Private I Believe That Belongs To Me

[Firrerreo]

If there was one thing the Sith could be counted on, it was the numerous amounts of ruins still yet to be discovered throughout the Galaxy. Firrerreo loved finding them. Exploring them. Hoarding their secrets for the betterment of the Sith. He hummed a soft tune to himself. One he learned from another kind family who allowed him time to recover. Their kind smiles and gentle souls would always live on in him, to give him strength. They became chains that needed to be broken, and so with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face he set them ablaze. His sorrow at their loss would be one to fuel his power for decades.

He reached up a single hand to gently scratch at the chin of his familiar, glancing to it from the corner of his eye. The tabby didn't seem to care in the slightest, though it did lean into his hand without reservation. Scritches were still scritches.

"We have all the time in the galaxy to explore this ruin. No one else has even heard of this pla-"

Then he saw it. Where there should be layers of dust, there wasn't. The door had been opened. Someone had solved the runes to open the way. Golden eyes widened as a spark of rage rushed through the Firrerreo's chest. Someone had come to claim his prize before him? His eyes narrowed as the smile faded to a thin line. This wouldn't do at all. Eldritch words fell from his lips as the cat on his shoulder shivered. Flesh bubbled and twisted as the cat turned into something near the shape of a bat, though looking more akin to a being of pure shadow than a physical form.

"Go, find the intruder. I shall find the artifact."

Iasha Rha

 

[Iasha Rha]

Iasha slipped the notebook of sith ciphers into her pocket. Her decision to make a stop on Krayiss Two was already paying off. Sure, she had spent more time off world, but she had also cut the time she needed to crack the door down to a fraction. And who knew? Perhaps the cipher would continue to prove useful further down the dungeon.

At least no one was following her, right?

"DC3, let's get a little light in here."

The droid chirped in response before lighting a torch to illuminate the path ahead. Iasha plucked her sabre from her belt and ignited it as well, casting a red shine in contrast.

"It shouldn't be much further, but I can't-"

Ahead the torch illuminated only a wall and two closed side-passages.

Feeling a breeze on her Lekku, she turned and looked behind them, just as DC3 stopped where the floor had collapsed and lead down to the next level. The droid chirped, but Iasha waved him off and narrowed her eyes. There was something. Her lekku tensed and her heel slipped over the edge. Sand spilled, causing her to have to catch herself. The droid did its best to roll its optical sensor.

Firrerreo

 

[Firrerreo]

Where there was one path, there was another. If one was clever with what they had, at least. Firrerreo made sure to find a different path towards the core of this tomb. The obvious one was surely being used by the intruder. His goal was to avoid them, if he could. And yet, so far, there was no other path. The Knight cursed under his breath as he stalked through the shadows. The only advantage he had was the knowledge the other was there. But what could he do to take advantage of it?

He needed time to plot and plan. If he didn't have that time, he would surely lose.

Then a voice filled his ears. No, not his. His familiar. The shadowy bat clung to the darkness, getting closer to the faint source of red that seemed to be speaking to something. Firrerreo's golden eyes turned a blank color of red, glazed over as he took control of his familiar's senses. Ah. There she was. Another Sith, coming for his prize?

So be it.

S͈̞͞u͍͈̠t̘̪͙̠͘ͅt̷͖̻̫̤̹̪̼a ҉̭̖C̰̪̫h̹̪w͕̘͙̦i̶͉̖t͕͕̟̠̣u͜s̛͕͓̰̘̣̲k̶͇͖͓à̝͈̲̦ͅk̢̳

The ancient Sith words echoed from both Firrerreo and the familiar. A sphere of dark energy formed just before the shadowy being, launching a moment after towards Iasha Rha . Aiming to collide directly with her, though the moment it was close it erupted into a wave of pure heat threatening to consume what it touched.

His vision returned shortly after the spell. "Keep her off balanced. We will have to deal with her first." He spoke to no one in particular, though his familiar would hear all his words. Then he rushed off. Nevermind the different path. True Sith didn't cower.

 

[Iasha Rha]

So much for no one following her.

"DC3, over th-"

The Force tugged on Iasha's mind, yelling at her to move.

She threw herself into a leap to get as much distance between herself and danger as possible. Something cut through the darkness next to her, then exploded in a wave of heat that consumed the very sand where Iasha and her droid had stood. DC3 tumbled down the sand, his little legs and optical sensors crumpled up from the blast of heat. The torch still lit the ceiling as the machine beeped despairingly for aid.

Iasha, however, had her hands full already.

The heat blast had been close enough to sear away some of the train on her cloak, and she could still feel the residual heat. She could stop and marvel at the skill thrown at her, but she knew she had little time to turn this around. Her feet kicked off the wall as soon as they touched it. Her hand unclipped the sabre hilt at her hop and her lekku twisted to counterbalance her motion. With a little aid from the Force, Iasha sent herself corkscrewing through the air. She could barely make out the origin of attack.

