Farewell and into the inevitable...

[Darren Onyx]

Darren Onyx stood in the rain silently. He leaned over and placed his hand gently on the ground and closed his eyes tightly. He remembered it like it was only yesterday. He stood up on the rooftop, tucked away in the Coruscant underworld. This wasn't just a random rooftop of some random bar, this was where Darren Onyx was first killed. He could feel the cold hand of death rush through his body as his apprentice killed him.

His revival was by mere coincidence, he doubted he was chosen by the Sith sorcerer Velok to be brought back. He thought he was chosen from among the hundreds who sat in that morgue that day he woke up. And since waking up he dedicated his life, all his energy and time, to destroying the Sith. And of course here he was, a broken and beaten man who was no closer to his goal now then he was all those years ago.

He finally let out a sigh and turned to the ledge of the bar's rooftop. Jumping down he let out a breath of pain as he stood up and faced the bar entrance. He looked at the neon sign and slowly walked in. The bar was empty, like it was those years ago. He walked over to the bartender and placed some credits on the counter. "I'll take the strongest thing you got." The man nodded and turned away for a minute before returning with a large bottle.

Onyx grabbed it and moved over to the last booth on the right side of the bar, farthest from the door. He eyed the cold bottle before taking a large gulp. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. With each passing day he grew weaker and weaker. His cybernetics, that once saved him, were now killing him. He only had so much fight left. But as long as he had air to draw, he would fight.

 

[Edward Vyperion]

Edston walked slowly and casually into the bar the man was in and then, what seemed to be echoes of his old memories flooded in his head. How this happened from just walking into a bar is anyone's guess, perhaps he felt the cold aura of a dying man in the bar or something, but if that is the case, the Chessmaster is going to probably attempt to get a mercy killing done at some point.

 

[Vora Kaar]

Was it this bad?

Nah. Taking my retirement was nice. Being able to go where I want, without the fear of having to look over my shoulder, or to search for revenge, or even just the slightest hint of having my past follow me. I was different. I was without pain, kind of.

My past followed me, but it was in the past. I had no regrets, No qualms with how things turned out. After the incident with the galaxy folding into the Netherworld, I took that as a chance for a new life. Roaming and doing what I could just to try and find new places to be, or see old faces that I knew wouldn't kill me at the end of it. Either way, I found my way to the Courscant underworld. A place where the Sith had once triumphed over the Republic, and even the Galactic Alliance that now found their claws on it.

I just couldn't shake the feeling that I would be reliving my past a little. Walking inside, I grabbed a simple beer at the counter, and took a swig. I could feel the force flowing greatly tonight. Wearing my simple cloak, and a cane, with what looked to be the handle of a sword in the main body. It was with a familiar presence, I looked over to the back corner, and kept my eyes on the man sitting there.

Interesting. I shook my head as though the being was just some form of past feelings for this bar. Might as well try to keep it somewhat quite tonight.

Unless someone else had something to say about it.

[member="Darren Onyx"],

 

[Darren Onyx]

Onyx suddenly jumped a little in his seat, shaking his head to get out of his dreamlike state. He looked around the bar. Two new occupants had entered; one of them looked like a standard bystander but the other... could it be? He suddenly realized they were making eye contact. It was then he could sense him. His heart started to beat a little faster now, the adrenaline and suspense building up in his mind. He knew this man. And this man wasn't just any man in fact, it was his brother.

Darren smirked and took a swig of his drink. Slowly standing up he stretched out his arms and cracked his bones. The bar was empty, save the two men and himself plus a bartender who was half awake it seemed. Even if this place was filled Onyx would make a scene, he loved being the center of attention after all. "Darren Shaw," he announced loudly. He chuckled as he slowly walked towards him, navigating the many tables between his booth and where Shaw sat. He, of course, never broke his eye contact.

"What a coincidence, running into you here of all places," Onyx laughed. He continued to walk over, very calmly and slowly. He was taking as much time as he needed to reach him, making sure to have one hand on one of his lightsabers beneath his black, torn cloak. "So, Shaw," Onyx stopped about three feet away, "You doing good?"

[member="Darren Shaw"], [member="Edston Firestone"]

 

[Edward Vyperion]

[member="Darren Onyx"] [member="Darren Shaw"]

The man had his lightsabers on his belt, but his hands were on a bottle he carried in. He walked over to a seat near the door and simply sat down to watch... though if a fight were to break out, he'd eagerly and gladly join in.

