Vjun

[Capt. Phillep]

From the cocoon to which he had once grown accustomed to, he felt his lungs fill with the air of Vjun, wet and steamy... stinging his nostrils. His eyes parted open and his skin was stretched tight over his human form. He collapsed into the floor, rising for a minute, before rubbing the sides of his temple...

 

Groggily, the words were choked, as he spat them out, "What happened?"

 

Whether the transformation carried with it other side effects including mild memory loss, it would yet need to be determined... the Imperial's naked form managed to take hold of the rubble and rise to his feet. A torn cloak becoming his present dressing...

 

"I remember we were fighting... and then... it's all... strange."

[Haphaestus]

Haphaestus appeared at Phillep's side. "You were taught the lesson that you needed to learn," the general said. "The one of death. You reached the point, student, where you ceased to function as the precise being that I have taught you to be and became an uncivilized being of rage."

 

The once-droid turned away once again. "You will learn, in time, to either avoid that state altogether or be able to fight with precision despite its effects. Regardless, we will temporarily conclude combat training to counter it with a more sophisticated art--that of Battle Meditation and mind control, the art of the wise and powerful," the general explained.

 

"Recover as you will and meet me in the room that you initially began your learning process in," Haphaestus concluded, heading now for that very room within the temple.

[Capt. Phillep]

The exhausted Imperial nodded, accepting his Master's description as nothing else truly manifested itself in his own mind as for the events that transpired. Only images of a feral beast lurking in the mirrors and pools of water as he passed them... a strange hesitation as he approached the quarters he had taken in Vjun. Disrobing and gaining the proper clothes, he found his lightsaber and donned it... before returning, fully clothed in a black form-fitting training robes and positioning himself before his Master.

 

"I await your next instruction, my Master."

[Haphaestus]

If Haphaestus could smile, he would have. It was refreshing to have his apprentice back to his submissive, civilized self. For too long had he tried to gain the upper hand on his Master, thinking himself capable of defeating him before being proven wrong. Now, for the moment, things were as they should be.

 

But rather than expressing his feelings (who would've guessed that he would ever have "feelings"?), the general got straight to business. "This world, Vjun, has a strong tie to the Dark Side of the Force. There was once a great man called Darth Vader, one you may be familiar with due to his ties with the rise of the Galactic Empire. At any rate, he had a castle here called Bast," Haphaestus explained. "He understood as Nurgle does--the very core of the planet itself is evil.

 

"The result is that the creatures here are also of evil disposition. You will find that you will be able to harness their minds well, even with little experience. I have dabbled in this art myself, but we will learn together, apprentice," he said. "You will find that the minds of my army are especially supple and easy to bend to your will, but I encourage you to only use them as a first step.

 

"In essence, you are going to touch a single mind and grab ahold of it. Feel its thoughts and its tendencies. Most importantly, feel its agenda, what it knows it is doing and must soon do," the once-droid went on descriptively. "Then, simply change those things with a strong suggestion from your own mind. Try it."

 

There was a sort of sadistic enjoyment to be had with this sort of power. Not only could one use the Dark Side to make himself more powerful and alter his own physical abilities, but he or she could use it to alter another being, changing the course of another life if need be.

 

Haphaestus reached out himself and found the mind of a creature deep within the forest. It was primitive and simple, walking alongside its mate. He touched its mind, finding the source of thought and the nervous system. Turn around, he thought strongly. Through the Force, he could acutely detect the creature's obeyal. It was simple, but the stepping stone to much greater things.

[Capt. Phillep]

Phillep nodded, for he had once attempted to invade the confines of other beasts... the large spider-like creatures that had tried to destroy him in the jungle.

 

He settled on his knees and began to meditate, finding the dark creatures quickly... and settling on one, it was the mate of the one being focused on by his Master. Her mind sparked with few real thoughts... only confusion and hesitation, a sting of abandonment and resentment.

 

In the primitive functions, there was communication, a wild groan... emphasizing "Why leave me?" The beast's anger and sense of dependency were being triggered by his Master's actions. "Organics rely on companionship, Master... you have angered her. She is angry... I can stop this, change this... but to what?"

 

The nest they rested in rustled to life, exposing off-spring, the next generation, "I can kill a youngling."

 

There was almost no real sense of emotion from his voice, he was almost acting scientifically or mechanically, as he forced the thought of killing into the Mother Creature. Her mind struggled with Apprehension at the suggestion, struggling and shaking, but in the end, submitting.

 

Her large foreclaw expanded from her flesh and she struck, piercing the backbone of the offspring, its poisonous blood spilling over the ground and the mother's claw still pierced through the youth.

 

"She is in pain Master, I... enjoy this feeling. Causing pain to others."

[Haphaestus]

Haphaestus didn't bother responding to his student's statements. Somewhere along the course of his training he had forgotten that he was only to speak when spoken to, but the general didn't mind most of the time. The effect was to have Phillep's submission and respect, and he had both those things even without enforcing the rule at this stage.

 

The misery of the female being that had killed her child was echoed by horror and anger from the one Haphaestus monitored. He gave only a slight nudge and turned that anger into hate. The creature charged his mate, attacking with abruptness and feirce hate. The battle was short and the female perished.

 

There was one more step. His creature overcome with greif, it was easy for Haphaestus to tell it to kill itself. Dutifully it committed suicide, finishing the complete destruction of its close family that had been living and well only minutes before, walking through the forest, minding their own business.

