Into the Dark

[Darth Abyss]

Geonosis, Underground Tunnel Network

Tracking the newest addition to his constantly growing group of half voluntarily apprentices wasn't much of an effort for Abyss. With bit of money from his extensive wealth, a handful of watchful eyes belonging to his endless network of agents and just enough insight into the inner workings of the force to top it of he had already determined her current position mere minutes after she had left Nar Shaddaa after their first meeting. He had plans for, great plans, as he had for all those gifted enough to be worthy of the embrace of his teachings. The look into her mind had been very promising, she had intelligence, some basic skills and a lot of determination, and yet her personality was still fragile, easily broken and shaped into something better. Not perfect for a sith, but certainly for a weapon born of the dark side.

At given time he would introduce her to the finer branches of the force, help her to embrace her mental fortitude like he had done himself. Yet at first she would have to learn the basics, general combat training, meditation, telekinesis. Useful skills pretty much anyone born with the gift possessed, to varying degrees of course. She didn't had to become a master of any of these, but a base level of understanding was required for the more complex parts of her training.

The tunnel network below the desert world was seemingly endless, and as far as he knew no one besides the insectiod natives had seen every part of it. It was a gigantic maze, full with dead ends and pitfalls. Or said simply, it was the perfect place to truly introduce someone to the corrupting touch of the darkness within.

"Come to me girl."

Deep below the surface in absolute darkness rested the metal husk, once again floating in the air, mirroring the stance he had during their last meeting. No matter where she currently was, the words would suddenly echo through her mind, a dark pull would wrap around her heart and mind, leading her towards the position of the Mindeater.

"Do not fear the dark, do not fear your fear. Embrace the darkness within, allow it to guide you on the paths that your eyes can not see."

Upon entering the tunnels the twisted voice would speak to her again, while the might of his thoughts once more extended to corrupt her mind. Her eyes would lose sight, her ears would only hear silence and every other sense would be lost to her brain, not by physically altering them, but by simply disconnecting her thoughts from them so she could not trick his test through her cybernetics. Now all she had was the force to guide her.

[member="Veryiana Greivex"]

 

[Myra]

Veryiana's eyes shoot open as the voice rings in her head.. she was napping, although involuntary, the sudden onset of sleep was welcomed and she already missed it as she rose from her desk, having slumped across it.. It was his voice, 'the voice of death itself' she thought quietly.. but of course she knew that to be false..

She left her Hive through a large durasteel blast door and entered into the many tunnels of Geonosis, determined this time not to cower like an injured dog, no, this time she would prove herself.. at least, she was thinking that until suddenly she could not see.. nor hear.. she was blind. She hurriedly attempted to run a diagnostics check on her implants, but then realized that she couldn't even see messages directly sent to her brain.. and so she was scared.

She blindly gropes around, feeling for stalagmites and debris as she stumbles forward a few steps.. no, the force, that mystical energy she still couldn't completely comprehend was her eyes this time..

Being alone and blind left her to her thoughts.. memories she didn't recognize as her own flooding her mind.. Coruscant.. the world-city.. children playing on the lower levels, kicking a ball and attempting to get it past the apposing team and then nothing.. her fingers rolled into fists as anger boiled inside of her. This was her world.. what right did he have to come and blind her? Then the boiling simmered down back into the cold abyss of her soul.. she had asked for this, but it still didn't please her.. She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves before reaching out with the force to sense her surroundings, the intricacies of the cavern around her as she begins to walk, avoiding obstacle after obstacle. She could feel the Dark Side.. the emotions bubbling inside of her only fueling it's power as she slowly came closer.. and closer.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

While his metal shell remained locked in place, his mind followed her path through the endless maze of case and tunnels. He could feel the darkness inside of her rise to new heights, once it was the only thing left that she could sense. Taking away something a person direly needs was a quite perfect tool to bring out both the best and the worst in an apprentice, a spark of challenge that revealed both their greatest strengths and their greatest weaknesses.

It was a simple as looking at someone for him. Her strength was a quick, intelligent mind that she could put to use, one that almost instantly recognized that this was a challenge he had forced upon her. Yet her weaknesses were as apparent. Uncontrolled fear, confusion and uncertainty that plagued her mind, as well as a lack of faith into the dark blessing that empowered both of them.

When she finally stumbled into the corridor that lead towards a central hub where various caves crossed, and where Abyss resided she was greeted by the mockery that made the Mindeater a notorious opponent and teacher alike.

"Finally. I almost expected you to be lost in the darkness."

Slowly the metal figure rose to his feet, his body lifted up by the force without the need to use his hands to get into a straight position. His hollow eyes rested on her, a endless, calculating mind making sure to see her through and through, not just the metal on the outside, but whatever crippled being was below it.

"Tell me girl, what did you learn by coming here?"
[member="Veryiana Greivex"]

 

[Myra]

"That you are as sadistic as you are powerful.." She grumbles, regretting the words afterwards as she tries to straighten up a bit more from her rather stooped position "And.." She adds, trying to stifle his wrath before it comes down upon her "That I am weaker than I previously thought.. taking away two things was enough to bring me to my knees.."

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

He didn't needed the force to know that she expected punishment for her words, but even without her addition there would've been none. She had made a pretty good comparison, even if she misjudged his intentions. Cruelty and mockery didn't brought him happiness, they were merely tools he used to forge those that served him into weapons of great power.

"Knowing your weakness is the only way to true strength."

Slowly he moved closer to her with steps that left not even the slightest trace of a sound on the ground. A single step away from her he stopped, the metal figure lowering his head so that the hollow holes in his mask looked directly into her eyes. It was a simple effort to appear even more menacing, an effort to fuel and embrace the powerful passion born out of fear inside of her.