The sabre sprung to life, lashed out, and flew from her hand in a rapid spin. If she did not hit her assailant, then at least she would force him out of hiding.

Shortly after releasing the blade, Iasha landed heavily on the sand, rolling to a crouch so she could call her sabre to return.

Firrerreo

 

[Firrerreo]

Firrerreo kept running down the hall, spellbook in hand as he flipped through the various pages to find the right ritual. The right spell. So long as his Familiar was there, he could assault her with all manner of spells with no fear of being targeted himself. It would be woefully one si- Oh? He stopped running as he felt the connection to his familiar sever in an instant. The transition between him controlling the Familiar's senses and giving the Familiar back it's body left it vulnerable.

And it seemed Iasha Rha wasn't as off centered as he had hoped.

His lips thinned as he tried to tug on the connection. Sure enough, her saber had cut the shadowy figure apart. The weakness of any familiar. How weak and fragile they were. That wouldn't do. He snapped closed his book as he pulled free a Dwomutsiqsa scroll, unfurling the ancient paper as he began to speak.

W͜o͜yu̶noķs h̷a̧d̷zusk͝à kosh͏ûj̧o҉nt̸û.̕ ̡Ir͏sia̷ iw̷ Jina'͢tis, ̢N͜u d͟oryu̷m̀i wo͏s ͝j̵'uş. ̴D̴r͠àd͞z̵i̴a͏ ͠ir s͝i͡s k̢ûţs͢aki͝ didus͢i, tiẃi̢ ka҉rw̢ ki zû̶t͡aik̀i̢m̡a. T̷a͏rsa̵s͜i͡ ant͘ ̴a҉ni̧ ̕ruai͟. Ņu͢ ͡m̶i̵r͞j͏i ͘j'͟us͏. Dra̷dz̸i̵a̴. ҉T̢ar̨sa͜s̡i. Zud̵y҉t͡i̕.͠

From the scroll, smoke slowly rose. It lacked a shape, but within moments a pair of eyes would shine from the wispy, intangible form. "Find the intruder." Firrerreo spoke with a level tone before the Smoke Demon. It stared for a moment longer, then rushed off. Once again the Sorcerer flipped open his book, scanning through the pages to find an appropriate ritual for what would come next.

"That should buy me some time.."

Smoke barreled down the hallway towards where the Familiar had been destroyed. As it got closer, it slowly started to take form. Long, thin limbs that ended in jagged claws. A body with barely anything substantial to it. No, flattened. Crushed. It's body and face looked as if it had been buried alive and the weight eventually caused it's form to collapse in on itself.

The misshapen skull peered over the ledge once it reached where the apprentice had last been seen. Mouth gapping with broken teeth.

Found you.

 

[Iasha Rha]

Her sabre spun through the darkness and illuminated for a moment the minute figure that had cast the spell. SLASH!- went the sabre as it cleft the creature in twain, then spun back into Iasha's hand. Throwing her sabre in such a fashion did not work often. Two out of three times, she had disarmed herself on accident. Once she almost lost a hand trying to catch it.

But this time it had all come together and she breathed a sigh of relief.

But a sigh of relief took less time than casting dark magicks. Iasha found she had a moment to keep prepare herself for any more surprises. She ran to DC3 to check on his damages. The little maintenance droid beeped sorrowfully as she inspected its mangled chassis and set to making use of him. "This won't do at all. I am sorry little buddy."

Her lekku tensed again as something dark, something made of living fear, crept up behind her silently. Perhaps it could have killed her, had it not foolishly taken time to speak to her first.

"Not this time."

Iasha rolled to the side and covered her eyes as DC3's open chest cavity burst with a bright light and a bang. The flashbang grenade she had implanted in the droid went off to give Iasha a moment to get moving, and a moment to practice the next skill she had learned from her new masters: Stealth. It was like like holding her breath, but instead of denying herself intake of oxygen, she was denying herself a presence. She could not do it for too long yet, but she gambled on it giving her a few seconds head start.

Half-blinded still, she lashed out with her sabre to keep the creature at bay as she darted past it and held her proverbial "breath" in the Force. She needed time to deal with this thing.

Firrerreo

 

[Firrerreo]

The smokey apparition was quick to charge for the Twi'lek as she rolled to the side, but the flashbang caught it unaware. A howling sound escaped the being as it's vision was caught and blinded. Deafened. Mangled limbs reached up to claw at it's eyes, trying to brush away the blinding white that overtook the scene before it. No, it didn't need eyes. It could still feel her! It chuckled as it regained some semblance of control. Only, she was no longer there.

Trickery.

