Taking a Leap of Faith

[Matreya]

"Kark you, you piece of poodoo." Daemos spat, igniting Kallig's red saber blade, clean through said poodoo's stomach. The man had told him that finding the point he needed would be impossible, that ancient tomb pathways had succumbed to the blows of time immemorial. But, why then, had others been opened but not this?

It had taken weeks of digging after reading the personal opinion of Odium on the information held within the Holocron of Darth Nox, to bring to light a man once proud and dominant to the galaxy, that now remained little more then a name in an old text. However, with that said, it was known that the Lord had learned of the very same abilities, that Nox found; Force Walking. The Holocron that Nox learned it from, Lord Ergast's Holocron, was said to still reside in his tomb, left behind by the man whom found it - out of respect many believe.

But to know that no other, besides Darth Odium, knew of Force Walking at this time, would mean this very artifact had yet to surface once more. Thus, the tomb was sought out.

Not for cheap either, Damien drove millions from his gathered wealth to this cause, purchasing hundreds of men to accompany him, ships to follow and aid when necessary. Yet, through it all, they tried to feign inability to move forward.

This was simply cowardice, cowardice of the Nth degree, with a side of incompetence. How could this man - D believed his name was Cold, or some retarded name like that - think it intelligent to simply give up? Damien had provided top dollar equipment to get the job done. All perceived obstacles should be surmounted by his means.

So, it was his own fault he met this fate.

Feeling his anger continue to grow, surrounded by a larger group - those hundreds of men mentioned before - than normal was bringing out the inner predator. But he was an ancient, older than near any being alive. He would not fall to far.

"All of you, GET OFF MY SHIP!!!!!" The words exploded out of him, in the rage driven Force Scream. Men, and vehicles, launched clear out of the open exit ramp to the hot desert ground below.

Recently, Kaas had been devastated, glassed you could say, but not everything was destroyed. These ancient tombs were enchanted and protected, by the ground around it every bit as much as the many Spirits that marked the planet. To say it was likely destroyed, was true, but that was if one only thought with logic. The Force told him differently, that though it would be a dangerous journey, it was still around and obtainable. What man could say no to gathering limitless power?

Stepping down the ramp of the Archangel, Damien glared at the men whom now recovered, glancing to the corners of his eyes to spot the rest following him down. Nearby, was the nearest spot all of the gathered intel his millions could find led to. Even closer, scattered about, were different kinds of mining equipment. Scanners, drills, trucks to move debris, all a miner could want.

This sight only infuriated the Knight even further...

At this time, Damien once more noticed the still activated lightsaber in his hand, to which he let the blade vanish back to where it came - the silence even more deafening that the hum.

"Below us, or near by underground, is a tomb...didnt I say this already? Why then is it hard to find it?" Damien called softly, trying to contain his fury, "You use the scanners, clickity click click, boom, you see what were after. Then you use drills, hammers, explosives, whatever you have to, to get it done!" By the end of his words, his voice was once again rising, and so he paused to straighten his jacket and cloak.

"Look, you guys have heard from my own crew, Im a good guy as long as you be good workers. Its not hard. I promise. Just use a little initiative and get the job done.

"Mike!" Damien called a bit louder, watching as a squat man that was as wide as Rancor charged forward. His helmet bounced along on his tiny head. Odd, how some people end up so disproportionate, but what can ya do? "Mike, I want you to go there to that crate, and dump it over. Just knock the whole thing down."

To say that Mike charged to the afore mentioned box, would still be an understatement - from that second to the end, Damien would swear the man moved faster than himself. Literally hurling his body against the thing, Damien watched as nothing happened and then he sighed. Charging forward, to reach the container just beside the man, Damien kicked the thing so hard it flipped into the air before slamming down and spinning to land on its side. Hundreds of explosives, ranging in size and make, spewed forth all across the ground.

Leaping high into the skies, he held his hand upward, the Sith symbol for Flames igniting in a burning pain against the inside of his right palm. Concentrating for but the barest breadths of a mediocre second, a humongous ball of flames erupted nearly licking at the flesh that conjured it. Bearing alchemy, the flames burned slightly hotter than normal while also altering color to a deep color yet unheard of - when looking at it, one would swear they saw purple and scarlet simultaneously.

Pointing his palm, and thus the flames, towards the now still grenades. Pausing more for the effect than to allow escape time for his men, he shot the humongous flow directly towards the weapons.

Once the ball touched, it caused a minor explosive action of its own, igniting the oxygen molecules in the nearby area swiftly as it spread like a tidal wave to consume the area. But it only was allowed to spread so far before a far more devastating concussion occurred.

At first it was one, then two together, until all at once every bomb the man had purchased went off all at once. The effect was obvious, anyone within several dozen feet was sent rocketing outward from the blast radius. Anything within the first dozen itself was disintegrated, and Damien himself was launched further into the air while otherwise unaffected.

Landing on the wing of his ship, a surprising distance away, with a choking wheeze from the smoke and expression of power. Clicking the ever present button located on his helm, near his temple, he spoke, "Voice contact [member="Soulfire Ticon"], and tell him to get out here." As he spoke, he knew the droid mind connection between his suit and all of his gear would use his ship to contact his student whom was within.

But as he spoke, Damien wanted to punch himself. Yes the idea was simple, if the entrance itself was to far destroyed, then lets blow open the top of one of the inner chambers - however, he hadn't thought about the repercussions that would ensue, such as the instantaneous spider-webbing occurring along the ground where the explosion was.

The hole itself had indeed opened a chamber, but now the rest of the ground had destabilized and was going down fast. The snaking cracks were even heading towards his ship!

"Voice, on second thought, tell Ticon I said to meet me underground. GET ARC OFF THE SURFACE." Leaping clear of the wing, he was glad the voice was robotic and so could bring his actions about far faster, for the ship raised almost that second.

Landing mid-stride, D was quick to accelerate to an all out run. Charging away from the perimeter of the event, he barely was able to leap clear.

Casting his gaze about swiftly, his HUD allowed him to deduce his men even faster then the norm. He was down 36 men because of that stunt.

But the idea of credits galore, from an ancient that viewed physical property as normally meaningless kept the rest in their right minds. Tossing a signal at the group he once more trained with daily, each of them Force Users, all ten moved as a unit towards himself. None had officially learned from a faction, however a long time ago Damien had spent months teaching them what he knew. Basically they all had the potency of an acolyte's abilities, while the rest of their uses lay in their melee skills to which they added what they knew in the Force.

"Tell the men to wait topside for my command. Pick another 10 man team, and lets drop." Damien called when they were near enough. Instantly all of them split up, and the word was given. Moments later each returned, with a partner now in tow. The newcomers of course being the new team.

"Right. Lets do this." Damien said, and leapt towards the closest of the cave walls. Allowing himself his free fall decent until he neared the bottom, Damien ignited the saber he held once more, just long enough to drag through the wall to slow himself down.

The second his feet were on dirt, his saber was placed in its proper holder along his Bodo Baas belt, and dual 'Betty' Pistols found themselves handled. Dragging the sights along the area, he awaited his allies before slowly rising.