"Yet this is not all you learned. Your senses can deceive you, but the force is with you no matter what you see or hear."

His claw like hands clasped behind his back, and in a fluid motion the husk turned around again, taking precisely three steps away from her before turning face to metal mask again. In his right a red blade suddenly came to life, the saber resting calmly in his hand. He had not yet seen her skills in combat and neither what weapons she preferred. This would be an efficient way of finding out while also forcing her to grow.

"Defend yourself."

[member="Veryiana Greivex"]

 

[Myra]

Of course, she was expecting a duel and thus had brought her weapon with her.. she didn't leave anywhere without it either way.. but the blade that beamed and glimmered in the shadows of the Geonosian cavern caught her off guard, but she was not afraid.. dueling.. this was something she was good at.. not perfect at.. but her prowess had always been with speed and flexibility in the physical realm instead of with the force, so with a quiet breath to calm her senses she locked eyes with the empty sockets of the husk before her.


"And I assume you're not going to take it easy on me?" She asked teasingly, but she meant it, she hoped he wouldn't take it easy on her, sounding excited, the battle-lust already boiling in her veins.

With one fluid motion she unclipped the hilt of her blade from her belt and held it at her side, turning it on. A yellow saber shot out before beggining to fall limp on the ground next to her and continuing to grow for a few seconds until the fully formed glimmering yellow lightwhip had formed, a weapon she knew well and treasured more than any of her other belongings. In fact, she had awoken with it from her sleep, having lost all of her memories in the first upload of data into her brain using the cords that hung effortlessly near her back, connecting her brain directly to the robotic limbs and organs on and within her body.

Yet, even now when she desired this fight, she took a step back, flicking the whip up so the blade curls around her feet like a small wall, taking a more defensive stance

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"You would not stand a chance even if I did girl."

There was a mocking laugh following his taunting words. Many believed the Prophet to be arrogant, but that was as from the truth as it could possibly be. He had mastered many skills, and one of them was the art of breaking a mind, not just by the force but with words alone. The Sith called it Dun Möch, an ancient technique to get an opponent to the lowest point before landing the final blow.

Her choice of weapon was quite interesting. Not many favored a lightwhip over a common saber. That alone was an advantage that made it a worthy weapon, even if the lack of defensive capabilities had kept him from ever using such a tool himself. It was hard to use, and even harder to master but those who did could overwhelm their opponent that did not know how to act against it.

His left pointed forward, a strange blue knife jumping from his boot into his hand by a telekinetic grip. Like his new apprentice he favored the unorthodox. Saber in his right, knife in his left he made a cautious step forward. Then another, and another. All of a sudden his movement speed up, the crimson blade pushed forward in a stab aimed at her chest, using the fact the he was taller and therefore had longer arms with the whole length of his weapon to balance out the advantage in reach that her weapon had.

It was a simple attack, but this was just the opening of what could be a fairly long battle after all.

[member="Veryiana Greivex"]

 

[Myra]

Veryiana has suspected he'd open with something simple, as most teachers do in such circumstances, and thus she was prepared. Using both her metallic legs she jumped back a foot out of his saber's range, before flicking her whip in an attempt to wrap it around his saber as it's straight out position directly above her light whip was practically begging for this assault. And if successful, would attempt to pull it from his hands.

She wanted to end this quickly, frustrated by his mockery. But the knife in his other hand intrigued her.. she had one as well, in her left boot, a jagged creation meant to tear muscle and artery, for her target to bleed and slowly become weaker and weaker until they couldn't even lift a blade.. but it was going to be completely ineffective against him.. she thought.

She continues to face him, trying to make the obvious cords hanging from her head a less obvious target, and although her saber was in her organic arm, her metallic one was still good for balance and even a good strike here or there with it's incredible speed.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"A well executed move, but a foolish one."

Abyss simply watched as the whip wrapped around his crimson blade, another of his deranged laughs filling the dark cavern that served as the theater of their fight. There would've been various ways to bypass such a situation, like turning his saber off once the whip kept it in its hold to follow up with a quick retaliation strike, but that wouldn't teach her what her mistake had been.

It mattered little how good a move was in theory when you didn't knew the full potential of your opponent. Abyss had always advocated to his apprentice that an enemies weakness was worth far more than their own strengths, and that it was more important to know what an adversary could do and what not.

"Chose your attacks not based on your strength, but on your opponents shortcomings. Understand who you fight."

In his case this meant the level of supernatural strength gifted to him by his hollow form. There was only one limit to it, the point at which the force would be enough for his steel shell to break under it, everything below was in the realm of the possible. With a sudden moved he pulled his blade back, until his extended arm pointed straight to his right in an attempt to both pull her closer into his ranger and to make her stumble. At the same time his knife pushed forward, meant for her to stumble directly into it.

[member="Veryiana Greivex"]

 

[Myra]

She was an idiot and she knew it as she flew forwards towards him, bringing up her metallic hand to be impaled by the knife and stop her steady fall towards it. It didn't hurt.. it didn't even deactivate her entire hand, only her fourth finger. "When you don't know an enemy's weakness than you have to rely solely on your strengths.. and I have a feeling you won't indulge yours to me. Sith tend to kill their masters don't they?" She asks casually.. but in reality she was scared, she was almost stabbed, and she was hoping it would catch him off guard, going to kneel down, grab the knife in her boot, and try to bring it up and into the underside of his mask, where his jaw should be as her fingers wrap around the blade of the knife to prevent him from trying to use it again.. but, knowing she probably can't do much against his strength.

[member="Darth Abyss"]