Force Wars II: The Heart of Darkness (Closed RPG)

The Planet Ariosto - 1 Kilometer North of the Radiant Forest

"We Ariostans are warriors, each forged in the fire of battle. As the old saying goes, 'An Ariostan is born with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.' Our history books detail a series of bloody wars that have molded our land, making it what it is today.

But when you search these same history books for a mention of the most significant war of all, the one that shaped our world more than any other had before or has ever since, you will find nothing. With time, our brothers and sisters of Ariosto have forgotten the War of the Crimson Dawn, but we wolves, we wolves can never forget. Instead, we look up to the night sky and we see a constant reminder of a fate narrowly avoided and a threat that is still very real.

When the surging Drakonid Empire set their sights on Ariosto tens of thousands of years ago, the great ruling houses united against the common enemy. Blood feuds were put aside, border disputes forgotten, all in the name of survival.

Through intimate knowledge of the war zone and an implacable fighting spirit, the United Forces negotiated a rousing victory over the Drakonids, handing the newborn Empire its first taste of defeat.

The Drakonids retreated, all of Ariosto rejoicing as their great warships left the planet’s orbit. But soon came something far worse. What the Ariostans hadn't accounted for was that the Drakonids lived by one principle. 'What we want, we get, and what we cannot have, we destroy.'

Our ancestors huddled together in fear as the Dark Empire’s Eye of Duhamat, a vile superweapon that had already victimized countless worlds, set its crimson gaze onto them. As it readied its attack, the skies became blood red. Our people, once united, turned on one another. Chaos reigned as fear, anger, and sorrow invaded our atmosphere like some foreign plague, no doubt courtesy of the Drakonids’ mastery over the Darkforce.

Through all the chaos, a group of heroes came together. These heroes, who had long ago proved their mettle in physical combat, now stood defiant in the face of psychic warfare. This was the Wolf Squadron. To this day, nobody knows how they did it, but these heroes overcame the odds and incapacitated the weapon from the inside out,

In its final operational moments, the weapon nonetheless unleashed its fury, utterly destroying our Eastern continent, breaking it into the hundreds of small islands that we now call the Broken Path. But it could've been much worse. With their super-weapon defeated, the threat of the Dark Empire vanished once and for all...or so we thought.

The Alpha Wolf stood from his place at the mouth of the cave, the crackling fire bathing him in light, making him seem grander than any man could ever hope to be. "My brothers, history repeats itself and the Darkness has returned to Ariosto. I can feel it, and I know many of you can too."

The veteran knight looked up and pointed to "Iris." the smaller of two moons visible in the night sky, before balling his fingers up into a clenched fist.

"They accept Alistar as their leader, hail him as the Prince that was Promised while ignoring the fact that the boy is a mere puppet, dancing on strings for the same Empire that tried to take our lands long ago."

"It's time we show them that Brotherhood has not forgotten, the Brotherhood stands firm, and the Brotherhood shall prevail."

The sound of spirited cheers rang out from the encampment, a vociferous roar that reverberated off every corner of the large cave.

But just as quickly as it had begun, the revelry died down. The Alpha Wolf had raised his hand in a silent signal that something may be amiss. He turned and glanced towards the edge of the forest, an imposing wall of green that hid...something...someone. She was young, she was powerful, and not of this world.

“Grab your weapons, men," the knight commanded as he reached for his helm, an heirloom that had been passed down from generation to generation. "This is the sign we’ve been waiting for.”

@rive_drakeis: @pandorika: @madison_maynard: @_alistar_: @cestus: @zeon_liafador: @devika: @gravatav@orizon:

@pandorika: @orizon: @gravatav: @madison_maynard:

We Are Legend HQ, Los Angeles, CA

"I think I found something," Orizon declared from across the room. Jacob Grayson, in the middle of a sparring match with the fierce Madison Maynard, ducked under her telegraphed lightsaber slash and spun away towards the large table in which his first apprentice had laid out the gigantic tome of Guardian knowledge.

Desperate to find any clues as to Pandorika’s location, the Guardian had thought back to his short time on the other side of the portal. Despite the barrage of plasma fire that had been directed his way, the Lightforce Warrior had noticed one valuable detail; a symbol, proudly displayed in the center of the massive room.

Jacob had done his best to replicate this symbol from memory and had assigned Orizon the task of scouring the ancient Guardian archive that they had acquired on Tiun in an attempt to find any potential links between the symbol and any known location that the Guardian Order might have once been familiar

Orizon began to read the short entry attached to the image that appeared in the archive. He had become fluent in the ancient Krillian language in half the amount of time it had taken Obi to learn a single phrase.

“This is royal sigil of the planet Ariosto, the scene of the Drakonid Empire’s very first defeat.” A map took up the entirety of the next two pages. It showed the planet Ariosto in relation to several other planets, some that Jacob was familiar with from his four year trek through the outer reaches of the galaxy.

"Do you think we can figure out the rough location from these coordinates, Madison?"

“Easy,” she responded.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go. Everyone meet me in the hangar in thirty minutes.”

A small green hand reached up to squeeze Jacob’s wrist. “Ready, we are not. Still much training, we need.”the Guardian sage spoke. The diminutive duelist had been walking with a noticeable limp ever since his encounter with the armored-Aggressor whose identity still remained a mystery.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," the Guardian replied curtly "Every minute that we’re here, Pandorika may be getting hunted down, tortured, killed..."

“A Guardian’s greatest weapon, patience is, young Grayson.”

A frustrated Jacob glanced at Orizon and Madison, They were good, but were they truly ready to dive into what could very well be the center of the new Aggressor Order with the limited training they had?

"Forty-eight hours. We train harder than we've ever trained before, no holding back. And then....we go save our lost Padawan."

"More sensible, that sounds. Prepared we must be as we venture into the heart of darkness, not only physically but mentally as well."

48 Hours Later

For the first time in his life, Jacob was sore, his muscles aching in protest of all the punishment he had put his body through in the last two days. Mentally, however, he felt as strong as ever as he walked into the WAL hangar bay, an area that used to house some of the most advanced. prototype aircraft but had since remained empty, until now.

Armed with ten top-of-the-line Thanix Canons, powerful kinetic barriers, and capable of Faster-than-Light jumps, to say that Madison's ship was impressive would be a massive understatement. In fact, the phrase that had immediately popped into the Guardian's head upon seeing it was, "sexy as flock." He couldn't wait to get behind the wheel of the orange and blue beauty.

It was 5:45 am and the sun was just now peeking out over the horizon, painting the sky in colorful streaks of pink and orange. Alone, he waited, hoping that the rest of the team would soon join him so they could be on their way.

@pandorika: @rive_drakeis: @_alistar_:

Ariosto - The Northern Edges of the Radiant Forest

Having traversed miles of heavy vegetation, the squadron of Royal Elites Troopers were beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion as they moved silently through the northern reaches of the Radiant Forest. The area had earned its name because of the bioluminescent nature of the plant life therein. It glowed in wild, unpredictable, and seemingly random patterns that some believed was linked to the Lunar cycles. On the rare occasion that the planet's twins moons lined up perfectly with the planet's sun, the whole forest came alive in a light show that some considered a deeply spiritual experience.

On this night, the troopers were definitely not here for a show, however. Instead, they had been tasked with finding a fugitive; one Pandorika of Earth. Thd command had come from the Dark Emperor himself who had already grown weary with how long it had taken to track down the young Force-sensitive.

The Dark Lord Ransolm Lothal watched the hologram being transmitted from the Ariostan soldiers' helmets as they waded through the forest, heavy fog obscuring their vision more than he was comfortable with.

Despite the difficulty he was having watching through the live feed, Lothal knew the young Guardian apprentice was there, he was sure of it. Suddenly there was a rustle in the a group of nearby bushes, prompting the highly trained officers to open fire on the mobilized shadow. The forest lit up with the light of of the plasma bolts as each soldier internally hoped that their devastatingly long mission was finally at an end.

@lord_lothal said:

@pandorika: @rive_drakeis: @_alistar_:

Ariosto - The Northern Edges of the Radiant Forest

Having traversed miles of heavy vegetation, the squadron of Royal Elites Troopers were beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion as they moved silently through the northern reaches of the Radiant Forest. The area had earned its name because of the bioluminescent nature of the plant life therein. It glowed in wild, unpredictable, and seemingly random patterns that some believed was linked to the Lunar cycles. On the rare occasion that the planet's twins moons lined up perfectly with the planet's sun, the whole forest came alive in a light show that some considered a deeply spiritual experience.

On this night, the troopers were definitely not here for a show, however. Instead, they had been tasked with finding a fugitive; one Pandorika of Earth. Thd command had come from the Dark Emperor himself who had already grown weary with how long it had taken to track down the young Force-sensitive.