"Were clear. Gamer, Dozer, Nuke, and Lesley, with me. The rest of you break off, split up, and take the other tunnels." Damien whispered into his helmets mic. The designated group moved towards him, all with rifles or scatterguns - whatever they had chosen to keep on hand - aimed in the direction of the largest mouth in the cavern.

Dozer, was the largest of his squad, best used for hand to hand as he was trained to use Force Enhancements to a minor degree. This upped his already considerable dominance, as 6'of 300 pounds of raw muscle with extra juice was always a grand ally. Gamer, the opposite of Dozer at the groups smallest, was trained in the use of slice tech and the sole ability of Force Shadowing. Nuke was, like his name inferred, nothing like an explosive when it came to this man, with his talents being in large gunnery and being able to use them right in the heat of battle.

Then there was Lesley, a spit fire red head whom hassled Damien until the man had trained the group as whole. Afterwards, taking it a step further, she was somewhat brilliant in her negotiating a full tutelage.

However, she never once wanted to claim him her master. Women, go figure.

Passing through the mouth of the tunnel and into the darkness, Damien muttered, "Night-optics." To which came an immediate transfer, allowing him to see, as well as carrying the term to the others whom too changed optics.

Stretching out ahead of them, with all mental alertness on high, Damien soared straight down the tunnel. It took but a moment, and he returned, a sigh sounding.

"There seems to be something big up ahead. Possibly Rancor, most likely brought by the makers of the Dark Temple to guard the tombs down here. Past that, are a few dozen Sith spawn, dont know what to expect from them. They're big and mean, but couldnt be expected to name what they are made from, or by whom for that matter."

"'Ight need uh cou'le 'ore 'en, I reckon." Dozer muttered into his helm's speakers, his ever present accent being noticeable - a result of a child hood fight that severely damaged his jaw and aligning hinges, with no proper attention during its healing.

"No. One Rancor, and a few spawn? We got this ya'll!" Lesley murmured after, a somewhat excited tone emphasizing her words.

"Keep quiet, we're nearing the opening ahead." Damien growled into his mic, angry that his men were slacking and making mistakes.

Clearly, his words proved true, for after he spoke it became obvious the walls around them were expanding slightly. Opening to a high roof, peaking at 20 meters, with said huge beast dead center in the middle.

Letting himself truly adjust, and there for focus on the thing, he groaned when he realized it was a Terentatek.

"Someone put a Tek in here? Thats karkin awesome!" Nuke's voice came through his mic as well. Did i forget to add he loves all destructive things? Good, cause he does.

"Well boys...how about we hit him with a Beta Right Hook?" He called, already moving to the right, silent as possible.

Dozer, being the largest of his men, would obviously have the key role in this play, so he parted from the group as he head to the left. The plan was simple, use Dozer to distract the thing while all of them hit it hard from the rear.

But as he neared it, his jaw dropped. It wasnt a normal terentatek, it was far more massive. It was a Mauler.

Once more, the High Knight sighed. This was going to be a terribly long trip.

 

[RC 212]

[member="D-Man"]

Soulfire had been following the inter event from a safe distance away and was in fact not even on the ship. He watched in amusement as the ground exploded, due to his teachers impatience and then he had followed him down, but ever so subtly. Today he was working on is stalking skills, and so far, no one had noticed.

Until they came face to face with the Mauler and then he let his presence be known.

When he saw it his instant reaction was to light up his blazing yellow saber. The darkside was strong here in the depths of the chambers, and it was easy for him to draw the evil essences into himself. A small spark grew inside him, collecting energy until it became a raging storm and he held it back, waiting to unleash the gathered power at just the right moment.

In a low crouch behind the group, and saber outstretched in his right hand, he waited, staring directly into the eyes of the evil creature.

"I get the feeling this trip is going to be just a little more difficult than one Mauler and a few Sithspawn,"

 

[Matreya]

Damien hadnt expected his student to ignite the fiery blade of his saber quite yet, for the second it did, his plan was altered. In order to keep the Mauler's eyes off of Ticon, Dozer had to leap forward and start laying into the beast with his mini-gun.

Growling, Damien ignited Nox's saber as well, charging straight at the Mauler. Zigzagging X's appeared every where along his path, all the while nearing the brutish creature. Spending a minimal amount of physical energy, combined with the Force, Damien launched straight into the air above the beast. Dropping atop the tusk like spikes protruding from its face, Damien called into his mic, "Everyone, GO, GO, GO!!"

As a unit, all of his men converged, and at that second it became a war zone. Hundreds of rounds a second were already being fired by Dozer's custom mini, now the rest began as well, much to his glee. Red, glowing shots hit the beast every where.

Spinning the hilt of his saber, Damien felt the blade swing along, before he embedded it through the top of the beasts cranial mass. However, something so massive wouldnt be taken this easily.

Lifting its arms, and thrusting forth its upper body, the Mauler roared at the top of its lungs. The effect from said action was instantaneous, Damien began to fall back to the ground below, before the brute caught him mid flight.

Planting his arms at his sides, he barely saved his lungs from collapsing as it was a battle of strengths to see whom would hold out longest. If the beast did, Damien would perish, and this was obvious to everyone around them.

Roaring out in fury, Damien pressed his own strength in an outward fashion, as the immense inward pressure popped pent up pain within his joints. His suit of armor, the Inquisitor X-1 model, was crafted of Ultrachrome and thus very studdy. How though, it could be expected to survive such a treatment, was the question. Now all things were in regards to getting free.

The beast jerked and roared, the shots fired infuriating the behemoth ever more as time progressed. His free hand, lifted nearby rocks and boulders, whipping them through the air at his men, whom would of course already be on the move.

With no real plan in action any longer, each individual did what they did best. Dozer was seeking to shred the beasts ankles to paper mâché, while Nuke sat under Lesley's protection to creat a powerful explosive.

Gamer did something odd though, his gun never fired, it simply drew back and forth across the roof above Damien. He didnt have time to deduce his friends actions however, for his left arm slipped and he was being crushed once more. Concentrating for an instant on the Fire symbol etched into his palm, Damien conjured a small torrent that slowly ate at the beasts hand.

When it roared, and flung Damien free, the man used Force manipulations to right himself - now flying horizontally, when his feet touched the nearest wall, he crouched down to absorb the last of the energies, and then he flung himself once more at the head of the huge brute. As he soared over its head, Damien called to his saber, and it returned to his palm just to ignite and swing swiftly.

The blow was done so fast, it left Damien in an uncontrollable barrel roll. However during it he found that it struck home and that was what counted, for it was cleaving clean through the left spike on the things face. Watching the calcium, or whatever form of bone it was, fall to the ground.

"Ticon, Dozer, move that spike and plant it into the wall with the sharp edge outward. Gamer, Les, Nuke, drag its attentions your way. When the others are clear, Nuke use whatever it is your concocting to knock it back.

"We'll kill it with its own spike." Damien called into his mic, barely managing not to crash into the ground in a tangled heap.

Then came an odd sound, repeated banging and thumping. It wasnt in any uniform design, so music was out of the question...

"Spawn incoming!!" Gamer's voice came through, at the same time he recognized the dangers.