 

"Student, together we have taken three lives by simply willing that they be ended," Haphaestus said. "This reveals true potential for power. But, when leading an army, it would be much more efficient to unite and coordinate your own forces than try and destroy the opposition one or two beings at a time."

 

The general stretched out with the Dark Side again. "Follow my lead and let us make war, each with our own army that we control."

 

He then spread his sphere of influence, detecting many such creatures in the forest. He started by dividing his influence on three of them, each no more than a dozen meters apart. With a single command he told them to unite together at the coordinate that he designated. His droid mind gave him an excellent tactical grasp of what he could feel through the Force, viewing it more solidly and making uniting point far more useful.

 

Then he grabbed a fourth creature and sent it towards the other three, who were now standing in staggered formation....

[Capt. Phillep]

Phillep nodded, "As you wish, Master."

 

His own scope of the terrain was a bit less precise, but no less accurate, as he could palpably sense the minds of his 'minions.' There were four... they were each quite stubborn in their own right, but by dividing his focus one at a time, each was quickly conquered. He was weaker in these aspects than his Master and would find it potentially more troublesome, yet, he was still quite formidable in his own right... and experienced.

 

Bring the four creatures in a v-formation, the three spider-like creatures and a primitive primate moved, with the primate making the rear guard. They approached slowly and cautiously, as Phillep saw through the eyes of the primate and used him as a focal point to communicate ideas to his soldiers.

 

Focus. Together, attack as one. Concentrate forces, only fend off in Defense, keep offensive assaults until death. Use your environment.

 

The primate being the only one of the four to not be armed by nature with large gaping claws and poison, found himself a large trunk of hardwood to function as a club and moved through the trees, while the trio moved through the underbrush of Vjun...

[Darth Dominus]

Nurgle's interest was sparked by Hephaestus's words. This manifestation of Nurgle's power within Phillep was unexpected, but not unwelcome. The Sith Master remained to observe the training.

[Haphaestus]

Haphaestus "watched" the makings of battle proceed. A simple four-on-four match would be sufficient for the first engagement--he didn't want to fluster his student and make him doubt his capabilities at such an early stage of this sort of work. Surely things would eventually grow to the scale of thousands, but everything had to start somewhere.

 

The general sent one of his four arachnids off to the side to attack when needed. The other three formed up, two in front with the third between and behind them. Visual contact between those controlled by Phillep and those controlled by Haphaestus was made, and the general sparked the sense of hostile intent into his "troops."

 

They moved forward, maintaining formation, and Haphaestus' droid mind lit up with the calculations he was designed for. Judging from the slight delay in the second attack from the second place in the enemy wedge as well as the perceived morale of the left-most unit of my formation, that unit has a 62% chance of victory. Judging on reflex, the right-most spider decidedly has only a 32% chance of victory, though odds change as do circumstances.

 

The flanking spider, fully camouflaged against the similarly-treeborn primate, crept up above its designated opponents.

 

The standoff ended when Haphaestus' units charged. His two forward units clashed with the forward and right-most spider (from his side's perspective) in the enemy formation. The rear spider leapt forward immediately, catching the spear-head opponent on the side as he rebounded from the initial attack.

 

Simultaneously, the flanking spider leapt from the trees and attacked the spider already engaged with the right-most "friendly," effectively catching it offguard and flanked. Attacks too coordinated to be of their own primitive design lead them to kill their opponent and seek to join in the soon-to-be four-way fray of the others.

[Capt. Phillep]

As the first of the trio was quickly swarmed, its counterparts attacked the lead offender, while this occured, Haphaestus's flanking unit cornered and surrounded Phillep's team... already down a member.

 

The primate, functionally, was gifted with his brute strength and developed a heightened sense of understanding, which accounted for the next tactic. Phillep's entire team scurried in separate directions into the underbrush, hiding from their predatory counterparts. The primate himself quickly falling in step, as the weakened opponent delivered what he could of an offense, cutting into the the flanking, formerly tree-born unit, before quickly failing and dying.

 

As the trio now of the arachnids and the primate scurried along, it became silent, movement from all sides, until Haphaestus' leader still recovering from being jabbed with the felled unit's claw, met the hardwood across the face, it's jaw structure breaking instantly. Drawing the entire of the remaining Haphaestus trio, it opened the way for the arachnid pair to strike from the rear and tear into the 32% morale rate opponent. As the primate continued to fend off his opponents with the large chunk of hardwood...

[Haphaestus]

Unacceptable, Haphaestus thought in the direction of his units. The numbers were even, but his units had the current disadvantage in morale. Of course, he could force a much stronger will to victory upon them if he only found the emotion of inspiration within himself. He wasn't used to feeling it, so he just took a guess.

 

Rather than true, righteous, inspiration, his units attacked with no restraint out of fear. They apparently decided that losing would hold a much more terrible fate, one made even more terrible than that if they lived and reported to their "superior." Haphaestus got glimpse of seeing how ruling an army through fear worked, though the long-term deficiencies of this plan demoted it in his eyes.

 

For the moment, adrenaline gave his units the edge. They each leapt at the primate, which was slow to balance out its strength. They clung to it and injected it with venom. One tore through its jugular vein. It toppled after a moment of staggering, and Haphaestus quickly found the next tactically sound decision easy to discern.

 

The three arachnids were now only faced by two, and they leapt to the far side of the fallen primate, two of them able to use it for cover and the third back several paces to leap in and surround the opponents as they indubiously leapt over the corpse.