The Dark Lord Ransolm Lothal watched the hologram being transmitted from the Ariostan soldiers' helmets as they waded through the forest, heavy fog obscuring their vision more than he was comfortable with.

Despite the difficulty he was having watching through the live feed, Lothal knew the young Guardian apprentice was there, he was sure of it. Suddenly there was a rustle in the a group of nearby bushes, prompting the highly trained officers to open fire on the mobilized shadow. The forest lit up with the light of of the plasma bolts as each soldier internally hoped that their devastatingly long mission was finally at an end.

Pandorika cursed herself mentally for slipping up in her careful movement through the forest but she'd grown so tired and so hungry...not just physically hungry either. Though she didn't have the curse of a Time Siphon, the longer she spent without food the more her body struggled between her two genetic legacies. When the plasma fire came, she was so busy focusing on being hungry the padawan, who's training was far from complete yet, was completely surprised. A master Guardian would have used the Force to support themselves but not a lost, hungry half timesiphon Padawan.

Instinct took over as her temporal senses picked up the incoming blaster fire. She pivoted on her right foot to face the assault, deflecting several of the blaster bolts with surprising precision. One bolt got through her tired defenses and struck her left shoulder, it sent her tumbling backwards and crashing through the underbrush. Pandorika felt the stinging pain in her arm and reached over with her other arm, touching the scorched wound. Blaster bolts didn't have the ever regenerating properties of plasma swords and her body had taken control of the situation on instinct. Rather than pierce entirely through her shoulder and ruin her arm her natural temporal drain had sapped the bolt of its strength upon impact, aging it until it lost cohesion and dissipated. Even so, her shoulder was damaged and would need time to heal. She carefully placed that arm's temporal blade on her belt.

Pandorika took a breath, trying to resist the panic being alone, wounded and half time siphon was causing. Get a hold of yourself! She could see the temporal lines of the approaching troopers as they moved to confirm their success. Trust in the Force, that's what he always says, trust in the Force.

You can't trust anyone. Pandorika closed her eyes, tightening her good hand into a fist. Shut up, I got rid of you a long time ago.

You're part Time Siphon Pandorika, you can never get rid of the animal inside of you.

GO AWAY!

Every Time Siphon carried with them an animalistic side, a predatory side. Pandorika and Raeyn were capable of locking it away, keeping it from ruling them...but as pressed as she was now, her barriers against it were breaking down. He left you here. He doesn't care about you.You're a Time Siphon, it's time you start acting like one.

Pandorika rose to her feet as the troopers came into view, spinning her temporal blade. Destroy them.Burn everything!

She charged, blaster bolts flew in her direction but this time she wasn't surprised, this time she deflected them all. She drove her blade through one of the soldier's chests, instantly aging his chest cavity until his body collapsed in on itself and fell apart on the ground. She spun and sliced through a second of the troopers but the third caught her weapon with his own specialized close combat weapon. Behind his helmet the trooper's eyes widened as the weapon began to age. He relied on his elite training and drove his knee into Pandorika's gut, forcing her backwards and almost causing her to drop her weapon.

He brought his combat weapon around and very nearly drove it into the side of her head, only to have her block it at the last moment. As she realized her strength was no match for his Pandorika used the Force to shove him away. The trooper crashed into a tree and lay still. Unfortunately she was vastly out numbered by elite forces and much too tired to be of any superior skill herself. She now found herself surrounded, weapons pointed at her from all directions, ready to fire if she so much as flinched. I really liked this body too...

WHY AREN'T YOU ACTING!

Because I trust my master...and I don't trust you.

They'll kill you!

Let them try.

Pandorika was exhausted, on the verge of at the very least being forced to regenerate but she didn't care, she lunged forward and trusted in The Force.

Following the fated bout with the Dark Lord Cestus, Madison found herself fully immersed in the Light-force Resurgence. She'd found them--The Guardians, rather they found her. After being knocked out in Venice, the emerald tinted queen was rescued by Jacob Grayson and slowly assimilated into the Guardians. Though she didn't receive quite the extensive training Old Guardian Maynard provided with just a few days prep; she did gain a better sense of how to fight with a saber. Faint scars riddled her wrist indicating the novice mistakes she'd made when wielding the force weapon. Despite recently recovering from injuries sustained at the hands of Cestus, Madison was fully compliant in the Guardians latest mission--Rescuing Pandorika a fellow Guardian that'd been kidnapped during the Aggressor attack.

This mission meant a lot more to Madison then she cared to share. Though she was a Guardian, she represent the first of a unique sect of Guardian, known as The Old Guard--or as she had come to call it "The New Guard" trained with the abilities to utilize aspects of both the Light and Darkness, The Old Guardians were able to single handedly decide the outcome of battles.

Her master fought by her side during the war with New Haven and her brother. Madison's death as she would soon find out was at the hand of an unknown Aggressor--an Aggressor she still believe breathed. As images of Madison's funeral burned through her mind, she couldn't help but think of Jacob. His Apprentice was lost in the cosmos somewhere, not knowing if she was dead or alive had to have been nerve racking. There was a bit of sympathy for him, she didn't want him to experience not being able to sense Pandorika--when she had to do it...she nearly destroyed her palace in a fit of rage. "Rest well...master" She murmured before making preparations for departure.

Despite being surrounded by the force, The Excommunicated Queen still saw fit to bring her traditional items--her Ninjeta sword, a blaster and repaired SBA--along with the cerulean lightsaber. Moving from her room down to the hangar, the Alternaught's engines stirred via command from her mind. "These earthlings know no punctuality" She muttered walking swiftly past Jacob to begin her Pre-ops.

An Aggressor and his apprentice. The dynamic is as old as the religion itself, yet it's definition ebbs and flows with each iteration. For some the relationship is merely professional and suites both parties hunger for power. Others, see their master as a future conquest, or their apprentice a pawn.

But in between there are those who share a bond. A brotherhood. The Drakeis, Rive, and his apprentice Alistar were of this variety. Rive saw it in the boy immediately when they first met that many years ago, here on this very world, in this very jungle...

Tubes run into the few limbs Rive had left, a mask on his face as lay in an incubator tube bathed in blue light on a hovering stretcher just behind the blood born prince. Like his master the boy reshape his people in his image. While Alistar was adorned in jewels and fed the finest meals, he was every bit a slave as his master before him, only his chains were his blood.

The apprentice is guided through the force to a secluded location, until he came across a ship. An ancient ship built to be the mobile command center of a true Drakeis, his sanctum of darkness and reprieve from the physical realm.

Alistar laid on the floor of the throne room, just in arms’ reach of his defeated master. Tears still ran down the Dark Apprentice’s face as he rose to all fours. His men were defending him by shooting at the unwelcomed Guardians who had followed them. As blasts flew past them in an effort to defend the Aggressors from their counterparts, Alistar was numb to the situation around him, he was only focused on Rive. Emotions had completely taken over the young Aggressor, causing his focus to be shifted from defeating the Guardians to defending his master.

So, when a bomb was thrown at the Guardian duo, instead of seizing the moment to finish them off, instead Alistar’s emotions caused him to make an unstable force shield around only Master Drakeis. As the explosion went off, the “weak” force shield was enough to protect the Drakonid, but Alistar was thrown back causing him to hit his head harshly. As he was dazed from the explosion, he stumbled to his feet. When he had finally found his balance, he walked over to his men.

As the men saw their ruler walk towards them, they each stood in attention. Alistar’s voice was stern as he spoke to them, it demanded respect and their full attention.

“See to it that Master Drakeis is seen to the medical facility.” Some of the men looked over at the sliced Aggressor with doubt that he would even survive if they tried to move him. “Stabilize him, so that we can move him. If anything should happen to him….” The Aggressor Prince knew he had no need to finish the rest of his sentence.

Alistar turned towards another group of men, his voice was louder now, anger had surely taken a hold of him once again, he could still sense her. The unique Guardian was still here, her master had somehow escaped completely, but she, she was still her. “The Guardian Apprentice is still here, search the forest, find her, and bring her back...Alive!”

“NOW!” The two groups of Royal Guards rushed to their orders. Alistar couldn’t help, but look over at his master and shed one more tear, before looking at the last group of men. “Lord Lothal shall oversee the capture of the Guardian, do not notify me unless, she is near capture. As for Master Drakeis, keep me updated on him….” His voice drifted off a bit, still shocked at what had taken place, “...ready my study.”

“Yes sir.”

24 hours later.

The Dark Apprentice had removed his body armor completely, the last thing for him to take off was his helmet. As he removed the black helmet, he looked exactly as a human. If the Aggressor Prince was to be on Earth, his looks would blend in well with the other humans unlike Master Drakeis who was surely an alien compared to Earthlings.

This was because Arisotans looked exactly like humans, but there was one thing that made Arisotans different from Earthlings. Their emotions. Arisotans had hyper-sensitive emotions causing their emotions to be almost overpowering for them. Even Alistar was not exempt from this trait, it ran deep in each Arisotans causing a somewhat eventful history for their race.