"Fu-" Damien cut his foul language short, to switch targets. With the sudden change of plans, Damien found himself launching into movement again, running straight for the first of the lumbering brutes he saw.

Whatever they had been made from once, no longer could be identified. Walking on hind legs like a sapient, with huge fangs that extended to near their chin and massive frontal limbs that drug along the floor beside and behind them, they appeared slightly simian. Though the whole, crimson scales covering their bodies led to another image.

The first was met with a swift decapitation, though in doing so Damien was surprised to find their muscle structures was enticingly dense. To the point it noticeably gripped at his plasma blade, slowing its speed by enough to visibly watch it. Gripping said fallen head with the Force, he hurled it across towards another that spotted him. Low light vision as well, just great.

Skirting around the still vertical corpse, Damien rocketed like a bullet at the next and sliced through a large clawed hand as it approached. Continuing his forward momentum, he physically slid up the beings arm to plant his saber where its heart should be had it been human.

There wasn't a heart. Feeling the beings massive hand grip his helmet, Damien deactivated the blade instead of having to take the time to remove it. Once more its thrumming blade burst to life, and he flipped the hilt over the back of his palm where it once more was grasped when it finished its rotation. The quick motion, left his saber flying like a wind mill, cutting through the flesh where elbow met fore arm. Raising his hands, Damien launched a huge burst of wind down the tunnel, knocking several of the beasts into each other.

Glancing over his shoulder, Damien sighed a little less angrily, his men and apprentice were doing it. Clearly using a different plan, Dozer held the Mauler's attentions once more, while Nuke moved to plant the mentioned explosive a few feet behind it. When he had finished, Lesley began making a spectacle of herself, bending over and pulling down - well lets say there was a moon that was being smacked.

Some how, this worked, despite the sheer ludicrous idea of the spectacle distracting a non sentient.

The massive body spun, nearly tripping itself to shamble closer to the petite woman who immediately righted her form. Blaster fire hailed the beast, enticing it further.

"Come on..." Damien growled out, watching as each step drew it nearer to its doom. Once the explosive blew, the beasts leg - whichever hit it - would be gone and by default drop the beast to the ground. From there, they could decimate the thing.

Boom! A solid blow struck the right shoulder plate against his back, nearly denting it with such a devastating power behind it. Gasping against the pain, Damien opened his senses once more, barely ducking beneath a follow up blow to the opposite side. Spinning around, D brought his saber downward against the arm that had sought to attack him. The newest enemy was smarter then his previous, and made a greater effort to save his arm by yanking it to the opposite direction. This didn't allow him to go unscathed however, for the heat of the plasma did indeed scorch and disintegrate several inches off of the beings forearm and elbow.

Next, it allowed this same movement to gain him enough momentum to fully spin his body, bringing the back of his opposite arms fresh elbow and massive tree trunk like arm towards his chest. Deactivating his saber, Damien hurled a powerful counter punch towards the brutes attack. In a surprising match up, his own blow met the others and halted them both instantaneously, simply to finish it with a reactivation of the plasma circuits.

Bursting through the opposite end of the arm with a deep sizzling hum, Nox's saber took ever more trophies. Yanking upward, Damien watched the arm fall as he released the saber as simultaneously deactivating it yet again. While the saber flew through the air, Damien channeled energy from the Dark Side around them to power his blows as he hurled a swift combination of blows towards his opponent: a right hand, open palm blow to the throat, while his left arm came forward in a hooked jab to the gut, that ended by slamming its elbow to the brutes knee. Reaching his right hand back up once more, he caught and flipped the ignition on his saber again, to spin it in a Z formation as he rotated his entire body to enhance its momentum.

The combination was so swift, it was a blur even for the Czar Anzati, and when he finished he heard several loud thumps as each portion of the Spawn hit the cave floor. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, and allowed his body the seconds long respite he would find. His knuckles bled slightly on his left hand, and the elbow hurt severely, while his right arm was more or less unharmed - its shoulder being the only damage received.

At this time, he brought his gaze once more towards the other group.

[member="Soulfire Ticon"]
(Left the explosion, my men, and the Mauler to you. Look over their descriptions in the first post, and use them to your liking - they really were trained in a few posts a couple months back and so are hardened. Just attack it, to drive it back onto the explosive and from there have fun.)

 

[Matreya]

(Lol sorry man, my mind is on this so Imma keep posting. Do your thing at your pace, Ill leave room for you to interject into the upcoming stuff.)

Jerked back, before he could see the results of the Mauler battle, Damien felt his back impact the wall hard. Groaning, he moved up an arm to block an incoming blow towards his face. Locking his elbow, the blow struck hard but didnt damage him overtly. However, he couldn't risk many more blows like that, as his opposite arm was already sore.

Drawing up his left arm, he swung it up and then out, impacting then pushing away the arm that gripped at his shoulder. Slamming the hilt of his saber into the beasts stomach, he ignited the blade for but a second then it vanished once more. Ducking under the out stretched arm, he literally was on the thing like a monkey. Repeated blows bashed against its spine as he climbed atop its massive ten foot form, where he planted his saber into the skull of the roaring brute.

Leaping off of the beast he soared, backwards however, straight into the hug of a powerful squeeze that sought to crush him inside his armor. Luckily the brute didn't realize the durability of Ultrachrome, which would bear and bend to the will of the mauler but not something so much less powerful. Flipping the hilt of his saber, he ignited the pulsing energy once more, straight into the core of his enemy. Tilting down on the front of the handle, he heard a massive cry of pain that shook the walls, as his blade crept up the inside of his opponents body before breaking free past the shoulder. Now only held by a singular appendage, Damien turned to face his newer opponent and brought his leg up to plant a planet rocking kick, that actually squished slightly into his abdomen.

Drawing back, he spun and brought yet another kick at his opponent, but he dropped at the last second so as to sweep his enemies legs from under him. When the beast fell to his right, Damien drew back his arm and slammed his fist into the beings throat. Did i mention this hand still held the saber? Oh good, cause once again it ignited.

Leaving the saber in place for a moment as the body twitched and seized, Damien rose from the dirt and dusted himself off. Finding it difficult to breathe, the Czar Anzat, made a daring decision and removed his helmet.

Training in the past helped him in this situation, as being locked in a dark room, which was held inside a barricaded building, atop a hill patrolled by - well you get the idea, it helped him see at near pitch black very well. Hooking the latch of his helm to his belt so he wouldnt lose it in the ensuing battles, Damien finally called his saber to his hand again. Once more armed, he looked down the tunnel again, and growled..

There were three of the things, standing shoulder to shoulder, in such a tight squeeze they could barely fit. With a determined gaze, Damien flew at the spawn with his saber held in both hands.

Leaping forward, he kicked the nearest in the stomach, and as it began to double over, climbed a bit higher then spun so he could bring his legs around in a double kick at the one next to him. Literally, Damien felt the growl of the one whose head he now sat on. But the kick had done the trick, angering the other so that it lashed out at Damien - whom obviously was no longer there. The blow instead struck its brother clear in the chops, knocking him into the other innocent fiend. Having slid along its massive back to the ground, Damien spun and swept his saber through four legs, two belonging to the being in the center, the others were holding the inside of the brethren up.

