She had held out longer than he expected, but she was fatiguing. He threw out the leg sweep and knocked her down, not wasting a second as he threw the final downward slash. She caught it, desperate to hold back the burning edge of his lightsaber. But she couldn’t hold out for long.

Slowly, he pressed down, using his greater strength to push the lightsaber towards home. His face twisted into a mocking grin as the red blade singed her flesh, but suddenly, he was surrounded by a sensation that he had never felt before. His heart skipped a beat as a feeling akin to force lightning danced up his skin. That was all of the warning he got before a sudden pressure on his chest had him gasping.

No not on, in. The pain had him stopped. It felt like someone was trying to squeeze his heart into dust. What was happening? He looked down and the fury in her eyes told him that she was the one behind this. He leapt back, abandoning the easy kill in favor of trying to get out of the range of whatever this was. To a relief that didn’t show on his face, the instant he got away from her the pain around his heart eased.

However, he stayed back. He didn’t know what that ability was, but he was not eager to see if she could do it again. It did not feel like the power of the light side. His eyes searched her panting form, reassessing her power and balance. If she had access to darker abilities, he needed to be more cautious. Their fight was not over, he still had no doubt that he would be victorious, but he would not risk another surprise like that again.

“What ability was that?” He asked, his tone akin to a snarl. He stayed back from her for now, allowing her to get up if she chose to. But he paced around the edge of her range, restless and angry at having been caught off guard like that. His eyes never left her form, weary, but already planning his next move.

Penny Rasalas

 

[Penny Rasalas]

The red blade swiped away, but its searing essence remained. A stripe of baked flesh marred her abdomen in its wake, raw and oozing from the intense heat. If she survived this encounter, she would be able to heal it through the Force alone, but there was no time now. Perhaps there never would be, at the rate things were spiraling out of control.

Penny only knew the half of it yet.

As soon as the pressure he exerted released, she breathed a ragged sigh. The muscles in her arms burned almost as much as that lightsaber kiss. She wasted no time flipping back onto her feet, but her movements were noticeably slower than before. The Sith paced around her. Eager for another barrage of strikes, she could tell. Like some feral beast searching for a way through its cage, only there was no physical barrier in his way. Only the mental barrier of fear, she assumed.

'What ability was that?' He asked, and the rumbling they both missed earlier became more prominent, and rhythmic. This time, she heard it, but she was too distracted to sense where it was coming from.

She returned the mocking grin he gave her with one of her own. The only response he was initially given. The aggression continued to diffuse around her. She was angry at more than just him, whether or not it was clear. The thought of her own failure and anticlimactic, premature death was the ultimate catalyst for her own rage. His fate was much less important to her. She was no Jedi, after all. Though she loathed and distrusted his kind, regarding them as a corrupting plague spreading their filth throughout the galaxy, she was not a hunter of the Sith.

Between the heavy pants, she spat on the ground in an attempt to clear the dust from her drying mouth, and shook the stringy hairs out of her eyes. "What ability?" Mirroring his question with a terse laugh, she reveled in his wariness. "I call it... Fuck You. Now hold still..." The gold blade whirred in a quick, antagonizing spin that matched his own restlessness. The truth was, she didn't know. It wasn't something she had ever done before, let alone imagined she could do. It was as if the Force came alive with its own will and acted through her, fueled by her vicious determination. There were consequences, however. Ones that mounted upon the fatigue she was already experiencing from physical exertion.

Before she could make her next move, or counter his, her eyes suddenly darted above his head. Freezing as the rhythmic rumbling ceased. The look of contention melted, her face falling curiously blank. Little thwacks and knocks rang through the mountainside, and Jaster would notice rocks of various sizes raining down around him. Most of them too small to cause him serious harm, but they were obviously disturbed by something larger than them both.

"You don't have a pet...do you...?" She asked in a much quieter tone, utterly still.

When he looked up, he would find the source of her concern, spreading itself with little effort over the sharp rockface above the mouth of the cavern. Some form of grotesque, tentacled creature with armored appendages that slithered around the rough surfaces with ease, ending in talon grips that assisted in clinging to its terrain as well as striking unsuspecting prey from camouflaged spaces and shadows. It hesitated, peering down at the ruckus they made with its rows of black eyes. Then, a clawed tentacle slipped into position, and thrust down on Jaster. Aiming to snag him in its impaling grip, and coiling him back up.