Alistar sat down on the floor of his study in a mediation like posture. He took several deep breaths in hope to clear his mind from everything that had taken place, but it was futile. The more he tried to clear his mind, the more his emotions fought back. The young Aggressor was beginning to tremble as he tried to clear his mind, because as he tried to find peace in his mind, his emotions ran rampant.

Memories of yesterday began to flood his mind, and they began to take control over the Dark Apprentice as if he was a captive to his own power.

Pride, as he remembered arriving with his master on Earth and their countless battles before hand, Alistar held his chin up high.

Doubt, as he remembered the Guardian Apprentice being on equal footing with him, his chin fell and he began to wince.

Depression, as he remembered seeing Rive sliced in two as he rushed to his rescue, tears began to fall from Alistar’s eyes as he tried desperately to control these emotions.

Anger, as he remembered the Guardians escaping and realizing that the Aggressors seemed to be the only ones who suffered from their battle. Force lightning began to erupt from the Dark Apprentice’s fingertips. Screams of anger began to erupt from his study.

Alistar abruptly opened his eyes, gasping for air, as if he had just escaped and broken the shackles from an inner prison. Thoughts still flooded his mind as he rushed towards his feet.

Chaos. Failure. Pain. Alistar began searching through his desk voraciously much like a hyena tearing through its prey’s fur to get to its meat. He grabbed a needle full of a yellow-like serum and plunged it deep into his arm, skillfully hitting a vein as if he had done it so many times before. Serenity began to be the only feeling flooding his memory, allowing the Dark Apprentice to regain control over his own thoughts. Allowing Alistar to once again be calculated on his next move in handling the Guardians and protecting Master Drakeis.

“Sir?” A Royal Arisotan Guard knocked on the door to his study.

“Yes, what is it?”

“It’s Master Drakeis, he’s ready to be moved.”

“Thank you, prepare a squadron we’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Where to sir?”

“The Radiant Forest, Deep into the Radiant Forest.”

The Arisotan Guard took a moment to reply, knowing the dangers of the Radiant Forest especially so close to the Arisotan Eclipse where the forest came alive to the two moons aligning with the sun. “Yes sir.”

“And the girl?”

“A Squadron is on her tail, but she is quite evasive, so the possibility of capture is still low, we’re hoping to tire her out and get the jump on her.”

Alistar’s lightsaber flew across the room and into his hand, he wanted the Guardian Apprentice and in his hands already. The Dark Apprentice took a couple of deep breaths to not succumb to his emotions once again.

“Thank you, that will be all.” Alistar stated allowing the soldier to follow his orders and ready Master Drakeis and the squadron for travel through the Radiant Forest tomorrow.

Now

Alistar had put his trust in the force and allowed himself and his group to be guided by it, for Rive’s survival. If this was anyone else, Alistar probably would have said his good-byes and carried on with the mission at hand, to destroy the Guardian Order once and for all, but this wasn’t anyone else. This was Rive Drakeis, his Master, his brother.

Years ago, Alistar was the one on the verge of his own demise in this very forest. When the end seemed near for the Arisotan Prince, Rive had appeared, and had given the Alistar the capability to carry on. So, now as his master seems to be the one knocking at death’s door, Alistar can only do what is right and try to give his brother the capability to carry on too.

The Force had given Alistar what he wanted and presented him with a ship, an ancient ship built for a true Drakeis. Alistar ordered his men to take Rive inside, as the men carried on with the Drakeis past him, one stopped in front of Alistar.

“The Guardian is near capture sir, what shall we do?” Alistar looked at the ancient ship and then into the Radiant Forest. “Order your men to stay here with Master Drakeis, protect him at all costs. Order them to call for reinforcements as soon as we leave. You and I shall venture into the forest and make that Guardian pay for her sins against us.”

“Yes sir.” The man rushed into the ancient ship to give them their orders.

“Rive…”Alistar couldn’t help, but think of his master once more, before rushing towards the Guardian Apprentice known as Pandorika, with one Royal Guard Soldier.

He was not convinced. To Ariostan astronomy, Isis was no more than their second moon. But in Drakonid legend, in Aggressor folklore.. it was their greatest ever weapon. An instrument of planetary destruction. A perfect blend of technology and Darkforce sorcery unseen in many a millennia. There was no Isis. Only the 'Eye of Duhamat'. And this was no belief, it was fact. The Mad King dealt only in truth. And the 'Eye of Duhamat' would be his instrument of truth. The truth of the Darkforce. The truth that will enlighten the Guardian Order and see that it's followers convert and embrace the Darkforce as thee absolute authority. Around him, the walls were forged from an alien metal painted in grey.

Armored and dressed in black, the Mad King strode forward, his dark cape hanging from his shoulders and stopping at his ankles. With every step, his pores breathed out and cast the Force all about him, leaving it to hang in the air with such prominence that the walls trembled and shook, and it's metal bits clanked in fear of Cestus' power. A power whose quality was rivaled only by Lord Lothal. His gloved fingers coiled around the cold metal hilt of his lightsaber, and it's plasma blade came alive with a crimson glow and resounding hum. Flanked by a squad of armed loyalists, Cestus raised his empty hand, coiled his fingers and felt a wave of energy course through his closed fist. With the Force at his command, he bent the folds of space to his will.

He seized it, and he contorted it, forcing a ripple from it till he and his forces were swallowed, till they were plucked from where they stood and pulled elsewhere. Gone was the hall of cold metal. Above them the night sky was vast and the stars that hung high twinkled alongside Ariosto's two moons. The ripple faded and the soft desert sands gathered round their ankles. Small gusts of air blew across the desert, teasing a sandstorm that could peel flesh from bone. The power of nature was one to be admired. But the power of the Eye.. it was a power to be feared. "Begin the search for ancient Drakonid temples built during their failed colonization of this planet", the Mad King commanded, his deep voice echoing with a cold and domineering swagger.

"There we will find what we need to unlock the Eye's power", he asserted. "A power that will see even the Guardians sell their souls to the devil in a desperate bid for the means to stop me", he paused, "And you can sell your soul to the devil. But the devil belongs to me". And as their search began, he waited. Waited for the arrival of his newest apprentice.

@vinicius_corvo

@pandorika:

Bursting through the treeline, the men and women of the Brotherhood of the Wolf began firing at every soldier who bore the red arm band of the Royal Elite. Acting quickly, the Alpha Wolf sprinted forward towards the trooper who had her gun locked on a peculiar orange-skinned woman. "Is she the one that I sensed?"

A well-placed shot knocked the gun from out of the enemies hand, but the trooper was quick to react. A section of her forearm armor broke free, revealing an embedded Z6 riot control baton which she then flipped in a show of skill. Jordyn had seen that same move many times before. "Traitor!" the Royal Elite cried out to the former captain of this very regiment.as she prepared for what could be the battle of her life.

"I am no traitor!" the Alpha Wolf replied as he pulled out his own formidable weapon, a green-bladed lightsaber that hissed in the dewy dawn air. "I am fighting for my people, I am fighting for you, sister. I will not allow Ariosto to be taken over by the same Empire that once sought to destroy us."

"Sister." The word stung. Since the day he defected, she had tried hard to forget their relation and now, here he was throwing it in her face.

"You've truly gone mad. I will free you from the burden of your traitorous existence, lest you sully our house's name any more than you've already have." Attempting to retain her composure, she lunged at her disgraced sibling, trying to keep her growing doubt and apprehension in check.

Lightsaber crashed against baton, the baton's collapsible conductor contact vanes not giving to the extreme heat of the legendary sword's plasma. This weapon, ubiquitous among the higher-ranking Ariostan forces, had played a vital role in repelling the Drakonid hordes long ago, though the Ariostan government categorically denied that such a conflict had ever even occurred.

She was fast and skilled with the baton, almost getting the better of him on a few exchanges, but unfortunately for the soldier, her big brother had taught her everything she had learned, and after a few parries, a careless swing there, a telegraphed feint here, the Alpha Wolf took advantage, crashing his lightsaber against Sara's waist.

Watching her collapse onto the wet dirt, the older brother retracted his weapon, "I'm sorry, Sara," he whispered, savoring the unfamiliar feel of her name on his tongue. At the Royal Academy, the use of birth names was heavily discouraged. Instead he had been forced to call her TE-1021. After all, that's all they were to the Great Houses, a series of letters and numbers, each an expendable commodity to be used at their leisure.

The Alpha Wolf had nary a moment to linger when he felt the heaviness of a looming dark presence that neared with every second (@_alistar_). As the leader of the Brotherhood, the decision fell to him; stand to fight, and commit his men to a foe that they may not be prepared for, or retreat, and live to fight another battle, one in which they'd hopefully be blessed with a much more advantageous position.