As a combination, this attack caused a literal pile up. Arms and legs flailed, the spawn yelled and hissed at each other. It was almost comical, up until their minds all simultaneously snapped at Damien's will.

Sagging against the nearest wall for a moment, Damien gasped for breath. His suit was weighing him down immensely, while the sheer numbers of his opponents combined with their durability overwhelmed him. Nearly anyway. Unclipping the bracers to each of his arms, he then tossed them aside and smiled as he tested his now refined movement capacity.

"Much better." He muttered as he pushed himself away from the wall to face the last of the opponents in the hall. This one would be simple, he sent his mental probe out where it latched onto the beings mind like a leech and began over loading it like a processor that attempted to hold all known knowledge.

Before long the brute fell, having not even taken an advancing step.

Just as Damien began to turn around once more, he spotted movement further into the caves - past the bodies he had fell. Focusing for a moment, Damien growled, for his eyes could see in the dark, but no where near the level his helmet could. Unclipping it from his belt, Damien begrudgingly placed it back atop his head. He didn't properly reattach it however, in case he needed to be able to remove it.

There it was again, something low to the ground lurked in the distant dark. It seemed it moved about on all fours, with a long elegant tail swishing behind whatever it was. Reaching slowly for his right side, Damien fingered the butt of his Betty Pistol that currently sat under his armpit. Lining the sights up, he followed the murky glowing eyes of his new opponent as it continued to circle and stalk along the end of the tunnel.

Taking a step closer, Damien never wavered. His saber was held in a vice, while the blaster was held even more absolute. But what did one expect from a battle field such as this? It wasnt simply 'outthink your opponent' or 'destroy the clankers', in this moment it was far more dangerous then either. Both the Mauler, and the Chimps - as Damien dubbed them - were two separate problems all together; the Mauler was incredibly large and powerful, yet the Chimps were swift and strong.

This new predator, seemed every bit as deadly, even from this distance. Loosing a warning round, Damien arched a brow as the thing vanished entirely. The shot never hit anything, well anything D could see, as it flew unhindered further into the next cave. That was something he hadn't expected, and so Damien stood his ground with legs locked into place and his body taught. Stretching his senses outward, Damien barely managed to avoid the powerful snap of its huge maw bare inches away from his ribs.

Leaping backward, he looked for the already absent form once more. It seemed the beast was also sensitive to mentalism, as the second his mind had connected to the beast it had attacked. Closing himself off from his mentalism would be a dangerous gamble, yet one that could be wholly beneficial.

It looked like some sort of Maalraas, Damien found himself thinking. Surprisingly, it acted like one as well, and so Damien had to guess that despite its Sith Spawn nature, it was indeed able to figured out. Now all he had to do, was find its weaknesses. If he remembered properly, there were very few to the apex predator as it was. During his solo personal experience with one, it had been Mentalism that won him out in the end, as he could follow the beasts movements. But now, how to track an untraceable animal, that went entirely invisible at will.

Reaching out to the Force, Damien attempted to use Far Sight. He knew of the ability, its basic principles after seeing it used and having similar feelings in the past. Closing his eyes, Damien concentrated on the Spawn, forcing its image to his mind where he added as much detail as he could. Next, he envisioned the beast walking towards his gaze - the camera if you will. Slowly the rest of the cave began to appear in his mind behind the massive feline. It was then he figured out where the thing had gone, and Damien dropped to the ground the same instant it leapt at him.

While the beast soared clean over Damien's head, whom now lay on his back on the ground, he ignited his saber once more with the blade held pointing towards the heavens. The end result, was a splatter, spray, hose or however you want to describe the blood hitting the Force Push he used as a defensive shield. Rolling from under it, he released his hold and watched the goo hit the sands. Turning his gaze to the now profusely bleeding quadruped, he saw his saber had taken nearly the entire length of the animals body, and filleted it down the middle.

 

[Matreya]

Ignoring the fact that he could now turn around, as that had been the primary cause of his tiredness at this point, Damien instead chose to continue forward down the tunnel, <Follow me when you're done.> Damien sent his allies telepathically. Slow accurate steps took him nearer to his goals; the Holocron. Gods, how good would it be to finally have the upper hand against the galaxies? When it was finally his, Damien was absolutely sure now, that he would be performing the ritual within, at least a few times. It wouldn't be over until his power was so great, that a single attack could kill the very gods themselves.

Realizing, dimwittedly, that he still held a live saber, he killed the current and watched the blade shrink back into the hilt. Yawning for the barest of seconds, Damien felt himself ponder how Nox had gotten inside of his very temple, basically unharmed. Well, as he bragged anyways. Even if it wasn't true, Damien knew Nox survived, where as he wasn't entirely sure he himself would.

Passing, finally, into the mouth of the next cave, Damien paused to stare about himself. The walls and ceiling looked exactly the same, shockingly so, but in each of the points was a tall statue of hooded figures. Not a one looked the same as the last, and all were so intricately carved they seemed life like.

"Uh oh..." After what had already transpired, the idea that these statues were life like, left Damien hugging the wall on his rotation around the room. Each time he neared a statue, he covered himself in his Cloak of Nuun to better remain hidden. The likely hood that they were in fact stone guardians of some form, was very minimal but none the less he didnt want to test it at all.

When he was almost at the mouth to the exit of the cave, Damien found himself staring captivated at the tallest of the statues. It was also the oldest, or else was painted with dust. Looking up at the face held within its hooded robes, Damien let his jaw hang open. Wrinkles, pores, teeth and scars...

It was either legitimately alive, or Damien needed to lay off drinking.

"Whyrens Distillery...you guys make some good stuff (added this for the lulz)." Damien muttered, then moved to the mouth of yet another tunnel. Turning fully 360, Damien realized even with his enhanced senses, he couldnt see his allies through the cave and adjacent tunnel. It was simply to far. Had there been light, possibly, but otherwise impossible.

Knowing that Dozer, Nuke, Lesley, or Gamer, would give their lives for his student, he only feared for them. Besides that, Damien sensed a tremendous power in [member="Soulfire Ticon"]...

But why hadnt he heard the explosion yet?

Ignoring this initial thought, Damien turned back to his proper course and began his trek once more. Each step brought a bit of dust up off the floor, and this alone was a slightly annoying fact...so he began really kicking as he was walking. Soon enough, a portion of the tunnel spanning several meters ahead and behind, was to clouded with dust to see past a few inches.

Bad idea. Whipped hard against a nearby wall, Damien felt the air escape his artificial lungs, but then felt another blow come so quick after the first that they seemed one and the same. Whatever the thing was, it was fast, almost faster than Damien.

Another blow came in, this time knocking against his helmet, to which physics began to apply: a helmet not held in place, which is hit with a large amount of pressure, isnt likely to remain. Hearing the thing clatter approximately a dozen feet away, towards his goals, he made a mental note to retrieve it. Moving to clear himself of the obstructing sand, then there was yet another blow, this one smack dab in the middle of his face. Dazed, and disoriented, Damien couldnt even feel the rest of the blows that hailed down on his form. Ringing drowned out all sound, and blood trickled steadily from both nostrils.