It's voice rang out not through the air, but through Iasha Rha 's mind. And any mind close enough. Red ripped through smoke, severing one of the creatures arm's that was raised for defense. Smoke oozed like blood from the 'wound', though it was clear it would reform the limb in short time. It turned, swinging wildly at where it was struck from with it's other claw. Vision had started to bleed back into it's 'eyes', giving it the vaguest outline of the young Sith. Broken lips twisted into a snarl as it leapt forward.

No escape.

Firrerreo took a calming breath as he pulled his knife from his skin. Line by line he'd been etching the very runes that gave him power into his limbs. His flesh. His heritage made any amount of blood loose negligible, but the pain was still pain. More so, they wouldn't be permanent. He had to carve deep to make them last, but within minutes his body would heal, and there would be no trace of the runes of power left.

But minutes was certainly going to be enough time. Shielding runes on his forearms. Empowering runes littered throughout his body. Fire runes on his palms and the backs of his hands. And the most complex rune, drawn first, cut into his chest. A flow of his power reached out to each, igniting the dark magicks within as he stood. And vanished. The invisibility rune on his chest would fade first, but his goal was just to get close.

Then he ran. The smoke demon wouldn't last much longer without his attention, but it should be long enough for him to get close enough and strike out with his own surprise. His heart raced in his chest. When had he ever chosen to make himself the medium of his glorious work? When had he ever chosen to fight with his own two hands? It was foolish, but in this tomb did he have any other choice? He couldn't set up his traps unless he got ahead of her, and he certainly wouldn't with enough time to do otherwise.

This had become such a thrill.

 

[Iasha Rha]

The smoke demon swiped after her, but Iasha had already begun to move, and unlike it, she could still see. The claws were close, too close for comfort, but Iasha was fast. Keeping her presence choked down, she darted deeper into the dungeon. She knew it would follow her, and she knew it would not relent as long as the sorcerer that cast it concentrated on it.

So, she would have to find the sorcerer and end him first.

The words of the smoke demon shrieked through her head, like a whip rending her frontal lobe. Iasha's footfalls kicked up dust as she sprinted with the demon at her heels. She had yet to give the demon enough of a look that it would seize her heart with fear; this was not because she was wise enough to avoid it, but because she was firmly in the grip of her prey instincts, and they said run.

The red sabre still glowed in her hand, then it flashed, and an orange line had manifested through the rusted supports of a previous excavation. Stones, metal beams and dust came tumbling down behind her. Iasha doubted it would stop the creature, but perhaps it would slow it down enough for her to get a better lead.

Ahead, she thought she could feel something; someone?

Firrerreo

 

[Firrerreo]

Smoke had been crushed under the falling rubble. It would reform in time, if not for the Sorcerer's lack of focus on maintaining it's existence. As the black cloud dispersed under the collapsing structure, it scattered utterly and completely. It's task was done. Distract Iasha Rha long enough for the Firrerreo to finish his preparations.

Firrerreo had never run this fast in his life. His species was known for their already superior strength, but he was one of the weaker among them. Lesser than human, practically. All because his dive into the Dark that had given him power came with it's own cost. Magicks could level him out, but it was more likely he'd never be the type of fighter his species could.

Invisible to the eye he rushed down the hall, but the dark magicks he carved into his body were as clear as the noon time sun in a cloudless sky. There were runes to counteract such things, but he had neither the knowledge or time to carve them out. Then he saw her. A Twi'lek? With a red blade, at least. So indeed a fellow Sith?

A rival.

The thrill continued to well in his chest as he surged forward with a renewed vigor. The invisibility sure enough started to fade as he leapt for her. His golden skin marred by so many silver scars appeared just as he swung a fist. Fire engulfed his limb as his twisted smile and wide, crazed eyes came into existence last.

"The artifact is mine!"

 

[Iasha Rha]

Where was it? The source of this disturbance in her plans. She could only hope she had put the smoke monster behind her for long enough to reach the relic and get out of this mess.

But there was always a source to these things; a sorcerer.

Then she saw someone, or something: Markings surrounding an invisible form that she could not quite distinguish. It rushed her, and she knew immediately that she had gone too far, too fast. Her heels dug into the dust and sand, but she could not stop in time to mount a proper defence. Instead, she tried to twist into a position that would mitigate the damage some, and perhaps give her some benefit for the pain she was about to feel.

The flaming fist connected with her cheek, making a mark but skidding off before it could dislocate her jaw.

As the fire burned her skin and the fist knocked her head to the side, a blade of glass attached to her wrist, emerged from its sheath. Gritting her pointed teeth and tasting the blood that seeped into her mouth, she thrust the shikkar-blade at her opponent's armpit and upper ribs. If she hit perfectly, it could pierce his heart or lung. If she was off, then at least she had a chance to cause him some pain. The shikkar was designed to break and burrow, and would heal slower than a regular knife wound.

