Public (Hand Wavieum) This is NOT the Bar You Are Looking For

[Muad Dib]

"Old man? Maybe."

Lips twitched with amusement as glowing blue eyes watched while she headed for the stairwell. The stones on this kid. Maybe if they survived he would take a more interested approach. Should they survive, of course. And while the young woman proved she possessed plenty of guts and luck, only skill and training would offer the chance at longevity.

A grunt escaped him as he stepped back onto the lift. There were several soft points on the floor where blaster fire compromised the structural integrity of the lift. Just make sure not to stand there and it wouldn't be an issue. Fingers rubbed together while he contemplated his entrance. Beskad? Kal and revolver? Lightsaber?

With his approach planned, Muad pressed the button for the floor.

Doors closed with several jerks. Might have been due to the misshapen frame from earlier. Didn't matter in the end. The lift rose to the final level as Muad sensed the arrival of Zuyami. She wasn't one for patience. Or sensibility. Or the likely odds of survivability. Just decide and act. Muad could appreciate the sentiment.

The lift chimed with a shudder. Its arrival was announced, the doors jerked open and the left side became stuck on the rail. Attention was drawn to the other end of the hall as Zuyami dove into the crowd of enemies. He was pretty sure it was not a tactical decision. Just a spur of the moment leap of faith.

In this instance it was the right call. You couldn't shoot at a single person when the entire backdrop is made of allies. Friendly fire was a real and present danger. Batons, swords, or clubs were not ideal in such a close space. Even using blades would prove difficult against a throng of opponents where at any given time half a dozen bad guys were in contact with you.

Which left him with three options. First option was his favorite, but could prove deadly to Zuyami. Set the hall on fire. Probably not the route to go with a friendly in the mix. Second option was to fry them with good ole fashioned force lightning. Nothing like high voltage popping eyes out of their sockets and running through the hall on a daisy chain, each individual electrocuting whomever they touched. Fun idea, but not a great choice with the kid in there.

The fringe of the crowd was turned toward the raucous which came from Zuyami jumping into the midst of the enemy. But with Muad now leaning against the open lift door, several nearest him flinched in surprise. His fingers slipped the sleeves of his stained tan tunic to his elbows and revealed the vambraces he wore.

"I feel as though I'm being ignored. That really hurts my feelings. I don't even know if I want to play anymore."

Three of the yellow jumpsuit gang charged at Muad he merely smirked and rested his left palm against the partially retracted lift door. His right pointed at the attackers. A sudden force gripped the trio and hauled them toward the lift as Muad moved from the opening. When the trio passed Muad he deactivated the repulsors in his gauntlet and watched as inertia tossed them into a freefall from the shattered lift window.

Muad leaned out and watched them go splat upon the ground below.

"My bad. That first step is a doozy. Management should really get this lift fixed."

Once more he entered the top floor. However this time there was a wall of guards with melee weapons held in hands. Pure menace filled them. A desire to commit violence. And poor ole Muad was the object of their attention.

"Hey now … Can't we all get along? Let bygones be bygones. Find a bar, obviously not the one that I blew up with all your friends, but a different bar. No? That's a pity."

The first line charged forward. Quite clumsily. Looked like some holo arcade game. Bounced and joustled against each other. It was a miracle they made it to Muad. And he only came up with three options. Two were discarded, which left option three.

A spin as his hand moved to the small of his back to slip the pitted silverish cylinder free from its sheath. With the spin completed, both hands gripped the hilt as bright blue light flared into existence and sprang forward. Four guards were dissected upon the blue blade, torsos falling away from legs.

Muad raised his left hand and activated the repulsors which sent the dismembered dead into the air and within the midst of guards. With hope it would distract the enemy around Zuyami. Each step led another swing of the lightsaber and littered appendages upon the ground. The stink of fear mingled with voided bowels.

They never told you death smelled like old, uncooked meat left out to spoil. Pungent scent of blood that you could almost taste. And osik. Like a fertilizer dump. Sometimes when there's fire, you catch the seared bbq aroma that haunts you on cookouts. Stomach turns. Seared flesh smells the same. Doesn't matter if it's sentient or not.

A deep breath paused in that moment. You know the one. When your lungs have filled and you have that moment of summit just before you begin the exhale crescendo. Only a flicker of a second. Time can freeze there if you let it.