Igniting his blade, Damien swung in random designs and circles. First things first would be to burn, move, blow away, whatever he had to do to get rid of the karkin sand. Then he would worry about his opponent. It worked just enough to be happy, for following the swift movements of the Czar Anzati, the sand cleared just enough for him to see his newest enemy.

But, again, couldnt make out its origins. The thing was lithe, like malnutrition small, but had impossibly long limbs with a devastating power behind each of them. The face was void of eyes and nose, while its body was slimy with utterly no hair anywhere to be seen. Where one would usual see fingers, or some form of digit on the hand, there were none, while its feet held far to many toes. The beings master must have been on Glitter when he made it.

Drawing back its fingerless stumps, the thing here by dubbed Lucy, it hurled both arms straight for the core of Damien's body. Lifting off, with a nimble kick, D flipped over the beings 6 foot form, and brought his saber down swiftly. But caught nothing. Spinning in place, then stepping backward to the wall when the attack came, Damien stared in awe as he finally found an opponent faster than he.

Reaching out into the energies that swirled about them, Damien took a deep breath, drawing in energy as he did so. Lashing out with FES (Force Enhanced Speed), Damien swung his saber with aggressive abandon. Lucy fought back, surprising D more by proving her limbs to be slightly resistant to the immense heat found common for all plasma tech. Not fully, but slightly.

Bringing the blade of his saber down against her right forearm, Damien then switched tactics, and once more killed his sabers flow. Throwing a dangerous combination, all in closer then he would like, he first went after his enemies clavicle with a powerful elbow drop. Continuing his downward momentum, Damien hit the floor, sweeping his leg towards his opponents knees. Punching the ground, released enough pressure to raise Damien back upward, where his spinning momentum brought his same appendage at the beings oddly shaped cranium.

Sadly the sweep kick did nothing, but his first and last blow were successful with the latter forcing the skull into the nearby wall. Two satisfying crunches resounded during the ensued combat. Expecting something more then what came next, he was indeed caught off guard when the beast bounced back like it was nothing.

His enemy was faster then he, and just as durable. Great.

Drawing its long left arm back, it hurled a fast ball of a punch at Damiens head, whom barely managed to whip his head and body backwards to dodge. Continuing this momentum, he planted his hands on the ground above his head and wrapped his muscled legs around the outstretched arm. Using his powerful abdomen and core muscles, Damien curled his body there fore yanking the beast forward while D finished his backflip.

Once more launched into another wall, it was at a much harder point then before as this time it was face first. Ripping his arm straight at his enemies head once more, he ignited his saber and planted the blade deep into the back of its skull.

 

[Matreya]

([member="Romeo Sin"] lol Im tagging you because Im to lazy to send a message. Wanna RP getting a Holocron? I just need you to help thicken up the thread as my apprentice [member="Soulfire Ticon"] hasnt been posting >.<'. Maybe come in and destroy the Terentatek Mauler with the already described explosive? Just say you got a message from Damien late and are showing up to help, if you want to.)

Taking a deep breath once more, Damien finally realized he had never wiped the blood that poured from dual flared nostrils, and now had a thick line of coagulating blood. Clipping his saber to his hilt, Damien licked the corner of his cloak, spitting out the grains of sand he found, and began to wipe at his lip. At first no luck, then slowly but surely the Anzat could find that his lip was getting less sticky.

When he felt himself once more presentable, Damien moved about in a crouch - not out of deliberate fear or anxiety, no, to find his damned helmet! Once it was found, he reapplied it safely to his head and clasped the seals shut with a hiss. Waiting a moment, he nodded and began to move, satisfied to find his HUD completely operational as well as vacuum seals.

Reaching under his Coat, into the Bodo Baas Belt holsters, he once more drew both Betty Pistols and held them loosely in both hands. Arms slack, dangling at his sides, he chose rather than stay at the ready, to stay ready - in other words by wasting further energy holding both pistols up, he was being foolish. His reflexes would have them lined up, with shots fired faster than he could blink if he so required.

But in the end, Damien had to admit it to himself. This was getting tiresome. He still held a lot of his energy, but physically he was getting battered and beaten by fairly powerful blows. And when it came to using the force for enhancing ones physique: speed and strength was all he knew potently, using it to keep himself fueled and prepared would be difficult if this persisted much longer.

Taking another deep breath, he held it a moment, then slowly exhaled it out of a mostly closed mouth - listening to the sound for a moment. Then he took off like a rocket, not a FES rocket but a rocket none the less. Not that far ahead, he could see the mouth of yet another cavern opening open, and already there was obvious movement. Something massive, with spikes and...

"Kark." Damien muttered, for there before him stood two humongous, massively huge mutated Zakkegs. As if their original genetics didnt make them dangerous enough, someone went and altered them further to the point of looking like a living tank with massive built in razor sharp swords.

"Voice, link me to Nuke." Damien murmured, then waited a bare second before continuing in a murmured haste, "Get through those tunnels now! Leave the Mauler and the explosive to the others, but bring everything else you got over here. Rocket launchers optimistically." Then came a reply, clearly fearful from his friends tone, "On it boss. Bringing the noise."

Placing himself tightly against the wall, Damien crept closer at a careful pace. It was nearly pitch black in the caverns and tunnels, but that didn't mean these guys couldn't see him. Right comes behind outstretched left foot, slowly adjust, creep the left back in front of the right. Pause. Hug the wall a bit tighter, pray, move on. It continued like this for a time as the Zakkegs lumbered about, oblivious to his presence as they butt heads. Then the big guy really drew back to charge the other, slamming a spiked head into its side. But it never even pierced, instead the attacked one was knocked over. Damn thats a tough hide, Damien thought to himself. At this rate they were likely to be entirely lightsaber proof and probably heavy durable against even what Nuke would bring.

Staring at the beasts, Damien for the first time, wondered if this would all be worth it in the end. What if the thing wasnt even there? Could he survive to reach it? Would he be able to open the damned thing? All these thoughts raced through head in the breadth of a nano second before he clamped down on them with clear goals in mind once more. He would find it here, he would recover it, and survive, then he would find the most powerful spirit he could bind to himself. Hell maybe he would go to look for the Spirit of Yoda or something.

Jerked from his focus on the humongous - and now oddly understandable - beasts, he spun and almost shot off Nuke's head and genitalia simultaneously before realizing it had been the man whom touched his shoulder. Lowering his weapons once more, he nodded to Nuke, whom hadn't even been afraid at that moment. Turning, he gestured to the huge beasts and Nukes arms went slack in a universal 'WTF' sign.

Nodding after a moment, he pulled forth from the shoulder straps Damien hadnt noticed, a massive launcher of some sort. After a quick inspection D deduced it was hand made by Nuke to be able to shoot nearly any size rocket or rpg. Nice craftsmanship as well.

As he knelt down to begin prepping for fire, Damien murmured into his com, "Bring down the roof, but wait until Im clear on the other side alright? I know its going to close me off, but in all these mazes of tunnels, Im sure you guys can find another way to meet me."

