Dev City of Jade

[Sawa Ike]

Nine Lives

SHe felt eyes upon her as she was moving and Ni-Ne returned with explosives... her energy different as she felt it but Sawa was better now she was walking and standing there as she looked up when Ni-Ne spoke to her and she gave a nod of her heaad. She could fight the thing and had the sword in her hand as she held it at the ready. The katana in her hand when she was looking at him and she shifted her grip for a moment allowing the force to breathe and go throughout her body.. she couldn't feel it to manipulate it but she was calming herself... inner focus and wanting to allow herself to calm down and focus.. her freak out was something but she looked at the ninja then she was holding the blade with both hands and stopped... standing there as she raised the blade above her head and held it high. Footing spreading out but her eyes watched him... and then she moved quickly... strength in her arms was one thing.. the power of gravity another as she didn't move herself but she slashed down and through the blade... into the shoulder and down to the hip of the ninja looking at him before pulling the blade out and swiping it to get the blood off.

 

[Nine Lives]

"Holy chit..." Ni-Ne remarked. "You're getting better at this!"

She watched the Ninja fall...and just then one of the outer walls exploded. Ni-Ne was thrown backward from the blast, which wrecked the shrine and knocked the air from her lungs.

Ni-Ne froze up, watching as the white robed O-Cho Li-Ves strode in, flanked by Shadow Shinobi.

Ni-Ne had been bracing herself. But she still wasn't prepared.

In youth, her Mother had been her hero. She was a good mother, and Ni-Ne would have done anything for her.

She even looked as she did in her youth. Beautiful. Gorgeous. But something was missing now, in the eyes.

Ni-Ne saw it clearly as she rose up, getting in front of Sawa Ike . A spark of warmth. Wisdom.

It had been stealthily replaced by a hidden fury. A callousness. The city, the planet suffered all around them point less murder and death, all for some cause that was equally nebulous. O-Cho had decided that everything around her should suffer to avenge some slight.

(Cutaway of The Original Silver Rest being viciously destroyed)

"Daughter, you've been causing me a metric ton of headaches..." O-Cho said calmly. She stepped forward, presence and gait regal, even while flanked by Metal AF Shadow Ninjas that looked almost animalistic with their red eyes and the carnage and screams in the city.

Daughter and Mother stared at each other. Ni-Ne felt a coldness. Reaching deep into her spine at the sight of O-Cho.

"Why are you doing this? What happened to you? How did you get these powers?" Ni-Ne questioned. "Atrisia is our planet. These are your people you are slaughtering. People you once swore to defend!"

(Cutaway of Laertia Io cutting down Jedi during her initial rebellion during the Dantooine Invasion by the NIO and New Jedi Order)

"An oath that was neither respected nor honored by that rotten Emperor. He knew of my desire for Democracy for this world. But there are too many traditionalists. Petty Tyrants. If you only knew how I smouldered at having to work the will of nobles..." O-Cho replied.

"So you blast an entire city with the Dark Side?" came the questioning voice of a familiar man.

Ni-Ne turned. Master Albrecht Bo stood at the ready with a yellow Lightsaber, humming gently.

"You have no room to critique me, Jedi. Your Order saw what this man was like. How he imprisoned the children of powerful families, on the pretext of it being a school..."

"We are not conquerors..." Albrecht said. "Change must come from within, if it is to come at all. We could lead a Horse to water, perhaps. But even we can't make it drink."

Ni-Ne looked around for Xavier, hoping the creepy feth wasn't about to betray them.

Fortunately, he was hot for Sawa... though she didn't know it yet...nor did Ni-Ne.

"With the powers you have, you easily could. You don't, because you wish the universe to be your master, no courage to be one."

"It takes a lot of courage to be a Jedi...more than you know... especially in a Galaxy so dead set at finding every horror and abomination it can think of to harm the innocent. It takes courage to resist temptation...and weakness to give in..." Albrecht countered, going into a Shii-Cho guard. "That is why I know you will lose, O-Cho. You have not the strength to resist your need for vengeance."

O-Cho drew her jagged Katana.

"Kill him." she ordered her badass Shadow Shinobi, who immediately set upon him from all sides, and Albrecht moved like greased mercury, effortlessly evading or deflecting their attacks. It was amazing. Ni-Ne had never seen such grace...and was ashamed she had not shown a similar display of calm and fortitude throughout this whole affair.

"Stop this, Mother!" Ni-Ne begged, desperate to save Albrecht. But she didn't know if she could kill her Mother.

O-Cho's expression was stone.

"Come with me. The both of you. The struggle is over. You cannot save The Jade City from the cleansing fire of the Dark. Nor from the Sacred Ancestor."

