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Bespin: (Black Sun's) Cloud City


RaveN

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Waves of mist and shadow swirled through Ulan's silent mind. Facial muscles twitched on his tiny exterior indicating life still existed in his feeble shell, but the blow had been too much; he would not rise to rejoin the battle physically.

 

In the mental realm however, a war raged on. Two sides fought for control of Ulan's mind, heart, and soul. A powerful figure spoke clearly through the fog--Take my hand, he said with promises of hope. Temptation had set in during a desperate hour for the padawan. It was a time in which he needed direction and proper guidance, yet all that had failed him. Gavin's presence had disappeared from his life, replaced by a larger, stronger figure in Kakuto Ryu. Mentally the green man stretched out towards the voice sensing resolution in the man's power, yet remaining weary of the mystery lurking in the darkness.

 

All was not right with the unconcsious padawan. Played with his mind had been, and the effects of Ryu's supreme power were taking their toll on Ulan's limited strength in the lightside of the Force.

 

One last thought passed through Ulan's mind, "Gavin..."

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There are rules here, after all. This isn't Vietnam.
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"So be it..."

 

As the explosion tore through the pipe that Kakuto had stood on, a stream of liquid erupted from gash to on the walkway. A control panel encased in a sheet of crystallized carbonite was For a moment, the room was silent save for the groaning hum of the regulator as it tried to reroute the pressure from the shattered pipeline. Though Bespin had been saved from a total meltdown for the time being, it was clear by the noise that this machine would not weather the fight so easily.

 

Hideous laughter echoed through the chamber. As the Padawan fell from his grip, the Master took the latent energy he had pent up inside the alien and ripped it away from him, the limp body erupting with a short fan of force lightning.

 

With the taint he had instilled in Ulan Dissolved, Kakuto Ryu could no longer mask his presence. Ryu thoughts were as evident in the force as if he were screaming them aloud, the feeling of rapture as he was finally able to spring the trap he had agonized so long to create. Restraint was a difficult for Sith, and soon his thoughts began to blur with the laugh, incoherent psychotic ramblings that broke into malicious jubilation.

 

The miserable shredding sound of the pearl lightsaber cut the laughter short. High above the platform, The Sith brought down his sword, twisting in quick circles. When the pipe turned gold the side exploded out toward Ulan and his would-be saviors. The severed section of the durasteel pipeline missed the platform, but the Jet of carbonite gunned straight for Darla.

 

Kakuto's white boots sprinted across the dense air-hardened fountain, trying to maintain its cohesion. With each step he sank a little deeper, his boots growing laden with molten carbonite. As he ran his tattered robe disintegrated, revealing black char marks radiating from the untouched red arm. Clearly, the missile had come come close to the mark.

 

With one final leap The Warrior thrust his palm forward, his hand ejecting from from the wrist. Sith Steel fingers clenched down on a console, crushing the sheeted plasteel with ease. A blinding flash of crimson flooded the room. When it subsided, a bolt of ruby lightning connected the hand to a electricity coiled amulet. The beam acted like a power coupling, pulling the two ends together.

 

Kakuto flew toward Gavin, kicking down at him with the carbonite encrusted boots while stabbing his saber toward the Jedi's Chest.

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Kakuto Ryu's laughed mocked Darla from the darkness. Did she really think that a single missile could rid her of the monster that had plagued her dreams for so many years? Plus it wasn't a smart move. They were surrounded by Carbon Freezing machinery...

 

Sh*t!

 

Stream on Carbonite erupted from the pipe, shooting outwards and quickly beginning to solidify.

 

Maybe that wasn't the worst idea after all...

 

A plan began to form in Darla's mind. One which was most certainly the lesser of tow evils. But before she was able to do anything, Kakuto made his move. It seemed that great minds thought alike.

 

He had severed another pipe and directed the flow of Carbonite towards Darla. It wouldn't kill her, but would quickly solidify and trap her. Game over. No killing. No carnage. Then Kakuto could take her where ever he pleased.

 

Her danger sense was in over drive. In a fraction of a section her jet pack had been ignited and she has shooting towards the ceiling of the chamber. It was less taxing than levitation.

 

I have to trap him... The Force has led us both here for a reason... I don't have to kill him!

 

Darla's hope had been renewed. She could see a way out of this nightmare that didn't involve shedding blood. Perhaps she could take Kakuto away...

 

Before Darla had a chance to follow through with the thought Kakuto was heading towards Gavin and Ulan. His hand had detached and was pulling him forward like a grapple. But there was no cable, it was some sort of energy that was drawing him forward.

 

This was something new. Darla had seen his mechanical hand before, but this was something different.

 

Take my hand...

 

In mere seconds Kakuto was on Gavin, kicking him down, then stabbing at him with his pearl saber.

 

Darla rocketed downwards. She came at Kakuto from the side and just above him to the right. Her armored boots kicking into him shoulder. The jet pack powered the blow, making it much stronger than Darla could have managed under her own steam. It was enough to knock Ryu off balance and miss his mark, but not enough to do him any real damage.

 

Gavin, you shouldn't be here! Darla thought at him.

 

She hoped Ulan was alright. He was still unconscious and had been knocked around a fair bit. But she couldn't worry about him now. It was up to Gavin to protect his apprentice. She wished the two of them had gotten out of the chamber. It was too late now. The four of them were stuck there.

 

Darla noticed the charred flesh on Kakuto's arm. Flesh raw wounds. The missile had been close! Darla's heart began to race. In that instant she was filled with joy. She had hurt him. Her plan of trapping him was suddenly thrown aside. All she wanted to do now was inflict pain on the man that had destroyed entire worlds. She wanted to watch him burn.

 

Still slightly above Kakuto, held in the air by her jet pack, Darla turned on the flamethrower on her wrist. A plume of flame erupted. Shooting down at Kakuto engulfing the side of him in flame.

 

"How do you like that f#$!%r!?" Her voice was full of vemon and rage.

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As soon as he came out of hyperspace in the Bespin system, he knew he had come to the right place. The Force boiled with conflict from the floating city in the gas giant's atmosphere. He pushed the shuttle to full sublight power and hurtled towards the planet, his mind alert and on edge. The Force drew him towards the bottom of the city. Darex had looked at plans of the city during the trip, so he knew most of what was down there were mechanics for the continued operation of the massive platform and carbonite freezing facilities.

 

He put the shuttle down on the platform nearest to the center of the conflict and dashed out. He spotted several workers, Ugnauts and humans, trying to weld through a wall with a laser cutter. "I'm Jedi Master Darex Trevelian. What's wrong?" he asked.

 

"We don't know, Master Jedi," said one of the humans, his Force-presence betraying relief at the Jedi's arrival. "The lift leading to the lower levels of the facility exploded and shredded the lift tunnel. We had some men down there, and now they are trapped. If we cut through this wall, we're going to try to get into the tunnel and assess the damage. This lift is the only way in or out of these parts of the lower levels."

 

Darex bit his lip. Ryu, assuming his vision had been correct, was taking no chances. "There is a powerful Sith presence down there. I doubt any of your men are still alive."

 

The human blanched, then nodded.

 

"I'm going down there. Are there any other access tubes?"

 

The human shook his head. "No, because in case of something going wrong with the carbonite chambers, the room is meant to contain any explosions."

 

Then I'll just have to make one, Darex thought. He could feel Darla's presence down there, as well as a cluster of others that he didn't recognize. He also knew he had to get down there as quickly as he could. "Can you show me exactly where the control room is that this lift leads to? If I don't get down there, there is a chance that the entire city will go down."

 

The human nodded, and gave Darex what he needed to know. "Try not to destroy everything, will you, Master Jedi?"

 

Darex gave him a sad look. "Only what I have to."

 

He ignited his lightsaber and cut through the wall for the workers, then headed to the edge of the platform. Gathering himself, he leapt over the side and used the Force to angle him back towards the durasteel. Handholds that looked invisible were clear in the Force, and Darex landed with a thump. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he began the long climb down the outside of the turbolift casing...

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Grand Master of the Jedi Order

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Gavin reacted instantly when Ryu came flying at him. He dove to the left wth his apprentice's limp body still in his arms, knowing that to meet the Dark Lord head on would be a request for death.

 

He impacted on his left shoulder and skidded a few feet before coming to an uncomfortable stop. He looked up in time to see Darla attempt to light up Kakuto and was thankful for the time that she had bought him. He quickly made his way to his feet and ducked behind a pile of pipes to lay Ulan's unconcious form down. He made sure that the little alien was alright before standing and moving out from behind the temporary cover.

 

He drew his lightsaber from it's place on his belt and ignited the bronze blade. At this point he was stuck. He knew that running head-first into battle could result in his death and his apprentice's full turn to the dark side, but staying here to protect him could possibly save both their souls. If he didn't return to the battle then there was a chance that Darla wouldn't have the strength or skills to beat Ryu and they would both be killed. Both scenarios had horrible endings, so Gavin decided to go with the path that would allow him to be in the most control of the outcome.

 

He began to run towards the commotion while remembering that he would have to keep himself between Ryu and his padawan. In the back of his mind he could feel another presence drawing near. He could only hope that it was friendly.

 

((Terribly sorry about the delay in this post. Senior year started, as did all of the wonderful stuff that comes with it.))

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"All that is nessacary for evil to succeed is for the good men to do nothing." -Lt. Roy Sanders

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"Impressive..." The Warrior groaned, taking uneasy footing where he had intended to land on the Jedi.

