Can't outrun a Sith pt.2

[Viru Lentus]

Since his mansion had been destroyed Viru had went to ground in hiding from the Sith that hunted him. So far it had been three days since his run in with [member="Darth Erebos"] . The Sith had came in search of Viru's holocron once before and had nearly killed Viru. The only thing that helped him survive that encounter was his own quick thinking and that the Sith had practically did all the work destroying the mansion. All Viru did was add the final touch and buried the Sith under the destroyed home, during his encounter with the Sith he'd lost his lightsaber however. Now he needed a new one, one that he crafted with his own hands and not bought on the blackmarket. Which was why he was on Dantooine, once the home of the jedi. wearing nothing more than a pair of pants. The planet was unnaturally hot and Viru could feel the sun beating down on his tan skin. The holocron had told Viru of how the jedi of once went out in search of naturally occurring crystals when they crafted their lightsabers and while Viru could've followed the instructions of creating an artificial crystal he had no desire to do such a thing. Staying in one place to long could lead to the Sith catching up, and from what he understood crafting those crystals took days. It was much easier to just keep fleeing till he reached the planet. If the Sith were coming again he needed something to fight them with, and a plan. His only advantage was that the Sith probably wouldn't think to search an older jedi world... Or would they?


Feet crunching through the grass Viru looked up to the cave mouth that sat a few meters up the mountain. To the west and east as far as he could see were mountains bare of snow. The heat was intense yet it had nothing on Tatooine, a planet Viru had braved on his own for months. If Tatooine couldn't stop him neither could Dantooine. The refurbished HWK he flew was parked a few meters down the mountain waiting for him whenever he needed to leave the planet. He'd parked it low in the mountains so it wouldn't pop up on any scans. Better to be safe than sorry. "Not much further." Viru whispered to himself as he began the hike to the cave mouth.

 

[Shaddi]

2 day's ago

The remains of [member="Viru Lentus"]'s house had been reduced to smoking ruins when the fire department of the planet had finished only to find that much of the house's ruins were centered on a mound of rubble. A shudder was all the men and women that had come to stop the fire before it would spread to the country side had before the same mound burst open in a column of flame, lighting and one angry sith. The incident would later be classified as a generator mishap as no real evidence of what happened to the sentienet's that had gathered there, other than the fact most had been roasted to char and some even reduced to pulps of flesh.

Now

Sitting on a chair in his private study aboard the Doppelgangers Lament, Darth Erebos fumed. It had been embarrassing how his last meeting with Viru had gone and he wouldn't be so careless now. This time he'd forgo scare tactics, Dun möch might be used but he was certain that when Viru met him again, even if he got away, he would be wounded if not thoroughly humiliated. In the adjacent training room lay heaps of broken training droids he had vented his frustration and anger on and now that he was calm and collected he could reach out once more into the force to find Viru.

 

[Viru Lentus]

Reaching the mouth of the cave Viru looked deep into the darkness. The entrance to the cave seemed to drop off into a slide down into the darkness. Viru had done enough research on the Kinrath species being a geneticist himself he knew about the subterranean ones that would hide in places such as this. Many would call Viru insane for venturing willingly into a Kinrath nest, but he had no choice if he was to acquire the crystals he was looking for. The Dantari crystals were said to be special crystals that both jedi and sith used though due to the lack of information on them Viru had no true concept of what the crystals were truly capable of. He'd rather take his chances on a planet he wouldn't be expected to be on instead of Ilum where he ran a high chance of running into either a jedi or other Sith that could possibly want the holocron. The holocron had been attached to one side of Viru's belt with his blaster pistol on the opposite side.

Taking a deep breath Viru braced himself and with a jump plunged into the darkness. Sliding down the incline Viru could feel rocks coming loose beneath his heavy boots and the closer he got to the bottom the more he could hear hisses and screeches from the Kinrath in wait. As the incline came to an end Viru went into a roll so as to not land on his feet with all his weight. Coming up from the roll in one hand he held his blaster pistol and in the other a glowstick. The glowstick cast a dim glow around Viru illuminating a three meter radius, but outside it everything else was dark. Kinrath saw heat signatures instead of like other species so it was no surprise when a leg like appendage stretched out threatening to impale Viru through the chest. He had a split second warning through the force and without it Viru certainly would've been dead. Ducking beneath the attack Viru raised the blaster pistol shooting one shot at where the appendage had reached from. The smell of ozone and burnt meat filled Viru's nose as the corpse fell to the ground with a thud. "Obviously I'm in the right spot." He said but before he could take another step he heard the screeches of more Kinrath. "By the force." He growled. Balling a fist Viru's teeth gritted, summoning the force to him he waved his hand lashing out with a telekinetic wave that while not outright powerful was low to the ground to trip up the Kinrath. Now the real battle began.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