[Capt. Phillep]

Phillep's face twitched, a jagged cut appearing along his neck, similar to where the primate had felt its jugular ripped and as the blood exited his body, he collapsed to the floor in a thud. A strange sense of fury rushed through Phillep... the connection severed, only creating a stronger rush into the arachnid pair.

 

The already weakened arachnid, its mind numbed from the primate's former beating found itself torn asunder. The pair's attack power seemed to surge as Phillep's own fists clenched closed and anger started to flood his body.

 

Two v. two.

 

The arachnid pair responded, their anger heightening their adrenaline rush, as it rushed forwards by the whip of Phillep's demands, their body's no longer resisted and they became engines of his will... the claws, already touched by their weak opponents blood, now rushed onwards.

 

Digging into the skin of the remaining Haphaestus' arachnids, the purple-crimson flowed from the large open gashes on the left-most attack. Taking the opportunity, Phillep's second beast lunged forth, and four simultaneous claws dug deep, tearing away the eyes from Haphaestus' second. A thin smirk parting Phillep's lips...

One v. two.

 

Attack as one. Strike and do not stop until his heart is crushed beneath your claws.

 

The twin arachnids growled in unison, as if understanding fully...

[Haphaestus]

OOC: ... You didn't really react to my strategy...

 

IC:

Things were looking somewhat grim. Haphaestus was the superior tactical mind between him and his apprentice--that much was clear--but somehow the opposing forces were gaining the upper hand. Sometimes units were only as good as their commander, but oftentimes a commander was restricted by the physical and mental limitations of his units.

 

So he would have to take his final unit into his own quite capable hands. The Dark Side of the Force was sent to work, and Haphaestus didn't hold back on what he knew how to do. He injected the most corporeal form of energy that he could into the spider's form, filling it with adrenaline. He also stretched through the Force to that very spot so far away and intervened in the way only he could.

 

The two spiders under Phillep's command attacked in unison, but they seemed to hit invisible walls and bounced backwards, stunned. Haphaestus' unit attacked feircely, tearing one apart with unnecessary violence and gore. The second opponent got on its feet again and leapt in anger, but Haphaestus' unit reacted with heightened senses and dodged to the side, pivoted, and attack, sinking its jaws into its opponent's neck.

 

The student's connection was cut off as his last unit died. "You did as well as you were expected to," Haphaestus informed him. "Perhaps even better. I am beginning to find that those with the Force are nearly my equals, both of us rising far above average human expectations. Your long years of military experience count for much, of course, but you must understand something: I am the general of a god."

 

Simple and true--yet arrogant--the statement was what it was intended to be. Even the Admiral of the Empire couldn't beat Haphaestus, it claimed. Even years of military experience couldn't overcome the sheer efficiency of a droid infused with a biological mind and the power of the Dark Side. He was effectually the perfect being.

 

But that wasn't to be focused on now. "I suggest that we try again, but with much larger amounts of natives. And this time we will not be physically next to each other to monitor exactly what the other is doing through the Force. Eavesdropping will be a waste of time. Go now."

 

Haphaestus started walking off, parallel to the forest, which was visible but not exactly a few paces away. His tattered and dirty cape still flowed behind him, and he still looked impressive. He always would. He was the general of a god.

 

OOC: Heh, this might end up like our old battles in the fantasy RP...but I rather hope not.

[Dagon]

::Tzeentch appeared before Nurgle once again, this time with fateful news.::

 

Brother, its time to go.

[Capt. Phillep]

OOC: Sometimes, I don't read what you say as clearly, as I'd think I did. My mistake. I don't think its going to end up as something so... silly as those arguments.

 

IC:

Phillep did not react to his Master's words, his intentions were clear, whether the droid had reached a moment were his own ego had gotten the better of him, or his necessity to prove his worth made him react hastily... it did not matter, for Phillep was by nature, a personality that drew one's vices forwards, of course, at the expense of his own.

 

A strange smirk appeared over his face as his Master went off... "Perhaps so, Master. You were his design, but I carry his allegiance, just the same."

 

Now left to his own devices he searched the forest, his mind probing into the jungle crevices, seeking an army to hurl against his Master. A sinister self-satisfaction lingered in Phillep's mind... as if he had proven something to himself, he had made his Master fear losing... twice.

 

The egomaniacal Phillep continued his search, settling on a variety of quarry...

[Haphaestus]

OOC: So soon, Chad? I was just beginning to have fun.

 

IC: Haphaestus searched through the types of organisms indigenous to the forest. It seemed that there was a type of serpent that could spit venom quite some distance away...he would make good use of that. Additionally, he felt out a dozen of the primates and the same number of snakes and spiders. It was an army of thirty-six, still much smaller than what he would command in the future, but the next step up from four.

 

The general felt the arrival of Tzeentch as a tremor through the Dark Side of the Force and he realized that something was going to happen to shatter his time of training with Phillep. But, like a child wanting to play for a few more minutes before undertaking in repose, Haphaestus ignored it for now and focused on the minds of his "army."

 

He split the serpents into three groups, teaming each of them with an escort of spiders. The groups of four serpents and four spiders split ways, two going out around the side of Haphaestus' chosen battleground to hide among the trees. His main force consisted of four serpents, four spiders, and all dozen of his primates. The primates lined up in front with the serpents staggered behind them and the spiders on the sides.