He saw the kid fighting, leather jacket tossed as distraction. Then she pushed against the throng. Surrounded by foes. She refused to surrender. Chose to join a fight that wasn't her own. And was a smart mouth to him, Muad Dib.

In that moment, the frozen pause of breath, he decided he liked the kid. She'd survive, he would see to it. Maybe, just maybe, he would offer her something absent in her eyes. Home, friends, family. He knew the look. Hell, he wore it himself in the past. Lost in a sea, tossed to and fro, with no berth in sight. Aye, he saw a bit of himself in the kid.

A roar filled the hall, flooding from his chest, while he advanced to the enemy. Lightsaber flashed and sparked against flesh and metal with equal ease. Behind him bodies smoldered before he breathed life in the Force. Flames erupted behind him, closing the lift in a wall of fire that crept into the hallway. Muad roared once more.

"APPA!!! I COME!!! TIME TO REAP THE WHIRLWIND!!!"

At his words, the flames behind danced on unseen gusts of wind, spinning and coalescing into dense tendrils that scorched the walls and ceiling.

And the Mad Master laughed.

 

[Zuyami Rayln]

The enraged sputtering that came from the taller lady as she pulled the tattered jacket away from her face is what caused all hell to break loose.

There was a flurry of hands, swiping to try and grab the young woman who was in the midst of them, but none prevailed. There were just too many of them.

In the edge of Zuyami's mind, she felt Muad arrive but didn't pay much attention to what he was doing, attempting to prevent anyone from keeping a hold of her.

After the man had left with the three, watching them splat outside, some of the crowd around Zuyami departed to avenge their fallen friends. Not that they really cared; they just didn't like Muad.

"Leave her to me, the rest of you go assist the others!"

The red haired woman barked out at them, turning her rage filled eyes onto the somewhat shorter, and younger, female. The group seemed to hesitate before half went to wait for Maud at the door, standing shoulder to shoulder in an odd formation. They definitely weren't trained very well. The other half were hanging around the two females who were facing off, both curious and elated to potentially see the demise of Zuyami.

The group of people that were standing there, awaiting Muads return, were not so happy. Especially after hearing the sick thud of the three who were flung to the ground outside. Even from where Zuyami was standing, she could feel the menacing aura that surrounded the group of thugs.

That's really all they were, a group of trained thugs.

The first line of people charged Muad, not in a very organized manner. It was worse than a pinball machine; some of them bouncing off one another as they knocked into each other as they charged at him.

Meanwhile, Zuyami and Phiona were staring each other down, well Phiona literally doing so. The clone's attention was drawn away from the woman when she heard the crowd charge Muad and the sound of a lightsaber being lit, which worried her until she realized it was Muad who possessed said object.

Phiona used this moment to pounce, quite literally, at the younger woman. Zuyami's attention was immediately snapped back to the redhead as she collided with her. A grunt of irritation as she kicked the woman off of her, jumping back to her feet when Phiona pulled out a wickedly sharp blade.

Her hand traveled down to her thigh to retrieve her own blade, much to her dismay once she realized it was missing.

"Looking for this, princess?"

Red eyes snapped up to meet the green ones of the other female, who was now holding her coufee before tossing it behind her, somewhere lost in the crowd of 'warriors' behind her.

A partial growl escaped from her throat as Zuyami's eye's bounced around the room as Phiona lunged again. A jump to the side threw the taller woman off as the other female rolled to grab her tattered leather jacket, rolling back to her feet and winding the fabric over her hands.

"At least you acknowledge my superiority here,"

The dark haired woman quipped in return, receiving a snarl from the other before she had charged with the blade raised.

This was exactly what Zuyami wanted, a small smirk on her lips as she used the jacket to deflect the woman's jabs. This went on for a few seconds before Phiona got irritated, taking a different approach and dropping down to slice at Zuyami's side.

Surprised from the different attack, she hadn't reacted as quickly as needed, receiving a nice slice in her side. A yelp came from her before she kneed the blade from the taller woman's hand, wrapping the leather jacket around her neck and swinging around until she was on the woman's back. Legs latched around the woman as she pulled the fabric tighter, almost choking the woman.