 

[Vora Kaar]

I smiled lightly as soon as I looked away.

The man in the back corner stood up and announced my name as though it was supposed to be spoken in ever household. Always stuck with the antics of being the center of everything. I shook my head with a chuckle as the man approached. I could feel his prying through the force. Extending an open palm to the seat beside me lazily,

"I don't search for the past. Pull your hand out. You know me too well to do that."

Referencing the weapon he may have been grabbing behind his back, or was acting all too formal with a hand behind him as though he were to bow. It has been forever ago when we had both been on the run from the Sith Empire, and when I was branded. However, We moved past that despite us having very different backgrounds.

Or so it seemed?

"Drink up a bit. Maybe later I can stab you with my saber once more."

[member="Darren Onyx"], [member="Edston Firestone"],

 

[Darren Onyx]

Onyx let out a laugh that lasted for what seemed like forever before taking a breath and swiftly moving to the seat adjacent to Shaw. "Same old Shaw," he said, still calming himself down. He stretched a bit and let his body go a little loose. Though he made sure his saber hilts were still ready to grab on the off chance a fight happened. He was always cautious around Shaw, after all conflict usually followed them. Usually.

This was his first time in a long time he sat to talk to Shaw instead of try and kill him. Perhaps that's why he was so cautious? Whatever the reason, he was now sitting and drinking with his oldest friend, and foe, Darren Shaw. As he finished his drink he eyed his old friend. Before speaking he pulled out a small holocommunicator and placed it on the table and slid it over in front of Shaw. He eyed it before giving a knowing look to Shaw, it was Onyx's final holorecording. He then smirked. "I got more bounties on my head," Onyx said as he laid back casually. "Don't suppose you're interested in helping me fight off any poor sap who comes looking for a fight..." Onyx stopped and chuckled, "Unless you're a poor sap looking for a fight too."

[member="Darren Shaw"], [member="Edston Firestone"]

 

[Vora Kaar]

I could feel the eyes of Onyx upon my head. He was cautious, but weren't we always like that around one another? It seemed to be that we carried the flow of destruction with us, but together, it was as if all the planets in the galaxy aligned and foretold of destruction, biblical style. However, I was not really in the mood to be killing off people right now. However, that might change.

The Revan-son presented a holo in front of me. One detailing of a bounty, or several, that had been placed on his head, and were still active apparently. As none of them had been collected. Offering to stand by his side once more, or would I be the one ending it.

"Honestly, I do not know. I will say, that idea is tempting, but then my little shadow would be gone like that old children's story of some neverland."

Oh, the times when the man called himself a Shadow, or when he was searching so much after the fabled Revan and his treasures. If anyone truly was a Revanite, Onyx was your man to talk to.

Or kill.

"Not the power hungry sap, Onyx. Just living forever young, and a little exploration."

[member="Darren Onyx"], [member="Edston Firestone"],

 

[Darren Onyx]

Onyx could feel a sharp pain in his head as he pushed through the force, trying to read his old friend and what action he was going to take. It was hard, but the Force always seemed to push back against him these days. However his friend seemed reluctant to join him in a fight if any trigger happy friends found themselves here in the bar. However Shaw stated he wasn't one of the poor unfortunate souls that was after Onyx, and this caused a slight grin to come across his face.

Shaw's description of living forever and exploring almost made Onyx laugh but he held back this time. He thought it was pathetic. In fact it was what, in his mind, separated the two of them; Onyx never stops fighting. And while he understood Shaw has had his own difficulties in his life, living in retirement is just too boring and uneventful. It was something Onyx never did and never would do. The thought of it disgusted him.

Onyx decided to let loose his muscles a little and lean back once more in the seat. "Remember Ashin?" he asked his old friend. "She used to train you and I on Dathomir I think it was." Ashin was another old ally, of both Onyx and Shaw. One who trained both of them in advanced force and saber skills many years ago. Onyx lost contact with her after he left the Fringe, which was now also gone, and hadn't heard from her since. But because he was sitting here in a booth at a bar with his oldest friend, why not be a little nostalgic?

"Or what about that great fight on Coruscant at the end of the, what, clockwork rebellion they called it?"

[member="Darren Shaw"], [member="Edston Firestone"]

 

[Ne'tra Aaray]

Ne'tra stood in the bar, guns and lighsaber holstered but at the ready. The hunt had come to an end. His prey was in sight. [member="Darren Onyx"] .
A force user with a couple of bounties on his head. But there was a complication - other force users. From there facial expressions he could guess that they too were here for Onyx. Perhaps an exception would have to be made today. Perhaps he would have to fight alongside scum.