 

All of this was done quite tactfully through a precise grip on the Dark Side of the Force. Almost nonchalantly he commanded the units he had found in the forest. Each was a living creature, and he could not literally see them as one would hope to on a battlefield--he simply knew that everything he was envisioning was coming true as he envisioned it.

 

There was a small clearing that they stood in, claiming the defensive advantage. They were a tiny little army awaiting a larger opponent to attack...but they had help coming from unseen places. In all possibility, Haphaestus' units could surround Phillep's if he failed to detect their position ahead of time--and even then they would have a difficult time overcoming the force.

[Capt. Phillep]

Phillep stopped, even as he focused on Vjun's currents... something was wrong, elsewhere. A strange hesitation as the sound of alarm klaxons lingered over his sleeping base. The thought was quickly armed with the feedback of information entering his mind through the impulses from the reports of Kuat's invasion.

 

"Damn him."

 

The thoughts rung loud and broke the Imperials concentration, not severing but sending a pulse of anger through the lumbering forces beneath him. In unison, those that could reach their heads with their hands clamored to them, the primates in particular, they seemed to release feral growls that lingered from their muscular guts. Falling to the ground, their fists pounding into the soft earth and creating small craters. The larger spiders seemed poised to strike just the same, a hiss of anger ran through the poisonous veins. Last to react were a strange reptilian winged creature. They did not react, their wings only flapped once, before taking flight...

 

Their eyes scanning the terrain... only a beacon in their minds told them of Haphaestus' battle ground, boulders at their feet were dropped and rolled into the forest, clearing a tree here and there, but nothing too much to dampen Haphaestus' numbers.

 

Along the ground came Phillep's numbers, their formation staggered and a number of the apes moved along the necks of the spiders, as war mounts.

 

They moved with the ape phalanxes in front and the spiders as cavalry, with his five winged beasts, the total number numbered short of forty, driven by the high-strung wire of tension in Phillep's mind. Whether his Apprentice would once again burst or continue to act with reason, it would be a matter of time...

[Darth Dominus]

Nurgle sent a communication to his servants, reminding them to head for Maltauros. The Sith Master fired up his Miy'Til fighter and blasted into hyperspace for Cardia.

[Haphaestus]

OOC: Gotta post a few of your actions. Hope you don't mind.

 

IC:

Haphaestus abandoned his units even as he was ordering those meant to flank to charge inwards. Nurgle had called him to Maltauros. He would go. And he would bring his apprentice as well. "Student, the time has come for the battle of our time. You are now a Sith Lord, ready to go into this fight as a warrior for Nurgle. Consider your acheivement great, but know that you will almost certainly die in the conflict that is to come," he said through the Force, walking away.

 

The great general and Sith quickly found one of the ships belonging to Nurgle's servants. His only regret was that he would not be able to fully test the army that had been constructed. But the last battle had snuck up upon him like a theif in the night--only a theif in the night would be easier to predict. It didn't matter. His duty lay before him.

 

Pausing only to grab a fresh black cloak, Haphaestus commanded Phillep to meet him at the ship. Soon the studen arrived, not in fresh physical condition due to strenuous Dark Side use, but in good enough condition to be able to defeat a servant of another god in single combat.

 

This was what he existed for, the general. This was his purpose. This would not be the end of all things--no, he would always exist--but he would be seperated from Nurgle, changing what he now knew forever. But he didn't mind--change was for the better.

 

Haphaestus lifted the ship off the ground as Phillep entered, and soon they were on their way to Maltauros.

[Bad karma]

The Uncrowned King entered real space over the Jewel that was Vjun. It's massive dark power instantly reached out an embraced Trowa, empowering him and filling him with the sense that he was home. It had been so long since he had returned to this place, perhaps even longer since he had seen the chaos god Referred to as Nurgle. The reign of Chaos had ended long ago and there was a chance that he might never again see the Figure, but that wasn't something that bothered him. He had been gifted by the god and retained his gifts even after the final encounter, that was all that mattered.

 

His lightly tanned fingers idly moved over the controls of his ship before gripping the two handles at his side and forcing them forward, sending him hurtling down at an ever increasing pace. The Angelic wings closed in, folding around the suit as he entered the atmosphere. Red streaks began forming around his view screen, but the heat was not enough to cause any damage thanks to the wings. To any on looker it would appear that he was about to slam into the ground, meeting his ultimate doom in a rather anti-climatic way.

 

One hundred Meters from the ground, his reverse thrusters activated and his wings opened up increasing the level of air resistance substantially. Twisting around, he allowed the large feet of the beast of a ship slam into the ground, putting more pressure on his hydraulics system then could possibly be healthy. The hatch opened up, a slight hiss could be heard as the cabin was depressurized. Stepping forward was one of the Galaxies strongest Fighters, most cunning of warriors, deadliest figures. Leaning forward, he let himself fall forward performing a flip with ease and landing on his feet. A slight pain met his body from the impact, but nothing he couldn't live with.

 

His emerald orbs surveyed the land. The foreboding forests remained, dark rivers flowing into their depths. A full moon hung low in the sky, reflecting off of the surface of the liquid plague. The world was ripe with disease and death. Such things were common among the Sith, but Trowa had given up the order so long ago. It seemed like eons ago. His life had began again when he joined them, he had been born of the blood of virgins, taking lives without a second though and fighting for a cause he didn't truly believe in, putting himself behind a Title that meant nothing in the end. Though, the life had taken him so far...From a high society social snob, to a self proclaimed God of the force that could no longer be called human. A self stylized Biomancer and Drug Kingpin.

