The Final Round: Acolytes (Darth Drethi vs Nerius)

[Darth Pyrrhus]

Location: Arena, within the Sith Academy of Glee Anselm​

​

[member="Darth Drethi"] vs [member="Nerius"]​

The One Sith tournament was nearing its end. Many had fought, many had fallen. In the end, only two remained. After today, only one of them would be able to call themselves the winner of the One Sith Tournament. The duels had taken place all over the galaxy. Hoth, N'zoth, Gratos, Belgaroth, Tython, Fresia, Neimoidia, Bakura, Felucia, Illum, Kessel, Ord Mantell... And now, the final destination, where it was all decided: Glee Anselm. And for the first time, they had an audience.

One of the facilities of the Sith Academy of Glee Anselm that made it stand out, was its built-in arena. It formed a large and wide circle. Within it, there were no distractions but four pillars. Each pillar had one line written on them, in both ancient Sith and Basic. One line each, that together formed the entirety of the Sith Code. The arena floor was a hard layer of grained sand, on top of the cave rock. High up, above the thick stone walls was a transparent barrier that separated the combatants and the spectators. Several rows were available, even a VIP section. This was their chance to be seen. To be noticed. And prove their worth. There was a lot at stake. Great prestige awaited the victor, though for the defeated, there was nothing but the promise of becoming a fading memory.

A loud voice boomed across the arena. Both combatants were named and introduced. At one side, there was Sena Lassiter. She was a Corellian female who had clawed her path to victory from the icy caves of Hoth to the scrapyards of Belgaroth. Standing across her, on the opposite side of the arena, was Nerius. He was a peculiar specimen, a male alchemically changed Polydroxol. His first fight had started in the crystal caves of Illum. From an abandoned prison on Neimoidia, he had forged his path to Glee Anselm. Now, both of the two Sith Acolytes had only one more fight. Success... Or nothing. The gates lowered, and a voice announced that the final round of the One Sith tournament in the acolyte category had begun.

 

[Nerius]

Stepping out into the sands of the arena, Nerius cast his eyes skyward. It was a beautiful day, though he didn't actually see it as such. It was annoying that the sun beat down on them! But why did he look up then? To see the large avian predator flying about in the sky. Cloudbreaker was above them, having grown even more since last time, now at least 14 feet in length with a wingspan of 22 feet.

Nodding to her, he smiled, a soft twitch of the lips as he turned his gaze back to the woman across the arena from himself. He wondered how good she was, but didn't fear it. Cautiousness hit though, as he had been lucky in his last match - the walls of the ancient building had only taken a few hits before crumpling around them, crushing his enemy.

Reaching down to his belt, he unclipped the lightsabers found there. It was amazing to have his own lightsaber now, one Pink like himself. But it did not stop him from carrying the one that had been through a lot with him already!

Walking towards his enemy, he activated both blades which sprang to life, pointed down towards the sand. The hum of the blades was musical, the smell of smoke as it superheated the particulates of sand was superb. Even the trail of glass, caused by said heated particles, was interesting!

He was already half way towards her, and enjoying the possibility now to finally be able to get out of his position of Will, for just a bit.

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

Sena was no stranger to Glee Anselm anymore. The academy had located within the subaquatic cave system was so much unlike what Sena would have expected from it she simply found herself out of touch with it for a bit, but a quick inspection left her realizing that it was all pretty much the same. Maybe not with the Arena, that was certainly not there last time.

Sena wasn’t a Will yet (nor a Knight). Frankly she had no idea what it was, but timey wimey wibbly wobbly stuff ensured that both parties would get to enjoy this on equal grounds. Her eyes set on the avian above and then the pink man off in the distance. There was no need to ponder the meaning of all this, the surrounding audience and the palpable tensions were enough. People had bets running and drinks spilling.

This was the final stage of Sena’s trial. No doubt about it.