Not giving any time for him to respond, Damien took off once more at a full tilt run. Faster and faster his feet hit the dirt, never slowing or even maintaining. Only acceleration.

Once both beasts turned an eye on him, Damien leapt as high and far as his body would allow him to. Soaring at least 25 feet clear into the air, he arced right over both brutish beasts before touching down mid stride.

Then came the loud explosion over head , clear sign Nuke had obeyed. Not even pausing to slow down, he picked up speed instead again, feeling his legs scream out in protest. But he had to avoid being buried in rubble.

Barely....

Barely he made it into the next tunnel before a wall closed behind him - all fallen debris.

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Arriving what probably was the Nick or time after receiving a message from the [member="D-Man"] Romeo rushed to help the guy. "Damien I got that sithspawn, and the explosives." Even though he wasn't sure how to use it. "Will lighting it on fire set it off?" He said over a comlink of course. Whatever this holocron was, it had better be story sithspawns, and explosives. [member="D-Man"] (I'm all up for helping)

 

[Matreya]

(Im going to keep plowing through as many huge posts as I can, you dont have to read em if you dont want to. Just spread killing the mauler through a few posts and well be good. Also, gonna have my NPC's help you at the bottom of the posts ok?)

Damien heard a strange voice, filled with static, coming through his helmet. Pausing to deduce whom it belonged to, he smacked the forehead of said metal protection, it was Sin. He had forgotten he sent the man a message, asking for aid. After finding a fellow Czar still existed besides himself, he began to call on more often these days. One could never have to many Super Soldier Force Users with them. Though Damien had a long time as a Knight, many years now, he knew assistance could come in handy.

"Romeo, yes. But keep a safe distance, it was made by my explosive expert. Id recommend making the thing get as close to it as possible, then blow it. Once its down, commense to beating its face in." Damien said, "And thanks for coming my friend."

Moving forward once more, Damien sent his astral form out ahead of his slow moving corporeal body. This tunnel was far longer then the rest he had been down, stretching far more, winding like a snake that slithered through the tallest of plains grasses. Further and further his Shadow went, yet further and further it continued. Darkness seemed to hold these tunnels like close friends, creeping from all of the corners and crevices. Filling up the air so thickly, it seemed breathe able. Luckily his Shadow form was a well used talent, one that also didn't really require much work to use nor energy.

Finally hitting the end of the cave, Damien was confused as all hell. It was a dead end, and not one as if on accident or a passage of time, but one of a smooth wall. It was placed here, in the form of a challenge for those whom came in.

He had a few options: turn around, and now attempt to go through the whole cavern worth of rubble, but that itself would take months probably. Or keep forward, and see what could be done about the blockade. So thats what he did.

Drawing his Shadow back to his form, he continued with his moderate pace for several more minutes. All the while, plans formulated in his mind. The entire structure of the tomb could hardly be considered sound at this time, so if he used to much energy it could leave him crushed under the weight of the entire tunnel. But if he tried to simply hack through the wall, it could leave him physically drained and there fore only able to rely on his force abilities. The last thing he could think would be await his allies, and hope they found the opposite side of the wall.

But Damien never left himself at the full mercy of another. Finally within sight of the obstacle, he reached out to touch slight runes found etched within an outer circle. A separate circle was found within, with more within, growing ever smaller down to a singular rune etched in the smallest.

After adding pressure to the outside circle, he found it moved of its own accord...

"Hmmmm." Damien hummed to himself a moment as he thought of the solution to this gate; as that was obviously what it was now.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

Damien's crew fought relentlessly; Dozer having stepped up to protect the others and keep the beasts attention once more. Lesley guarded Gamer, whom continued to do the aforementioned rotating his guns sights back and forth across the roof.

Then in came a newcomer, whose message to their friend travelled along their frequency, thus they new him an ally.

Calling out, Lesley yelled, "New guy, ([member="Romeo Sin"]) move that explosive! Get it under his feet! If we can get it to the ground, we can take it-"

But the woman was cut off by a single shot from Gamer, which seemed to do nothing for a long moment. Then a stalagmite from over head dropped, plummeting to imbed itself its full 7 feet into the shoulder of the brute. When it reared back to roar in pain, Lesley cheered while Dozer charged forward to begin blasting at the wound.

Then, came another surprise. This in the way of a swift form launching from the tunnel Nuke and Damien had gone through - where an explosion had just detonated and nearly destroyed more of their own cavern. The man showed himself to be Nuke, whom now wielded his cross bow. A notched dart could be seen, its head glowing slightly.

Leaping high into the air, he used his momentum to carry him into a slide under the brutish thing. Passing between all of its legs, he raised the bow skyward near the end and loosed the bolt. It flew straight and proud, planting itself in the lower jaw of the huge thing. By the end of his slide, Nuke had already curled himself into the fetal position with his head guarded by dual huge arms.

After a swift detonation time, it blew, tearing most of the lower jaw and parts of the things face clean apart. Showering the surrounding area in a light spray of blood for a moment, which Nuke used to combat roll into a crouch before charging to a more clear point.

Safety being reached, the man called to Romeo, "I heard you were coming. Help me do like Les said and move the explosive. Im going to go back over there and give it a solid shove. I hope your telekinetic abilities are pretty good!"

Like that, he once more ran back the way he came. However, the beast wanted him specifically now, and no amount of fire from Dozers turret or Lesleys rifle could distract it. The one factor that helped Nuke was the distance between the explosives point of origin, and where the beast was now.

Nearing it ever more, Nuke looked barely in time to see a massive limb fly towards him to cut him in half. Dropping into a slide again, he avoided the lethal blow, and slid past the explosive which he kicked across the floor.

It slid fast and true, straight under the beast.

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Romeo was dodging fire, these really various shaped rocks, and claws from the sithspawn. As the horrible beast was pelted with laser fire, and pumbled by boulders, it still came for the group. Adding wound after wound, blood gushed out, but still didn't appear to phase it. "Gotcha!" He called out as he was told that his TK powers had better ne in check, and they were. Romeo was also casting fire upon the beast, shot from his hand one after another. The explosives were then slid really fast towards Romeo, and the
monster. He flipped backwards, and used his TK powers to stick the explosive to the crotch of this creature, and hold it there. [member="D-Man"]

 

[Matreya]

BUUHBOOOM!!

The explosive blew, taking a large chunk of the Mauler as well as both of its hind legs clear free of the body. The concussion from the force blew across the cavern, causing Dozer to stumble as he was nearest to the beast - but he managed to hold his footing. Lesley now took the lead, hurling a grenade at the gaping hole that remained of the jaw. Guiding it with telekinesis, she hit home like a champ, just as it blew and again tore more of the face off as if it was a game.

However, holding the grenades trajectory had taken a lot for someone so untrained as Lesley, so she staggered and was forced to catch her breath.

Mean while the humongous body could no longer hold itself up, unconsciousness or something alike had taken ahold of the beast for it slumped forward. Nuke ended up rolling as if a child down a hill, barely managing to save himself from being squished under such a heavy body. Rising to his feet, legitimately covered from head to foot in dirt and dust, he smiled as shaking began to consume his body to rid himself of said layer.