"Wolves, fall back!" he commanded, making his way to the young orange-skinned girl from before. "Just hold on, he cooed, "You have found yourself in the presence of allies." His right arm wrapped around the alien youth while his jetpack roared to life. The rising sun shone against his helm as he took the sky, trailed by his brothers, each fitted with their own flying apparatus.

Lying on her back, Sara Carrick watched as her brother carried the fugitive away from her squadron's grasp. She could feel the sting of a severe burn on her abdomen, but Jordyn had chosen not to go any further, though he undoubtedly had ample opportunity to do so. Soon, she'd make him regret that..

@alpha_wolf said:

@pandorika:

Bursting through the treeline, the men and women of the Brotherhood of the Wolf began firing at every soldier who bore the red arm band of the Royal Elite. Acting quickly, the Alpha Wolf sprinted forward towards the trooper who had her gun locked on a peculiar orange-skinned woman. "Is she the one that I sensed?"

A well-placed shot knocked the gun from out of the enemies hand, but the trooper was quick to react. A section of her forearm armor broke free, revealing an embedded Z6 riot control baton which she then flipped in a show of skill. Jordyn had seen that same move many times before. "Traitor!" the Royal Elite cried out to the former captain of this very regiment.as she prepared for what could be the battle of her life.

"I am no traitor!" the Alpha Wolf replied as he pulled out his own formidable weapon, a green-bladed lightsaber that hissed in the dewy dawn air. "I am fighting for my people, I am fighting for you, sister. I will not allow Ariosto to be taken over by the same Empire that once sought to destroy us."

"Sister." The word stung. Since the day he defected, she had tried hard to forget their relation and now, here he was throwing it in her face.

"You've truly gone mad. I will free you from the burden of your traitorous existence, lest you sully our house's name any more than you've already have." Attempting to retain her composure, she lunged at her disgraced sibling, trying to keep her growing doubt and apprehension in check.

Lightsaber crashed against baton, the baton's collapsible conductor contact vanes not giving to the extreme heat of the legendary sword's plasma. This weapon, ubiquitous among the higher-ranking Ariostan forces, had played a vital role in repelling the Drakonid hordes long ago, though the Ariostan government categorically denied that such a conflict had ever even occurred.

She was fast and skilled with the baton, almost getting the better of him on a few exchanges, but unfortunately for the soldier, her big brother had taught her everything she had learned, and after a few parries, a careless swing there, a telegraphed feint here, the Alpha Wolf took advantage, crashing his lightsaber against Sara's waist.

Watching her collapse onto the wet dirt, the older brother retracted his weapon, "I'm sorry, Sara," he whispered, savoring the unfamiliar feel of her name on his tongue. At the Royal Academy, the use of birth names was heavily discouraged. Instead he had been forced to call her TE-1021. After all, that's all they were to the Great Houses, a series of letters and numbers, each an expendable commodity to be used at their leisure.

The Alpha Wolf had nary a moment to linger when he felt the heaviness of a looming dark presence that neared with every second (@_alistar_). As the leader of the Brotherhood, the decision fell to him; stand to fight, and commit his men to a foe that they may not be prepared for, or retreat, and live to fight another battle, one in which they'd hopefully be blessed with a much more advantageous position.

"Wolves, fall back!" he commanded, making his way to the young orange-skinned girl from before. "Just hold on, he cooed, "You have found yourself in the presence of allies." His right arm wrapped around the alien youth while his jetpack roared to life. The rising sun shone against his helm as he took the sky, trailed by his brothers, each fitted with their own flying apparatus.

Lying on her back, Sara Carrick watched as her brother carried the fugitive away from her squadron's grasp. She could feel the sting of a severe burn on her abdomen, but Jordyn had chosen not to go any further, though he undoubtedly had ample opportunity to do so. Soon, she'd make him regret that..

Pandorika deactivated her temporal blade and put it on her belt, too tired to resist any longer anyway and just glad to be away from all the troops that had been trying to capture her as they rocketed away via jump pack. Pandorika closed her eyes, fatigue crashing over her like a tsunami. I told you.

You got lucky.

There's no such thing as luck.

"Thank you." Pandorika managed after a moment. That was all she said though, hovering somewhere on the edge of passing out. Sometimes you have to rely on others, sometimes you have to trust in The Force. This whole don't trust anyone because you're a Time Siphon thing is what got our species in trouble in the first place. If they had turned to others for help, nothing we did would have ever happened and everything would have been better.

And where is your master now?

On his way. I bet he's got a group of people together and a ship and everything. He's a good man, he'll come for me.

You're a fool.

You're a coward with no moral ground to stand on. Go away monster.

For now, everything fell silent in the complex mind of the half Time Siphon and she drifted off, finally passing out, sleeping for the first time in four days.

@orizon: @madison_maynard: @gravatav:

Exhilaration. That was the one word that could adequately describe the feeling of jumping into and out of hyperspace. The field of stars that spanned the cockpit window warped and stretched until a whitish-blue was all that could be seen and a foreign electricity perceivable only to those with supernaturally altered senses worked its way through the bodies of all inside. After a few minutes in the space between space, the craft finally exited lightyears away from Earth. In the distance, a planet surrounded by two moons shone like a beacon.

“Ariosto.” Jacob whispered, not wanting to distract from the beauty of it all. But the Guardians weren’t there to observe the wonders of the universe, they were there for a specific mission; to bring back their apprentice. “It’s a big planet. She could be anywhere.”

“Feel her, you must. In the Force, all is revealed.” Gravatav spoke, closing his eyes and focusing on the universal energy that bound all things. Jacob did the same, and hoped that the other Guardians would join in on their efforts.

"~HELLO~."

Their momentary psychic scan had been enough for the immensely powerful Lord Lothal to telepathically lock onto them and plunge into their minds.. To those skilled in the Force, the illusion of the the Dark Lord would appear clearly in front of them, dressed in black. a sadistic smile creeping across his ancient face.

“~I AM LORD RANSOLM LOTHAL. JACOB GRAYSON, I BELIEVE YOU AND I HAVE MET.~" he hissed, pulling back the collar of his robes to reveal the discolored blotch of skin where the Guardian’s Force Lightning had made contact.

"As have we." Gravatav interjected, an unmistakable tone of disdain coloring his words. He had watched so many friends die at the Shadow's hand.

“What do you want?” the Lighforce Warrior added, trying hard to suppress the dark emotions that the Red Dragon's presence seemed to evoke..

"~HEHEHE.~" Lothal's laugh awoke an extreme anxiety in the Guardian's being. Something bad was about to happen. "~I WANT YOU!~"

Instantly, an awe-inspiring Force pulled at the craft, bringing it down towards the Ariostan atmosphere at incredible speeds. Mesosphere gave way to stratosphere, and stratosphere gave way to a cloudy blue sky much like Earth's before the Alternaught met the sandy Ariostan shore with a deafening crash. It had all happened in a matter of a second and the tumultuous collision had caused an unprepared Jacob Grayson to smash against the ship's control console, shattering his nose and knocking him unconscious.

The Alternaught's back entrance opened, revealing a group of massive solid steel beasts lumbering towards it, shooting their plasma canons indiscriminately at the suddenly vulnerable group of Guardians. Through the sound of heay footsteps and canon fire, Jacob could hear one thing before darkness overtook him.

"~WELCOME TO ARIOSTO. I SINCERELY HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY.~"

.

@last_guardian said:

@orizon: @madison_maynard: @gravatav:

Exhilaration. That was the one word that could adequately describe the feeling of jumping into and out of hyperspace. The field of stars that spanned the cockpit window warped and stretched until a whitish-blue was all that could be seen and a foreign electricity perceivable only to those with supernaturally altered senses worked its way through the bodies of all inside. After a few minutes in the space between space, the craft finally exited lightyears away from Earth. In the distance, a planet surrounded by two moons shone like a beacon.

“Ariosto.” Jacob whispered, not wanting to distract from the beauty of it all. But the Guardians weren’t there to observe the wonders of the universe, they were there for a specific mission; to bring back their apprentice. “It’s a big planet. She could be anywhere.”

“Feel her, you must. In the Force, all is revealed.” Gravatav spoke, closing his eyes and focusing on the universal energy that bound all things. Jacob did the same, and hoped that the other Guardians would join in on their efforts.

"~HELLO~."

Their momentary psychic scan had been enough for the immensely powerful Lord Lothal to telepathically lock onto them and plunge into their minds.. To those skilled in the Force, the illusion of the the Dark Lord would appear clearly in front of them, dressed in black. a sadistic smile creeping across his ancient face.

“~I AM LORD RANSOLM LOTHAL. JACOB GRAYSON, I BELIEVE YOU AND I HAVE MET.~" he hissed, pulling back the collar of his robes to reveal the discolored blotch of skin where the Guardian’s Force Lightning had made contact.