[member="Darren Shaw"][member="Edston Firestone"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Darren Onyx"] [member="Edston Firestone"] [member="Darren Shaw"] @Ne'tra Aaray

The Force had a will; she'd learned that early and often. Weaponized coincidence against staggering odds held an honored place throughout history. It had been years since Ashin experienced that properly. Turned out she was due for another one.

Looking just as she had during the time she'd known Onyx and Shaw, dressed in simple black with a long knife at her hip, she walked into the cantina. After a double take, a glance upward, and a shrug, she walked over to her old students and sat down with them.

"Hello, gentlemen. What's it been - ten, fifteen years?"

 

[Ne'tra Aaray]

[member="Ashin Karrde"][member="Darren Onyx"][member="Darren Shaw"][member="Edston Firestone"]

Ne'tra stared.

"Another damn force user. Dunno if I can handle this. Playin' it safe seems the best option"

Ne'tra begins to lurk in the corner of the room, waiting for any action to happen or for his target to leave to stalk.

 

[Darren Onyx]

"Would you look at that- the Force does have a sense of humor," Onyx laughed as he turned to face Ashin. He moved to the end the booth, as to allow her to sit with him and Shaw if she wished.

The Force truly was unpredictable. Nobody, not even Onyx, could ever foresee such a reunion; Shaw, Onyx, Varanin. Of course this only put Onyx on edge a little more then he already was. It's one thing to bump into Shaw while visiting the bar you died at before. But then you run into Ashin Varanin? That's the Force at work, no doubt in Onyx's mind.

"Look at us three," Onyx smirked, "What a reunion this is." Onyx noticed someone else enter and slink to the back. He leaned forward to whisper to his two friends, "Those two back there are here to kill me. What're you two gonna do when the fun starts?"

@Ne'tra Aaray, [member="Ashin Karrde"], [member="Darren Shaw"]

 

[Ne'tra Aaray]

[member="Darren Onyx"][member="Edston Firestone"][member="Ashin Karrde"][member="Darren Shaw"]
((Not sure why my link won't work, followed the thread to hear everything))

 

[Ne'tra Aaray]

[member="Darren Onyx"][member="Ashin Karrde"][member="Darren Shaw"][member="Edston Firestone"]

Ne'tra sees Edston eyeing the same people as him.

​"I presume your looking at the same people as me... How about a little help..."

​​Ne'tra puts his hands on the holsters of his newly brought guns. 100,000 credits is pricy, but not as pricy as the enemy noticing you too early... Three lightsaber users against ((correct me if wrong)) two. He could use all the firepower he can get.

 

[Vora Kaar]

I smirked lightly at Onyx's the mention of Ashin. Rubbing my hand against my chest where the sithly tattoo I had been marked with was still upon my skin. A mark that allowed me to be tracked by only one person. However, I wasn't even sure if the woman was alive. Was she someone who would really track me across the galaxy when I haven't been causing too much trouble? I rolled my eyes and took a sip as I was about to answer the man when the very woman walked into the room.

"The years could pass for hundreds, but I can remember them like yesterday."

It seemed like the three of us together in the same room would breed problems. Ashin, was powerful of her own right, and the two of us were known trouble makers. I doubt we would be leaving here without a few marks.

"Kill the man who I have tried years to do the very same?"

Reaching behind my cloak, I unfastened the clip on my lightsaber to make sure if anyone tried to pull one such weapon on me, I would be ready.

"You said people were here for you? Please don't tell me it would be like last time."

@Ne'tra Aaray, [member="Darren Onyx"], [member="Ashin Karrde"], [member="Edston Firestone"],

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Darren Onyx"][member="Edston Firestone"][member="Darren Shaw"]@Ne'tra Aaray

"Someone's angling for your bounty, are they?" Ashin looked back at Firestone and Aaray. "And they look serious about it. Trying not to be noticed, but not trying too hard unless I miss my guess."

She refocused on Onyx and Shaw, folding her arms across her chest. "In a fight, I'll back you if necessary. So tell me, gentlemen: how've you two spent the last decade and a half?"

 

[Alkor Centaris]

Coruscant.

The center of the galaxy, and all things wrong with it. To hear it told, Alkor could have gone his whole life without ever visiting again, and it would have been just fine. To make matters worse, he was in a bar, and it wasn't time to drink.