 

His eyes sharpened at Darla's unexpected flight. As she took advantage of the surprise by pressing him with a cone of flame, he realized he had underestimated her, "...Most impressive."

 

With his hand still buried in the console his motion was limited by avoiding the huge beam of electricity that connected it to his wrist. He raised the arm to try to block the flames. The bone white armor was built to withstand heat of this sort, but not since Ilum had it been sealed. He had not taken the time to repair the gaping slash in his breastplate from Ulan's blade. This wound he kept away from Darla, but the break in his shoulder surrounding the dark limb was exposed directly to the fire. Bits of shrapnel still protruded from the scarred ceramic plates, as well as the boiling flesh between.

 

"It didn't take much to get Ulan to walk in my footsteps. I showed him my dreams, told him that they would come true, his fear of the Darkness drove him to make them realities."

 

The heat building up in the Sith Steel arm turned it from dark crimson to shades of molten orange. Black tendrils deep below the exposed gash in the Warrior's shoulder were illuminated by the intense glow.

 

"His zeal could be the ruin of many. He sees the future as the road he must travel, not the sum of his footsteps. With one tiny step further he would have caused the death of this city. In not making that step, he has failed me."

 

Slowly and deliberately the Sith replaced the pearl saber with the staff saber on his back, tensing his body in preparation for his move. Kakuto heaved his weight away from the console he held--a heavy tug on an intangible string of energy to uproot the computer and send it flying toward Darla.

 

In the same motion, Kakuto heaved his lightsaber hilt. Like a shark, the spinning blue blades circled around Gavin and Ulan, cutting the walkway out from beneath them. The disembodied hand released it's grip on the computer, reconnecting with his wrist in the next instant.

 

At the conclusion of his turn he caught the saber, watching with sadistic satisfaction as the platform collapsed and the wrecked computer assailed Darla.

 

"But it is no matter..."

 

Kakuto had only a moment to recover his strength. He was sure from the start that the Computer would not catch Darla far off guard, and with another light side aura in the distance he knew he had to press the attack now.

 

Swirling ribbons crimson lightning began to dance in the still glowing metal palm, forming a loose sphere. It shifted and contorted gracefully but inconceivably fast, minute beautifully dancing lights. Mere inches around, he released the sphere to drift slowly toward Darla.

 

Bolts of lightning seemed to erupt from anything around them to hit the ball, the charge growing stronger and the lightning ball larger with every passing second. At times it froze in place, or vanished entirely to reappear in another place.

 

"...You will all be mine soon enough."

 

((OOC: Not quite happy with the post, but I decided it'd be better to get it posted and keep it moving. I'll be sure to make notes if I edit, but I won't be changing it much if at all.))

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"Impressive, most impressive."

 

Kakuto seemed alomost pleased with the move that Darla had made. Unrelenting she continued to bathe him in flames. His armour seemd to protect him from most of the heat. There were several cracks in his armour where the flames got through.

 

Much to Darla's surprise, Kakuto didn't scream out in pain as his flesh was charred. He seemed not to react to it much at all. She could sense a sort of glee coming from him. Her rage was controlling her and Kakuto liked that. Perhaps that had been the aprt of her that he had been drawn to, the darkness inside her.

 

Darla didn't care, all she wanted was to hurt him in those moments. It frustrated her that she seemd to be doing so very little damage to him. But the flame thrower was just a small part of her arsenal.

 

Through the cracks in his armour she could see black tendrils within the flames. The last time she had seen him he ahd been coated in a black organic armour that could grow to cover his body. Were these black tendrils part of the same armour? The bone white armour was new, it worried Darla that she really didn't know what she was up against. Within the Force, Kakuto Ryu was the same creature she had always known, but physically he had changed.

 

She was up agaisnt the unknown...

 

Kakuto spoke about how Ulan had falied him, Darla half-listened over the roar of the flames. Then suddenly a computer terminal had been uprooted and was hurtling towards her. Instantly she shut off her weapon and flew upwards. The terminal crahed past where she had been only moments before.

 

Hovering with her jet pack she was now safely away from Kakuto, but she knew that he would recovering in those moments he had gained by distracting her.Before Darla had the chance to figure out what to do next, she felt a familiar presence through the Force.

Darex!

 

What was he doing there? Darla was filled with dread. The idea of watching Kakuto maim and kill someone that she cared deeply for was too much to bear. That had been why she had left Darex. She was afraid that he would get hurt because of her. She was afraid that the man who had helped her through so much would suffer because of her.

 

Kakuto didn't know about Darla's feelings towards Darex, but in the heat of battle her emotions would surely betray her. Her bond was strong with the Sith Lord. He was probably already feeling the dread that was welling up inside her.

 

Darla had a new objective. She had to stop Darex from joining the fight. She had to keep him safe.

 

Darex! Go! Get out of here while you can! She reached out to him through the Force, knowing that he would hear her thoughts and hoping that he would heed them and stay away.

 

But she knew that he wouldn't. He had come here to help her, to save her. He wouldn't be swayed from his goal. That was why she loved him. For a moment the thought filled Darla with warmth. But only for moment. In the next moment Darla was filled with pain.

 

She had been distracted and hadn't been paying full attention to her foe.

 

”œ...You will all be mine soon enough.”

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He continued to climb, steadily, taking his time. A few times the wind almost blew him off the face of the tower, but he clung tighter to the durasteel and waited until the gust lessened. He glanced down. About 200 meters to go...

 

As he climbed down, his sense of the skirmish grew clearer. There were two presences there he wasn't familiar with. One was very faint, and Darex could tell from experience that the padawan was probably unconcious. The other was powerful enough to be a strong Jedi Knight or Master. Darex was puzzled by their presence; he wondered why Darla had brought them with her to face Kakuto. Clearly, he didn't know how this had all started, and he might not know until it was over.

 

Ryu's presence was unmistakable. Not only did Darex remember the last time they had met--although it had been long ago--but the Sith Master radiated power in the dark side, and his evil glee rang clear through the Force.

 

But all these presences Darex passed over quickly. He immediately focused on Darla, and as he did, he felt her realize he was coming. He heard her voice clearly in his head, begging him to turn back, but he also felt her resignation that he wouldn't be swayed. He wasn't about to let her face this alone. I'm not leaving without you, he sent back.

 

Then her pain washed over him, and it was all he could do to remember not to let go of the wall. He gritted his teeth. He had to get there. He had to get there now. He picked up his pace, climbing down more rapidly than before, trusting in the Force to not let him fall.

 

Finally, he drew near to the correct level. He recognized the outcropping that the worker had mentioned. Anchoring himself against it, he let go with one had and drew his lightsaber. It ignited with a snap-hiss, and he plunged it through the durasteel. The wall was thick, and he knew it would take him longer than he wanted it to to cut through, but he drew on the Force for patience and made a large triangle of cuts.

 

Three minutes later, he pushed with the Force, and the man-sized section of durasteel flew forward into the room, heading in Kakuto's direction. The Jedi Master flipped himself through the hole in the wall and into the room, lightsaber blazing. A quick glance around the room showed him what he needed to know--the other two Jedi were crashing down, their platfrom cut from under them, and Darla on the floor, crackling with risidual energy from Ryu's attack.

 

Holding his lightsaber in a classic guard and sending waves of encouragement to Gavin and Darla, Darex fixed his gaze on Kakuto. "Leave them alone."

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Gavin had barely begun running when the lightsabers came hurtling towards his location. They sliced through the metal walkway as though it were nothing more than butter before returning to Kakuto's hands. This new development left Gavin only a few seconds to react before the master and padawan pair crashed to their death.

 

Gavin bent his knees and propelled himself higher than any normal human being should have been able to while simultaneously reaching out through the Force to grasp Ulan's plumetting body. As his feet impacted on solid ground he felt a surge of encouragement coming from the presence that he had felt earlier. While he wasn't aware of the identity of this presence he was extremely thankful for it as it gave him the strength he required to lift Ulan's body to safety.

 

He looked over the platform that he had landed on to see Ulan's limp form dangling in the air, as if suspended by magic. Gavin quickly manuvered his apprentice up to his level, reached out, and grabbed the dead weight. He flipped Ulan over his left shoulder and drew his lightsaber into his right. He turned around in time to hear a new voice.

 

"Leave them alone."

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"All that is nessacary for evil to succeed is for the good men to do nothing." -Lt. Roy Sanders

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Sparks of fire burned the air as plasma split the metal walkway in two. Gravity worked well, pulling Ulan's lifeless form towards doom and decay. Despite the violence of the attack, however, there was no response from the green man. His limp form simply slid into oblivion.

 

Then a warm, familiar force penetrated his bone and flesh halting his descent. It was a surge of power that pricked Ulan's sleeping mind, jump starting his thought processes. There was no longer a cloud of darkness encasing his soul, yet a hideous presence could still be felt. Instead, the most dominating feeling was that of Gavin, Ulan's master.

 

His eyes stretched slowly open revealing himself in flight then coming to a rest in Gavin's arms. He could vaguely see Gavin lay him down, safely before his eyes closed again. He was not yet finished battling his internal demons, but was beginning to regain his alertness. What his role in the approaching battle would be though was still a mystery...

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There are rules here, after all. This isn't Vietnam.
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The metal Dynamos in Kakuto Ryu's shoulder had extended like pistons, bolts of lightning arcing as the anger seethed within him. Now, with the weight of fear in her mind, he struck through the force, digging into her consciousness on scar of and old wound--the bond they shared.