"As have we." Gravatav interjected, an unmistakable tone of disdain coloring his words. He had watched so many friends die at the Shadow's hand.

“What do you want?” the Lighforce Warrior added, trying hard to suppress the dark emotions that the Red Dragon's presence seemed to evoke..

"~HEHEHE.~" Lothal's laugh awoke an extreme anxiety in the Guardian's being. Something bad was about to happen. "~I WANT YOU!~"

Instantly, an awe-inspiring Force pulled at the craft, bringing it down towards the Ariostan atmosphere at incredible speeds. Mesosphere gave way to stratosphere, and stratosphere gave way to a cloudy blue sky much like Earth's before the Alternaught met the sandy Ariostan shore with a deafening crash. It had all happened in a matter of a second and the tumultuous collision had caused an unprepared Jacob Grayson to smash against the ship's control console, shattering his nose and knocking him unconscious.

The Alternaught's back entrance opened, revealing a group of massive solid steel beasts lumbering towards it, shooting their plasma canons indiscriminately at the suddenly vulnerable group of Guardians. Through the sound of heay footsteps and canon fire, Jacob could hear one thing before darkness overtook him.

"~WELCOME TO ARIOSTO. I SINCERELY HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY.~"

.

I have been waiting for this day for a long time. The moment when my master was at his lowest when he came to rescue me. I knew he would escape, that wasn't the problem. I know the mental scars he carries, my younger self won't recognize them for a long time, but I figured it out later. What he needs now is my help...my help in being himself, in rallying his allies and defeating his enemies against all odds. He needs optimism.

I step through time, not as easily as Raeyn, but I do it, vanishing from where I was and appearing on the crashed ship, in the empty chair next to my master. I use the Force to conceal my presence, though I know that the particularly powerful will know something is here with them, just not what, or who.

"Master." Future Rika leaned forward, whispering words that would appear to him like a Force inspired vision. "I'm ok." She said gently, placing a hand on his arm. "Your training kept me safe, it kept me going. My faith in you and the Force kept me alive." Thanks to her use of The Force, only her master would hear her words. In the false vision she would appear as her older self standing in front of him on a beach.

The force vision smiled. "I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you how much you mean to me, Time Siphons aren't very good at that sort of thing, but when I was alone in a strange forest chased by our enemies and completely exhausted and the...animal inside of me, the primal side of my Time Siphon heritage, when it tried to get me to listen to it...it was my faith in you that got me through everything. I knew you'd come for me, I knew that no matter what anyone said, I could trust you."

The force vision of future Rika smiled. "But now I need you to trust me. You're going to be fine. You're all going to be fine. Get out of your chair, get out of the ship and do what you've always done best, without hesitation, without fear or doubt...because I'm telling you right now, you will be just fine." Her focus was beginning to wane, it took a lot of effort to do what she was doing. "Master, this wasn't your fault. Go, wake up, fight." The force vision vanished with a smile.

Pandorika sighed, opening her eyes and looking at her Master. "I'll see you in the future." she whispered and vanished, returning to her own time line.

@last_guardian: @gravatav@orizon

Madison's ship was something of a touchy issue. She was a Queen that commanded her own vessel. The fact that Jacob was overseeing the trek to Aristo bothered her, but it a show of solidarity she backed off...just a bit.

"We'll follow your lead" She said reluctantly before returning back to a seat next to her fellow "Green" Grav.

In the Omega Nebula, The Alternaught was the flagship that usually symbolized conformity. There has only been one time where Madison's ship landed on a planet and she didn't conqueror it--New Haven, because she blew it up. In flight, while Jacob and others took note of the Ninjan Vessel, Madison practiced more and more with her lightsaber, opting to use it in tandem with her own blade should she ever need to.

Stars sped past them in a tubular white blur, and with almost unrealistic speed the Guardians were on the cusp of battling the darkness. This however, was not a war they were here to win. They had a specific purpose, to rescue Jacob's apprentice and return home. Should they forget that, they too would be consumed by the darkness. Breaking away from her training, Madison's eyes darted around the room; all of them were heavily immersed in the Force, but unlike the Light she was accustomed to feeling from them, A Profound Darkness rose, once again stirring the darkness that naturally lived within her bosom.

Before she could even tap into it, they were being thrown around the cosmos. Reeling out of control, she tried her hardest to make it to the controls. The entire time she could've flown this vessel solely with her mind, but in order to do it, she needed to deactivate the manual controls. Her efforts were futile, the ship plummeted and skidded along the surface of Aristo before coming to a screeching stop.

Flashback

The flames of Zavanna's war surged around them, there they stood. Aggressor and Last Old Guardian. She'd tried to hold him off, but his power was far to great. Just in his presence, she could feel the darkness coiling around her flesh. "Surrender and Embrace enlightenment or your story ends here!" He commanded, using his powerful mastery over the dark arts to render the Last Old Guardian involuntarily airborne. "Y-Your, corrupted, but even if my story ends here I will live on...through m....y..." Her words were never sent, her neck snapped between two powerful pulls of Dark Force energy. "Shame. You would've made a great Apprentice" He barked, disrespectfully stepping over the body of the dead Guardian. "Your light has been extinguished...."

"Your light has been...extinguished..." She murmured, slowly coming too, however the voice...she recognized it. The Darkness contained in the memory was but a fragment of what it'd eventually grown to become this...man...the man that killed her master....

Anger surged through her body, sending her mind reeling toward the darkness. At the moment, she didn't care, she wouldn't rest until the dark lord had met his end on her saber, until his head serve as a ornament on the front of the Alternaught.

As the climatic steps of the iron machines made inched closer, it was time to do something. "Get the hell up! we're being attacked. Realizing there was slight disorientation with Jacob having hit his head; The Green beauty moved toward the back of the ship and construct a massive Force Barrier, initially the barrier was to block the bombardment.

But for a second, just a second The New Guardian lost control over her darkness. Throwing her hands forward a powerful and deadly explosion of the force shot toward the walking death vehicles. Destroying it on impact. "Center...yourself" she spoke in tandem with her deceased master. A woman that clearly never gave up on her even in death. "Get your asses in gear!!!"

@cestus@rive_drakeis@_alistar_

It had been two weeks since Vinicus Corvo, along with his lifelong friend @zeon_liafador, had pledged their sabers to the cause of the enigmatic Dark Lord Cestus. From the moment that he had been abandoned by his first master, Ransolm Lothal, Vinicius had been on a globe-trotting journey in search of purpose. During this journey, he had become one of the most infamous assassins in the European crime world, to the point that his twin red lightabers had come symbolize death itself. Once he had grown tired with the life of petty crime, the Shadow of Lothal had found a temporary home in the catacombs under Jerusalem, joining the League of Shadows in their struggle against the false league.

But the moment, that Vinicius bent his knee and bowed his head to Cestus, he knew that this was his true purpose in life. The man in the obsidian mask would surely show him the way.

The awe-inspiring experience of jumping through the confines of space was jarring to the men who had never been off-planet. The instantaneous interaction of human body with minuscule, yet myriad, atmospheric and gravitational differences cursed the young Aggressor, along with many of the armed mercenaries that Cestus had conracted on Earth, with a temporary bout of vertigo.

Sinking his hand into the cool sand of the foreign planet, the Sicilan Psychopath forced himself up, composing himself with all the discipline of a veteran soldier before giving his full attention to the Dark Lord that brought him here.

"Begin the search for ancient Drakonid temples built during their failed colonization of this planet"

Vinicius had learned to trust in his new Master, already having keenly observed the fruits of his leadership. Together, the trio had acquired powerful allies in the conquest of Iceland, and procured Earthly sorcery too amplify their connection to the esoteric energies of the universe. By his side, or perhaps in his shadow, the Mad Dog of the Aggressors felt truly powerful.

"As you wish, master. I will report anything I find promptly."

Without a moment's hesitation, the Darkforce Warrior ran off into the desert as the sun's ray peaked out beyond the horizon, apathetic to the whereabouts of the soldiers who were to follow him. Although, the land was rippling with a dark energy left over from thousands of years ago, the Dark Apprentice knew that he'd soon find what he was looking for.

"What was that?"

The lone voice rang out through the halls of the Osprey as the space shuttle shook, sending tools flying everywhere. A loud roar met the question, echoing through the durasteel frame of the ship. The toilet flushed, and then, emerging from the bathroom, Caetus Wynn strode into the cockpit of his ship, eyes narrowed at the furry companion that he rode with. "What'd you do?" He questioned, zipping up the fly to his navy blue pants and pulling up his chair.