Her saber ignited and Sena hunched ever so slightly as her saber was pointed at the ground. She was ready for whatever the man had to throw her way. A wary eye shot out at the avian on occasion as if she fully expected it to swoop down upon her at any given moment.

She twirled her saber in a loose taunt, opting to have the man come to her rather than the opposite. She was ready for this.

[member="Nerius"]

 

[Nerius]

Nerius was glad she left the charge to himself; he preferred it! But he still took his time, continuing to leave a trail behind where the light sabers scorched the ground. He caught her glance upward, and called out, his voice practically dripping acidic flare, "She will do nothing. It is simply to watch, and be my ride out after I burn you."

Of course he had made his voice seem the vile evil thing she heard, thanks to the metamorphosis of his vocal cords!

Launching forward, Nerius raced across the sand, both sabers still held down but raised slightly more so as to not slow him down. As well they swung backwards behind with the speed he moved. With a flip into the air, Nerius brought his legs close and the blades as well...

Swinging close, Nerius used all of his strength and the momentum of his movement, to bring the blades down in a devastating blow.

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

Sena afforded the man no answer. His expectation was for a witty retort and she was very much in the mood to deny him that. At least the bird wasn't going to cause them problems, allegedly. Sena still kept her mind on the thing. Trusting the word of her opponent was a slippery slope to defeat. In fact for all things considered it could be counted as pretty much admitting the defeat plain and simple.

Then came the charge. [member="Nerius"] raced towards her with both of his sabers at his side. He jumped into the air flipping all the while. The blades came down and Sena knew what he was going for. Ferocity, strength and overpowering. She had to play it smart and she had to play it quick. The second her own weaknesses would be put on display for the opponent to see she'd know it. In a sense he was already abusing it, but there were ways to counter an attack from above.

Like sidestepping. Which was exactly what Sena did.

With a deft step to her left she tossed herself into a roll. Rising from the ground she didn't go for the man in a retaliated saber attack. No, rather she pulled at him with the force in an attempt to cause him to lose focus for a second as her other hand made a move to force push the sand below his feet into his eyes.

It was all about using the arena around them.

 

[Nerius]

https://youtu.be/sXvtFkIS-vc

Nerius landed in a roll, with his sabers to the side to not harm himself. Just as he ended on his feet, he felt a tug towards the girl and reinstated the Pull with his own Push against his back. The energy allowed him to move swiftly across the sand now; barely a few particles of the sand touched his face let alone his eyes.

As he neared, he hurled one of his lightsabers, the newest Pink one, to distract the woman. However she sought to block, dodge, or parry the blow, Nerius was ready now. If a dodge ensued, his direction could be altered to correct. A block would result in no alternate actions other than continued running. Same with a parry.

Usually a person that fought without using a lightsaber, were found to be lacking in that skill. Some were good but just avoided it, but he guessed it was the prior over latter.

Alongside this guess, was the fact he was sure she did not know of his shapeshifting and healing ability. With the first he could condense his muscles so as to have a much more powerful strike - which is what he did the moment he began charging.

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

Turn down for what?

The pink man came charging at Sena in a blow. She caught it with her own blade only to find herself overpowered by the surprising strength behind the blow and without further ado the hilt was sent flying from her hands. While not normally one to shy away from a fight she quickly found herself with little choice but to do just that. Her weakness was exposed, the man would without doubt exploit it. She recalled her saber and flicked it on as it reached her extended hand.

She needed to act quick, she needed to do something.

Lightning.

Her free hand extended itself to let loose a small barrage of electricity. It would have to do for now.

[member="Nerius"]

 

[Nerius]

Blocking electrical discharge was something Nerius had read up on long ago. But had only practiced once. Combining this with a slow reaction thanks to the minimal distance, it allowed him to utilise his lightsabers to block the majority of the excess, yet still be struck with a small portion!

Clenching his muscles against such, Nerius dropped to a knee. It was only a small portion that was thrown at him though, so in seconds he was back on his feet.