With deep immersion into the force Erebos felt and pinpointed the location of the Holocron he was after. "Dantooine... interesting." He said as he stood up and headed towards the bridge to tell them to set the course towards Dantooine, luckily the lament was close so it would be a short trip. After telling the captain were to go he went into the hangar and had a drop ship prepared to be launched as soon as the ship left hyperspace.
Not an hour later he made landfall near the cave that [member="Viru Lentus"] had entered. With a gesture he told the squad of troopers, that came with him on the insistence of the captain of the Lament, to set up a perimeter around the drop ship and have it waiting on stand by as he made his way into the cave.
As he slid into the cave and slowed his pace with the force so his landing was soft and easy, with his saber in his hand he smelt the smell of ozone and burnt flesh as he came upon the first Kinrath that Viru had killed and with a better look he could see he was barely half an hour behind Viru and if he hurried he would catch up to him.

A small scratch was the only warning he had as he quickly turned around and grabbed the limb, aimed to strike at the back of his head. "Pathetic creature." He said as the Kinrath squealed out and writhed as Erebos send currents of electricity from his hand directly into it's body, slowly cooking it from the inside. Once he let go the insect fell down limp and smoking, he had almost slaughtered an entire hive with the help of another acolyte when he was an acolyte so this little escapade brought back a few memories.

 

[Viru Lentus]

Viru had been able to avoid any more run ins with the Kinrath due to having removed one of their glands and keeping it tied to his waist. The gland was known to repel the Kinrath, the benefits of being a geneticist and specializing in manipulating genes and such is that one always did their research before encountering dangerous creatures. Viru made his way deeper into the nest and all around Kinrath milled about going about their own business, and the deeper and deeper he went Viru could feel a set of crystals calling out to him from deeper in the subterranean cavern. With his force senses being weak Viru had no clue that the Sith had arrived hunting him, but what he did hear were the screeches of a Kinrath echoing off the walls and making it to him. The scary part about it was that there weren't to many things that the Kinrath had to fear on Dantooine. All around Viru the other Kinrath ran to their brethrens aid heading back in the direction Viru had come from.

Finally with all the Kinrath busy dealing with whatever threat was back at the mouth of the cavern Viru had come to the large egg that called out to him. He could sense the crystals inside it, and a little hint of energy that announced a living being in the egg. Some probably would've stopped what they were doing to change their path and search for a different set of crystals. Not Viru however, he would not waste time sparing the life of a Kinrath. One that would do nothing but bring death to other beings when it grew older. Bringing his heavy boot down on the egg Viru cracked it and inside the embryo withered, but past it the purple crystals glowed calling out to Viru in the force. A wide grin on the man's tan face Viru reached down to retrieve the crystals.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

The swarm of Kinrath that began to rush through the tunnel to meet him would face a worse fate than the other one he had dispatched. Gathering his energy he waited until the tunnel was filled with Kinraths and then let out a veritable lightning firestorm from his hands. The fire was a deep purple due to it's heat and the force lightning a contrasting red that cut through it and arched from one kinrath to the next. It was sustained for half a minute and when he was done there was a burned up wall of dead Kinrath's that had piled up as they had rushed to end the threat that the sith lord posed to the hive but now they only came upon a wall of their dead that blocked their path.
With a heavy breath Erebos moved down to his knees and began to gather himself, the lightning firestorm he had produced had taken more out of him than he had anticipated. The wall gave him enough time to gather his strength in the force before the kinrath's broke through the wall. They were met with an re-energized Darth with his lightsaber drawn.

He broke into an aggressive form blend of Shii-cho, Juyo and Shien as he cut his way through the hole the insects had made into the wall of their dead, going through their numbers as a full blade-storm that cut a bloody swath through the insects numbers.

[member="Viru Lentus"]

 

[Viru Lentus]

Viru was sitting cross-legged before the Kinrath egg he had found the twin crystals in and before him the faint clicking and clanking of his saber could be heard. Viru was not putting it together with his hands, instead he was letting the force guide him in the sabers creation. Eyes closed Viru drew on his emotions as he invisioned the saber in his mind. It was not a barbarian's tool meant to be used as a cudgel in combat. Instead the saber was built for precision, while the hilt was as long as one for a regular single-bladed saber it had two emitters, one built in to each side of it. The hilt itself was silver in color and as the last piece clicked into place Viru could hear the screeches of the Kinrath coming from the cavern. While his sense abilities were incredibly weak he still knew the dark energy that was coming from the entrance. He knew the being that waited there for him, and he was scared. Even with a new lightsaber Viru wasn't sure that he'd be able to take on the Sith Lord, but he had no choice unless he was to flee deeper into the cavern.

