Reaver Tra'an Reith di Plagia vs. Adept Tasha'Vel Versea

You had arrived on Arx after hearing word of a fighting tournament. It had been set up by the Combat Master and had been advertised as a Revival of the long held tradition of naming a Champion of the Antei Combat Center. As you had arrived at the signup table after waiting in line, you were met by a Trandoshan who looked you up and down, said nothing, and slid a form attached to a clipboard to you. A cheap chain linked a pen to the clipboard.

You read it over and it was a standard legal waiver noting that you could not hold the Combat Master or the Brotherhood liable for any injuries or even potential death that occurred during the tournament. You were entering this tournament of your own free will. Any and all repercussions of doing so were at no one’s fault but your own.

You signed, and the Trandoshan hissed with delight as he pointed to a door behind the table. A cheap paper sign was taped to the door that read “ACC Championship Introductory Meeting” in what looked to be felt-tipped black marker. You stepped inside the dark room and that is the last thing you remember until you woke up just now.

The world around you was dark… and soft. The area that you lay on felt just a bit more firm than a standard pillow. A quick check of yourself revealed that you still wore and carried everything you had when you had signed the waiver. While vision was extremely limited, you could tell that someone else was in the room with you. Four ceiling lights clicked on, one at a time, giving the room a bright glow beneath the four lights, but an eerie darkness outside of their radiance. You were in a padded room with a barred and sealed door. Every surface of the room was covered in thick, firm padded square tiles. You lay on a bed made of the same material in one corner of the room, while someone laid in another bed in the opposite corner. It was too dark to make out their figure well.

A holoprojection dropped from the ceiling, giving the room a pale blue glow. It was Combat Master Vincent Brujah. The Sith smirked as he began speaking.

“So, you’ve signed up for the tournament? Where I come from, that makes you a little crazy. I’ve taken you to a more appropriate environment for someone with your condition.”

As he smiled, pink mist began spraying from the ceiling at the same location as the lights. Slowly, what little you could see of the full room began to tint pink. The Combat Master’s smile grew wider.

“And if you weren’t crazy before… well… we can fix that. The effects of this drug will be pleasant… at first. You must be careful, though. Take too big of a dose and things can get downright terrifying, or so I’ve heard. Prolonged exposure will result in death.”

He shrugged slightly.

“The only way out of this room and into safe air is when I tell my crew to open the door, and I’m only going to do that when there is one of you left capable of walking away. Until then, enjoy the ride.”

The holoprojection blinked away. There was no starting whistle. No horn. No audience. Just silence, dim light, and the realization that the longer you sit there, the closer you would come to death.

The padded room was silent but for the hissing of the gas. As both combatants swung up and around into a sitting position, the shimmering mist swirled as they breathed it in, their bodies seeming to twitch as one.

It was an eerie sight to see, of the pair seeking not to engage each other in dialogue, but coming to terms with the disastrous setup of the deceitful Combat Master, leaving them with few choices and less options with which to make them than normal.

Tra'an Reith stood and stretched, before his tall form stretched and produced a dull pop pop sound, as he righted himself. The Sadowan Elder seemed to have no need for such things, her lithe form coming to an upright position with a grace and elegance that belied her many years of combat hardened form and function.

They turned slowly to face each other, golden eyes from within an ivory desert marred by a crimson river engaged with emeralds set in an ocean graced with islands of shadowed meaning carved into its very existence. The pair nodded at each other as their eyes slowly came alight, bodies shuddering as adrenaline dumped into them from the drugs, pushing them to conflict.

Still, they resisted.

Predator recognized predator, even as their control ebbed in the constant pressure of the compounds of Vincent's favorite toxin of choice.

Combat started as it often does, all at once. Tra'an was half way across the room, Sapphire Blade fully drawn and raised to strike, even as Tasha'vel had her daggers raised to catch the scintillating weapon. Prepared to catch it upon her own crystalline weapon and riposte with the shadowed death she'd been given from the Sith Tombs on Antei, the Twi'lek was surprised by the loud snap of the Kaleesh's right thumb and forefinger heard almost at the same time as a burst of pure light blinded her.