Thrakk roared again, pointing to the ship's navigational systems- which, at the moment, was spouting out coordinates from over seventy different space stations. Caetus' brow furrowed, and he banged a fist against the screen. "Dammit, it's jammed. Gotta go back to fix the operating sys-"

The Gunslinger was interrupted, however, as Thrakk's roar now grew frantic- a furry finger smushed against the reinforced glass to the windshield. Caetus looked outside, and saw the cause of the scrambling. Giant, metallic walkers, stomping across the plains, blasters firing down on people below. "Oh, no." The smuggler murmured, frozen for a moment. "Oh, no no no no no..." Turning around, he looked at the heaps of Dorvanish Spice, the illegal drug that they had come to Ariosto to collect, before turning back to the walkers.

"We gotta get out of here. If they catch us..." He shuddered, recalling the stories of what would happen to someone who even jaywalked in front of an Imperial officer. "Push the power into our hyperdrive, let's see if they've noticed us yet-"

As Caetus was finishing this thought, the radio system crackled to life, a pristine and otherwise quite douchey voice speaking on the other end. "Pilot of the C-Class F62 cruiser, please identify yourself, on orders of the Empire."The radio crackled off, awaiting a reply. Caetus flipped the comm station, and Thrakk moaned out of concern.

"Quiet! Put everything we've got into shields and plasma torpedoes, we're gonna be here for a while. Damned Dark Empire, probably has tractor beams from here all the way to Traxalor..." The criminal twisted a few dials, adjusting the radio station, before speaking clearly to anyone that took the time to listen. "This is Caetus Wynn, captain of the Osprey, and we just got sucked into this fight. What the hell's going on down there, over?" He called out, before turning the dials back.

"Alright, we ready to go?"

Thrakk growled in a slightly higher tone, suggesting a 'yes'.

"Good. Target the legs."

Thrakk slammed his fist down on the controls, and from the bottom of the Osprey, a brilliant blue arc of light fired, striking the joint to one of the tremendous walkers. Not enough to bring the walker down, but certainly enough to take the wind out of it's sails, as it slowed down significantly. The Osprey now passed by the walkers, narrowly zooming in between their giant hulls, only to double back around, getting ready to fire again.

"Gonna be a long day," Caetus Wynn muttered, messing with the shields. Thrakk merely grunted in agreement.

@cestus@pandorika@last_guardian@madison_maynard@vinicius_corvo

@pandorika:

The bright sun in the unblemished light blue sky warmed the Guardian’s skin as his toes sunk into the soft beach sand. "How...did I get here?" he asked himself, images of a stars, a foreign planet, and a dark presence still fresh in his mind.

Just then, a familiar, yet distinct, voice commanded his attention. “Rika..” He looked at her, and couldn't believe his eyes. His padawan stood before him but she was...different; taller, older, her voice slightly deeper, her words devoid of the misplaced cockiness of youth, replaced by a soft wisdom that emanated from her like a comforting light. Future Pandorika's words reached into his soul and caressed his being. In this time of temporary defeat, they were..perfect.

He attempted to call out to her but his mouth seemed wired shut. Instead, he only smiled, teleathically sending one message that he had no idea if she ould ever recieve. "Thank you."

@madison_maynard: @caetus_:

BOOM

Laser fire crashed against the exterior of the downed ship repeatedly, making the Alternaught shake violently.

"Center...yourself!"Another familiar voice cried out. "Madison."

"Get your asses in gear!!!"

His eyes shot open, and just as quickly, the Paragon of Los Angeles was on his own two feet, ignoring the piercing high-pitched ringing that invaded his inner-ear. As the numbness wore off, he soon felt the pain on his face that seemed to come from his shattered nose. He could taste the blood on his lips. The entire scene shook violently, signaling the first of many obstacles that would have to fall that morning.

Running to the back of the Alternaught, he looked out at the gigantic monstrosities slowly lumbering towards the group. Their weapons were clearly enormously powerfully but their heads moved much too slowly to lock onto all of them at once.

“We run to them.” Jacob vocalized, looking back to his fellow Guardians. "I've got no idea what those are but I do think our best shot is up close. We’re sitting ducks from a distance. Run in a zig zag formation and we’ll figure out how to take them down once we’re close enough."

Without further instruction, the Galactic Knight pulled out his blue lightsaber, the heavier and stronger of his two weapons which he would use to deflect and stray blaster fire. He sprinted off towards the stilted beasts, followed close behind by the little green Guardian, Gravatv. The duo swerved through the sand while steadily advancing. Bolts of laser and plasma shot wildly all around them,each kicking up clumps of wet sand but missing them entirely.

The Guardian's mind worked at lightspeed, struggling to come up with a plan amidst the chaos until....

"This is Caetus Wynn, captain of the Osprey, and we just got sucked into this fight. What the hell's going on down there, over?"

Jaacob’s WAL Ring came alive with a voice he had never heard before. Glancing towards the Ariostan sky, he noticed the ship that seemed to be floating around aimlessly. The ring must have picked up its signal.

“Caetus...uh. You don’t know us but we’re--- "

BOOM

"--Guardians. We’re uh--"

BOOM

"--in a bit of a pickle here. Trying to take down these--"

BOOM

"--things. Hope you're not Empire cause we could really use some help right about now."

The ship’s prompt attack and the walker's reaction to it, gave the Lightforce Soldier the plan of attack he needed.

“Guys, target the legs. When they lift a foot to take a step, try and Force push it with everything--"

BOOM

“--you’ve got. Caetus, if you time your hits with our pushes we can get these things down in no time."

Quickly, the Guardian put his plan into action, sending a blast of telekinetic energy at the metallic beast's legs as it lumbered forward. A shot from the Osprey followed causing the Walker to lean to one side before slowly falling onto the beach in a reverberating crash that almost made Jacob and Gravatav lose their balance.

“Let’s get it done, Guardians!”

@caetus_: @last_guardian:

"I've got a better idea" Madison groaned, dashing out towards the walking destroyers, The New Guardian followed Master Grayson's instructions to a tee, the emerald tinted queen zig zag through the terrain. Overhead, she could hear it, the loud vessel flying above them. "We need to distract those damn things!" She screamed, before plummeting to the ground; and just in time as one of the powerful blast screamed right over her head. It's impact force her body airborne depositing the Queen into a tumbling stop just a few yards off. "This...is pissing me off..." She grunted before noticing one of the destroyers had a positive lock on her. "Bistobe!" She cursed in her native tongue before throwing both her hands up constructing a Force Barrier to deflect a potentially fatal shot. Back on her feet, her piston like legs propel her the rest of the distance, arriving at the base of the destroyer; she timed her jump just right and jammed her sword into the metal shielding. It's flat surface would prove to be a difficulty, but it wasn't going to stop the battle hardened queen. Jumping from her hanging position, propelling herself higher, she force pulled her sword so she could jam it again. "Just a little further..." She grunted whilst free hanging from her sword. Propelling herself again, Madison landed squarely on top of the destroyer. "There's no hatch."

"Shatterpoints, they can break the unbreakable"

Madison's voice boomed loudly in her head, how useful that woman would be if she were still around. Channeling the force around her, she saw them. The weaknesses in the shielding. To her they appeared as small dots all converging on a central point--the main shatter point. Striking fiercely the Ninjan berated the shielding with her fist, back by her own natural alien strength. Within moments the hatched bust open, revealing it's scared occupants. "You're worst than Earthlings!" She screamed, pulling one with them force.

As she clutched the man, her previous anger with learning her master's murderer allowed her powers to slip toward the Darkside, that's when it happened again.

The vision it returned. Before her stood the Aggressors; everyone around her lay dead. As the rain beat down on her head, The Grey Guardian was forced to make a choice. No more playing neutral, she was to either live with the Aggressors, or Die as a Guardian.

Snapping back to she learned, that in her lapse she'd inadvertently killed the the man. "Shit..." Was the allure of the dark force that strong. This is what Madison warned her about centuries ago.

There must be both dark and light. I will do what I must to keep the balance, as the balance is what holds all life. There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish. There is passion, yet peace; serenity, yet emotion; chaos, yet order. I am a wielder of the flame; a champion of balance. I am a guardian of life. I am a Gray Guardian. It is your job to maintain that balance. Don't be afraid of the Light, Know that Darkness is a necessity; but be wary of the Allure of the Dark-Force.

"Grayson, I am in one of the destroyers. The one furthest left." I will assist you from here" She said trying to to learn the controls. Learning the controls, she turned the turret toward the leg of the next destroyer. "Burn b!tch" She curse, firing the weapon. On impact the destroyer folded before plowing into the ground.

@vinicius_corvo: @caetus_: @gravatav@last_guardian: @madison_maynard:

While Vinicius vanished in search of the Drakonid temples of old, those buried beneath the planet's sand, the Mad King held a psychic link with his apprentice, and cast his gaze his soldiers' way. And his command was as clear as it was wordless; follow him. They were to trail after him, to follow his apprentice's orders, to respect his authority. Armored by plates of spotless ivory and armed with energy-directed weapons, Cestus' soldiers hurried after the Darkforce Warrior. And in that moment, the Mad King's senses came alive, welcoming a wave of familiarity from afar... Guardians. Knights and priests of falsehood. Their promises, their 'Lightforce'... nothing more than a comfortable lie used to replace a cruel truth. But the truth was the truth, even if nobody believed it. And Cestus was it's avatar.