((For scale, imagine one of his arms is the size of one of those talons on the end of a tentacle.))

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

((Thanks, I hate it. xD))

A rumbling noise echoed through the cave but he ignored it in favor of keeping his eyes on her. Anger and frustration clouded her aura, and she was obviously fatigued. It seemed that the only thing that wasn’t tired was her mouth. Her snappiness truly knew no bounds. Despite how annoying her answer was, it helped dissipate some of his weariness. Whatever that ability was, it didn’t look like she could do it again anytime soon. He figured that if she could, she already would have.

She seemed determined to soldier on and he prepared himself to meet her strike head on, planning on using a force pull to unbalance her when she leapt in. A sudden noise from above had them both freezing. Small rocks and pebbles rained down upon them as her eyes drifted upward. He frowned. What was so important that she would take her eyes off her opponent in a fight? It was almost insulting, he could strike her down right now. But as the rocks and dirt continued to rain down from above him, against his better judgement, he too glanced upwards.

Small rocks pelted his face and he had to blink to clear the dirt from his eyes. As his vision cleared his eyes were met with a horror. There was something above them. And no, it was definitely not his pet.

His eyes widened further in horrid surprise as he fully took in the creature in front of them. It had to be the ugliest thing he had ever seen. Yellow eyes met a row of beady black ones, peering back at him from the mouth of the cave. How...how had he missed that? It looked like it came crawling out of the rock face itself, its jagged claws puncturing the rock in order to grip and it’s long tentacles gave it plenty of range to pull itself around, or grab at unsuspecting creatures. The red star in the sky was getting so low that the cave had become dimmer over the short time of their fight. That was why it took Jaster a second longer to realize how massive it was.

As if it could sense Jaster’s gaze upon it, it pulled a talon tipped tentacle back and then thrust it down towards him much faster than he expected. It was pure reaction speed that saved him as he quickly dodged and sliced at the talon bearing down on him. The red lightsaber cut into its flesh, slicing off a talon, and it immediately withdrew. The main appendage remained attached but that should have at least hurt it...right? It drew back its tentacle and examined the missing finger, clicking the remaining talons on its hand together experimentally as if to make sure they still worked. They did. Then it turned and levelled him with a beady eyed glare. There was a beat of silence before it reared back, and then there was a horrible scream.

The walls of the cavern shook violently from the volume of it, causing any remaining loose rocks on the ceiling to come crashing down. Jaster had to fight the urge to curl up on the ground and cover his ears so that he could remain upright as the piercing screech echoed all around them. It seemed all he had done was enrage it. Three tentacles detached from the rock and began furiously trying to grab onto either of them. He slashed at any talon that got close to him, but there was too much going on. Debris continued to fall from the ceiling, he was defending himself against a constant barrage of attacks from any direction, and there was nowhere to move. As he would dodge one tentacle, another simply came clawing at him. His back hit a wall and he just barely managed to avoid being impaled by using stasis and rolling away.

He had an awful feeling that this enclosed space was going to get him killed. The creature controlled all of the space around them and there was nowhere to maneuver that could escape its sheer size. He needed to get out of this cave, NOW.

He desperately looked around and realized in dawning horror, that it was blocking the mouth of the cave. He threw a glance behind him, maybe he could escape it deeper in? Shit, but he could also just be heading deeper into its territory. His momentary distraction cost him as the creature detached another tentacle and attacked from behind. He tried to throw himself out of the way but was too slow to avoid the full attack. A claw caught his side, tearing through the fabric and leaving a deep gash across the skin. The force of the attack spun him around and he fell, his back colliding painfully with the floor.

The fall knocked both his lightsaber out of his hand and the wind out of him and he was left gasping and momentarily defenseless. The monster wasted no time and reached down to finally grab him. Jaster threw up both hands as the tentacle approached, and mustered all the rage and anger that he could. He was not going to die to some ugly monster on a stupid backwater planet because of some karking, nobody bounty hunter. Lighting arched out of his outstretched fingertips, the entire cave lit up from the white hot light, and the crackling sound of it was loud enough to cover up the rumbling of the cave for the moment. His anger amplified the power of the attack and it hit like a furious storm. Even as the beast tried to withdraw Jaster did not let up until its tentacle was completely burnt and blackened.