As the woman had not attempted to step back, or move away, she was still definitely within striking distance. So he did just that! Swinging his lightsabers in opposite movements, one sought to sweep through her legs at the knees while the other attempted to hack through her shoulder to the other side!

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

Her electricity got caught in the blade. He got hit but, not by much and the speed of his retaliation was enough to cause the girl to toss herself aside. However, it was too late. The upper saber struck against her shoulder and with a pained yelp Sena managed to get herself out of reach from the pink man.

Her shoulder burned and she gave it a good look. Shallow but most certainly to the point of leaving a mark. As if her shoulder hadn't suffered enough in previous battles. Sena did what any sensible woman would have done.

She got mad and retaliated with the same argument as before.

Lightning.

Seeing no point in holding it back she dug deep into her emotions and engaged the man in a prolonged attack. The crackle of electricity the only thing on her mind next to the searing sensation of embarrassment over the hit.

[member="Nerius"]

 

[Nerius]

The first batch of lightning had not only caught him off guard, but was short and sweet. This though, was something he foresaw, and knew it would be far more draining that a simple swift charge. The attack was one that many acolytes now seemed keen on using, even though it was ultra tiring!

Nerius was not that kind of man!

Nerius brought both of his lightsabers in again, a cross crossing X against the torrent as it battered against his defense. Many of the tendrils of pure electricity reached around though and coursed into the very core of his being as he fought against it. When she ceased, for all had to eventually, Nerius would now utilize the Force to Enhance his speed, this combined with his already condensed muscle structure, would be useful.

A hailstorm of attacks came in from all angles. The shoulders, the head or neck, abdomen, legs; nothing was off limits in the flurry!

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

Ultra tiring. It was one of the techniques Sena had practiced the most. In fact it was the one she had fainted from the most during practice sessions, many of which had been dedicated solely to the skill in question. Sena was weak on a physical level, but when it came to the force she knew her boundaries and she knew her own real strength. Mentalism and lightning was her thing, sabers and fancy acrobatics was not. She had elected to specialize in the third form because of this exact reason.

None of her attack had landed. She had tried and while, sure, she was indeed more tired than she was before the lightning storm she still had enough fight within her to keep up with the pink man. The pink man had developed a pattern of attack, just like Sena had. His strength seemed to ever increase along with the pace of his attacks. It didn’t take a smart man to realise that unless Sena tried something else she would soon find herself on the receiving end on yet another hit from the man’s lightsaber.

With her shoulder blaring out in pain for each hit that passed Sena gave it no quarter. A roll back, a push to throw even more dust into the eyes of the opponent and Sena was free. With a jump she thrust herself further away from the man.

Matsu had helped her with this next trick, but she needed precision and most of all preparation.

Sena closed her eyes. It was here came the three second prep.

[member="Nerius"]

 

[Nerius]

Nerius was caught off guard, moving to swiftly to stop and then block, as sand was hurled into his eyes. Rubbing visciously, he cleared them then sighed as he spotted the woman with her eyes closed, charging some form of attack. At this moment he wished for the days he had read about, the ones where Acolytes were weakened after a single burst of electricity let alone a sustained one.

As he had just enough time to watch her land and close her eyes, Nerius figured he had mere seconds before she would attack with whatever form it was. Hurling both lightsabers as hard as he could, he watched them whip towards her, then he gave them a powerful Force Push that launched them faster - having read up on Balistakinesis, he knew how to apply it to enhance thrown objects speed! She would find she had not the time to finish her attack...

...hopefully!

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

Three.

Sena focused on the man’s mind.

Two.

She began prodding at the tendrils trying to find the right ones to pull, but...

One...

The young woman felt something grow closer. Something dangerous was coming a lot closer, and very fast. Sena jerked herself out of the man’s mind as her saber reached up in defense against the incoming sabers but it didn’t work quite as she expected it to. It was as if they had been shot out of a cannon and with only the fraction of a moment too late with her parry it all landed ever so wrong.