 

At first he seemed confused by what he felt. Like groping for a sign in the dark he could not comprehend a single sensation. He turned his head slowly, a blue eye flashing as Darex came into view. And as his scarred eye caught Darex it began to hit him as dull sinking sensation, followed closely by frenzied malice.. He threw his steel finger out at the Jedi Master, the metal joints shuttering loudly as it quivered with rage.

 

"You cannot stop me!"

 

Sith steel plates began to peel apart, interlocking mechanisms inching apart. Arcs of lightning jumped between the growing cracks in the ruinous mechanism, spreading up from the elbow until the threatening finger he pointed at Darex disappeared into the twisting metal. Blooming like a sinister flower, the crimson amulet emerged from the core wreathed in a crimson electricity. Spinning coils and freely hanging graspers swirled around the single point of light. The light swelled quickly, forming a second ball of lightning like the first--growing larger as the device pulled back, struggling to contain the dark force that it was harnessing. The Dynamos in his shoulder receded, the energy he had stored up spent his creation.

 

"NOW DIE!"

 

At nearly two feet in diameter the lightning ball didn't so much fire as it did escape, free of the Warrior's grasp to buzz toward Darex. Bolts of electricity jumped from the sphere, carving lines of destruction in the floor as it gracefully swooped toward its target.

 

Kakuto began to run opposite the great ball of energy, his arm forming back into a familiar shape as he charged toward Darla. He dove like a pouncing animal, driving his weight into Darla with such force to shatter the walkway she lay on, sending them both falling through the labyrinth of piplines toward an uncertain destination below. His wrist pressed firm against against her chest as they fell, he stared through her with his cold piercing eyes...

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It all happened so quickly.

 

I'm not leaving without you

 

It was Darex's voice he was so near. He was coming to save her or he would die trying. Darla wasn't even sure if she wanted to be saved. One thing that she did know was that she didn't want Darex to die. Not because of her. If she lived through this without him it would be too much to bear.

 

But there was something else that Darla didn't want to happen...

 

Darex was there in the room! She could feel him and hear his voice. At the same time Darla felt Kakuto enter her mind. Through their twisted bond he could feel what she was feeling. He could feel the love that she felt towards Darex. That love filled him with a jealous rage.

 

Not the jealous rage of any normal man, but the jealous rage of one who had once been named 'Dark Lord Of The Sith'.

 

"Leave them alone."

 

All Darla could do before Kakuto attacked was raise her head. She couldn't even shout a warning to Darex. His words were met with a brutal Force attack. His mechanical arm was opening and changing, mechanisms moving around to release some kind of amulet. That was where the electrical charge was emenating from. It was all a blur to her then-

 

"NOW DIE!"

 

Kakuto was pulling no punches, he wanted Darex dead. Feeling her love for him had filled him with a murderous rage towards him and confirmed all of Darla's fears. The ball of electricity was shooting forwards on a collision course with Darex.

 

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Darla screamed out, but the word could harldy be heared over the sound of crackling electricity.

 

Kakuto was running towards her. She stopped screaming and tried to scramble too her feet. Hit hit when she reached her knees. The force of him knocking her back down to the ground. Not only that, it was such a mighty blow that shattered the ground beneath her and the two of them fell through the crumbling floor.

 

Darla almost stopped breathing when she felt Kakuto's body on top of her. She felt the terrible impact as smashed through the floor. She felt two ribs crack from the strain and knew that if she hadn't been wearing her armor her wold back could have been shattered by the mighty force.

 

Then she was falling. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. She could feel the weight of his wrist pressing down on her chest. Through the slivers of light from what was once the floor and now the cieling she caught a glimpse of his eyes. The stared right through her. She flet like they were straing through her very soul.

 

She remember to breathand exhaled her warm breath that hse had held for what seemed like an eternity. Her breath touched his face, his lips that were so close to hers. In that moment, nothing else existed. There was just the two of them. Falling.

 

Tears strolled down Darla's cheek. Hadn't realised that she had been crying.

 

In that moment it was perfectly clear to her the second thing that was sure in her. The second thing that Darla didn't want to happen. The second thing that would be unbearable for her to life with.

 

Darex couldn't kill Kakuto. If he were to do that Darla would never forget it. As much as he deserved it, Kakuto Ryu was her beautiful monster. Whoever killed him would be robbing so much from her. The chance for her kill him herself or more importantly, the thing that she dreamed of. The chance to save him. She couldn't let Darex rob her of that.

 

No matter how small the glimmer of hope was, it was there and that was what kept Darla fighting.

 

In that Frozen moment, she touched his face. She pushed her head closer to his. Her lips inching towards his mouth. Then she remembered Darex. The man who had saved her from so much darkness, shown her friendship and love. For his sake, she had to kept fighting and make sure he was alive. Nobody else was going to get hurt because of her.

 

Darla lunged forward, her mouth meeting Kakuto's and her lip biting down. She bit hard, drawing blood. She spat the blood in Kakuto's eye's and pushed her body away from his. Using the Force she slowed her descent and manuevered away from Kakuto.

 

It was dark where they were now. Red lighting dimly illumanting the chamber that was filled tubes and pipes, they were in the very bowls of the crabon freezing plant. No computers, no work stations. The only reason anyone would be down here was for essential maintance.

 

Her feet hit the ground and she quickly unlatched her rocket pack. In a swift movement she contorted her slnder body and slid under some large tubing. Kakuto wa much too big to follow.

 

Please! Go! Get out here while you still can, get the other two to safety! Please... She reached out to Darex, hoping that he was still alive.

 

 

She crawled several meters. As she did she drew the Force to her. Trying to make her presence as small as possible. Darla hoped that Darex and the others would make it to safety while they had the chance. Kakuto was hunting her now, she could keep him distracted while they got away. Once they were safe, she could figure something out.

 

Darla could feel her once pulse racing. She wondered if Kakuto had felt anything in their fall together. Could he tell what she had been thinking? Did it really mattered, was he even still human? These thoughts raced through Darla's mind as she tried to slow down her pulse.

 

Why is he doing this? What does he hope to achieve?

 

Waiting quietly, Darla readied herself for whatever was going to come next.

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The ball of lightning erupted out of the Sith's fingertips, charging towards Darex with all the speed and force of a raging bantha. In those two precious seconds, Darex moved on sheer instinct. His mind went back to his extensive personal training on Manaan. His lightsaber came up on an intercept course, and his free hand stretched out. He gritted his teeth. This is going to hurt...

 

The glowing ball hit the tip of his lightsaber, and the blade crackled as it tried to absorb and redirect the energy it was faced with. But at the same time, the other side of the sphere made contact with Darex's outstretched palm. The energy was absorbed and redirected, shooting out the hole the Jedi had carved in the side wall. The entire energy ball glanced off his lightsaber and hand, shooting out into air and falling until it exploded, sending shocks of lightning dancing throughout Bespin's clouds.

 

There were electric burns all over his hands and arms from contact with the dark side energy. Darex quickly turned the boost given to him by absorbing some of the lightning into a healing surge, and the burns closed over a little. Before the rest of it could have a chance to fry his insides, Darex bled the energy off into the decking, melting the soles of his boots a little and causing his hair to stand almost on end. At the sudden loss of energy, the Jedi Master stumbled.

 

But he didn't have time to recouperate completely. Kakuto had tackled Darla, and they were falling through the decking into lower levels. He felt Darla's desperation, her deep desire to save this man who had caused her so much hurt and pain, and he loved her more for it. It showed a depth of compassion that he had never seen in anyone else.

 

He moved over to the hole in the floor and glanced down. He could hear Darla's voice clearly in his mind, urging him to leave, to save himself and the others. But he couldn't do that. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her when he could prevent it. He didn't care about his own life; only that she would be safe. He didn't feel the need to kill Kakuto either; if Darla still believed he could be saved, then that was enough for the Jedi Master.

 

At the same time, though, didn't he have a duty to the other two Jedi here? Wasn't he letting himself be driven by his emotions by thinking only of her? He couldn't feel Darla's presence anymore, and he knew she was hiding, trying to buy him some time. He glanced up at the other Jedi. "How did you get here? Do you have a ship? We need to get your padawan out of here."

 

It pained him greatly not to immediately dive through the hole after them, but he couldn't ignore Darla's wishes. "I have a shuttle on the upper platform." An idea slowly formed in his mind. Under no circumstances would he leave her. They would have to be quick. He pulled out an ascention cable from a pouch on his belt. "If we attack this to your padawan, we can pull him up and get him on the shuttle." He could feel the darkness mingling in the padawan's mind, and knew they had to get him away from Kakuto's presence. "Then we can climb up after him."

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Tears...

 

He watched in wonderment as they dropped down her cheek. In the glimmer of light catching the tear he saw a bottomless pit of visions. Faces of people he'd killed. People he'd made cry. It was a gruesome feeling to see someone reduced to tears with fear of what he'd do to them. Sadness over what he'd done to those around them. It was a sensation he once reveled in.

 

A profound terror overwhelmed him, his body gone cold, numb. There was a question he couldn't answer. Something that, until this instant, was unimaginable. When her lips met his own and the empathetic link between grew strongest, his senses fell blind. Both the warm touch of her kiss, and the strong emotions he felt through her were alien to the depraved Sith.

 

She loves him...

 

The most wretched depths of his imagination offered no reprisal from this feeling she had. All the might he could muster would not be able destroy this detestable feeling--it would persist beyond even the destruction of their mortal frames. To have something he so close to his mind was maddening.

 

She would send him away...

 

His mind flooded with memories of those who'd sacrificed themselves to protect something. Their home. Their family. The future of their race. Efforts spent in vein. Lives thrown away for causes long since forgotten. And yet, they were lives offered willingly and without remorse, to protect that which they loved.