He scrambled to his feet as the creature finally seemed to take a hit that mattered and ceased attacking for a moment. It pressed itself up on the rock face and remained there, its smoking tentacle dangling in the air, useless. Jaster wanted to feel triumphant but the gash over his ribs ached and that last attack had left him significantly more drained than he had been moments ago. He wouldn’t be able to do that five more times.

There was no time for thinking, he doubted the creature was finished. The only way out was forward so either he would have to defeat it or make a lucky break to get past. Damn it. He might’ve bought some time, but Its sheer size and aggression made the latter option seem near impossible. But he probably couldn’t defeat it alone either. His eyes caught sight of the girl, who had been fighting desperately back against the assault like he was. He growled, irrationally angry at the choice he had to make, but he would not be dying here. He sped towards the girl, and skidded to a halt next to her.

“We need to get out of here.” He snapped. “And it looks like the only way out is through this thing, so you’re going to help."

((Wow this reply got much longer than I expected. ^^' ))

Penny Rasalas

 

[Penny Rasalas]

(( Ha ha yes me too D: ))

There was no shortage of expletives racing through her head when she took in the full scale of their uninvited player number three. Its size was monumental. Its appendages were...more than she wanted to contend with, even on a good day. The only blessing, small as it was, came when it decided to make a grab for the Sith first. Looking as if the very rocks itself came to life in a fluid motion, as it tried to trap him in its a crushing grip.

Good? Bad? She didn't have the faintest clue whether this abomination was going to work for or against her. If it managed to kill the Sith, she would be out of a bounty, unless she somehow claimed ownership of his head before it was eaten. If it didn't kill the Sith, she might very well die, caught between the dual onslaught. Unless she fled...now.

She could do it. There was time. A small window opening, as the creature shrieked loudly enough to nearly bleed their ears, and began its retaliation against the loss of its talon, when the Sith slashed back with his saber. Surely it wouldn't abandon him just to race after her.

She didn't. Her arms ached, her legs shook slightly, her stomach felt as if it was on fire, but she she found herself lurching yet again towards chaos and destruction, rather than away. It was almost as if she had a death wish. Or maybe just something to prove...but to who?

Switching tactics, she cast aside her love and instinct for Ataru, and dug into defense. One wrong move, and a flail or smash by one of those tentacles could easily knock her unconscious, if not impale her. Patches of its thick hide and claws were shorn away, piece by piece, as she narrowly avoided both direct attacks by the creature, as well as its clumsy, rabid movements chasing after the Sith. The cavern shook with each jarring shift and strike, weaponizing projectile rocks along the way. Dodging and tumbling and leaping around tentacles and debris became just as critical as slicing away at the thing itself. It kept them in a perpetual dance that was easily more draining than their previous duel. Penny didn't attempt to use the Force against it. She didn't have the time or the focus to execute anything significant while it thrashed so hazardously all around them.

In a blink, the creature nearly ended the Sith with a well-placed blow. Tearing into his side and separating him from his lightsaber. The rest of its appendages slowed their wild movements as it fixated on subduing its fallen prey. Penny's vision flooded in white, pain spiking through her skull as the Force lightning exploded from him. A floodgate of power breaking and seizing the monster. Its thick tentacle ruptured and steamed in the instantaneous heat, and then began to shrivel and darken.

Penny gaped for a second, eyes squinting open once more. Had that energy been unleashed on her, she would be dead. The raw power was like nothing he had hit her with the first couple times. The creature recoiled, stunned and in pain, but no less enraged. The Sith defied his fate, but in the process, lost his prized weapon. The instant the opportunity presented itself, she had snapped it up. The long silvery shaft spinning through the air between the armored pillars and into her outstretched hand during the lightning storm.

The time he bought was as critical as it was fleeting. Blood poured down the side of his dark, tattered clothing. Seeping into the cloak, and dribbling over the stone as he made a dash in her direction. Instinctively, she braced. Half-expecting him to charge into her. Instead, he requested her cooperation in the most polite way a Sith was probably capable.