Her saber was wrenched out of her hand. The sound of her saber deactivating and the soft thud in the sands behind her said enough. She was ultimately left without her secondary again. At least until she recalled it.

There was no point in wasting time. Holding her saber by her side she used the force to speed up her movements. She charged at the man and once he passed by her left hand side she would sweep wide for his legs without stopping. No, she wanted to pass him by while throwing him off.

On the other side of the room she tried the same attack as before.

Eyes closed.

Three...

[member="Nerius"]

 

[Nerius]

Seeing as his second saber was never needed for the attack, Nerius jerked it back to him with use of the Force. When it returned, she was as well racing towards him. Being the better close quarters combat user, it was simple to see where she was going with the attack when her foot struck out to slip him up. So he allowed it, yet as his body was thrown to the side, he threw out a hand to plant in the sand.

Using this as an anchor, he flipped until his feet touched down, then he was charging after the woman as she ran. She was obviously better with enhancing her body, for her speed far outmatched his. This didn't slow nor deter him though. Stretching his body until it was taller, each step meant more distance, and this combined with his meager knowledge of Force Speed, allowed him to stop the ever growing gap from getting bigger.

Once she was on the other side of the room, she stopped and again closed her eyes. From before he guessed he had at least three seconds to stop her before the attack initiated. Three. Two. Then he was upon her, swinging his lightsaber swiftly and as accurately as could be done.

First he swung it towards her neck, then flipping the blade in a circle over the head, he attempted to bring it around to the other side at her shoulder. Lastly he brought it back down for a clavicle to pelvic slice. One that started on the original side again, and sought to cut until the opposite side was met.

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

Three...

Tw- DAMNIT!

Sena raised her blade to ensure her head would remain on her shoulders. Her shoulders which cried out in agony. Her grip tightened and her knuckles grew pale as the young girl clinged to the blade’s hilt in an effort to not shriek in pain. The man spun around, saber above his head she took note of his movement. The way his saber lowered ever so slightly in an attack for her shoulder and the force behind it. With her saber realigned as a landing strip for the man’s sword she let the two blades collide and divert from each other.

He was quick to follow it up in another attack. Pelvis. It was trickier, she didn’t have the same chance at averting his attack as before, but quite frankly losing grip of her saber once more would only speak unfavorably of her skill with such things. It didn’t mean that she wasn’t willing to try it though.

Her saber once more realigned into a diagonal angle as if to catch the blade against her own. Averting the blade in an arch in front of both combatants she sought the man out in a kick in the hopes of catching him off-guard again.

[member="Nerius"]

 

[Nerius]

Nerius was beginning to enjoy himself, against someone that was a well rounded fighter. She was not the greatest at lightsaber play, yet she was willing to fight to protect herself. He could appreciate that.

As his blow was knocked away, he twirled the plasma of his Pink saber over his head. When he finished the manuever he started to bring it in for another blow, but felt a powerful kick to the chest. Flipping backward he extended his leg in the hopes of kicking her chin so they both would be downed.

The moment he struck ground, he rolled to his chest and threw himself back upward in hopes to stab his lightsaber through her abdomen.

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

Her kick landed. A brief sensation of relief soared throughout her system until it too was relinquished from her. A sharp pain from her cheek and nose had her head arching backwards and her back jolting forwards as the girl fell back to the floor. Rolling on her back Sena extinguished her saber before getting back on her feet again and let the orange beam reignite.

Her hand swept across her chin and nose and she quickly found herself smudging what appeared to be blood running down her nose. She didn’t get much of a chance at recuperation. The man had already begun thrusting himself at her once more. His saber came at her at a speed and once more she readied herself to avert it.

The sabers clashed. The sparks was sent flying and Sena stepped aside as her saber lead the other’s saber away from her. It was without doubt a move that had become part of a pattern at this point, but facing the full brunt of her opponent was not on her list of ‘good experiences.’ She had after all already taken them hits. Her shoulder still cried out in pain for each parry and now her nose. Things weren’t looking good, but Sena was determined to keep on going. Pain was an illusion, pain was a constant. Pain was a business, pain was her business.