 

But why-

 

The sharp pain of her teeth piercing his lip slashed through his psychic torpor. The fragments of his sheering mind scattered in a thousand intangible directions--a strong disturbance echoed in the force.

 

Through the red tinged blur Darla faded from view, his body slipping into the darkness of enormous machine. Several seconds after Darla came to a halt a duo of crashes rang throughout the amphitheater.

 

Kakuto laid in the dented grating that had absorbed his crash, his own blood pooling in the back of his throat. Motionlessly he stared upward, his breath still, his eyes unfocused. His breastplate had taken its last hit--the two large gashes Ulan and Darla met, cracked under the weight of an unaided fall.

 

His thoughts had betrayed him. The answer he needed would not come.

 

Focus on the Pain.

 

Standing up, the breastplate fell to the floor, exposing the burns that radiated from his arm and the gaping wound in his side. His steel thumb flipped a latch to drop his gauntlet. With little hesitation he jammed his fingers into his lightsaber wound, grinding his teeth as he pried the cauterized gash open.

 

A groan of agony came softly between stridulous coughs, gradually amplifying to a furious howl. His eyes clenched shut, he thrust his skull into a plasteel pipe, lifting his head only to force it back down again, then again, as though trying to beat the bad thoughts out.

 

Kakuto pulled his hand out of his wound, his fingers sticky with with gore. His eyes began to shift around the room.

 

Beneath the tube where Darla hid, the rhythmic tapping of his footsteps was inescapable. At first they seemed to get closer, then stray away, getting softer and louder at random. The footsteps went faster by the second, soon coming from any and every direction until it seemed as though there were hundreds running through the facility.

 

Two steps rang in the pipe over top of Darla, dreadful silence followed for only an instant before the unmistakable wail of his lightsaber activating.

 

"THERE' S NO ESCAPE!"

 

The pearl blade erupted from the tube to glance her cheek, steam billowing from the hole it carved. Kakuto pulled his saber out and began jamming it down into the pipe aimlessly, using the fear he felt within her to gauge how close he had come...

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Gavin moved hastily towards the Jedi Master, all the while carrying his apprentice's limp form. He came to stand next to the older man in time to hear his question and idea.

 

"How did you get here? Do you have a ship? We need to get your padawan out of here."

 

"I have a shuttle on the upper platform."

 

"If we attack this to your padawan, we can pull him up and get him on the shuttle."

 

"Then we can climb up after him."

 

Gavin thought over the plan that had been presented to him. It was the only logical conclusion that he could come up with so he decided that it was probably the best course of action. He gave the man an affirmitive nod.

 

"My ship is on a platform not far from your's. It shouldn't be too hard to reach. Let's do this."

 

As Darex moved into action, Gavin began to mull over what would probably happen over the next couple of days. If they survived this ordeal, there was a good chance that Ulan would come away from his dark experience completely traumatized. While he was certain that his apprentice could over come any obstacle, he wasn't exactly sure as to how he was supposed to help him.

 

It was obvious that the dark side had done it's damage to his padawan's mind, and even to his body. Since Gavin had never encountered a dark force this powerful before he wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Even at his level of experience, Kakuto's probe into his mind on Ilum had nearly cost him his life. How Ulan would manage to pull through was beyond Gavin, but he thanked the Force that his apprentice appeared to at least still be functioning.

 

Then came the question of how he was going to explain his actions to the little alien. It had taken quite a while to reach Bespin and the actions that Ulan had witnessed before he had been knocked unconcious weren't exactly something that Gavin was proud of. While it was true that most of what had occured was Ryu's fault, he wasn't sure that his apprentice would view it in that manner. It had suddenly become a never-ending cycle of worry and doubt in both himself and his padawan.

 

Gavin slipped out of his revelry and noticed that Darex had almost completed his preparations for what was to come. The next few minutes would be crucial...

 

((Not really sure what you meant Darex, but I felt like I needed to post since I haven't posted in like forever. I'm just going to leave this open and let you do what you had in mind. Feel free to take some liberty with my character if need be.))

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"All that is nessacary for evil to succeed is for the good men to do nothing." -Lt. Roy Sanders

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As the Knight agreed to the plan, Darex wasted no time. He picked up Ulan's limp form and carried him over to the hole he had carved when he had arrived. Pulling out his cable, he fastened the end securely onto Ulan's form, making sure the padawan couldn't slip out of it and plummet to his death. He then leaned out of the hole--very carefully, so as not to slip--and fired the cable up the outside of the wall, monitoring it with the Force to make sure it went up high enough and was securely anchored once it latched on.

 

He turned to Gavin then. "On second though, the cable should be strong enough to support both you and Ulan. Grab on. You can make sure Ulan doesn't fall, and it'll save your energy. The cable should take you all the way up to the walkway, and then you simply have to go around to the landing platform where your ship is. Then get out of here."

 

He hesitated. "Your padawan will need some time to recover. Support him, be honest with him, and respect his choices. And whatever happens, don't blame yourself." That much, at least, Darex could offer from experience. He felt that Ulan was brushing the dark side, or had, from Kakuto's influence, and if there was anything Darex was an expert at, it was losing apprentices to the dark side. He was just grateful he also had experience at bringing them back.

 

He motioned for Gavin to leave. "Hurry. You don't have much time, and there is no knowing how Kakuto will react when he senses you leaving. You have to get your padawan out of here as quickly as you can. I'll make sure you get off alright, but I'm staying here." His voice was hard with determination. Nothing Gavin could say would make the Jedi Master leave.

 

He helped Gavin get a strong hold on the cable, then gave the Jedi Knight the activator that would rewind the cable, pulling them up to the top. "May the Force be with you."

 

Once the two were out of sight, Darex headed back towards the hole. He would do whatever he could to protect Darla. The thought of losing her was more than he could handle.

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Darla was feeling strange and strong emotions from a her foe as she hid. He was feeling things that his mind could hardly fathom. It took her a moment to realise that he was feeling what she was feeling. Her emotions had leaked into him. He was reeling from them. His vicious mind unable to understand how after all he had done, someone could feel compassion for him. Someone could love him.

 

It shocked Darla a little too. When she had arrived there she had been intent on killing him. She had tried to get it over with as quickly as possible. Darla had launched a grenade at Kakuto, then she had tried to set him on fire. Each was ultimately futile. Her rage had faded and now all that she felt was sorrow.

 

No darkside energy fuelled her now. Without it she feared that she stood no chance of beating Kakuto.

 

 

There was no anger, no delight as she had expected from her enemy. Kakuto Ryu had seen into her soul. Kakuto Ryu had felt her pain and fear. It was one of the very few times that she had ever seen him phased by anything that she had done.

 

Ryu had crashed to the ground while Darla had lowered herself nimbly through the Force. From her hiding place she could see him lying on the ground. The grating on the floor was dented from where his heavy form had landed. For a moment she wanted to hurl herself at him, take the advantage. But only for a moment. In the moments that followed she wanted to see if he was alright. She wanted to rush to him and tell him that everything would be alright, that their was life beyond the darkness that had filled his soul for so long. But he was soon up and moving.

 

Two heavy clanks signalled his armor plates being removed and falling to the ground. From where she was hiding Darla could only see Kakuto's feet. Suddenly she heard him scream out and felt pain from him, rage. The scream rose becoming primal, animal. Whatever her feelings had done to him, he was using his pain to move past it. Her ears rang. She held her breath. Darla didn't know what to expect next.

 

There was the rushing of footsteps. Near. Then further away. Darla was confused.

 

"THERE' S NO ESCAPE!" (OOC: sorry”¦ Don't have the skills to color this one )

 

The words hit Darla's ears like a hammer. In the next moment Kakuto's pearl blade was only an inch away from her face, having sliced through the pipe that she was hiding under.

 

Darla screamed out in shock more than fear. A short sharp bark, that clearly signalled where she was hiding. She hadn't expected it. She realised that even though she had been trying to hide her presence in the Force, Kakuto was linked to her. Just as she could feel the feelings radiating from him he could feel the fear and anguish in her.

 

Kakuto thrust again and again, puncturing the tube that she was under with reckless abandon. From each puncture hot gas began to erupt. First she felt it on her face. She screamed again, instinctively moving away from the heat. As she rolled aside as best as she could it hit her arm and then a leg. The flesh was going to be steamed from her flesh if she didn't get away from the gas.

 

Darla rolled away from the heat, biting down on her own lip, trying the block out the agony of her burning body. She rolled out from under the pipe and jumped to her feet. In a moment her lightsaber was in her hand and she was ready to fight. The armour had protected her body from the heat but the left side of her face had taken a blast. The air hit her flesh making it sting. The skin was pink and ruptured, luckily she had closed her eye tightly and it hadn't been completely ruined. It was bloodshot and was steadily weeping, but Darla could still see through it.

 

There was a little hope in Darla. She knew that she had gotten through to him. But the hope was drowned out by the sight before her now. Kakuto was truly enraged. Darla was unsure if she would escape alive at this point. Showing Kakuto a glimpse of herself had possibly driven him over the edge.

 

There was only one thing to do now. Fight.

 

 

Is that all there is? Just to fight and fight until one of us dies? Will that make it stop, will this all be over?

 

Both of them had died before but nothing had changed. Their struggle remained. Darla still desperately clung to the idea of redemption. Kakuto desperately sought to destroy that glimmer of hope, the idea, the possibility that he too could find redemption. He too could be forgiven. He wasn't forsaken.