Exhausted, she regarded him with open distrust, saying nothing. He was right... She didn't want to admit it any more than he did, but they either worked together, or they both became monster-munchies. Tentatively, she handed his saber to him, hers still burning bright at her side. None to eager to give it up, but conceding. Their fight had been so encompassing, she never had the time to second-guess herself in snatching it up in the first place. In calmer circumstances, she wouldn't have touched the thing unless it was necessary, but it didn't matter now. As he reclaimed it from her, a jolt of unfamiliar images and feelings breached her mind. Rushing in like a short-circuiting current. Memories tied to him, and the horrible things he'd done with that weapon. Her hand ripped away with a startled hiss, and she tried to stamp them out before they could take hold and become a permanent fixture in her own mental library.

Psychometry... She really loathed its occurrence. It always seemed to happen at the least convenient times, and slap her in the face with things she didn't want to experience. In this instance, it stole just enough time for her to react too slowly to the their cave dwelling nemesis. It bellowed another ear-splitting screech, and lunged for them with a bombardment of injured tentacles. Aiming to cage them beneath it and gnash them apart with its hidden beak. Penny shouted a slur of panicked and enraged curses, and twirled with her blade. Carving through more armored flesh in wafts of foul-smelling steam and searing into its underbelly--head--face--she barely even know which way was up now.

It smashed and writhed in a frenzy, chittering noises and screeches that would echo into her nightmares for years to come (if she was lucky), and then she felt a heavy object slam into her and crush her to the ground. One of the appendages sliced clean through and fell on top of her. The beast floundered in agony. Flipping and flailing in an effort to escape their sabers.

Pinned on her back, she cringed in pain, struggling to breathe beneath the behemoth monster arm strewn across her torso and legs. The golden blade blinked out of sight as she relaxed her grip on it, and reached out toward the butchered beast. A boulder close to it twitched and skid slightly, and eventually lifted and careened into its head. Stunning it, and even pushing it a little ways to give them more space. It wasn't dead yet, but its movements became less frantic and purposeful.

Penny's arm dropped, and she laid there panting. Too drained to move even the weight off of her now.

((Why must we be so epic? ¯\(ツ)/¯ ))

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

He took his lightsaber back with a glare. He hadn’t realized that she had snatched it when he had fallen. Good thing she had given it back willingly, otherwise he would’ve broken their temporary truce and killed her, screw the consequences. That lightsaber had been a part of his life for longer than anything else, it had been by his side through the Jedi, Sith, and everything in between. Even when all else had failed him, it hadn’t. When her face suddenly pinched in disgusted horror and she ripped her hand back, he sneered.

“What’s your problem?” He couldn’t help but mock.

She didn’t have time to answer as the monster screamed and renewed its assault. Despite its damaged tentacle it wasn’t any less aggressive than it had been before, and it continued its attacks with vigor. Jaster internally cringed when he caught the side of its beak, now snapping wildly above them. It should have been easier to handle with less limbs, but its attacks had grown far more unpredictable. There was no more coordination; it simply smashed and swiped wildly at each of them in a rage. While they had moved in tandem initially, they had already been forced apart. Red and gold blades sliced up the beast from opposite ends of the cavern.

He could feel himself fatiguing. The never ending screeches left his ears ringing and the physical exertion was aggravating his wound. While he couldn’t feel much pain because of the focused rage he had used earlier, blood now dripped freely from his side leaving dark stains behind him as he moved across the cave floor dodging the beast’s enraged attacks.

He was so focused on surviving that he almost missed seeing the huntress get pinned by a severed tentacle. He grit his teeth in anger. Useless. He was too far away to help her out at the moment, so she would have to handle that herself. He focused on hacking and slashing at what he could until he managed to sever another limb. It was down to three now. The creature whipped its head around towards him as his lightsaber left its flesh and snapped its beak threateningly. He took a step back, his hand gripping his side as blood seeped through his fingers. He was weakening far faster than he would like-he would need to conserve his remaining power for when it really mattered. He readied himself for another attack, it was just a matter of finding the right opportunity.

Turns out he didn’t have to wait long as the right opportunity presented itself. A boulder ripped itself from the nearby wall and smashed directly into the beast’s head. He looked for the huntress and saw her hands extended despite her pinned state. Alright, he conceded, not as useless as he thought. He gathered his strength and took advantage of the opportunity, dashing forward and cleaving another tentacle from its body while it was momentarily stunned. It screamed and clumsily tried to reach for him with its two remaining limbs. He leapt back but it swept wide and a tentacle slammed into his injured ribs midair. Motherf-. He landed back on the floor and his vision tinted red from the pain. Forgetting all about conserving his energy, as soon as he got back to his feet he raised his hands and snapped a bolt of rage-filled Sith lightning directly into its eyes.