 

[Sawa Ike]

Nine Lives

Her blade rang out as it sliced through another and she was watching with intent their movements... tracking and making sure each swing handled the situation. She was moving and finding a pace where she could swing without overextending her body... her breathing measured and controlled... just like practicing and learning how to fight... only with a real blade and... well there was a lot of blood they had to deal with. She could feel it when she sliced into one of the beings and the blade got stuck between two bones cutting at a bad angle so it didn't cleanly go through. Her mind reeled with it and she thought for a moment she could see what was coming.. she could see the attacks and the world itself was slowing down around her.

SHe remembered how her mother and father would practice as her blade came around getting pulled out. She used the motion to make the slickness and gore come off that was slowing the blade... her free hand bringing a piece of cloth as she tore it from a uniform and wiped the blade down letting it gleam again. The force was in her body and then she wasn't alone... Ni-Ne and the jedi had been there but Xavier was in there standing with her and he was.... forceful grabbing one of the beings and practically roaring as he flung him into another and whipped his hand out to grab another ending him into the ground and his arm into another like a club. The blade that was in his hand gleamed much larger before he was shoulder striking and pushing another away.

"Sawa." The voice came out like a growl and for a moment she thought she was going to have to fight him for a moment but he was moving around and striking at things that were coming after her. Sawa moved and his larger frame was able to cover her lithe body as she was weaving around and using him to block her from strikes... then she was slashing the ones who were pushed back. She ducked down lower and sliced itno the leg of an attacker before he was being sent back with a blast of force energy itself.. then she was moving to back up Ni-Ne as she was moving then ready for a heavier fight... a snarl wanting to rip out of her throat when something or someone else was getting close to her. Sawa pushed forward as she lept up and came down driving the sword into the shoulder.

Then they were being told that the city was fallen and they needed to escape as Xavier was there and looked down at her. "Listen..." He said it and was able to hold both of her hands with one as well as the blade so she would calm down and look towards him. "Breathe and allow your mind to return... battlerlust in the force is only useful if you are using it to destroy all of your enemies." He said it and looked at the jedi and then at Ni-Ne as well there was only one choice and he lifted the small Atrisian as he ran and was able to with his massive size move quickly compared to many of the others who were coming after them. The fires and explosions were impressive as he snarled and stomped into the ground opening a fissure to swallow something chasing them.

 

[Nine Lives]

Ni-Ne had no choice as she desperately attacked the Shadow Shinobi attacking Albrecht, refusing her Mother's demands. Whoever, she was, Ni-Ne didn't know her.

Ni-Ne felt the woman to be a stranger.

Maybe she had never really known her at all.

This desperation, this unease, it drove her blade swings into the shadows surrounding Albrecht. Black blood spilled on hard stone, hisses of her Mother in her skull. How she wished she could shut it out as she fought, her muscles crying for rest. But she could not. She had to protect her home, her people, and she could feel the sickening evil in the city, so potent, so cloying.

O-Cho gripped Ni-Ne's whole body with the Force, to pull her to her, but Ni-Ne's act had allowed Albrecht to get his bearings and He used all of his might to violently Force Push O-Cho back, and not a moment too soon, because the Shadow Shinobi had gotten reinforcements.

Every angle seemed to bring a sword or a shuriken whistling towards her face. But her will to save Atrisia, and Sawa Ike , added strength to her deflection defenses, skewering both swordsmen and shuriken thrower as they ran from O-Cho, who began hurling larger and larger debris at them. It wasn't long before they caught up to Sawa and Xavier, who collapsed the path behind themselves.

"Run! RUN!" Ni-Ne yelled, going to a fast sprint.

"You got transport?!" she yelled at Albrecht.

"Yes, follow me, all of you!"

He led them to a heavy stolen dump truck, Shadow Shinobi only delayed due to the rubble, and he hopped in, Ni-Ne following behind him...

 

[Sawa Ike]

Nine Lives

Xavier was still holding her on his shoulder and guiding following Ni-Nes direction towards the larger vehicle as he put her in the cab He was looking at it and closed the door while standing on the outside... allowing the force to wrap around them and he sent a cascade outwards into a shadow with a snarl.A shinobi crashing to the ground and he stomped his foot into their throat before motioning. "Go now both of you." He seemed prepared for a fight and was walking forward with his fangs popping into place. Muscles rippling before he grabbed another that tried to sneak past and he smashed them into a second then into the ground.

"Sawa was watching with some wonder and fear about that.. she and Ni-ne had been violent but that was far more primal and dangerous. She was in the cab and waited for Ni-Ne to lock the doors and get them out of here... a fight like this they dind't have the support and the city was more then likely to fall. her mother was skilled and her father one of the better fighters that she knew. They would benefit from being able to get to them.... plus she knew they led forces and had an army of their own soldiers and retainers. "We need to get somewhere with more forces we can work with... I know my family would have something."

K1 was there and had found them as he hopped up to the thing and showed a projection with a beep. Messages from her mother about where they were with the Fortress of the Dawn itself. THey could make it and the path would narrow things down so that they would be able to chokepoint and filter enemy forces into better killzones.