 

 

As she looked at him she screamed at him. Fuelled by pain and frustration, but not anger. The was an eerie stillness to her now. Things were becoming clearer. What frustrated Darla was that Kakuto could not share her purity of vision, her revelation. When he saw what she saw his reaction was to crush it, destroy it.

 

”œI don't want to ESCAPE!”

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Gavin silently took the remote that would catapult him to safety. As glad as he was to finally have the opportunity to rescue his apprentice from the grips of this monster, he wasn't exactly sure that he wanted to leave. Even with the weight of his duty to his padawan pressing down on his shoulders he didn't know how he could abandon the Jedi Master who had come to his rescue and the Jedi Knight who had enabled him to even attempt this rescue. It didn't seem right.

 

On the other hand, his apprentice was still his first priority. The whole point of the mission had been to rescue his apprentice, and to have come this far and gain nothing would make the mission even more of a failure than it would be for him to have lost either Darla or the Jedi Master who had stepped in. If he could get his apprentice to safety then he might be able to alert the right people who could help those that he would be leaving behind.

 

In the end, his duty to his apprentice won. He felt something akin to regret as he pressed the button that began to lift the pair to the relative safety of the upper levels of Bespin. When the pair arrived, Gavin hauled himself and his apprentice up over the ledge and onto the stark white floor of the floating city. He took a few seconds to breathe and then proceeded with haste towards the area where his ship was docked.

 

When he arrived, he was relieved to see that nothing was wrong with the ship and that his apprentice's survival seemed assured. He set the little alien in the small med bay aboard his ship and hooked up all the diagnostics that would be required before heading to the cockpit. He ran through a quick pre-flight check to ensure that everything was in order.

 

As he was about to lift off he felt a slight twinge of pain. He realized that even though there was nothing he could do now to help Darla and the Jedi Master he couldn't just leave them there. He had to know their fate. He reached out through the Force to find their presences and began to send encouraging Force vibes to them. Whether or not they would have any effect on the outcome he may never know, but he knew that he couldn't, in good conscious, leave them there to die.

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"All that is nessacary for evil to succeed is for the good men to do nothing." -Lt. Roy Sanders

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Warm, strong, safe arms were wrapped around Ulan's tiny form providing him with a sensation of comfort. Through blurred vision the padawan viewed the world from a dream like perception, though. Rising through the clouds on a long cable, fear struck the green man, seeing his ascent from the perspective of an insect trapped in the web of a great spider. Essentially, all of the warriors were just that, insignificant beings caught in the web of the Force; driven towards an end they could not control.

 

Gavin's feelings for Ulan, however, transferred through the flow of the mystical energy, easing Ulan's nightmare. As the padawan struggled to regain consciousness he fought dark and light alike. He was still uncomfortable with Gavin--an anger which fueled the darkness--yet there was sincerity in Gavin's efforts--a fact felt by the padawan as he and his master made their escape. Time would be needed to clear the air between the two, but hope still held strong in Ulan's soul. He had not submitted to the dark side, but had only been tempted by it. How to confidently refuse temptation was the new lesson he needed.

 

Aboard the ship, a surge of cool liquid spread into Ulan's arm through a primitive IV drip. The simple saline liquid spread through to sore, overworked muscles relaxing and healing deep wounds. It took some while for the cool feeling to reach Ulan's eyes, but as the soothing liquid spread behind his closed eye-lids peace eased into the tormented padawan. It was a cold sensation that reminded Ulan of the peace felt on crisp nights in the forest. A blessing that reminded him of the gift of refreshing water on a hot day, and the oneness with the Force he had felt on Ilum.

 

Ilum...Gavin...Ryu...

 

SAVE THEM!

 

His eyes burst open dropping tears out of corners of his green orbs. "Gavin," he yelled, hoping his master had not been consumed by the destruction. His tormented mind was certain all life on Bespin had perished, forgetting that his attempts at rescue had failed.

 

Looking around the room though, Ulan knew something was amiss. Then his master's presence struck him, along with the worry pressing on Gavin's mind. No longer was there darkness to blind Ulan, leaving the padawan to feel as his natural character would have it.

 

Compassion quickly consumed him, causing more tears to flow outwards. "Led my master to, what have I?"

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There are rules here, after all. This isn't Vietnam.
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As he readied himself to follow the two of them down the hole, Darex felt Darla open herself back up to him. He could tell she was relieved that Ulan and Gavin were safely on their way off-planet, but the feeling lasted only a moment before he felt her shock and heard her scream. The sound drove him to action. He leapt down the shaft created by their falling bodies, using the Force to control his descent. As he fell, he heard Darla pleading with him again, wanting him to leave, fearing for his safety.

 

Enough was enough. He reached firmly back into her mind. Darla. I'm not leaving you. You do not have to face everything alone. Let me help you. His tone lightened slightly as he felt encouragement flowing through the Force. Besides, I'm not as easy to kill as you think I am.

 

He then put up the illusion of a brick wall. Hopefully Darla would take the hint that he was not going to change his mind on this. He was here for good, no matter what the outcome.

 

He landed, cat-footed, on the decking and reached for his lightsaber.

 

((Just a filler post...))

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OCC Notes: This post is broken into parts specific to each group of the fight. For the purpose of more interesting exposition, the timeline may overlap or skip around between scenes. Because you're all split up it's easier for me to split the story into parts based on each of your experiences.

 

Also, please forgive me for the time it took me to write this post. There aren't enough words for explosion in the English language to accommodate a perfect KR post. I may have to explore German. As you can see, this post was exceptionally long, but challenges every character separately for once. Let me know if this was worth the wait

 

 

The Streets of Bespin, Gavin's Landing Pad

 

A sense of dread drowned the streets of Bespin in silence. The attacks had made the small, vulnerable community uneasy. Though their threat was only a single Sith, they were usually omens of worse fate to come.

 

The crushing realization of the situation's gravity had not long to stew in the Conscious padawan's mind when when his perceived safety would be threatened once more. A strong, foul disturbance in the force radiated from below them, the alien's large ears ringing with a stirring reminder of what had taken place.

 

"THERE' S NO ESCAPE!"

 

An emergency broadcast from Bespin Air Traffic Control arrived in the cockpit. A series of alarms from the flight computer interrupted the liftoff procedure, cloudcars roaring just overhead.

 

"Comm: Bespin Air traffic Control to All Ships... Be Advised... Large Unidentified Vessel on Collision Course with the City coming in off South Face..."

 

The comm trailed off into some coordinates, and the takeoff process resumed. The was comm was downed out Ulan's ears by the soothing rumble of the engines.

 

The flight computer started whirring again as with an alert from the rear sensors. The Cloudcars had vanished. Air Raid Sirens blared, scattering the sparse crowds from the surface of Bespin.

 

"...Target is hostile, repeat, target is hostile..."

 

 

The Bowels of the Carbonite Regulator

 

A barely audible laughter preceded the warrior's erratic approach.

 

"You don't Understand, Darla."

 

He swept low with his saber, charging in to sweep the saber between his arm and his blade. The impact pulled he hilt opposite of her block, sending the blade fly wildly through the air and embed in a durasteel column.

 

Her guard down, Kakuto raised his arm to batter her face, the steel joints quivering with hesitation. His attack stopped short.

 

"You are not the one who tried to Escape me..."

 

The back of his hand glanced her cheek, his unfeeling fingers alive and warm with electricity.

 

 

Near the Cold Carbonite Regulator Core

 

"Darex's confidence has Betrayed him. He has Split himself between the two people he has come to protect, leaving him in a position to defend Neither."

 

A loud bang followed a shudder in the facility, a small vibration as though from a building collapse. Black smoke and debris poured from the open door at the peek of the elevator shaft. The rope they'd used to overcome the lift fell past Darex, an end still on fire.

 

The force revealed something far more sinister than the explosion could even portray, however. Eclipsing Gavin And Ulan was a tremendous shadow, something large like a ship, with the vulgar vibrations of an engine, but strangely... alive.

 

 

The Streets of Bespin, Gavin's ship

 

"For you see, they will find the surface to be FAR from the Safety they had anticipated."

 

An impact to the ship interrupted the power, the horrendous crash turning the bay to darkness. Ulan was thrown from his bed, the IV ripped from his flesh as he was thrashed around the ship.

 

The sensors went berserk, controls unresponsive--the ship flipped through the air, the view from the cockpit pointing skyward. The clouds zoomed by for one peaceful moment before the ship was pushed through the wall of a building, thrashing the pilot without destroying the cockpit entirely.

 

The Darkness of the thrashing med bay broke with a flash of light, an enormous vibroblade of glittering sunlit corusca gems blazing a line through the floor, before twisting and disappearing from whence it came. Eight gargantuan robotic fingers slipped through the hull breach like the legs of a spider, spreading out pry open the ship like tin can. What lie beyond looked like a war droid, but moved like a creature--something fierce and savage. Its huge robotic face peered in through the fissure.

 

Lunging forward, its massive steel jaws unhinged to reveal an oozing blue maw of razor sharp gold plates, from whence came the psychic roar of a creature from regions beyond imagination. Its cheeks caught on the narrow opening, the steel beak of the abomination falling just short of the tiny alien.

 

 

The Bowels of the Carbonite Regulator

 

His thumb forced down on her windpipe, his fingers wrapped firmly around her neck. His head was hanging low, the blood caked platinum hair obscuring his face.

 

"And as for Why?"

 

Kakuto lifted Darla from her feet, her neck cracking loudly.