The prophet of the truth. And the Guardians were a disease. Deniers of every sentient being's inherent flaws, of every being's emotions, good and bad, love and hate. Theirs was not a philosophy of compassion. Theirs was a philosophy of denial. Denial of the inner darkness, of the negative qualities that all share. Theirs was not a sane view of the world. They were a virus. And Cestus, the Mad King, the Prophet of the Truth, had returned to clean the virus out of the circuitry. The sun gazed upon him, it's rays beaming down on him before he darted forward till the sizzling echoes of the desert gave way to the roars of blasters and explosions. He'd warped the fabric of space once more and his boots no longer crushed the dry desert sands but the white sands of a beach. And in the distance, he felt them, the Guardians. His blood boiled. And his fist trembled with over seven hundred years of indignation.

He strode forward, his cape fluttered in the salty air behind him, and his every pore spilled out the Force. His power hung in the air, thickening the atmosphere till it felt soupy and choked those too weak to resist. For every stride, grains of sand shook and trembled across the coast, as though the beach itself lumbered beneath his boots. His presence spread through the air, blanketing the beach with a quality that sent cold drops of sweat trickling down spines, a power rivaled by few in Aggressor and Guardian history. But here and now, his hatred for the Guardian Order, for all it stood for was far too great. Behind him, the water parted, clearing a path for the invisible stream of Force energy that trailed behind him.

Bolts of plasma and lasers were bent and warped around him, seized from the air and forced to dissipate as he inched closer and his lightsaber's metal hilt clung to his grip. His gloved fingers coiled tight round it, and it's blade of glowing crimson came alive with a lumbering hum and plasma surge. Meters ahead, the Guardians and more did battle with the Empire's Walkers. Cestus' hand balled up into a fist, and commanded the Force to seize as many palm trees as possible. He held them in a telekinetic grip, lifted them in the air before flinging them forward, accelerating each tree to such velocities that they were scorched and turned into plasma. It was a storm, a torrent of blitzing plasma that sought to scorch every Walker and even Guardian in sight.

At the heart of the battlefield, the Mad King appeared, and his voice echoed with the authority of an ancient figure of Aggressor legend. "Your battle is with me, Guardians".

Within the ship a bandaged Rive lay on a steel slab hovering ahead of two Ariostan guards that stood vigilantly over his dying body, sustained only by the medical abilities of his apprentices' warrior race and his own will of the Darkforce. Each exhale made his eyes feel heavier, but every inhale brought them back to life. His hatred for the guardians kept him awake. He didn't know why he came to this place, why it drew him in like a lure. He only knew that it gave him hope. Hope that one day very soon...

He would pull the still beating heart from the corpse of the one named, Jacob...Grayson.

Meanwhile, outside the ship, two figures materialize, as though the tree line and mist surrounding it birthed them itself.

A woman, tall and slender. Her movement was so fluid it was questionable beneath her long crimson dress whether she was touching the ground at all. At her side, a large, yellowish green mountain of a man. Both were easily distinguishable as Drakonids.

But of a variety not seen in nearly a millenia.

He says like a pouting child who couldn't have what he desired, as they approach Duhamat's Keep.

Entering the keep the man extends his hands, stopping the beams of the Ariostan soldiers and shoving them backwards into their weilders. Death came swiftly. The woman hadn't even broken her stride as she comes upon the one she was searching for, the one she called to...the last Drakeis.

She places a cold, dry hand on his horned forehead, "My first firstborn child...How I have missed you." She lean down and kisses his nose. Confused, Rive jerks his head away, the oxygen mask falling from it's centering, "Who...are you?"

"Shhh...rest...sleep." She waves her talons across his face and like that, he settled into a deep rest. "The answers are coming."

Lifting her arms in the air, the woman reaches out to the energy of the temple. The light that illuminated it, the power that charged it's very core. All the enrgy poured into her like a conduit, as she swirled her will into being above his near corpse. "The Ulurans...damaged you, limited, you. They tainted your blood, and in doing so, sealed your true power. This is why you lost your half...you were never truly whole to begin." She reaches through the cloud of emerald mist, into his mind. No, deeper. Into his soul.

@rive_drakeis: @pandorika: @alpha_wolf:

The Dark Prince, Alistar and one Royal Guard Soldier were nearing the Guardian Apprentice known as Pandorika, and Alistar could feel it. Her presence grew more distinct with each step he took, as if the environment that clouded his physical sight had become more and more transparent, because of the Force. As the Dark Apprentice grew nearer to his Lightforce counterpart a smirk came across his face from behind his mask, the thought of capturing the unusual Guardian was pleasing. To actually have a Guardian captured and in his control, after all that had recently happened would be fantastic, and the fact that he understood nothing about her as a species was a little extra. Alistar couldn’t lie ever since the two had engaged on Earth, the young Guardian had caught his interest. The things she was capable of doing in their duel intriguing to say the least.

Like a mental warning sign, the Dark Prince was alerted through the Force of someone else in proximity to the Guardian Apprentice, a familiar user of the Force, but one that he hadn’t seen in quite some time. Without even a second thought, the young Aggressor, tapped into the Force and left his Soldier Companion behind. He did not want to lose Guardian, now fugitive, not when she was just in arm’s reach.

Once again, he felt it, the Guardian Apprentice’s aura, only this time, it was drifting farther and farther away from him. As if the Apprentices had brushed one another’s fingers, but he couldn’t grab a hold of her hand. Alistar deactivated his Force Speed, and slid to a firm stop as he finally reached the area in which she was rescued.

He looked over to see a Captain of the Royal Elite laying on their back with a burn through their armor’s abdominal area, from a lightsaber no doubt. The Ariostan Prince walked over beside her, as he got closer, he had figured out exactly who it was Captain Carrick, one of his most trusted Ariostan Guards. She had failed him.

In the blink of an eye, his lightsaber flew straight to his right hand, where it was met with a death grip and a trembling hand. Anger was beginning to seep into Alistar’s newfound tranquility. The Royal Soldier, that had accompanied Alistar from Master Drakeis to the position of the Guardian, had finally caught up, so out of breath, he was having to lean on a nearby tree, just to keep from falling to the ground.

As soon as he caught enough of his breath to speak, he wandered over to his Prince.

“Sir, I was just informed that our Walker Fleet has just been defeated.”

“Guardians?”

“We’re not sure, sir.”

Alistar’s lightsaber was shaking so much from his hand, that he began to grip it with both hands in hopes to not draw attention to it. The Dark Prince could feel it, just as he had felt it in his study, and how he had felt it so many times before, his emotions would soon dictate what he would do, rather than his mind.

“We shall return to Master Drakeis immediately, tell your men, I want a medical update of him as soon as possible.”

“Yes sir.”

“As for the Walkers, send out 3 scout teams of 5 men each, I want to know what exactly attacked us.”

“Sir…”

“What is it?” Alistar turned towards the Royal Soldier thinking his lightsaber had finally drawn so much attention that his men could no longer stand by and continue to watch it.

“The Squadron we left with Master Drakeis, their vitals show that they are dead…I’m sorry, Sir.”

With a flash, the Ariostan Agressor’s crossguard lightsaber activated. Had the same group that had saved the Guardian Apprentice also slayed Rive’s Protectors? “How could I have been so foolish…?” Alistar faced the Royal Soldier with his lightsaber an inch away from the soldier’s helmet. “And Master Drakeis?”

“I’m not sure…” Negative emotions of Anger. Self-Doubt. Self-Hatred. Seemed to have fully taken control of Alistar, the serum that had given him a “brief” peace, had been overpowered by his reaction to the things that had taken place.

The Dark Prince raised his lightsaber in the air, while the soldier accepted his fate, knowing anything else was futile.

Just as he was about to swing down towards the Royal Soldier to end his life, Alistar pivoted around taking a medium sized tree in one killing blow. The Ariostan Prince had briefly taken control of himself, to not allow another Ariostan life to be taken by his hand. The Dark Apprentice was still visually angry, his posture and heavy breathing showed that he was not happy at all with the recent events.

“Sir?” The calm and familiar voice of Captain Carrick, had eased Alistar back into reality.

“You will take these men,” he said, pointing towards what was left of the squadron that had been tracking the Guardian Apprentice, “to Master Drakeis’ position, I want an immediate situation report as soon as you arrived to the location. If you fail me, you will have wished that today I would have taken your head.” The squadron rushed off in hopes that Master Drakeis was okay, and that their Prince would be satisfied with their completion of his orders.

“As for you, Carrick. You will accompany me, it’s about time we ended your brother’s pointless rebellion, he’s been a stain on my legacy for far too long.”