It screamed and whipped its head back. One tentacle lashed wildly across the cave while the other latched on to the stone so it could begin pulling its body backwards. Jaster recognized that it was trying to retreat. Good. It must be almost dead. His energy was nearly spent but he gave chase. There was no way he was letting this thing live. But as he neared the creature its desperate thrashing prevented him from getting close enough to land a finishing blow. The blood loss had slowed his reaction time enough that a wild tentacle strike almost landed another lucky blow.

Damn it. He changed tactics and ran over to where the girl was trapped. She seemed to have given up trying to move the tentacle pinning her for the moment, so he sliced it in two. A shower of foul smelling blood poured over her as he force pushed the remaining pieces off of her. He was disgusted to find that the simple force ability now left his hands shaking with exertion. He pressed them back to his bleeding side in order to get them out of his sight. His eyes met hers and he gazed down at her with contempt.

“Get up. This isn’t over yet.”

Penny Rasalas

((Bro we too cool. Almost got it. ))

 

[Penny Rasalas]

'What's your problem?'

It would never be heard above the shrieking death throes echoing off he cavern walls, but Penny laughed. Having the time now, if only for a moment, to reflect on the ludicrous question. Pinned beneath a twitching appendage that she was pretty sure had broken a couple ribs as it hailed down onto her. Half-dead after trying to kill both a Sith and one of the largest, most disgusting alien creatures she had ever seen. Stranded in a foreign desert with a busted ship. Cast out violently from the only home she knew, losing all but one trustworthy person in her life, and most of her possessions. It was easier to ask what wasn't her problem. Not that it mattered. He didn't want a real answer. Nevertheless, the quiet, hysterical laugh continued. Further squeezing what valuable air she could muster from her lungs.

All the while, Jaster kept the beast plenty busy. It thrashed in fear as much as anger now. Losing one tentacle after another. Wracked in more pain than either of them were experiencing. It was riled into a frenzy, cornering them in the most precarious position as they both struggled just to survive. On more than one occasion, she sucked in a nervous breath as one of the remaining tentacles soared over her. Waiting for a stray jagged claw to catch her and rip her in two, or another tree trunk-sized limb to smash down onto her clumsily, and put an end to her miserable existence.

She didn't lay there idly, though. Regrouping, she wrestled her way inch by inch out from under the thing. Every muscle in her body screaming in protest. Cringing as the strip of burnt flesh on her stomach peeled away on its rough surface as she shifted further and further out. Drawing blood and serous fluid to pool and drip in rivulets through the remainder of her tattered shirt. She was more than halfway there when suddenly a flash of red light overhead sliced it in two, and alien blood gushed over her in a dark blue wave that appeared black in the shadows of the cave. It would have drenched her, but the saber cauterized much of it in its sweep. It wasn't effective enough to keep some of the blood from seeping into her unsuspecting mouth, however. The smell, and now the taste, was just as rancid as the creature's appearance.

The combination of shock, horror, and rage that swelled within her paradoxically silenced her as she scrambled to her feet. She almost tried to kill him right then and there, wobbling legs and all. Not with her lightsaber. Not with the Force. She nearly reached for his throat with her bare hands to squeeze the life out of him. Penny shook, both in exhaustion and revulsion, but kept her hands to herself. The only trace of hostility he'd catch would be the coil of one fist and a white-knuckle grip on her saber with the other.

With a snap of her head, she flicked a generous amount of blood from her dripping hair, and refused to even look him in the eye. Turning instead to cast a hate-filled glare on the sloppily retreating mass of the most vulgar looking land-sushi she'd hopefully ever lay eyes on. The lightsaber hooked back onto her tactical belt with a swift jerk of her wrist. She was so done with this day. With all of it.

Without a word, she focused all of her renewed rage on to the hulking mass clinging and sliding along the cavern wall, attempting to flee. Fingers curled and strained, lifting slowly into the air. Looking as if she were imagining herself squeezing the life out the beast instead. That wasn't quite it, but the remaining limbs would begin to jerk and twitch, wrestling against the unseen force that weaved through it with its own invisible tentacles. It was snagged. Held in place, but fighting still. Strangled shrill cries snapped from its black beak, but it soon fell silent. After a few seconds, the creature released one final screech as it burst from the inside. Lacerations ripping open in abstract patterns all over its body to ooze in more blood and other putrid fluids. Its giant head flapped open, split down the middle, creamy white and blue sludge cascading down its face. Slowly washing away a few charred eyes.