Gamer meanwhile moved neared to the beast, his sniper rifle leveled now, shot after shot ringing out directly at the beasts skull. Each shot hit, punctured, then did more damage inside, gushing blood like a faucet turned to full spray.

Having regained his footing proper, Dozer charged forward, gun ablaze. Tearing holes like swiss cheese down the side, he roared and hooted in sheer glee - evident of superior aggression issues.

Surprisingly enough, from over by [member="Romeo Sin"], more fire erupted. Charging down the previous hall, came 5 more soldiers, Duke and Mark being in the lead so each shot was beyond accurate. Leading behind, to pause next to the man, were the other 3 women of his group, Lisa, Jade and Turmoil, his healers of the group. Why there werent the volunteers, is anyone's guess, but the fact back up had shown made it superb regardless.

Duke spotted Gamer, and ran towards his brother, while shots at the beast never ceased from his own modified rifle. With hundreds of shuts hailing every second, from all angles, the beast was immediately brought back to consciousness.

Roaring out in sheer agony, it reared its head up, spun as best its body allowed, then brought its powerful cranium in towards Duke, Gamer, and Nuke whom were all in the same vicinity. Nuke however, as always, had a booming plan. Aimed at the piercing red eye of the beast, was yet another of his explosive bolts. When it fired, the beast moved, and caused it to miss the target, however it struck the roof over head and began another hail storm of jagged mortar shots.

As well, during that encounter, no other combatant ceased fire. Soon enough, the beasts body fell. It lived yet, but grew to heavy to keep at it. But none here would see it stopped until the end was found.

Closing its massive eyes, the beast feigned death, then in a massive last ditch move, flailed immensely all around. Duke and Gamer were both knocked against the ground several yards away, Lesely, and Dozer managed to avoid the majority but ended up falling to its tail as it swept them both up to loose them at the wall closest to it.

After it finally passed, spending the last of its energy, the crew members that could, rose and dusted themselves off. Duke helped support Gamer, whom had a few cracked ribs. Lesley, Dozer, and Nuke all headed towards the healers to fix themselves of unnecessary bruises and fractures to be best prepared.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

Damien found himself slowly now deciphering the third inner most circle, the others had all been certain words that pertained to opposites of the inside while the next was a synonym, pertaining as well to the inside. In the end, Damien deduced the words were Sith runes, to which he spoke fluently, and that it would spell a sentence that would likely have to do with the Sith or Ergast himself.

After what was likely an hour minimum, Damien finally cracked the phrase and chuckled, "That was actually guessable. 'Force Walking Key For Power'" The center word had even blatantly been 'Unlock'. It was dumbfoundingly obvious, and yet if one didnt speak Sith, and understand its writings as well, it couldnt be done.

Shaking his head, Damien stepped within the most massive yet of all the tombs many chambers. Dead center in the middle, was the obvious shape of massive ornate tomb. With that Damien grinned.

It took but a few more spare able moments to find a hidden switch, that upon activation began a slow process that eventually opened a door hidden in the furthest wall from entrance. Stepping closer, Damien could see a long thin path that lead to a shrine where he could see an odd shaped object pulsing and flowing with energies.

"Voice, make sure our connection to the others is maximized. They need to know about this."

"Yes sir." Came the robotic reply.

Damien moved closer to the path, and with a great determination began crossing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

Having spent the time passed cleaning each other up, and preparing to move on. The group all introduced themselves to [member="Romeo Sin"] in turn, thanking the man for his talents for none there had the strength to lift a bomb of such size. Dozer was the first to offer the man a true genuine handshake, thanking him for saving his ass in a tight situation.

But as well, he was also the first to turn with his gaze now towards the pitch black tunnel leading to his friend and teacher, "Let's go guys." He called into his microphone, and began at a steady jog into the tunnel.

At first the man was stupefied he had missed so many kills, but he knew his ally Damien to be a good fighter, proven to last against immeasurable odds. But still, along the tunnel were several species of Sith Spawn, with most leaving all of the group in a stupor to their original forms.

But they continued, before long though Nuke spoke into everyones communicators, "Guys up ahead there is going to be some serious rubble. I had to take down pretty much an entire section of the tomb caverns." When everyone finished with their complaints, the group heard his voice once more, "Sith Zakkeg." Those two words silenced every single soul among them, the shear idea being enough to be horrifying.

But as they got to where the bend led to the cavern entrance, they found it indeed mostly destroyed. But surprisingly, an opening big enough to squeeze into.

After a quick probe, Gamer brought his shadow back and paled, "They're not dead either. They are wounded, and pissed. No, irate, sounds better. The layer of rock between us is stupefying for us not to feel those bastards bouncing around in there." He stammered, drawing his sniper up into his arms.

One by one the men would filed through, letting [member="Romeo Sin"] file in the middle so as not to worry about taking the rear.

"Lets do this. Use as much cover as you can for those behind you, and get these bastards on the ground now. Alpha Team, on me, Bravo, on Romeo." Duke called from the front. Alpha would consist of himself, Turmoil, Jade, and Nuke, while Bravo held the rest with their new ally.

Like that, Duke charged forward and began blasting as swiftly as he could at the larger of the two brutes. Each man in turn came after, and like that, once again it seemed an army all firing against a singular enemy. Thousands of shots rang all at once, it was a warriors dream battle to be so blunt.

Together as a team, the Shi'ido Jade, and massive Nuke lifted his launcher to prep even faster. Firing another massive rocket, again of Nukes own crafting, this time it soared directly at the largest Zakkeg that was barely towards Alpha Team.

Exploding on contact, it caused an instant effect, the concussion flipped the beasts legs under it, brought its head downward and thus flipped the massive beast onto its back where its slid to a stop completely immobile. But only for the breadth of a single second, and it was rolling onto its side to rise, snarling and roaring all the while. Though it was a powerful creature indeed, the blast had clearly down some damage. Loping closer, in an awkward gait, the group unleashed hell on the thing.

 

[Matreya]

Touching the Holocron for a moment, he gave the object its due respect, basking in its potential power. However, before long, Damien sensed a power near and behind himself. Spinning around, grasping the Holocron in his palm, he stared at the spirit of a long dead soul. No image could be found to describe its face, nor did anyone live that would know who he was, yet in this place there was only likely to be a singular being. Before the Knight stood the Spirit of Lord Ergast.

"You have made it through my many traps, but as to why, is my question." The ghost called from his position, and Damien straightened himself but didn't lower his defenses.

"If you try to feign ignorance, then you are a fool. I know that your Holocron, and this very tomb, were visited by Nox, where he was allowed to learn of an ability unknown to the masses. One man exists whom knows such a power, and one spirit. The man will never teach it, and you know its true capabilities besides how to also null its downsides." Damien spoke, his voice monotone and unwavering. It was a bluff, his claim, he had no idea the extent of control the man had ever even learned.

The spirit remained silent for a long time, staring at Damien, gauging him while being still like granite, "You know much of my story. I dont know how, but it is clear what you want. With that Holocron in hand already, there is little I can do besides prey you die a swift death."