 

"It has been so long..."

 

Holding out his hand, he called to the gentle force flowing around him. It was such a magnificent entity, able to be used for both good and evil to such degrees. From simple tasks such as levitating an item, to the awe and fear inspiring force storms that only the greatest of Masters could conjour up. Two white roses floated down from the Mech and into the young man's hands. His eyes showed age beyond his years, but his body would forever remain young. He lifted them to his nose and delicately sniffed them, taking his first steps towards the river in the distance.

 

"Juliet...Taken from me so soon in life. Velvet...How I wonder what has become of you. My first love, my first child. The Empire took the two of you, ripped my former life to shreds..."

 

The river grew ever closer, his boots sunk into the mud with each step he took. The roses twisted back and forth between his fingers as he moved forward, thinking back on his life. His mistakes and his triumphs, in the end the vast majority of them meant nothing. They would be forgotten in history, he would be marked down as another Sith Master to run his course, to go through life and deal with it as it came. Why it had thrown him so many curve balls was a question not easily answered, but then...Perhaps it was karma coming for him, lashing out for every bad thing he had done, every crime and misdeed he had committed...

 

"Was it wrong that I did not seek vengeance? Should I have slaughtered them all? Ah, but what would that bring me? More trouble surely...Then their families, their army, their twisted delisional leader would bring his full force to bear, seeking vengeance when it was not rightfully earned, when it was not just..."

 

He couldn't help but chuckle at his mention of what would be just. It did not seem odd at all that he was walking upon a dead planet, talking to himself of past wrongs. He paused at the shore of the lake, looking down upon his reflection. He was the spitting image of his father...Though he was slightly surprised he could even recall the mans face, being that he was always away on business trips. Always the unfaithful one, screwing his latest secretary. How they could stomach such wrinkly appendages was beyond him.

 

Stepping forward he admired the roses one last time. Both represented the purity of the people they were dedicated too, the thorns being the flaws of them. They might be figures of the past, but both would always have the mans love. Only three others had ever gotten such a thing and they were all still with him. Not even his parents had earned such a gift. Holding out the roses he let them drop into the water, watching as the current carried them away, a faint trace of sorrow in his eyes. If he could go back and change everything that had happened, he wouldn't change a thing...It had all happened for a reason and he was perfectly fine with the way things played out. He couldn't have asked for a more deliciously twisted female to come into his life, though he did regret the amount of time, or lack there of, that he had spent with his kids.

 

"Ah, one final fare well..."

 

_________

 

 

A thick sheet of rain poured down upon the five forms. Four of them were crafted of pure shadow, turned to physical beings at Trowa's will. The fifth was Trowa himself, standing Five foot ten. His hair stuck to the side of his head and his back thanks to the rain, his lean cut muscles glistened in the pale moon light. His right arm seemed to end at the elbow, where a dark shadowy mass akin to the figures before him began. Stray bits of shadow floated out to the side of the weapon that began at his elbow and flowed all the way a good meter and a half. The rain passed through the weight-less blade, yet it did not do the same to the shadow warriors.

 

Lightening cracked over head, lighting the scene for a brief second. For that second the fighters before him were translucent. In the following second Trowa was n the air, head facing the ground as he deflected the first attack. He landed behind the shadow the furtherest away, taking a swipe at his legs only to see the figure spring up just in time to avoid being cut down so early in the fight. These were not just mere thoughtless attackers, their mind was melded into one, their attacks cold, precise, and calculated.

 

The fight only escalated with each passing second, before long it was nothing more then a blur. Anyone with normal sight, or even sight enhanced by the force could only dream of seeing the shadow assassins as they relentlessly attacked time and time again. A good half hour passed before it was only Trowa and one other. The being had Trowa on the run, but that wouldn't last for long. In the distance he could make out one of the many old castles that were built upon the planet. One lone tower stood out above all else.

 

Twenty seconds later, Trowa's leg muscles tensed up and he sprang over the wall over the castle, completely scaling the thirty meter wall of stone. Before he even landed he was preparing for his next jump, leaping upwards and planting his feet firmly on the wall of the tower, defying gravity as his legs pumped up and down carrying him higher and higher. The shadow didn't need the force to follow him and he was quickly catching up. At the height of the Tower, the Dark master pushed off flying high into the sky.

 

At the height of his jump, lightening lit up the area. He twisted his body in mid air, plunging his weapon into the others chest and finishing him off. The weapon dissipated as he fell back to the surface. It was time for one last test of his abilities. In the last nano-second before he hit the earth, splattering his body into nothing, he changed. His own shadow form erupted as it hit the ground, before settling out and dissappearing from Sight...Trowa would leave this place once again the next day, but for now..He rested.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken's ship exited hyperspace over Vjun. He smiled as he saw his planet once again after a long time. Drinking in the feel of the darkside that surrounded his home, his hands danced at the controls. Allowing him to quickly land the ship and bound out into the fresh air.

 

"I am home." He looked around and spotted the former mansion that he had lived in. Draken quickly walked toward it.

[Scottie]

Ekim arrived on the planet Vjun with his Master in the assualt ship. Draken seemed overwelmed when he entered the atmosphere. A sense of happiness could be sensed by using the Force. This must have been his homeplanet. Ekim walked out with Draken and waked to what looked like a house.