The angry female howled like a wounded animal, rising to her feet as she began trying to shake Zuyami off, like a wet dog. To no prevail, as the clones legs were in an iron grip around Phiona, no loosening her hold.

The group that had been watching the women fight slowly began to circle them, ready to ambush Zuyami whenever they were given the signal to do so.

Being the hothead she clearly was, the woman grabbed her blade off the ground and plunged it into Zuyami's thigh.

Luckily, it was the one that had previously been shot through.

Unluckily, it hurt like absolute crap, especially since that area specifically was already tender.

Feeling her grip loosen, Zuyami wound the leather jacket around the womans face, once again blinding her as she unwound her hands and slid off of Phiona, grabbing her coufee from in front of one of the thugs watching before backing up.

The woman let out another enraged yell as she tore the jacket off her face, once again, pelting it at Zuyami, who caught it.

Zuyami, who was standing there with a blade stuck in her thigh, and her hair wild as she got back into her fighting stance with the blade she owned clutched tightly in her hand.

Muad was right about one thing.

Zuyami Rayln refused to surrender.

The stench of burnt flesh filled the area, but the clone didn't pay it any attention as she shook out her jacket, waving it at the woman with a faint trace of a smirk on her face.

"Olé!"

She shouted at her, waving the tattered leather.

Before the redhead had time to react, there was a loud roar that startled her and her group of thugs, causing them to turn to see who shouted.

Seeing Muad run in the room, Zuyami took advantage of the moment to run up, well, more like limp running, and drive her dagger right between Phionas shoulder blades. The woman wailed once again, mostly in anger, with some pain mixed.

The clone pulled her blade out and kicked the woman in the small of her back with her good leg, which wasn't a good idea since it put her weight on her bad leg.

Watching the flames grow, most of the group had retreated in terror, the brave few going for Muad head one.

They must've had a death wish.

Phiona was, again, rising to her feet with blood running down her back, turning to Zuyami with crazed eyes. She wanted to crush Zuyami, to hear her bones crunch in her hands.

And Zuyami knew this.

 

[Muad Dib]

They charged like a nerf stampede. No finesse, no strategy, and certainly lacking any kind of survival instincts. En masse, by superior numbers, the group surged. Somehow life didn't cull these idiots from the galactic gene pool. And Muad was more than willing to lend a hand in the game of survival of the fittest.

Sparks sizzled against the metal wall as the mad man swept the lightsaber horizontally through the front line of attackers. Tendrils of living flame writhed along the ceiling before they struck into the group. Clothing caught fire for the lucky ones. The unlucky ones were snared and pulled over their heads and out the lift.

Their screams audible before more splats on the ground below.

With a hiss, the lightsaber was extinguished and returned to its sheath. The smile he shared with the group was bathed in the orange light of multiple fires. Undecided, the remaining guards paused while they stared at the madman. They missed their opportunity to attack offensively. However, Muad was glad to leap back into the fray.

A jump forward closed the distance between them which led to a bicycle kick straight into the sternum of the center guard. Without pause he drove his right elbow straight into the guard on the right who fell, hands clutched to his misshapen jaw. Again he leapt, this time to the left and drove that side's elbow into another man. Unfortunately for him the strike drove his face into the wall where he slid down. A trail of blood marked the passage.

A fist clipped the side of his head and he staggered back. Apparently one of the guards in the second line reacted quick enough to catch Muad off balance. Emboldened by success, the guard jumped forward to lead with another right. But the madman was ready.

A slight pivot and the fist missed. However, the guard was committed to his jump punch and could not deviate from his path through the air. Muad's right hand lashed out and gripped the other man's throat. While he continued his pivot he swung the guard downward in an arc to the floor. Through his grip, Muad felt vertebrae crunch. Too bad for the young man. If you lie with gutter trash you get fleas.

The final quartet chose wisely. They turned tail and ran.

With them gone he was able to focus on whatever the kid was doing. Which at that moment, wasn't great. Phiona advanced on Zuyami with deadly intent. Feet avoided the fallen and brought him within striking range. To Fiona's credit she began to turn in suspicion. Not that it did her any good.

Both of Muad's hands gripped the red, braided hair that fell to the small of her back. With a grunt he yanked and spun which swept Phiona off her feet. The momentum twirled Phiona straight into a panel on the wall. A savage yank pulled the woman to her knees only for Muad to ram her face into the seam on the metallic wall.