What a karking disaster this was going to be.

People were on edge the moment an armored merc walked in the establishment, and his HUD picked up whispers from near across the room of what people had to say about him. He disregarded them.

"I'm not here to make trouble," he told the bouncer who hobbled over none too discreetly and rumbled something in barely passable basic. "Got a permit to hunt on Coruscant. Want me to whip it out for you?"

The gargantuan creature grunted discontentedly, then ambled away. Alkor moved his gaze toward the bar, but allowed the helmet to do the bulk of the work. It would be a problem if he seemed to be looking for anyone.

Even if he was.

Alkor absently flexed the fingers of his right hand, the hydraulic hiss of the crushgaunt almost too subtle to hear. It was like a second heartbeat to him now. Slung across his back, he wore the shotgun he had custom built for murdering Forcies, and on his hip was an even more sinister weapon.

The voidsteel sheath kept the majority of its malevolence at bay, but the sword was a part of him. Even if no one else could hear it's roar, the dark energies swirled rhythmically, subdued, just around the hilt.

The former Jen'jidai searched the room as he headed toward the barkeep, though drinking on the job was prohibited.

[member="Darren Onyx"], [member="Darren Shaw"], et al

 

[Darren Onyx]

Had it been that long? The years were blurred together, nothing really made any coherent sense anymore. Time was irrelevant to Onyx, it always had been. Still it put things into perspective, knowing how long it truly had been since they trained all those years ago, beneath Ashin and the Lords of the Fringe.

Of course Onyx left the Fringe after he got what he wanted, which was advanced training in the techniques of jar'kai. Surely Ashin didn't hold that against him though, right? How could she? Back then, when they were all younger, she would've done the same thing. They all would've done something for someone to gain power and influence or, in this case, pledge themselves to a cause only to leave said cause after getting what they wanted. Onyx was so convinced that she would've done the same thing, in fact, he wasn't even worried about her trying to kill him. It was, as it always was, Darren Shaw he worried about.

As Shaw finished his statement about 'what happened last time' Onyx just smirked. "Shaw," he started, leaning in and quieting his voice so only he and Ashin could hear him, "You, Ashin, and I all know very well how this story ends." He sat back again and shifted his gaze to Ashin. "One of us," he eyed Shaw again, "maybe two of us," back to Ashin, "or maybe all three of us aren't leaving this bar without a fight."

Ashin then asked about the bounties to which Onyx returned his full attention to her. "I wouldn't be me if I didn't have at least one person trying to put my head on a spike, now would I?"

[member="Alkor Centaris"], [member="Darren Shaw"], @Ne'tra Aaray, [member="Alkor Centaris"]

 

[Keira Priest]

The last time Keira had been on Coruscant was fourteen years ago, when she was relatively young and inexperienced, entirely new to the greater face of galactic politics. It was also the first and last time she had encountered a Sith she hadn't either been hunting or wanted dead. Now, over a decade and far too much experience later, she was back. This time she had a more clearly defined purpose and, well, [member="Alkor Centaris"] wasn't good company, but he was her brother, and she was obligated to tolerate him at the very least. The pair were here on contract - the first one in a long while - not to mention the first after the both of them have recovered from their respective injuries and relative lasting nerve damage.

Her movements beneath the weight of armored plate came a touch more naturally than that of her younger sibling, but that was only due to her near-constant wear of various kit over the years. This time she had packed light, only carrying her EE-3, beskad and tomahawk. Following her brother into the establishment, she wasn't presented the same brief confrontation, watching the bouncer for a moment before scanning the room, allowing her HUD to do the majority of the work. Already Alkor was marked as a friendly for the instance of combat that would most likely take place, as she didn't have any wildly optimistic ideas of this ending peacefully. Situations like this almost never did.

"Two groups forming up on either side of the bar. I know what you say about assumptions, but coincidences are rare in places like these."
"You worry too much. We know who it is we're looking for and we have an idea of what we're dealing with."
"That's what you say about the Sith, and look what happened on Dathomir."
"I'm alive."
"Fortunately or unfortunately is the question."

Still silent as far as the outside world was concerned she seated herself at the bar, opening a private communications with her brother through nothing more than a few subtle eye movements, the two now able to speak freely without outsiders listening in. "You're adjusting quickly, vod'ika."

[member="Ashin Karrde"], [member="Darren Shaw"], [member="Darren Onyx"], @Ne'tra Aaray, [member="Edston Firestone"]