 

"I wish to Break that which you hold dear. I want to Drive you to the Darkest parts of you mind and watch you Suffer there."

 

He lifted his gaze up to Darla. His neck was tense, and his eyes wild with a mix of contempt and misery. His teeth were clenched, bits of his blood leaking from the corners of his mouth as he spoke.

 

"So why, Darla,"

 

Kakuto took a few heavy paces and slammed her against a vertical pipe. His fingers breached the pipe, carbonite pouring through to flash freeze his lock on her closed. He loosened the grip slightly to let the air into her lungs.

 

"Would you still fear for my life, when it is theirs that may yet be saved?"

 

The Sith reared back as though he were going to release Darla, but as paced back his shoulder merely grew farther from his palm, the mechanical arm pulling apart. The red amulet shimmered with electricity, the loose pieces and floating rings that comprised the device swirling around it. Flashes of lightning began to arc between the parts and the ruby, sending shocks running through Darla's body.

 

The three cylinders in his shoulder erupted, each filled with a copper rich blood, swirling in a magnetic turbine to channeled the force lightning through the alchemic circuitry of the device. A visible halo of charged blue ions hung in the air just above the force dynamos.

 

The energy he produced went through the amulet, which animated the parts on magnetism alone. Spread apart, the loose pieces of his arm acted a massive array to project lightning to a focal point in between his fingers--where he held Darla fast. The only thing that saved her from being obliterated by the rapidly escalating electric torture was the pipe that helped to ground her.

 

 

Near the Cold Carbonite Regulator Core

 

Crimson lights flashed below him, a sinister Cackle filling the air. Kakuto's voice came clear as day from across the distance, echoing in Darex's mind.

 

"All of your companionions are within my Grasp yet you have None of them within yours."

 

Boxes with electronics erupting into flames as he fell down the great trunk of the machine. The Electricity was a coming steadily up the walls and arcing wildly between the pipes. The unsettling feeling of electric charge was strong all around him, and the Carbonite Regulator was making a furious rumble as the pipes fought seizure.

 

"How Careless it was of you to leave her Alone with me..."

 

The howl of something inscrutable echoed down from the repulsorshaft, a stirring clue of the horror that roamed above. White smoke poured downward from the ruined elevator, making the air smell of charcoal.

 

"...Meanwhile the Green One with his Master vulnerable to It."

 

The surges of unchecked energy continued to cut through the sea of darkness below him, illuminating the path as the eye of a blinding thunderstorm.

 

"Time is Short Darex!"

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Kakuto hadn't been talking to Darla. He was truly crazed. He was speaking to those high above who couldn”˜t possibly hear him. Those who had fled. Those who Darla was fighting to protect. Those that Darla hoped had reached safety. Although she had distracted Kakuto, his mind had refocused on her companions. He wasn't going to let any of them escape that easily.

 

Before she could react his words, her lightsaber had been flung from her hands. Darla was sure that she was done for. Her enemy's mechanical hand was raised to smash her face. But then it stopped. Only inches from her face the monstrous hand quivered. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to hit her.

Darla exhaled. She was shocked.

 

Maybe she was right, maybe there really was hope after all.

 

”œYou are not the one who tried to escape me”¦”

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The tunnel suddenly came alive with writhing bolts of electricity. Darex manipulated himself away from the walls as he fell, drawing on the Force to find him clear paths through the arcing beams, adjusting his speed of descent when needed. A few beams of energy singed him, but none of them were too dangerous, and he barely noticed them.

 

His mind was under attack. He could feel Kakuto manipulating events around him. His danger sense flared and the Force directed his focus upwards, showing him a flash of monstrous droid attack Gavin and Ulan's ship. What is that?!? Darex got a sinking feeling that the other Jedi were in serious bantha poodoo. He briefly considered turning around and climbing back up the hole, but knew that he couldn't do so while the tube was alive with Ryu's Force lightning. As much as he wished he could help, the other Jedi were on their own now. Don't worry about it, Darex. He is a Jedi Knight; he's hardly helpless. He began to reach out with the Force to send encouragement back at the Knight, returning the favor, when his concentration was broken by a scream of agony from below.

 

Almost frantically, he reached out to Darla. He felt her despair, hopelessness and terror. He tried to encourage her, to tell her not to give up, but she wasn't listening to him. Finally, he saw the ground approaching, and he landed a few seconds later, rolling to protect himself from the impact. He immediately followed the trail of Kakuto's lightning, dancing around to avoid some charges, batting others away with his now-ignited lightsaber.

 

And suddenly it felt like time stood still. He turned the corner and saw both of them, Darla imprisioned in cooling carbonite and Kakuto standing off, pouring dark lightning through her body. And he felt Darla reach out to him, hopeless, dying, and whisper a farewell through the Force.

 

And then she was gone. In her place there was only a monster. It wore her features and form, but that was where the likeness ended. Darex was hit with a encompassing wave of rage and desire and bloodlust. He staggered, nausea threatening to rip his stomach out his throat. Tears dashed down his cheeks as he cried out, a single word that conveyed the depths of the anguish he now felt.

 

"NO!!!!"

 

She had given in. She had let him win. She was gone, to be replaced by a monster that knew no good thing. And Darex knew, as he felt offsets of Kakuto's lightning shocking him, his defenses down, that he now had not one enemy, but two.

 

The Force rushed into him, it's powerful light becoming a blaze that gave him strength to stagger to his feet and defend himself from the remnants of the lightning. In that moment, he knew that it had all come to nothing. The woman he had loved was gone, lost in the monstrous shell of the dark side that was now attacking the Sith Master. He struggled with thoughts of revenge; it had been Kakuto who, after all, had pushed her too far. But he knew more than that; it had been her choice and hers alone, just as it had been for every Force user in the history of the galaxy.

 

The shell of the Jedi Master staggered forward, the light side resurging in him even as his emotions ravaged him. Outside, he seemed to be vacantly and instinctually blocking all dangers that came his way. Inside, he felt like he was on the brink of insanity.

 

Let go...

 

The whisper of the Force was a small echo in his mind, but the sane part left in him heard it's words. If he didn't let go, he would be destroyed. Consumed. Eaten alive from the inside by the darkness that was so prevalent here, in the bowels of the city.

 

If you loved her, you'll let her go. Hope remains, if only you look for it. The Force spoke to him in the voice of his old master. If you give in to your anger and pain, you'll betray yourself, and the parts of you she loved will be destroyed. All memory of her will be erased from you mind. Is that how she would want to be remembered?

 

And so Darex gathered all his emotion, all his anger and betrayal and heartache, and in one swift motion, cut it off from himself and flung it away. He retreated to a high plateau, a flat windy plain where the breeze of the Force blew strong and clear. Nothing could hurt him here, and his emotions were held back by walls as hard as diamonds.

 

The shell-Darex looked at the scene analytically. The monster-Darla was using the dark side to attack the Sith Master, manipulating a stream of carbonite towards the extended arm and red amulet that Kakuto used as an extension of his will. He knew he couldn't count on her to ignore him, but hoping that she was focused on Kakuto, he risked turning his back to her for a moment. Darex saw an opportunity and sprang, his lightsaber coming down on the cables that still connected the hand to Kakuto. They severed cleanly, and Darex spun so that he was facing Kakuto but still able to keep an eye on monster-Darla, not knowing what she would do. Face blazing, lightsaber in a mocking guard, he spoke to the Sith Master.

 

"You've done what you came here to do," he gritted out through clenched teeth. "Now let's end this."

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Little time was there for Ulan to reflect on the events that had been transpiring before he was once again thrust back into action. Medical equipment tumbled around the med bay, green blood dripped from Ulan's arms where I.V's tore from his flesh, and darkness consumed the alien's world once more. The ship's electric power blinked out of existence, and for a brief moment Ulan was lost in a world where up was down and left was right.

 

"Confound it all," he said in his old, slightly comical voice while standing on his head, "What now is it?"

 

The grumpy hermit persona had not been driven from his bones during the intensely trying times, and in such a moment was a welcomed comfort; a reminder of simpler, more peaceful times. It was a thought that steadied Ulan's warped, tired mind at precisely the moment his tiny spirit needed. Perhaps it was the Force lending a hand at an opportune time, or perhaps it was all coincidence, Ulan no longer knew for sure. His time with Ryu had confused him utterly as to the nature of the Force. All that mattered to him was for a brief moment he had found a remembrance of peace.

 

It was short lived. Cataclysmic violence poured through the hull of Gavin's ship. A brilliant energy beam trimmed off a piece of Ulan's tattered clothes, waking the alien up to the reality of his situation. There was a reason he was standing on his head, and despite the feelings of peace he had stumbled upon, action was now needed. He summoned the Force to his side, flipping his stiff body into the air to face his foe just as monstrous claws ripped through the outer layer of the ship, peeling it back like a vornsykr tearing at the hide of some helpless prey.

 

Quivering three toed feet barely managed to support Ulan as he looked on in awe at the diabolical manifestation of evil that had come to end his life. Ulan could imagine Ryu's maniacal laughter echoing through the streets of Bespin as the Dark Lord looked upon the seemingly helpless padawan.

 

See the folly in your ways now do you? Ryu would say. Dark and light are all perspective. Who are you to stand in the way of the will of the Force?

 

It was an argument difficult for the padawan to refute, especially now that he could see where his decisions had led him: to the impending doom of a robot's fathomless belly. However, more pressing on Ulan than his allegiance was his survival. As the spinning teeth of death inched ever closer he was faced with the daunting task of surviving off of only what he knew: not a whole hell of a lot. The intricate philosophies of light and dark eluded him as a padawan. He had only begun to graze the true nature of the Force, and if there is one thing his long life had taught him, it was that he would have years to explore the thoughts of all those who had come before.