Once. Twice. Three times. After half a minute he lost count and Phiona lost her face. The braid slipped through his fingers and the body thumped on the floor. Glowing blue eyes sought out Zuyami.

"Hanging in there kid?"

At the seam, the walls retreaded and revealed Appa's antechamber. Four masked beings stood between where Appa lounged on his throne and where Muad and Zuyami were in the hall. Along the walls of the hidden room were stasis pods. Each held a floating person. Each could pass for a doppleganger. Those weren't stasis pods. They were clone incubators.

The masked beings reached beneath their folds and retrieved cylinders. Four crimson blades flared into existence. They stood and waited with nary a movement. Muad glanced at Zuyami.

"What do you say kid? What's the play?"

Curious, he offered the next decision to the young woman. If she chose to leave then he would escort her to safety. It was the least he could do for her assistance. Yet a part of him wanted her to throw down and finish this. One way or another.

 

[Zuyami Rayln]

Upon hearing and seeing Muads approach, the group of people around the two females dispersed quickly, escaping before the mad master could get a hold of them.

Zuyami watched as Phiona turned and began to stalk towards her, preparing herself to attack once again. Well, that was before Muad yanked the woman off her feet and swung her around before going to smash the redhead's face in, quite literally.

After about thirty seconds of the sound of bone's crushing and skin splitting against metal, Zuyami finally spoke up.

"I think she's dead now Muad, no need for overkill, although I can tell that's definitely your thing apparently,"

She said with a somewhat dry laugh, pulling the blade from her thigh before tying the tattered jacket around the area to stop from bleeding out.

That would not be a good thing to do at this point.

Head raised when the male spoke before she nodded, sheathing her dagger in its place before making her way over to where Muad was.

"I'm still breathing so that's nice,"

The clone quipped before her attention was drawn to where the wall seemed to open. Her eyes widened partially from seeing the incubators.

You could say she was quite familiar with clones.

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal,"

Zuyami murmured, mainly to herself before her eyes were back on the four masked people. A twinge in her gut reacted to the four crimson blades being lit. But she didn't let it show, turning her head to look at the madman when he spoke to her.

After a silent second when he finished speaking, Zuyami's face twitched with a small smile.

"I say let's finish this."

She said as her eyes glowed a bit brighter, her hand traveling to her belt as she retrieved her blaster and looked back at the four watching them.

Appa garbled something that Zuyami couldn't understand, but the four did as they started towards the duo.

"I'll take left,"

The female said to Muad before darting to said side.

The four split in half, one duo going towards Muad as the other did for Zuyami.

"Hey hey, two against one isn't fair. You two should be concerned for your buddies going after him,"

She said to the two masked beings in front of her, who didn't seem amused. Well, they didn't seem to have any reaction to what she said other than the swinging of a lightsaber.

Kicking herself back a few steps, she raised her blaster at the being closest to her, firing at center mass. The shot went straight through, but it didn't seem to stop the being.

They may be a bit more durable then she originally thought.

What were these things?

 

[Muad Dib]

You know that moment, the one where your heart is pounding so hard you can hear it in your head? Sweat beads condensed along the brow before the inevitable fall down one's face. Spiked adrenaline pulsates through the body. Fight or flight mode. Freeze, flinch, or act.

Zuyami moved away from Muad. Two of the robed mirrored her in awkward gait. A dim aura of ruby red light reflected across nearby surfaces. In the force, the mad master reached out and touched the guards. An attempt to acquire more insight

What he sensed was disconcerting.

While the kid played banter with the pair before her, he frowned toward his duo. Once he encountered a unique squad in the field. Their aura was displaced. Actually, not even that. They were absent from the force.

Long ago, an entire civilization disappeared from the galaxy. But nothing ever remains gone. The species returned and spread. Even after centuries, the vong remained. The absence breathed a void. An emptiness he never forgot. Still, there was more.

Traces of the force echoed from the void. The beskad slipped from its sheath. Fingers clasped the hilt, the mandalorian iron sang to its owner. Just as he felt the soul of his blade, metallic alloy from within the vong pulsed with existence. As did the heart which beat within the guardian's chest

Some odd amalgamation of void body, machinery, and what Muad determined was a force sensitive heart. Perhaps even liver and kidneys.