 

"Why are we here Master?"

[darth shadowlord]

Draken turned to Ekim, he had forgotten that he now had an apprentice. "What you are sensing my apprentice, is not happiness. It is regret. You see both of my parents were killed here before my eyes. You see both my parents were killed here before my eyes.

 

My mother was killed first, Slain by a Jedi. My father was killed three days later, by my bodyguard. We had been the rulers here for generations and our family had always had the highest midiclorian count on the planet.

 

Now somehow the Jedi found out about this and came to the planet. They attempted to kidnap me and when my mother attempted to save me she was killed by the Jedi. It was only due to the intervention of the stormtrooper core that I remained on the planet.

 

Later on as my bodyguard attended to me, I used my ritualist dagger to swear a blood oath to my mother. That was why I returned to the planet, I returned for the dagger. You may attend me as I find it or you may begin using Force harnessing excersises."

[Scottie]

Ekim was listening to his Master's life story. It was very interesting and had explained a lot about his Master he did not know about. ekim couldnt believe his Master had once been a ruler of this planet. that must have been a powerful lifestyle. Ekim felt a bit of anger in draken when he had told Ekim about the death of his parents. Ekim would have been angry too. Parents slain by jedi? Ekim was going to be a Jedi before he turned Sith. This sickened and angered Ekim as he thought of this. It was a good thing Ekim had changed his ways. Then Draken had gave Ekim a choice to go help find a dagger with his Master, or stay where they were and do Force exercises.

 

"I will help you find your dagger Master."

[darth shadowlord]

"Very well. Follow me." Draken walked through the mansion to where the back exit was. He stopped and looked around at the damage that had occured to the mansion in his absence. "This was once my home, I had meant to bring my first apprentice here but she vanished. I had also meant to bring Alora here after she had saved my life.

 

However, that was not to be either. She was killed trying to help me a short time before you came along. Which is why it took me so long to decide to take you for an apprentice. I perfer not to have an apprentice, as since then I have come to perfer solitude."

 

He beckoned to Ekim and they walked out into the back of the mansion. Draken stopped once he was outside and pulled the momories back of his mother's death, more importantly of the swearing of the oath and the burial of the dagger.

 

He walked to the location and looked at Ekim. "Find me a shovel."

[Scottie]

"Yes my Master"

 

 

Ekim looked around the mansion which Draken had called home for a shovel. He looked everywhere for the shovel except for the obious place. Outside against the left side of the mansion. Ekim ran to grab the shovel from the side when he tripped over a rock. Ekim stumbled but quickly got up. He flet foolish from falling from a rock. With the shovel in Ekim"s hand, he ran toward whee his Master was.

 

"Here is the shovel you asked for Master"

[darth shadowlord]

Draken grabbed the shovel and began to dig. He had dug a hole that was about two feet deep when suddenly he struck something with a metallic sound. He threw the shovel to the ground and bent down, quickly brushing the dirt to the side.

 

He uncovered a small jewel sticking out of the dirt. Reconizing the ruby as the jewel the had been on his dagger, wiped the dirt away and lifted the dagger into the air and looked at it. He set it back to the ground and slowly kneeled beside it.

 

"It returns to this. Come Ekim, we have one more stop to make before your training truly begins." Draken beckoned to Ekim and returned to the ship "Set course for Carida, I left something there. I need to retrieve it." He turned and went to the cargo bay and locked it down, it was time he revisited some old and very painful memories.

[Scottie]

Ekim had walked into the ship with Draken. it must have hurt Draken pretty bad to confront his past. Ekim had felt great trying to help his Master with his tasks about his past. Ekim had learned a whole lot while on Vjun with his Master. He learned a lot about what his Master was like and why his past was troubling him. They left for Cardia.

[Heero]

Heero moved towards the front of the ship slowly, still quite relieved to not have had to deal with an appendage being chopped off. It would only bring up problems in the long run. He paused at the entrance to the cockpit and looked out of the view port at Vjun as Shy worked with the controls

 

She's sensed him slinking back to the front of the ship and smiled to herself. The relief that emanated from the man was highly amusing to her.

 

Stepping forward he sat down in the co-pilot's seat in silence, contemplated if he should try to make idle chit chat or if he should just leave her alone. Aside from her violent tendencies she wasn't...all that bad. At least as far as he could tell from the short time he had been with her

 

She didn't bother to look at him as he planted his butt in the co-pilot seat. "Better strap yourself in Mutt. I'm not the greatest of pilots, if I was I'd order you to get your ass back to your spot on the floor."

 

Heero shrugged his shoulders in response, and then strapped himself in preparing for a less then gentle ride. He remained silent though, not really wishing to hear her anymore for some odd reason.

 

Shy landed the ship in nearly the exact same spot that 'her' ship was in the last time she was on the planet. She quickly shut it down, grabbed her cloak and exited, leaving Heero behind. She knew that he could take off with the ship should he choose to but she didn't care. She'd just comm for someone to pick her up and then she'd hunt the Heero down and make him pay repeatedly. Just as Shy stepped out into the ever pouring rain, thunder growled across the sky. She smiled, feeling as if she were home.

 

Heero wasn't quite sure if she wanted him to follow, so rather then sit idly about he decided to get up and go after her. He stopped at the exit of the ship, watching the thunder in the distance, but not really carrying. He had heard stories of this planet, but wasn't all that interested in seeing it. "How long we going to be here?"