 

"As long as survive this I do."

 

For now, the basics.

 

He quickly searched the pile of rubble for his lightsaber, calling it to his hand quickly. Thank the Force left it nearby, Gavin did. The beast's oily, motor breath pressed on Ulan, pushing the padawan back against the wall leaving him little time to think of his master.

 

Trust you to fight by my side I do. Leave you I will not, and do the same for me I trust you will.

 

Ulan squinted his eyes and ignited his Excalibur as the thought was sent through the Force to the Jedi Knight. Come to his aid Ulan trusted Gavin to do, but until that moment the battle would be the green man versus the tin monster. Ulan bounced into the air, pressing his small feet against the upturned ceiling of the med bay and, directing his body straight at the mech's grinding mouth, pushed forward with the speed of a thousand hyperdrives. His miniature form shot through the onslaught of grinding teeth, narrowly missing being ground to bits. In less than a second, Ulan had squeezed down the mech's dark gullet prepared to engage the beast from within.

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There are rules here, after all. This isn't Vietnam.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Gavin's eyes flickered open, revealing two extremely distant orbs. It took a few moments before the fog cleared from his mind enough for him to remember exactly where he was and the dire circumstances that he now found himself in. As he began to take in his surroundings everything came back in a rush of information. Something had crashed into his ship, Darex and Darla were still in bowels of the floating city, and all four of them were in mortal danger.

 

Gavin sat up and began to assess the damage done to his body. His head had impacted on the nav console, so a concussion was likely. His left arm was bent at an inhuman angle and was at least fractured but other than that he seemed to be okay. He reached out in the Force to find his apprentice's dim presence and was relieved to find that he was at least still alive.

 

He brought himself slowly to his feet, grabbing hold of one of the overturned bulkheads to steady himself when the black circles of unconsciousness began to creep up on him. As it passed, Gavin navigated his way towards his padawan's Force signature.

 

Trust you to fight by my side I do. Leave you I will not, and do the same for me I trust you will.

 

The thought invaded Gavin's mind at the exact second that he passed the crumpled entrance of his vessel. The warmth of sunlight brushed his face, inviting him to escape to a better place. While this thought wouldn't have normally crossed his mind, it seemed like an unbelievable option at this point. Kakuto had surely twisted his apprentice's mind to a level of corruptness that he wouldn't likely come out of and Gavin wasn't even sure that he would have the skills necessary to bring Ulan back to the light if they survived this ordeal.

 

You can't stand idly by while some fat ass demon robot eats the shit out of your apprentice, can you? No, Ulan had proven time and time again how loyal he was to you and to the Jedi Order and abandoning him at a time like this would be guilt that you couldn't live with.

 

Draw your saber. Ignore your concussion. Don't try to parry. Dear God, stick to Dodge. I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

Gavin wasn't exactly sure where the words of wisdom had come from but he decided to trust that the Force was guiding him in the right direction. He bypassed the entrance ramp and continued around the curve of the ship towards his apprentice. He called his lightsaber to his sweaty palm, igniting the molten bronze blade as he rounded the corner into the chamber where he could feel his apprentice in his struggle.

 

What greeted him was something out of a nightmare. The monster, for there was no other word to describe it, had durasteel platting and enough armaments to blow away half of the city. Perhaps its most impressive feature was the giant corusca gem-lined vibrosword that it held. It startled Gavin enough to stop him dead in his tracks. To top it all off, as he stopped he got the pleasure of watching his apprentice dive head-first into the beast's chomping jaws.

 

Trusting that his apprentice knew what he was doing as he had done so many times in the past, he brought his sword up and rushed forward, fully intending to do whatever it took to retrieve and save his padawan and destroy anything that stood in his way.

 

((Sorry about the quality of this post. I have been incredibly busy for the past few weeks and my writing has suffered because of it, but I don't want to leave this thread hanging for any longer. I really will try to keep it to a maximum of three days from now on.))

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"All that is nessacary for evil to succeed is for the good men to do nothing." -Lt. Roy Sanders

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  • 3 weeks later...

The Jaws of Uriel

 

As Ulan slipped between the golden plates he was met with a thick blue ooze washing over him in waves and pulling him into the belly of the beast with an unseen current. In the blades of light that pierced through the gaps in the ever darkening mouth the shadows of free floating teeth loomed.

 

The plates surrounded and overwhelmed Ulan, his lightsaber malfunctioning as they formed a cocoon around him, squeezing the air from his lungs and replacing it with the the cold blue fluid. The taste and smell of blood overwhelmed his senses. The interlocking teeth of slid shut as as the final plate fell into place, leaving the padawan to drown alone in total darkness.

 

 

Beneath the Carbonite Regulator Core

 

The delicate floating array ceased its battery as the wave of Carbonite interrupted its rotation and disrupted the careful balance of the parts. Stray arcs of energy erupted from the mass as he strained to preserve its cohesion. Though the arm itself was immune to Darex's blade, the interference of the magnetic field caused it to bind suddenly, pieces expoding off and disappearing into the carbonite flow. A half formed hand appeared in the maw, grinding as the mangled wreckage failed to fold back into the intricate form of his arm. Instead what emerged from the carbonite was a a three fingered claw, shuttering and thrashing with loose ends, the ruby amulet shining brightly through the gaps.

 

"You are Mistaken, Darex."

 

Kakuto's crimson saber emerged from his palm to match the pearl saber in a two bladed stance as he stared down his enemies. He had never seen Darla give into the dark side, and after so long trying to drive her to her breaking point he reveled in the opportunity. His victory was in grasp, he would capture her and make an apprentice of her or he would die trying. There would never be another chance like this.

 

"I'm far from done with you."

 

He charged at Darex with his blades raised, letting loose a flurry of slashes at his neck. He wanted to Darex to die quickly so that he could claim his prize.

 

 

The Impact Site

 

Police and rescue workers began to swarm around the impact site, blocking off the streets and trying to pull survivors from damaged buildings before they collapsed. Speeders with heavy laser cannons rolled up on the billowing smoke cloud, a palpable sense of dread lording over the dutiful guardians. Attempts to contact with Gavin's vessel failed, the communications array disabled.

 

A wing of cloud cars slid into the street row in line to make a pass over, hoping to get a better look at what had happened. As they came close two volleys of red laser fire erupted from behind a curtain of smoke, swatting down a pair of cars and sending them careening toward the police perimeter. A single pilot floated gracefully away on a parachute, caught in the updraft of the burning building, struggling not to be capsized or sent beyond the outer edge of the city.

 

The gargantuan white mech's glowing red eyes peered through the smoke before it emerged, heaving Gavin's ship at mass of speeders before the twin laser canons on its shoulders lit it up. The creature's terrible wings extended as it slowly trod into view, one slashing through the remainder of a building and causing it to collapse and fill the streets with waves of flaming debris.

 

 

In the Maw of Madness

 

Suddenly a sensation unlike anything he had previously imagined rumbled within Ulan. It was a sound like a voice roaring from inside Ulan's body, vibrating every fiber of his being with sense of overwhelming malice. Lights began to dance around Ulan, flashing in tone with the inescapable menace, growing gradually more intricate until it became apparent that not only was Ulan able to see all of cloud city in the breadth of a single gaze, but that he could see inside of solid matter, people and buildings. And yet, his own identity became harder and harder to recall as his thoughts became drowned out by the extra-dimensional bombardment.

 

His nerves began to tingle with life, sensations caused not by his own body, but the body of a creature he was gradually being drawn into.The self awareness and lucidity began to return to Ulan, but marked with sharp sense of helplessness. The body of the fifty-five foot monster was in fact his own, but at the same time it wasn't, as he had no control over its actions. Waves of lasers began to erupt from the Bespin Security officers to glance off its great armored shell as the huge metal feet paced slowly forward.

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Bespin was a world away, still observable but seemingly untouchable to Ulan. It remained a place mixed with light and dark where an age old battle raged onward, yet it all seemed futile. The soul of the machine penetrated Ulan's mind and spirit, enlightening his thoughts, showing him a perspective of the universe which he had never experienced. His conscious merged with the mech's, filling his soul with what seemed like omniscient power. Through the beast's eyes he could see everything. At one time he could witness both the parts of the universe and the whole of the great cosmos.

 

One with the Force am I?

 

The independent thought shook his connection with the machine, blurring the lines between worlds. For a moment he was allowed to contemplate his existence. Had he been killed, chopped into bits as he shot through the mech's mouth?

 

No, a voice told him, simply empowered.

 

In a devastating blow, the mech swung its weapon, slicing a building in twain, crippling the structure while raining rubble down onto the city's guards. Adrenaline rushed through Ulan's veins encouraging his lust. However, something in the mech's digestive soup slipped by Ulan's lifeless fingertips, interrupting his desires. The being once known as Ulan nearly entirely resided within the artificial life of the mech, but as the black, organic cylinder brushed the padawan's fingertips another independent thought flashed into his lifeless form.

 

For what here am I?

 

The question echoed through his consciousness as if it had been spoken in a dream. His eyes revealed to him a devastating scene caused by his hands, but his mind told him differently. The padawan struggled with the confusion unable to comprehend the multilayered universe he had been drawn into, unable to feel a connection with anything natural or real, and then he saw Gavin. A relic from a previous life, Gavin's appearance awoke something lost in the layers of darkness now penetrating Ulan's thoughts. All at once he wanted to destroy Gavin and fight alongside him.