Besides, what would Ameli say if Sena lost? Nah, she could live without that.

Hopefully.

The girl followed the man’s attack with yet another reprise as her hand reached out in a force push to get him away from her.

[member="Nerius"]

 

[Nerius]

Nerius having his blows parried, was annoying though something he understood would happen in combat. It was not as if every blow would strike its mark, this was the plain truth. But then, when he readied to strike again, he was caught off guard as a Push came upon him to throw him across the sands.

Yet he countered by reaching out, and yanking the Force in a powerful Pull behind his opponent. Opting to drag her across the area with him, was smarter than attempting to combat a beings use of the Force with his own, considering she had shown herself to be better with it than he was!

When he finally slammed onto his back, Nerius groaned out, and continued the momentum, as he performed a mediocre roll to land on his feet once more. Pausing to heal his bruises that had amassed along his body, he sighed when the injuries no longer continued their dull throbbing.

Next he charged back at the woman, lightsabers swinging. Though if she had somehow combatted his Pull, these would do nothing.

[member="Darth Drethi"]

 

[Lassiter]

She landed in the sand. The man had pulled her down on the ground. There was a thud accompanying a sharp pain in her nose the dust particles around her seeped into the broken capillaries. Each breath was a moment of sheer pain, each inhale filtered through the gritted teeth of a woman refusing to lose. Her shoulder cried out in pain as she pushed herself from the ground into a kneeling position.

She wasn’t the only one recuperating. Heaving above the dustcloud she set her eyes on the pink man in the distance. She prodded at her wounds to estimate the wear and tear. It wasn’t optimal, but it wasn’t over yet either. An attempt to clear the grime out of her wound proved fruitless and if anything it would seem as if the woman had tried to apply more dirt if anything. Rising up from the ground she ignited her saber once more. He was going to come for her again, the was no doubt about it.

But something seemed strange. He was... Changing. It was the only way he could explain it. His bruises were gone and he was at ease. It was like fighting a rancor infused with a bacta tank! It went to just go figure that the girl should have figured it from the start. The powerful swings, the strength of it all. Was this part of that? She wasn’t sure, but with good time, perhaps she would know.

The man came swinging at her. The idea of getting downright physical again would be too predictable, the usage of the force equally so. Diverting sabers were just about the only thing she could do at this stage. Which that too was probably predictable.

Her shoulder wasn’t going to thank her for it, but with her saber once more set for diversion she angled it just right for the opponent’s blade to shift against her. They clashed for the first time and in a wry hit her shoulder, much like Sena herself, cried out in pain.

The second saber swung her way. She had to redo it. The swing was diverted but rather than retaliating with a push or a kick she tried something new. Her blood was rushing, adrenaline pumping, and with a deft move she sought to have her saber impale the man by the abdomen.

It seemed a fair retribution for the similiar strike he too had tried to send her way.

[member="Nerius"]

 

[Nerius]

Being a close quarters combatant, one had to get used to reading the movements of the opponents. As such, every move he made, he simultaneously attempted to read their body language, and deduce where they plan to strike. It isn't always a sure thing, but in this case it help Nerius quite a bit.

While her arm moved in to puncture Nerius, the Pink Monster read the motion and moved as quickly as he could to the side. He did not move swift enough however, as the plasma blade slid easily into his body; luckily however in a region of loose metallic ooze with no vital organs. The second the blade began its movement inward, he reached out to grip the handle of the weapon, while once again bringing about his own in retaliation.

She skewered him, now he sought to do the same!...again... He cut through the air as he sought the center of her body. If she moved in any direction, the blade could puncture fatally, but if his assumption was correct, its positioning currently would push between all organs without harm.

Yet she could dodge backward...or not. For as the main fail safe, with the greatest of his concentration he also applied a Pull against her back, not enough to yank her, but enough to keep her in place.

[member="Darth Drethi"]