Reaching out his hand Viru plucked the saber from the sky feeling its cool body in his embrace. With one breath he rose to his feet and turned to go face his destiny. Whether he was to live or die it would all be decided in this moment. Hoping that the energy the Sith Lord was expanding fighting the Kinrath would give him a better chance Viru broke into a quick stride activating his saber once he approached the shrieks. Extending from the hilt with a signature snap-hiss a violet blade emerged bathing the cavern in its glow.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

A few pieces of cauterized Kinrath flew into the entrance of the cavern where [member="Viru Lentus"] was coming and his blade was met with the black cored red one. The low angry hissing of the blade was magnified through the narrow passage while it's light bathed the passage and it's wielder in the dark red hue. The robes of Erebos had been tattered as he had fought his way through what he thought was most of the Kinrath hive.
"There you are." He said as he moved to a Niman stance after giving a Makashi Flurish opening stance. This time he stayed silent, he was focused and he would bring Viru to his knees if given half a chance it was clear. Viru had caught him in one of the rare moments Erebos was off guard but he had also made him stop underestimating his opponents so something like what Viru had done wouldn't happen again.

With a force push to push Viru back into the larger Cavern, Erebos moved into the much more maneuverable area. With slight concentration red force electricity began to climb from his hands, which were both on his lightsabers hilt, and bathed the saber as if it was a shield around the saber. Erebos would use Viru as a test subject for his fighting styles and skills that he had learned over the course of his knighthood and early lordhood which he was now in.

 

[Viru Lentus]

Viru was completely caught off guard by the way Erobus clashed sabers with him immediately. The force when their sabers met was enough to make the bones in his arm shake. This time he could see just how angry the Sith Lord was. During their last meeting insults had been thrown by the Sith, he boasted about his position as a member of the one Sith and how he was more fit to hold the holocron of Darth Krayt. Teeth gritting Viru stared into the empty mask that gave away nothing. Nothing about the Sith Lords appearance nor his emotions. It was almost like staring into a black hole and the dark energy the Sith radiated made it more apparent.

Feeling a gust of air lift him up and send him flying back Viru coughed as he hit the ground in the wider part of the cavern. The air had been nearly knocked out of him from the blow, but he got to his feet gathering himself. He knew this fight was coming, he just hadn't known how much danger he was truly in. The cavern was full of stalagmites and pillars of stone reaching up from the ground however it was also filled with the corpses of Kinrath. "Why can't you just die!?" Viru yelled as he rushed the Sith bringing his saber up into a high guard, and with a swing he brought it down as though in a over-headed cleave aimed at the Sith. However, with a quick backstep he shifted to a low guard and thrust the weapon at the Sith's core. Viru was now playing a game that he only thought he could win. He wouldn't be able to beat the Sith in skill nor power. However with trickery maybe he could survive.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

Erebos didn't reply but as he twirled his saber he added fire around it as well. The crackling and snarling sounds of the fire and lighting mixing together before Erebos sliced his saber into the air towards [member="Viru Lentus"]. The energy of the fire and lighting shot out from the blade and headed towards Viru while behind it came a charging Erebos. Dragging his saber against the ground to bring it up in a strong uppercut that would be followed by a downwards Juyo strike. The assault that Erebos would unleash on Viru would be relentless and unrelenting.

The mistake Erebos had made with Viru the first time was that he had allowed him time to think, to plan and to calculate. That and Erebos had provided the perfect enviroment for Viru to bring him down. A costly mistake that could have cost Erebos his life had he not acted straight away. The Sith lords body would be fueled and empowered by the force to the nth degree of his physical limits. Even though Erebos fought the urge to reply to Viru with a threatening response or a quip of some sort he wouldn't, it would be a waste of mental power he could use to out think Viru and he would make sure that if Viru survived it would be in much worse shape than the last time they met.

 

[Viru Lentus]

Viru was not used to such extreme pressure being exerted on him, and the intensity that the Sith had brought to the battle was something completely foreign to Viru. Forced into a retreat he reached out with his right hand and crushing his fist he ripped off one of the stalactites and brought it down to intercept the mix of fire and lightning. Suffice to say the pillar of stone exploded with such force that the rubble from it was turned into shrapnel, one of which left a gash on Viru's cheek. Viru had no time to plan his next attack as Erobus was already upon him. Moving to block the uppercut Viru was forced back by the sheer force behind the blow which nearly knocked the wind out of him. Quickly activating the second emitter another blade protruded out the back of the hilt catching the blow.