 

The mech's powerful arm raised the sword into the air, grasping the hilt with both hands and pointing the tip of the blade at the ground. From within the mech Ulan could see his master's fear, courage, love, and hate. Contempt and compassion for Gavin filled Ulan. Understand he does not. Foolish are his dogmatic rituals. Ulan hated Gavin because the master could not see the universe as he now did. It angered him that Gavin would judge his actions, labeling him unworthy of Jedi teachings.

 

Who is he to judge? a voice screamed.

 

The vibrosword thrust downwards into the ground like Excalibur into the stone. Concrete and steel burst outwards in every direction, splitting the ground beneath Gavin's feet, putting the Jedi Knight in danger of being squeezed between deadly debris.

 

Ulan shuttered at the thought of his master's death, but he also reveled in the demise of a fool. Then again, in the grand scheme of things what did Gavin's life really matter? Everything and nothing, thought the enlightened, yet confused, Ulan.

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There are rules here, after all. This isn't Vietnam.
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With a mighty blow from her saber, Not-Darla severed the hand that was around her throat from the twisted mass of carbonite that it was joined to. With a snarl, she wrenched the hand free from the pipe that it held her to. As she did, more carbonite burst forth from the punctures. Swiftly, inhumanly fast she avoided the flow.

 

Now she was free.

 

There was another person in the room that she was dimly aware of. A man who also fought her enemy. He had attacked the arm that had held her in place. He had made it easier for her to escape. One word came to Darla, she wasn't entirely sure what it meant.

 

Friend?

 

Although she didn't understand this word it did mean something to her. It meant that this man could help her kill her enemy. That was a good thing. A very good thing.

 

When she saw this friend getting attacked, instinct took over.

 

Screaming out, deep rage emanating from the woman, she held out her hand. Energy flowing from the Force, filling her to the brim, erupted forth. A huge invisible hand seemed to slam into Darex. He was hurled backwards. For several moments it seemed like he was going to be slammed into the wall and crushed. For several moments, what was once Darla was about to do just that. For several moments, she felt the rush and excitement. With the power of her mind she could shattered this man's bones. The idea thrilled and excited her. Then something seemed to stop her.

 

Friend!

 

No, she didn't want to crush this man. She was”¦ Saving him? Yes. That was it. He had saved her. The idea did make sense but the creature wanted to taste blood so badly. In a moment she was focused on her task again. The pale man was her enemy. It was his blood she wanted. It was his blood she needed. It was his blood that she would drink from his dying body.

 

Darex felt himself hurtled backwards, away from Kakuto with an almost crushing force, But suddenly it stopped and he dropped to the ground. He felt a slight bump as he hit the floor, but otherwise he was completely unscathed.

 

Inside the beast, Darla was a passenger. Her true self inert. A sleeping traveller, merely along for the ride. She had no control now. What she had always feared had come to pass. The Darkness that had always dwelt deep within her had taken control. Completely. Not a momentary laspse, where she allowed her darker feelings to come the surface. No. Thi was much much more than that. Darla had lost all control.

 

Now she was the darkness. Nothing more.

 

But she didn't really know that. She didn't really know that something base and inhuman was moving her limbs. The pain had been so unbearable that she had thought that she had died from the agony. She was aware on level that she hadn't. But now she was curled up, deep within her mind where it was safe and no-one could harm her. She could hear screaming in the distance, but it didn't concern her. It wasn't safe out there anymore.

 

The stronger part of her was in-control. The powerful part. The part that would allow her to survive. No, not just survive, win! Succeed! Devour!

 

Before Kakuto had the chance to react to his quarry being hurled across the room, the woman had rushed in with her saber. Screaming and snarling, she began to bat at his blade with her own, pushing him backwards ever so slightly as he parried her onslaught of blows. Blades held against each other, locked for a moment she looked into his eyes.

 

The beautiful woman that he had tormented for so many years didn't appear to be home anymore. Someone else had come to visit Kakuto Ryu. The left side of her face had been burnt by the super-heated steam and was a red mess. Strips of her flesh had been severed away and sinew showed. Thick yellow fluid oozed out of the still bubbling wound as her skin desperately tried to repair itself. She was way beyong healing now. There was noway that this feral, dark apparition could access the healing powers of the light side.

 

Her appearance mirrored his own scarred visage. But her eyes were even more inhuman than Kakuto's own. Black, endless voids. He could see eternity in those eyes, he could see the endless depths of space, he could drown in them. At the very same time he could see nothing at all. She grinned at him, the expression making the scarred side of her face even more demonic and twisted.

 

”œIs this what you wanted?”

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In the blink of an eye, Kakuto had leveled his gaze on Darex. He had spoken, Darex knew, because he saw the other man's lips moving, but Darex had not paid attention to the words. He was still on that high plateau where nothing could reach him, where his hurt and his pain would not intrude on or impede his logical and thinking mind. So it was that when Kakuto leapt forward and attacked, that the dance of blade on blade began, much as it had throughout the eons of the galaxy. This was the core, one of the central truths of the galaxy. The Sith would always be there to try to bring chaos, and the Jedi would always be there to turn that chaos into peace. It was the way of things, and had been for millennia.

 

Darex met Kakuto's flurry of attacks mechanically, the Force making it clear to him where the Sith Master's next attack would land and enabling him to be there to meet it. For a few seconds, they danced, their weapons blurs around them.

 

And then suddenly, Darex felt a massive hand grip his chest and shove him backwards. He thought at first that the attack was from Kakuto, but then suddenly realized it was coming from the not-Darla. A sinking feeling escaped through his shields, and he wondered if she saw him as an enemy too, now. But suddenly, he dropped lightly to the decking, and knew then that she merely had wanted him out of the way. The realization gave him a sliver of hope that he tucked away as he rose to his feet again. Maybe she wasn't all gone. But he wouldn't find out until””

 

The words of the Sith code blasted through his mind. He staggered at the sheer volume and weight of conviction he felt pouring from this not-Darla's mind. He understood then, how the dark side had claimed her. It had promised her the one thing she desired most””freedom. Oh Darla, he thought in the deep recesses of his mind. But at what cost? Look at what you have become”¦you would not have wanted this.

 

A flicker of warning came from the Force, and he instinctively ducked as the dark-side woman came smashing back down through the pipes. She dragged two live cables with her, and landed on Kakuto, using them to send power coursing through the Sith Master. Darex winced almost in sympathy. He could feel the pain, the anguish, coursing through the Force. He had felt it stronger when Darla had been subjected to the same torment, but---and suddenly he realized this not-Darla was being very precise and deliberate. She had chosen this attack precisely because it was the same thing Kakuto had done to her. It was revenge, pure and simple.

 

He felt her reach out to him, and it felt so much like Darla and so much not like her that it sent another jab of anguish through his mind. But he fortified his own mental shielding. He had to answer her beckon. The Force made it clear to him that only one of the two men here would live through this, and Darex had every right to do what he could to make sure he was the one who lived. But he felt sorry for Kakuto; all this planning, all this work, all this success. Darex had hoped for a different outcome, but he knew there was none. Any chance you have left to save her will be gone if Kakuto lives. So he strode quickly forward, towards the maelstrom of electricity and darkness, his lightsaber blazing in his hand.

 

And while Kakuto was being subjected to Darla's electric attack, with a burst of Force-enhanced speed, Darex sent his lightsaber plunging directly towards the Sith Master's neck, going for the kill.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gavin sprang into action as the Uriel began its destructive trek down the city street. Debris was flying everywhere, creating more pandemonium than this city had probably ever seen. Ships were being brought down and buildings were cut in half. In a matter of a few seconds, he had gone from sitting in the supposed safety of his ship far away from the battle and now he was once again fighting for his and his apprentice's life.

 

He moved in towards the center of the storm of metal and stone, avoiding what he could and using the Force to deflect what he couldn't. It was not an easy journey. The only thing that kept him going was the knowledge that the sooner he got to the source, the more likely it would be that Ulan survived. All of this pain and suffering would be for nothing if his apprentice didn't survive. He could feel his padawan's Force signature coming from the belly of the beast and that wasn't encouraging.

 

Cutting his way into the mech wasn't an option. The high grade of the outer plating would make getting close enough to the ship for a long enough period of time impossible. But what other options were left?

 

Dive in.

 

Dive in? Yeah, that made sense. Dive into the giant apprentice-eating robot that was destroying everything in its path. Perhaps next he could jump off the edge of Cloud City and hope that he could suddenly fly. And where were these suicidal suggestions coming from? Maybe that concussion was screwing with his sense of self-preservation, but what did it matter? His padawan was in mortal danger and he had the chance to do something about it.

 

Before committing possibly the stupidest action of his life, Gavin stopped and picked up a rather sharp looking piece of shrapnel. He wasn't exactly sure why Ulan wasn't cutting his way out of the mech, but having something other than what his apprentice had when he entered might make it easier to rationalize his stupidity.

 

Deciding that there was no better moment than the present, Gavin surged forward. He saw the shoulder cannons on the beast begin to heat up but he trusted that the Force would grant him the speed to reach the ship in time. He saw the jaws open wide, almost as if they were inviting him in. He took one final deep breath before rushing head first into the abyss, both of his chosen blades swinging wildly, cutting anything they encountered. Gavin began to call through the Force to his apprentice.

 

Ulan! Ulan, I'm coming for you! Hold on just a little bit longer!

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"All that is nessacary for evil to succeed is for the good men to do nothing." -Lt. Roy Sanders

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