 

"Not long." She called over her shoulder. "You can stay on the ship if you're too afraid to follow." Shy made her way for castle in which she had been resurrected. She turned her face up to the blackened underbellies of the clouds and let the rain kiss and caress her face. The more she became soaked in the planet's tears the more strength there seemed to be seeping into her body. When she got to the castle she turned and waited to see if her stow away would come or not.

 

Heero wasted no time in following her, he didn't like the thought of her having something to hold over his head and the castle didn't look to threatening. He would just have to hope that the rain that was falling wasn't overly acidic or carrying any sort of plague. But either way, with the modern medicine these days he assumed he'd be alright...and eagerly followed.

 

She strolled into the castle, motioned for Heero to follow. His discomfort was apparent. She felt entirely at home on the planet now but remembered her first visit. She'd despised the place, actually feared it. That day seemed an eternity ago. Lost in thought, Shy led Heero through an endless maze of steadily descending and darkening corridors. Eventually they walked in nearly pitch black. She turned back to Heero. "You wouldn't happen to have a light on you, would you?

 

"Yeah, let me just pull one out of my ass. I happen to keep not only a match book, but a flash light there." The sarcasm was obvious as he looked around slowly, hoping his eyes would hurry up and adjust. He was never fond of the dark, not really scared of it...but considering the local he was uneasy at the very least.

 

"In your ass you say?" Shy asked, her voice betraying her amusement. "Perhaps it's time for a little strip search?" She moved toward the man, able to see him easily despite the dark. Her voice became lower as she spoke next. "A simple yes or no will do. Do you or do you not have a light on you?"

 

"No, last time I checked I didn't." He simply chose to ignore her amusement, not particularly caring to find out which part of what he said she found amusing...especially not in what way she found it amusing. His eyes adjusted a bit more and he looked around, catching shadows of various things looming about. He closed his eyes for a moment and blinked, trying to force his eyes to focus faster. After a moment or two, he simply gave up and backed against a wall, waiting for her to do whatever she had come to do

 

Shy continued on, as she did she spoke quietly. "Your impatience disgusts me, Mutt. You reek of it. If you're the smart creature that I believe you to be, you'll learn to keep that in check. Starting now." She reached to her hip and unhooked her Jedi saber and sighed. "For a moment I thought you might have the potential to become more than a whore and petty thief. I'm beginning to think I misread you. Come with me if you want more than the life you've known. Leave now if you'd prefer to stay the money grubbing mongrel that you are."

 

"Forgive me if I am not exactly patient being on a planet that was ravaged by plagues and home to one of the rumored Gods of our time." He stepped towards her, moving across the room quickly. He could only make out the vaguest of forms that he believes to be her.

 

"Learn patience. Or get your ass back to the ship." She said in an overly bored voice. "The more impatience I sense from you the longer I'm going to keep us on this plague ravaged planet." Shy turned and pushed open a heavy door to her left. It squeaked open. She stepped into the room that was waiting behind it. "Come, Heero."

 

He rolled his eyes in the darkness and moved to follow her through the door. It was obvious that their time together would be long and trying on not only his body, but also his mind and nerves. But it would be longer if he didn't use up some patience, so he would do his best too make sure things would move along in a timely manner.

 

Shy tore at the Force, wrapped it so tight around Heero that it crushed the breath from his lungs. She force threw him into the wall and held him there as she sauntered over and lifted his arms up and latched his wrists into thick metal cuffs. She then spread his legs and cuffed his ankles. She stepped back and ignited her saber. The eerie green glow spread across the room highlighting various tools of torture. Heero was spread eagle on the wall; a human X. Shy moved to the man again and backhanded him. The sound of flesh smacking flesh echoed through the room. She smiled. "I sense your every action. I feel your every emotion. Roll your eyes around me again, mutt, and I'll rip them from that pretty face of yours."

 

Heero simply took the pain and glared at Shy. He opened his jaw and stretched it a bit, popping it back into place. His normally calm and calculating demeanor was beginning to crack for the first time that he could remember, the mounting rage was boiling like a raging storm in his gut. The intensity of his glare most likely wouldn't effect her, but it would have sent most into cowering fear as the sane glow of his eyes was consumed by a rabidly insane hatred.

 

"Mmm. I sense your hatred." Shy said, her face illuminated green and grinning. "And it's a wonderfully lunatic hatred, even better." She walked through the room and gathered up 3 key rings, each with about 50 or so keys dangling from them. She tossed them on the floor across the room from Heero. You have a deep pool of hatred within you. Hate me Heero. Hate me like you've hated no other." She smirked, strolled back to him and backhanded him again. "Hate me. Take every last particle of that hatred and crush it. Compact it. Control it." Shy smacked him yet again. "Your hatred will free you. Literally." This time she punched him in the gut. The sound of his breath rushing out from his lips was delectable. "Focus your hatred until you feel it unlock something within you."