Like that, Damien grinned on the inside and sat. Opening the Holocron would be the first ordeal, but it wasnt very difficult. Speaking Sith, while channeling the Darkside, opened the pyramid, where a younger much more solid Ergast portrayed itself.

Now it would begin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

Hell had been unleashed the moment the men began battling those massive beasts. They were under the bar when it came to numbers, and their heat seemed to do nothing to effect them. Nuke had already hit them with another shot, but they seemed to adapt, now doing everything in their power to avoid such attacks. Along side this came the additional knowledge that they were learning by them moving in strictly when the time allowed it.

Gamer was down, on the side of a massive boulder, blood profusely funneling itself from where his shoulder had been. Jade...well she was literally laying in half, near the entrance they had all come through. The Teams were doing nothing to the beasts, no matter what they did. But that didn't mean they would, or could, give up.

Dozer called out, "Bravo Team, hit it with everything you got!" Surprisingly, Duke had made himself useful a bit ago when he shot his rifle at the Zakkeg that knocked him aside during. Firing all the way to the ground, debris all along the roof fell to bust against the other that Bravo faced. It wasnt like this was enough to cheer over, what was, was the fact it hit the thing in the eye. Grayish liquid poured from the wound, obvious now that it wouldn't be of use anymore.

As a unit, all 4 warriors he trained with, moved towards the beast.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

Going through precise directions given by Ergast's Holocron, Damien moved the ritual along. Dark energies swirled around himself, changing the atmosphere to the point his breath came out as steam. But he didnt cease, being uncomfortable would not change his goals.

Sensing the deaths of his two allies, Damien saddened as they were all he had left to call family. But knew that their deaths would not be in vain. Calling to their spirits as well, the energies swirling about himself sought to add their strengths to his own. They held meager power, but combined with Ergast's own, it began to shake the very walls of the cave.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

"Nuke, Im taking this!" Dozer yelled as he came running towards the downed Jade, where Nuke had dropped the Rocket Launcher to avoid his own death. Luckily inside, Dozer felt the weight of a prepped missile. Moving much slower, Dozer sought to bring the weapon towards his own men.

Mean while, the very group he left, was clouded by struggle. Duke and Nuke, both fought vigil, while Lesley had stopped entirely and stared past the beast at the far wall. She possessed the strongest power, and best training, thus she sensed what the others couldn't. Something powerful was happening, an event that even through the distance, made her stomach clench. But it didnt last long, for soon enough, the big Zakkeg was charging at the idiot standing still.

"Lesley!!" Came dual simultaneous shouts, from both the 'Ukes'.

But she was already moving, firing at the beast as she back tracked swifter than her accuracy gave credit towards. When her senses, and time, warned that she neared the wall, she brought her gave forward. Running clear up the wall, for a few feet, she kicked off as hard as she could.

To her luck, the beast didnt have the space to stop, so cracked the hall with a massive thud as its frontal spike dug into the rock face. When she landed, her gun was already on the move to level at the head bare inches in front of her, however the beasts back had many ridges and uneven balance points.

When it felt firing at a much closer, and more damaging, range, the humongous animal reared back hard enough to jerk Lesleys lithe legs out from under her, and send her towards the wall once more. The jerk also did a second thing however, and freed the beast, to which ended a wonderful soldiers short life. Digging the mentioned spike downward, it rammed clean through the womans armor then into soft organ tissues.

"NOOO!!!" Nuke roared as he unleashed bolt after bolt at the animals rear.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

Jerked to a pause, for a seconds long breadth, Damien almost let the tear forming in his eye fall. Instead, a serious hunger hit the man there after. Yanking outward at the death of his friend, he brought her energies and spirit into the event.

Finishing the ritual, Damien bound one of the most powerful Dark Lords in all history to himself, and three of his closest friends. The latter were all willing however, to finish when they sensed their teacher and mentor. But, as with the first binding that kept Kallig so powerful, Ergast did not wish it, thus his anger and rage powered spirit enhanced Damien immensely.

Rising, in a fashion that seemed to bear no muscle movement, Damien channeled an immense amount of their strengths and energies, testing his control. The very act was intense, driving his eyes pitch black, while tearing at the very flesh that held them. Launching into a charging run, he moved what felt like a dozen times faster then he ever had - while in reality being more like 3 times.

When he moved into the tunnel, Damien found the powers easily enhanced what little he knew about seeing in the dark, by lighting it for his view. In the end , he may as well have carried a flash light. Never slowing, or even breathing for that matter, the Dark Side flowed into the Knight like never before and drove each action to perfection.

From his peripheral, Damien could constantly see the form of the captured Spirits. Ergast scowled and roared that he would fail, nothing good ever spewed forth. But it wouldnt stop him. Even when he neared the debris that had once seemed so dangerous to him.

Hurling a devastating Force Blast, the rocks launched into the room where they hailed down on the smallest Zakkeg. Ignoring his allies nearby, Damien pounced on the gigantic brute. Reaching out with his mental essence, the Anzat gripped at the beasts mind and applied the strongest Torture by Chagrin he ever had. Instantly all movement from it ceased, instead it dropped to the floor unconscious. The sheer force of such a power killed it instantly, over loading its brain.

Though his power now was ever more enhanced, Damien could barely stand afterward. His body was weak from the start, having wasted a lot of physical durability before it. Pausing to concentrate his power on healing, the man looked to the nearby [member="Romeo Sin"], "Howdy." His voice came out dark, acidic and..wrong. The sound itself seemed a corruption, even though that sounded ridiculous.

It was then he realized he still held the Holocron. Stashing it in the bag he brought just for that purpose, Damien concentrated less than he ever had before, to shrink it into invisibility on his belt.

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Really Romeo didn't know what he was doing but he was polite to the men, and was more than happy to join them in their task. [member="D-Man"] was apparently after some artifact and within what was probably a few hours found it. This lead to a quick conversation of whatever, and released darkness upon the place. That's when someone spoke to Romeo. It wasn't right, the voice, it was wrong in every since. "Hi." Was all he said back.

 

[Matreya]

Damien reached out to the Force once more, and in a single second, dominated the beasts mind. With this power, something he had never thought he would gain, Damien was sure he could take back his positions in life. No one would argue with him, none would feth with him. But that didnt mean he had already won, no, thus he already planned.

Using the link between controller and controlee, Damien had the beast charge the opening from before. Blasting clean through, as if paper mâché, the Zakkeg shook its head then lumbered further down the hall. D chuckled, the thing was intensely strong and durable, maybe he ought to keep the thing?

No longer needing the full brunt of his other's power, he released the pull on Ergast who sighed in relief nearby. Clearing his throat, Damien spoke again this time in his normal voice, "Lets get out of here."

Like that they as a unit moved to follow the beast.

(Im still going to do the whole training it/making Damien stronger thing so need your help)

[member="Romeo Sin"]

 

[The Red of Sinner]

(Ight)

"Wait wait, did you just absorb...." he shook his head figuring it better to not ask question to [member="D-Man"] and just follow. "So D what's the deal?" He he followed next to him. "You're squads very impressive by the way. They work together like a real team should."