Penny collapsed to her knees with a gasp of air. Dizziness swirling in from her overexertion. That was the first time she'd used shatterpoint in such a way, and it took nearly everything she had left. If the Sith had wanted to, he could have easily cut her down with her back turned and attention rapt in finishing what they (unwillingly) started. It was a risk that needed to be taken.

And now...the aftermath. Once again, it was just the two of them. Silence reclaiming the cave, save for their weary pants. Penny's head was swimming. Her arms alone felt as if they weighed a metric ton, hanging limply at her sides. Every inhale hurt. This had turned into the most desperate fight she'd experienced in her life thus far.

"You think...there's...a bounty...on that....piece of shit?" He'd hear her ask through strained breaths, in a tone that was difficult to read. The fire had been doused enough. Resuming their duel to the death was the last thing she wanted to do now. Keeping herself from face-planting into a puddle of alien blood was her most pressing matter. It was maybe her biggest challenge yet...keeping herself alert and aware of his position near her, in case he was looking for an opening to take her down.

Darth Mutilice

 

[Darth Mutilice]

He was content to let her march past to deal with the beast. He raised an eyebrow as she outstretched her hands. Surely she didn't mean to... It seemed she did. He watched, with only the barest hint of surprise flickering across his face, as she used the force to destroy the beast from the inside. Even though her back was turned, he was quick to school his face into something impassive. His body might be fatigued, but his mind was racing. That seemed like the same ability she had used to surprise him from before, the force of it was still echoing in his ears.

For a brief moment his exhaustion was forgotten as a surge of maddening want flooded his senses. It was something he had been very used to feeling as a Sith lord, and something he had been trying to rid himself of ever since. But just for a moment, it consumed him again. That ability, he wanted its terrifying power. Whatever it was, however she had learned it, he knew he could find ways to get it from her. Forcefully and painfully if necessary. But as quick as the surge of emotion had come, it faded. His own, pitifully mortal life making itself known as blood continued to drip through his pressed hands and down his side. His own weakened state appalled him, but he was no fool. It would be better not to waste unnecessary energy here.

Even though her back was turned to him, he shrugged off the temptation to strike. He leaned wearily against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. He just needed to take a quick breather. Then he could go again. He was only trying to convince himself. The slash across his ribs ached as the last of the energy he had been using to fortify himself faded away, and he suddenly and painfully became aware of all the damage he had taken over the battle. His brow furrowed as the pain came all at once. He had long lost the ability to heal his wounds with the force so the best he could do was use his remaining power to halt the bleeding and hope to find healing soon.

He gathered the remaining shreds of his power over his ribs, slowly bringing the steady drip of blood to a stop. The wound wasn’t healed, instead it was almost frozen. His own rage and power kept him from falling into a more desolate state. However, it was only a temporary solution at best. He needed a new plan going forward. One that involved getting off this planet, getting medical supplies, and having no more Jedi or bounty hunters find him. A tall order, it seemed.

“You think...there's...a bounty...on that....piece of shit?"

His eyes slowly blinked open and fixed on her. “I highly doubt it.” He said coldly.

With his luck, they had probably just killed the local’s scared beast and were about to be met with an angry mob outside the cave. But as he tiredly looked up to the night sky outside the cave, there was only a peaceful silence. Were it not for the beast’s putrid rotting corpse, the calmness of the night would’ve made it seem like nothing had ever happened.

“But if there is…” He continued, “You’re free to take it. I’m sure you’ll find it a better deal than mine…” There was no mistaking the note of warning. Even though he was still propped against the wall, his yellow eyes burned into the back of her head. Do not continue to test me, the glare said. Take what you can get. Whether he had the energy to follow up on such threats, he didn’t know. However, he did know that this was not the lowest point he had ever been, and he had found the strength to endure worse.

But as his wounds continued to ache and the force eluded his grasp, he just hoped that they were both too tired to continue.

Penny Rasalas

(( Still pretty braindead from finals but wanted to get something up! Sorry for any mistakes. ^^' ))