It was not enough to prevent the automatic response of decades of sustained war and combat, the block and riposte instinctive even without the gift of sight. No less capable with eyes unaffected, the di Plagia shifted his weapon to catch the riposte in a block, only for the tingle of imminent danger to warn him of impending death. With a crouch and a kick, he disengaged as the hands of the former Obelisk glowed and discharged directly at him while still clenching their blades, only for an obstruction of Force driven will to absorb them and then shatter under the sheer power of the impact.

It was then that he felt it, the shock of his Barrier being destroyed so casually flushing his nearly enraged mind long enough to perceive the subtle and insidious weakening of his connection to the Force.

The mist swirled as the Adept of the Sith stared back at him, eyes cleared of the remnants of the weakened trick, grin slowly stretching from ear to ear.

The drugs seemingly worked overtime to provoke Rage within them, only just failing to do so as Resolve held on just a little longer before Tasha'vel pounced.

Tasha’Vel could see the Khaleesh finally, though she cursed Vincent and briefly concentrated her breathing to limit the drug’s intake on her; she refused to let it dominate as she then smiled. “Not bad, young one; allow me to show you a little trick of my own.” She let go of the daggers and let them float around with the Force, making them spin and fly towards Tra’an as he used the Sapphire blade to keep the daggers at bay. This allowed her to draw out a beautifully crafted Echani force-imbued blade. As she pulled the dragon’s hilt back from its sheath, a crimson red glow surrounded Morra’s Vengeance, her heirloom blade, as she charged forward and brought it down upon the Khaleesh in an upward strike. She then lunged forward, aiming to take flesh. Thankfully, he spotted it in time and parried back with his sapphire, returning the strike and taking some of the black cloth on her arm, causing her to retreat backwards.

“Good, keep it up.”

She cirlced him like a predator, carefully observing his movements as she raised her left hand, sending the daggers circling menacingly around him. Again, she closed the distance and delivered several powerful, flurried strikes, forcing him to move back. She was so much stronger than he first thought; he hated it.

He would figure a way to get at her.

Unfortunately, the drugs had now starting taking over; his adrenaline skyrocketed as he let out a primal growl deep within his chest. His yellow eyes now were observing her movements better.

As she pivoted, he saw an opening.

Allowing the hatred he had of her strength to fuel him, Tra’an swiftly sheathed his Sapphire blade and ignited his lightsaber. A howling, horrific scream erupted as a harsh, powerful copper beam came forth from the hilt. Taking the opportunity while Tasha had stopped for a half moment, He charged forward and struck downwards, the blade catching a bit of her shoulder; however, the cortosis weave prevented the blade from piercing through completely, allowing her to bring her weapon up to block it from her body.

“Someone’s learning.” Her emerald eyes sparkled with glee. “Show me what you can do.”

She then moved back, sheathing Morra’s Vengeance, now drawing a blue colored quantum saber hilt and another similar colored lightsaber hilt to both of her hands. “Vilruna and Varactas, illuminate!” With a crackling, vibrating hiss, the blades came to life in a brilliant violet-colored display. She began to twirl them magnificently in her hands like a spinning death wheel before pointing them at Tra’an.

“Dance, Khaleesh.” She smirked, her face lighting up with a cruel smile. Returning the daggers to her sides, the azure Twi'lek hurled both lightsabers towards Tra’an. They crackled as they spun around violently through the air towards him. His yellow eyes widened at how precisely they moved; her control of telekinesis was impressive, leaving him seconds to react before they reached his body. Thinking quickly, he leaped upwards as they came, allowing them to pass under him; he could feel the deadly heat as he barely cleared the blades.

It was enough.