Firrerreo

 

[Firrerreo]

There it was. Fist connects to chin. Fire to flesh. The thrill of victory rushed through the rather inexperienced fighter. Was combat truly this easy in melee? Perhaps he should of invested in actual combat sooner. Tattooing the runes would make the effects more permanent, so why not? And yet, such arrogant thoughts quickly left the Firrerreo's mind as a sharp pain ripped into his side. A pain that only worsened as he felt something foreign break. He screamed.

If not for the runes that covered his body, such a strike would of been lethal. Even with them, the only reason he fell to the ground and writhed in pain was because of his heritage. Blood seeped from the wound, the broken bits of the blade sinking deeper and cutting more and more. Exsanguination was guaranteed for a normal human. His mind was numb. Vision blurry.

He erupted with flame. The only defense he could truly think of was just that. A wall of heat to force Iasha Rha away while he pulled out the blade imbedded in his side. Glorious, overwhelming pain only added to the heat and desperation. Even his hand as he unleashed his power charred and burnt black. He would survive, of course. But there was no way for him to continue the chase.

Not until he got that blade out at least.

 

[Iasha Rha]

Internally Iasha celebrated when she felt the shikkar take purchase and then shatter. That celebration was cut rather short when the dizziness from the punch set in. She stumbled a few steps back and managed barely to get collect herself enough to throw up her arms and throw herself back when the wave of fire and heat washed out toward her.

She realised that she did not have time to make this a fight.

Chances were she would not come out victorious anyhow. Instead, she reminded herself of the goal. While she may not attain victory in battle, she could still succeed in her mission.

While the man was still digging the glass shards out of his body, Iasha stomped the toes of her right foot twice in the ground. Her eyes traced a path along the wall as the Force welled up in her. In this stage, the Force was like a well of potential. She could have thrown it forward, gripped and pulled or pushed or manipulated. There were endless possibilities that she could not yet see, shrouded deeper in the darkness, but there was only one she chose now.

Speed.

When her toe would tap a third time, she shot ahead diagonally past Firrereo. She leapt, giving her feet purchase on a thin ledge, and continued to accelerate to maintain the momentum. It carried her diagonally up and past. She jumped again, twisting her body and placing a foot on a hold on the ceiling to launch herself the final distance.

Her landing was less than perfect. She landed feet first, but fell into a backwards tumble that almost threw her on her back. But she scraped by just by the skin of her teeth and ran ahead to gain some distance between her and Firrerreo .

 

[Firrerreo]

The pain was delightfully unbearable. There was no more thought spared for Iasha Rha as Firrerreo writhed on the ground. His fingers, soaked in blood, tore at his flesh to rip out the shards. His body was healing, locking the very blade he feverishly wanted out within. Minutes passed, his mind numb with the overwhelming pain as his body worked on auto pilot to survive. Finally, the last shard was removed. Anyone else would be dead, that much he was certain of.

To think he was pushed this far. Melee, combat. It certainly wasn't for him! An echoing laugh erupted as he sprawled out among the ashes of whatever happened to be close by. His body still hurt. He still remembered that pain, but it wasn't all consuming. Better, this Twi'lek had given him a gift. Anger, rage. Power. As if nothing happened he pushed his body from the floor, his red stained hands brushing down his similarly stained cloak. Then he turned his attention forward.

There was no doubt. She went after the artifact. With a laugh he took off in a run. I must return this gift in kind! Wait for me, fellow Sith!

 

[Iasha Rha]

Even while dashing down the depths of the ruin, Iasha could feel his pain and the hatred that welled out of him. If she were honest, it was an intimidating sensation.

The Force-driven speed she had used slowed, taking Iasha from a racing blur down to a steady jog. She was fighting just to keep moving, when her entire body was telling her to take a moment to catch her breath. Just because the Force gave her great speed, did not not mean it did not make her physically tired to do so. She was certain she had gotten a solid head start, but she could not afford to stop just yet.

Then again, this place was likely trapped, and she couldn't exactly afford to fall down a spike-pit either.

I must return this gift in kind! Wait for me, fellow Sith!

She swallowed hard and steeled her determination.

Her eyes darted across the hallway as she looked for things that came off as unnatural, like metal prods or loose wires half buried in the sand. The red twi'lek skipped past a few tiles that were conspicuously separated from the others, and made sure she kicked the sand around them to disrupt her foot-pattern so as to not give him a clue to how she got past them. Perhaps he would step in a trap?

It was not just a race to the finish line, but a deadly obstacle course as well.

-She thought as a wire moved under her foot. She had to take a step back, and fell on her butt in the sand as a metal sheet, sharp as an axe, sheared across way forward. The edge slammed into the opposite wall hard enough the cleave into the stone and release trails of long settled dust from the unstable ceiling above.

Iasha was left staring at the metal blockage between her and the way forward. Cursing internally, the twi'lek ignited her sabre and got to cutting.

Firrerreo