Knees popped and bent backwards to invert the joints. Skeletal frame supplemented with metallic cyborg parts. Maybe even a type of musculature upgrade No longer a simple fight.

Appa laughed. Ugly and loud. Green slime spattered the dais where the Hutt lay.

Blaster fire flashed in Muad's peripheral with what appeared a solid hit to the torso. No death. But no fething crab armor. Those crustacean lobsters were definitely a pain in the shebs.

Before Muad could go on the offensive, his sword arm reverberated. A crimson lightsaber smashed the hasty block and pushed the mad man three steps back. Dual lightsabers drove him back again. Wrist rotated to disengage with a flourish which gained him distance.

"Careful Zuyami. These guards are faster and stronger."

Was that the first time he'd used the kid's actual name? Maybe it would serve to stress the danger. Red light thrust for his face. A legitimate stroke and a blinding maneuver. Muad flinched away, upper torso bent back. Left boot moved back. Pain burned right thigh.

The retreat was not fast enough. Still, the wound wasn't grievous. Beskad slapped a lightsaber away and parried the second upon the force of the rebound. Blade crashed against Beskad again. Lightsaber fell from an overhand strike as Muad blocked and stepped in. Left fist crashed underneath the vong with a savage uppercut.

As one vong guard fell back, the other attacked with a wicked thrust. From Muad's right hand, he slid the beskad along the right of the thrust which pushed the saber away. Then he slashed down and right to disengage. The beskad bit across the vong's torso, stomach, and thigh

Blood flowed and the wounded guardian fell away. Instant as death, the other vong advanced. Between the two combatants the beskad and saber maintained their distance. Without warning, sudden pressure shoved behind Muad's knees. Instead of fighting the blow, he surrendered to it

The fall backwards allowed the mad man to avoid the strike from the standing enemy which would easily have bisected him. Shoulders hit and Muad rolled back. A quick scramble and he was on his feet again.

"And apparently they can use the force. That would have been a nice spoiler alert."

Teeth clenched in a snarl as the duo of enemy advanced once more.

 

[Zuyami Rayln]

"What? How are you not dead?!"

Zuyami asked, baffled at the armored man who was still advancing, despite the hole in his chest. She stepped back, reevaluating the situation.

Nothing clicked. No memories of these.. Beings. These species. Nothing. They were unfamiliar, even with her mothers memories in her mind.

Upon hearing the male call out to her, she kept a safe distance from the as she watched her duo try and ambush her from both sides.

"What are these things, Muad?!"

She yelled back as one of the two vongs struck out at her with a lightsaber. The woman jumped back, wincing at the searing pain on her forearm from the crimson blade when it grazed her arm. She was quick to counter, dropping low and sweeping the Vongs feet, causing it to stumble back.

Standing back up, the other Vong advanced instantly afterwards. Zuyami countered with her blade, deflecting the swings that came her way. She stepped back before launching herself at the once she was currently dancing with, slicing out at the Vongs neck. Her eyes widened partially in surprise as black liquid began to seep down the Vong's front. So their blood is black, noted.

These two just continue to amaze her! It didn't help that she didn't know anything about them, so she was bound to be curious. Of course, right now wasn't the time for that.

The clone's attention was drawn when she felt a pressure in her mind. An annoyed smile spread on her face as she faced the two who were standing in front of her.

"It'll take more than that to break me!"

She shouted at the duo, taking a running start towards them before jumping, kicking towards their chest in hopes to knock them back.

Long story short, that didn't work. Not even a little.

The two barely moved back from the kick, seizing the woman by her ankle before flinging her towards the wall.

Curling in on herself, Zuyami smacked into the wall and slid to the ground. A groan escaped clenched teeth as she rose again. She had no clue what they were supposed to do. These guys were stronger. At least stronger than she was.

Was retreating an obvious option? Sure it was! But was Zuyami going to consider it?

What do you think?

'Okay, let's rethink this. They obviously can be hindered in some way, but how?'

The woman thought to herself, glancing over at Muad momentarily before back at the duo.

"Aye Muad! Don't think these guys are fire resistant, are they?"

Yes, to the Vongs this would appear to be a jab. But Zuyami was genuinely asking the mad man.

She could only hope.