The utterly casual contempt with which the Sith commanded the Kaleesh to dance finally de-shackled the rage within. Molten aurum blazed to life and shined from within the alabaster mask as if it burned the bullion within. Mid-leap, Tra'an deactivated the howling helper and sheathed it as his improbably tall form landed smoothly, pivoting on a heel into a perfectly balanced one legged crouch as if landing from a ballet jump. Those haunting eyes sought the soon to return plasmic weapons, the shuddering muscles underneath betrayed the enhanced physique and the still calculating mind behind it. The shuddering smoothed into a controlled rippling, revealed as the greyscale cloak billowed in the sparkling mist from the landing. The Juggernaut was obscured for just a moment in transcendent shimmering gas, only for it to blow away in the very next instant.

With eyes roaring like a dragon breathing fire, the story of the drug unlocking the sleeping Krayat was told without a face to be seen. A flickering light of the same intensity as the shining eyes built around both crimson hands,, and when they slammed together? A blinding flash of power arced forth and blasted into both hilts even as the weapons swerved around to serve the whims of the psychotic Twi'lek. One hilt shorted out immediately, even as the other took the full brunt of what remained and kept coming, its crystal powered death almost inevitable.

It still wasn't faster than the enraged di Plagia, leveraging the compressed leg to jump forward over the swing and reigniting the screaming plasma even as he swiveled around to face the opposing weapon as it also swung around to face him. Every strike of the violet hued blade against his own copper colored weapon conveyed every bit of the might of the Elder Sadowan, and yet it was knocked aside by the flawless defense of a form meant to wait for just the right moment.

Cackling like a storm brewing a calamity, Tasha Vel's Force imbued blade rose from her belt and accelerated into the fight to turn the staccato rhythm into a pounding double bass of powerful deflections.

Even as the rage burned at Tra'an, the former Obelisk adherent advanced, his long legs eating the ground between the two combatants in steady strides of adrenaline induced psychosis. Vilruna carved half of the armorweave cloak away in a narrowly deflected strike as the molten hued howler blocked the indigo death in one moment only to swing around and bounce the phrik plated sword into the ground the very next second.

Legs bunching, the Plagueian launched at his azure hued tormentor, the distance vanishing in but a moment, telekinetic terror right behind him. Manic screeching met him as the Daughter stepped to the side of his lunge, raising her hands as if to block a blow that never came, once again blinded as a snap assaulted her ears. The sudden sensory deprivation disrupted her telekinetic control for just a moment, causing the blades to slam into the ground as a distinct whine could be heard.

Reflexively, the Sorcerer's instincts screamed and without conscious thought the air shimmered and flexed as a disruptor blast slammed into it, the sound of skidding boot soles heard almost immediately after, followed by the sound of it shattering amid the woosh of an implosion. The mist was consumed in a flash of momentary heat as the whine sounded again, only for Tasha's sight to restore itself in time for her to wrench the disruptor to the side before it fired, the blast disintegrating the padded wall and revealing the blemished cortosis weave underneath.

The Reaver released the weapon, just before it crumpled into a tiny ball under the fury written amidst Tasha'Vel's face.

"Just die already you damned lizard!" she screamed, her weapons once again adrift on the wind of her will, as the steady misting of shiny drugs continued unabated.

The Kaleesh shrugged off what was left of his cloak as he set himself to receive the inbound weapons, engaging with them in sweeps and flourishes executed with pinpoint moment to moment precision. Once again Tra'an advanced upon the enraged Sorceress. Oceanic skin rippled and bulged as the muscles underneath swelled and filled with power, released as bolts of ichor from hands that paused the combat just long enough to complicate the play from two targets to four.

Even as another Barrier shimmered into being and held this time despite the onslaught, a barrage of azure lightning streamed forth from the outstretched hands of the empowered Sith. As the power blazed forth, the hands controlling her weapons were locked in place halting the telekinetic assault. Seizing on the moment, Tra'an grabbed the hilt of the Force Blade and trapped its blade between his lightsaber and Vilruna, the dual assault warping and shattering the force blade into nothing.