 

Heero took the first hit then lunged forward, feeling the metal cuffs cutting into his flesh as he tried to go after her. The next slap sent him back towards the wall, pain rushed up his spine as it slammed roughly into the wall. He knew she what she was doing, but he couldn't deny that it was working. She was trying to put him into a rage he had never known; perhaps even somewhere in her deeply demented mind she wanted him to lose control while he was restrained in the basement of this castle. After her punch he sucked in air, but didn't speak a single word. He was wasting energy like this, so he focused on the feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 

He focused on it and tried to force it all into one area, but it wasn't working. it was like a slow acting poison was spreading through his veins, but this rage would not kill him...only drive him into the depths of insanity. Compacting it would not work as she had said, so he focused on forcing it through his body quicker. Letting it wash over him. It began in his stomach then spread down towards his legs, up to his arms and began to dig into the area around his heart, planting seeds that would only flourish with the proper training. It moved up, into his skull...to the tips of his fingers and toes...Then something clicked. An Unnatural calm washed over him, a psychotic glint remained as the only thing to hint at the rage he had just felt”¦at least to normal people.

 

The rage was still there, but all outward signs of it had faded save for that lingering glint.

 

Shy was pleasantly surprised at how quickly he'd opened himself. He would be an excellent apprentice if she didn't end up killing him. But he had failed to follow her orders yet again. Even though he was now steeped in an eerie Force wrapped calm, Shy shook her head. "You did not do what I told you to do, Heero." If you can not follow orders like a good mutt, you can find some one else to put up with your disobedient ways."

 

He chuckled pleasantly, a chuckle you would expect from a gentleman from one of the highest reaches of society. He nodded his head to the side and simply smiled. All the while he was focusing an not just one portion of his body, but his body in its entirety. He could feel the new energy that was mingling with his body, yet he couldn't completely grasp it. He hated when things he wanted eluded his grasps, yet the hatred he felt towards the energy only made its presence within him even more potent, harder to grasp. In his calm and collective voice he spoke, despite the energy and rage he felt. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that your way isn't the most effective?" With a flex of his shoulders the force raced towards his ankles and wrists, intertwined with the shackle and began to grow in power

 

He couldn't help but enjoy how violent the power seemed, yet how lovingly it caressed the aged cuffs. He had yet to follow her orders, but first he wanted out of these shackles. He never had enjoyed being restrained. A small click was heard at the four points as the inner workings of the cuffs were shattered. All of the energy that had been focused at the four points shot outwards and met in the air, combining with the rest of the energy in him. It was like a precision laser as it shot towards Shy, aimed right for the center of her chest. "Focused enough?"

 

She simply brushed aside Heero's feeble attempt at showing off. She shook her head in disgust. "NO, you sack of arrogant refuse. NOT FOCUSSED ENOUGH!" She wrenched the force around Heero again and crushed him to the floor, every second the gravity around him seemed to press down exponentially. She strolled lazily around the foolish heap of man. "Have you not heard a word I've said? Patience, young mongrel, is what I was attempting to teach you. Patience." She rounded his body and stomped on his face. "Patience. Do you think your fancy ass explosion of egomaniacal anger is really what I wanted? NO. I wanted you to control and compact your anger to demonstrate that you control it. You are trying to run before you even learn to crawl, Mutt.”

[Ki Vastor]

The lambda-class shuttle emerged from hyperspace and surged towards Vjun. The planet giving off the now welcoming feeling of the darkside the closer she got to it. It seemed kind of like she was coming home. Ki hadn't been here since Nurgle had given she and Aisling injections when Phillep had first made them his. Something had changed here, though what it was she couldn't tell. Maybe it was because Nurgle was no longer here, or maybe it was because she was more in tune with the darkside”¦ or could it be because of Phillep's spawn she now carried?

 

Her thoughts turned to her upcoming task. She would have to trust the darkside in her task, trust that it would tell her what she needed to know. How would she make this crystal? She'd have to have some sort of heat source to create it from what she knew about them. "For the crystal, all of nature, your blood, your sweat and your effort is all you will need. And the Dark Side, will invariably assist more than you know. As for the main components, I'm sure, you could gut a few animals and find some more interesting parts. They tend to eat the weak."

 

She let the Force dictate her landing zone, letting it guild her down to Nurgle's Castle firstly. She wanted to walk the halls of the place she had called home for a few months. She felt she was being drawn to go to the labs, the Force drawing her to something there that she would need for her nine-month ordeal. There were still many vials and items all around the lab, Ki slipping in there silently and being guided to the same vial that had been given to her previously. From her draining, Ki hadn't felt the same since. Something guided her to inject herself with the same formula, guided her as if it were someone else making the actions.

 

She came out of the daze she was in and looked around, seeing the syringe in her hand before placing it down, rolling down her sleeve. What did I just do? She felt similar to how she had when she'd come to the first time she'd been here, only now she was more understanding of her situation. She moved around the lab, looking at the various vials and discovering some poisons there. They would be perfect for placing on her blades. Ki had always wanted to create her own poisons for her blades, had wanted”¦ no lusted after one of the chemistry sets so that she could make her own. Maybe Phillep knew of someone that could instruct her with how to make the best kinds to take out certain enemies?

 

She was wasting time, needing to be elsewhere to perform her task. Now that she had a few things she wanted, Ki headed back out to the shuttle, again lifting off and letting the dark energies lead her where they would. She set down again in a clearing that would accommodate two shuttles. Ki went through the post flight checks, then sat looking out the view screen at the forest surrounding her now.

 

She would have to head out to find her components, she also would have to protect the new life growing within her. Ki placed her weaponry around her, having already slipped on a set of flexible armor, her robe being left in the shuttle as she headed out. She had come to trust her collar as well, having seen what it could do. Ki struck out, heading into the dense trees, her senses fully on alert as she sought out the parts she would need to construct her lightsaber”¦