Sweat was already beginning to rise up on Viru's skin from the sheer exertion it was taking for him to face the sith. Due to the size of the hilt it made it incredibly hard for one to place two hands on it while both blades were active. So instead Viru wrapped an invisible grip around the saber to hold it steady against the saberlock. With his other hand he reached up and with a gritting of his teeth he yanked down and a spire of stone came falling towards the two. This had been a mere distraction and Viru used it to break off the attack and jumped backwards to land deactivating the second emitter and entering a low guard. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were tense with blood vessels being apparent against his temples. This wasn't the fight of his life, it was the fight for his life.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

As the stalagmite came down Erebos didn't have enough time to get out of the way like [member="Viru Lentus"] had been but it looked as if he had simply stood there and stared at Viru before the spire of stone came down. What he had done was gently manipulate the spire so that it would land in front of him instead of right on him. The rest had been simply him angling his body to cover him and the raised a telekinetic barrier to protect himself but quite a few sharp rocks got through and shredded most of his lower robes and gave his legs and arms a few cuts and bruises would easily follow. Looking towards Viru where he had perched himself to protect himself from the onslaught that Erebos would unleash on him.

"So you are using Niman." He said as he stood and slowly walked through the dust that had built up, turning his saber on as it burned alone in the dust and debris that had been their previous battle arena. To Erebos, Viru was a whelp, though he had potential, he was still a whelp that defied him. As he left the dust cloud he took an advancing niman stance and began to slowly advance before he picked up a little speed. With a slight stop just out of Viru's reach he jerked his hand from the side towards Viru and telekinetically threw an egg at him before coming in with a sideways slash.

 

[Viru Lentus]

Viru thought that the fight was about to end as the spire nearly collided with the Sith Lord, though it was a foolish thought. Not only had he seen Erobus stop entire chandeliers from crushing him he'd survived having a mansion buried on top of him. There was no way one spire of stone would defeat the Sith Lord. As what remained of the spire crumbled Viru looked at the still standing Erobus who barely seemed troubled by what had happened. A chill descended Viru's spine as he realized just how much he had messed up. If he'd maybe kept pulling down spires he could've probably buried the Sith Lord again. Though now there were no chances of that. Flinching as Erobus called out the form Viru was using he scolded himself. He'd been to much of a fool and shown to much.

So as the Sith Lord approached from the front and the egg came from the other side Viru switched from a low guard and quickly activated the second emitter twirling the saber one end cutting the egg in half while the other came around to meet Erobus' own saber with a glancing blow to throw the slash off slightly. The egg was sliced cleanly through though the yet to be fully formed embreyo splashed on Viru the stench nearly enough to make him gag. His stomach twisted in knots, but he couldn't allow himself to show such weakness. Quickly countering the slash Viru twirled the saber in his palm bringing one blade down in an over handed cleave, but with a quick twist of his wrist and turn it turned into a slash aimed for the Sith Lords ribs.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

What [member="Viru Lentus"] did with his guard surprised Erebos quite a bit. 'He's crafty...' He thought as he brought his saber to guard against the first of the attacks from Viru but as the second attack came Erebos brought his hand to the side. He used his telekinetic might to bear but given how little time he had to use it this time he only had a weak force push against Viru's blade. 'Hmm he's improved since last time... I wonder.' Erebos thought as he took two steps back and held his blade forwards as he began to circle a little around Viru.
Thinking up a strategy on not only bringing Viru several injuries but to gain something out of the confrontation besides revenge and a crystal, experience in a lightsaber style he had intended to learn more of.

 

[Viru Lentus]

As the Sith Lord began pacing around Nikias he raised a brow. There was no reason for the Sith to take a probing offensive against Nikias, he already eclipsed him in not only skill but power. There wasn't to much he could do besides continue the fight. If he tried to flee he was sure that the Sith would cut him down without a second thought and with ease. So instead of being on the defensive Nikias went on the offensive closing the distance between him and Darth Erebos and as he approached Nikias deactivated the second emitter to make his next maneuvers easier. Which involved him bringing his own saber into an uppercut aimed for Erobus' helmeted face, and with a shuffle of his feet and pounce Nikias would move to circle around the Sith bringing down the saber in a slash across the Siths back.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

Erebos had taken the probing approach to see what [member="Viru Lentus"] would do with such an opportunity and Erebos wasn't disappointed in Viru's decided approach. Leaning his mask forwards he took the hit with it as it was made of phrik and would whithstand the blow before he brought his saber in from behind his back to not only block the strike that cut a little into his robes but to quickly spin around and slash towards Viru's midsection with his saber.
The slash however would be a faint to cause Viru to concentrate on the blade instead of his force defense as he brought his other hand up in a force grip like manner as he moved the force like a tendril from his hand to wrap it around Viru's neck and to raise him up to be thrown at the nearest wall.

What Erebos was doing was to prolong Viru's death, to make him feel each and every inch of his life as it was taken from him. After the humiliation at viru's mansion, Erebos wanted the man to suffer.