The Twi'lek screamed her rage as she poured even more power into the lightning, shattering the dispersing obstruction and seeking the death of her opponent. Before the power could cross the distance, the Plagueian gambled and dropped to a hand, a leg swinging up and kicking Vilruna's hovering form, sending it flying blade first at the Sadowan.

Even as the storm of power slammed into the crimson skinned sauropod, driving him to the floor in nearly uncontrolled twitching, the alchemically treated weapon slammed into Tasha'Vel's neck. The flow of electrical power dropped to nothing as the quantum blade clattered to the floor behind her as its violet blade dispersed.

The Sorceress fell to her knees and then collapsed onto her side, face hidden as her corpse slumped to the floor.

Instantly, the mist not only stopped emerging into the room, the whole space was vented and clean air replaced the drugged haze.

Twitching for nearly a minute, Tra'an Reith took a while to come to his knees and eventually to his feet.

One slow, beleaguered step at a time, he left without a word.

As Tra’an came back down, he charged forward, mustering as much speed as he could; the closer he got, the more he felt his amplified speed slow down. Looking around, the Khaleesh remembered the beds. Concentrating, he threw out his free hand towards one of the beds in the corner and lifted it, hurtling it towards her as he charged. Tasha’Vel swiftly tried to call her blades back as she moved out of the pathway of the Juggernaut; however, because of her concentrated focus on the blades returning, she couldn’t stop the bed from striking her side and slamming her against the padded wall. She gasped in pain as it pinned her, breaking her concentration. The lightsabers hesitated briefly, clattering to the ground as the gas invaded her lungs. Her eyes now dilated as she felt a surge of adrenaline and rage. Letting out a primal scream, Tasha’Vel kicked the bed forcefully away from her body and glared at the Khaleesh. The Sith raised her hands and returned the lightsabers to their proper place, in her hands.

“Impressive.”

The gas, however, was now in effect; she could feel her control slipping from her, and for the first time, she felt fear. Knowing this, the Khaleesh would be in mortal danger. Her eyes widened as she felt herself charge without control.

“NO!”

PSSSFFFHHT!

Blades struck blade with a hideous crackling as Tra’an aggressively parried both of her sabers. He managed to hold them back, but she didn’t relent and tried to sweep his feet. He barely managed to step back to avoid the swings, but she was right there on him again. Strike after strike, with power bearing down. A killing machine, without end.

However, as he looked at her, he sensed the conflict within her as she desperately tried to fight back the gas's killing urges. Tra’an knew he had to do something quickly before he fell completely to the mercy of the gas. He was succumbing quickly himself as he parried, but maybe…

Maybe he could help her somehow; he had to stop her. Concentrating on the hurt from his past, sparks and crackles of bluish-white lightning surrounded his fingers and danced about. Aiming with a free hand, he released a powerful, directed shower of lightning at Tasha’vel.

Swiftly, she put up a barrier to stop it, but Tra’an did not give up. He intensified the lightning, throwing all his focus on the shower until, finally, it broke and enveloped her. She screamed in pain as it struck her body, but he did not let up; he had to keep going.

Focusing, he increased the power as much as he could, hoping it would be enough. She gritted her teeth as she stared at him, the shocks going through her body, the intense, agonizing pain as her nerves felt like fire. For a brief moment, the pain cleared her mind.

“No, I can’t become a monster!”

She deactivated her lightsabers and dropped them.

“I won’t give in!”

She allowed the lightning to continue, struggling with the urge to attack him until, finally, with a look of gratitude to him, she mouthed the words: “Thank you,” and the Elder fell to the ground unconscious.

Immediately, the gases receded, and the door opened as Vincent clapped, smirking with glee.

“Congratulations Tra’an, you have bested an elder. Don’t worry, she will be fine. We’ll get her patched up again.”

He turned his heel and allowed the medical droids to come and pick her up, carrying her away.