@_alistar_:

Carrick forced herself to her feet despite the obvious pain from the more than obvious injury. Her elite squad had been cut to pieces and her own body damaged by the hand of her own brother. She'd spent the better part of the last ten minutes growing increasingly furious with him. She'd also been analyzing what had happened before he arrived. She put one arm over her stomach and walked over to one of the dead soldiers. She wasn't ignoring her superior, she was verifying a sinking suspicion. Can it possibly be? She knelt down at the corpse of one of the troopers, still not saying anything to Alistar and pulled the fallen soldier onto his back.

Oh no. She ran her gloved fingers over the wound. It wasn't cut cleanly, it was decayed, aged to the point of death. Her breath stopped along with her heart for a moment and then her stomach fell into a pit of despair as anger grew to nearly unchecked levels. Her left hand tightened into a fist so tightly it shook, almost mirroring her superior's actions a few moments ago. He coverts with those blasphemous monsters?! I'll...I'll...I'll kill him!!! She closed her eyes, fighting back a flood of horrific memories from a classified incident five years prior, before her brother had become a traitor.

"Sir." She said at last and forced herself to stand once more, turning to face Alistar with a trace of fear in her voice, but force senses would indicate her fear, mixed with hatred bordering on the excessive, was not a result of the man standing before her. "These men were killed by a monster. If my brother is cavorting with these...these...things...we'll need more men to go after him." She looked around at the fallen soldiers. "Possibly an army or two. I will go with you of course, without question...but you should know what you are walking into. I think she was tired, worn out from her running..." Carrick glanced around at the fallen again. "Otherwise you would have found nothing here but piles of ash. I have seen these things fight..." I've seen them take everything I cared for away from me. "My Legion encountered one five years ago. One and a bunch of mercenaries. We all but routed the mercenaries until we came across it. There were three of them at the time, we managed to kill two but the third..." She shivered. "It's not natural."

@cestus: @madison_maynard:@caetus_:

"Grayson, I am in one of the destroyers. The one furthest left. I will assist you from here"

“Good stuff, Maddie." the Guardian replied as he dodged yet another plasma bolt. Four downed Walkers littered the beach, but now, the crewmen of each war machine poured out, their blaster fire adding to the lethal litany of laser blasts directed at Jacob and Gravatav.

Had it not been for the intense sense of dread that suddenly invaded their beings, the Guardians would have been absolutely immolated by Cestus’ sudden and lightspeed attack. Scorching plasma crashed against the telekinetic shield that the duo hastily erected, and although the Force Barrier protected against the heat of the attack, the immense power was still great enough to send both Guardians careening backwards into the damp sand.

The unexpected offensive also brought down two of the remaining walkers, leaving just three standing, along with the fourth which had fallen under Madison’s control.

"Your battle is with me, Guardians"

"I’ve got no issue with that," Jacob quickly responded, a smirk masking the self-doubt that now made itself manifest in the Paragon of Los Angeles' soul. “Madison, Caetus, please take care of the rest of the walkers. We’ll handle tall, dark, and handsome."

Despite the lingering sense of dread, the Lightforce Warrior soldiered on, utilizing his Force Speed in an attempt to quickly traverse the gulf between himself and his opponent, looking to meet the imposing Darksider head-on.

Although Gravatav also sprinted forth, he did so much more methodically, approaching the armored knight from the right side. Once at a desired distance, the Emerald Warrior sent out a wave of telekinetic energy, hoping to keep Cestus locked in place in a bid to deny him an opportunity to counter the surging Jacob Grayson. The younger Guardian would then attempt to assault the immobilized Aggressor with an emphatic lightsaber swing to his neck area from the left side. Together, the dynamic duo hoped to make quick work of the imposing threat.

@rive_drakeis:

“Emperor Rive”

Lord Lothal watched the ritual with unabated interest. Upon their first meeting, the Destroyer of Worlds had formed an unbreakable telepathic link with young Rive. Nothing the demonic apprentice would ever do would be outside the master’s purview.

As much as the old Drakonid crone thought that she was undertaking a brave and treacherous rebellion, she was merely acting like a tool. This meeting had been orchestrated by Lothal’s laborious deeds in the shadows from day one.

It was all coming together so perfectly.

10 Years Ago - The First Aggressor Temple, Drak.

Ransolm Lothal, the fallen Torchbearer sprinted through the labyrinthine halls of the first Aggressor Temple. All around him, the walls came alive with spectral vines of Darkforce energy that eagerly sought to halt his unparalleled progress through the vaunted Trial of Thirteen.

Turning a corner, Lothal came face to face with a Darkforce wraith, an ancient Aggressor soul bonded to the temple upon death. This was the thirteenth such encounter, and it would be the last battle in a grueling gauntlet that no Aggressor had ever completed.

"Yoooooouuu willlll neveeeeer paaasssss," the apparition hissed, its limbs twisting and stretching, its arms becoming sharp-bladed swords of pure shadow.

The battle raged for hours, days, weeks, one could never know in a place like this where darkness and despair shrouded every dimension. When the final blow was struck, the Wraith lied on the floor, writhing in pain, eaten alive by its own failure.

He had done it; the Dark Lord had defeated thirteen of the greatest warriors that the Aggressors had ever known. Now, he awaited his prize.

Ponderous footsteps shook the hallways as the Bringer of Death approached the prideful Dark Acolyte. The moment the specter stepped out the shadows, Lothal knew exactly who he was now dealing with; Duhamat Drakeis the first and most powerful Aggressor. The very sight of the Drakonid Patriarch impelled the demented Darksider to fall to his knees, ignoring the fact that every one of his joints was crying out in agony after the march.

"RISE, RANSOLM LOTHAL. YOU HAVE PROVEN YOUR WORTH," the voice boomed, shaking the future emperor to his very core.

"I have passed your test, Lord Duhamat. Now, I am to become the Black Dragon, the Bringer of Eternal Darkness."

"YOU ARE TANARIAN, ARE YOU NOT? I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST CONQUERED YOUR BACKWATER PLANET. THEY WERE ONLY A FEW THOUSAND, YET THEY STILL GAVE US ONE OF THE TOUGHEST BATTLES OF THE CAMAPAIGN. YOUR PEOPLE ARE STRONG, LOTHAL, BUT YOU ARE NO DRAGON."

"Yet, here I stand, where none before have ever ventured!" All pretense of reverence was gone in Lothal's voice as he demanded the title that, in his mind, he had earned."

"QUITE IMPRESSIVE. THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE EARNED AN HONORED ROLE IN WHAT'S TO COME. RANSOLM LOTHAL, I NAME THEE HARBINGER, MESSENGER, HERALD. YOU ARE THE FALSE DRAGON THAT PREPARES THE WAY FOR THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN FORESEEN. I NAME YOU...THE RED DRAGON."

Lothal wanted to scream, he wanted to lash out, to plead, but instead he remained compliant. He had long ago chosen the Darkness and now the Darkness had chosen his role. "How shall I go about this?"

"COME. I WILL SHOW YOU."

A heavy hidden door slid open, revealing a room whose walls were covered in ancient runes and vivid scenes, painted in a style that hadn't been seen in thousands of years. There, Lothal dwelled in darkness, time again becoming irrelevant as he immersed himself in ancient Drakonid prophesies.

When the Red Dragon finally left the temple, he did so with the legendary Ukutama darksaber in hand and a clear purpose in mind. He would travel to Ulura and begin the search for the one who would one day become the Black Dragon.

@pandorika: @_alistar_@captain_carrick

Beskin Bay

The stone huts dotting the eastern coast of Ariosto's western continent were traditionally considered to be the homes of peasants and orphans who could afford no better. Devoid of basic amenities such as running water and electricity, these hovels seemed like a strange place for the Brotherhood of the Wolf to have congregated after their brief battle in the Radiant Forest. Nevertheless, the proud Brothers of the rebellion held their heads up high as each entered their respective hut.

Jordyn Carrick, the Alpha Wolf, was among these brothers and behind him followed the wayward Guardian, Pandorika. Many in the company had protested against allowing her to come here unshackled and without sedation, citing the palpable inner darkness that seemed to radiate off of her, but Jordyn had quickly put that debate to rest.

The interior of the hut that the rebel leader entered was just as unimpressive as the exterior but the humble dwelling hid something far more valuable. The brave commander removed his helm and uttered a series of numbers. A hatch opened in the center of the stone floor, the small hut immediately coming alive in a metallic symphony.

Choosing to ignore the ladder that safely led down to the massive tunnel, the Alpha Wolf simply jumped down, his boots hitting the cement floor with a tinny thud. A web of tunnels stretched for miles on all sides. It was a world of its own, complete with simulated sunlight that seeped in through artificial windows on the west wall. He looked back to make sure that Pandorika was still with him before venturing an explanation. "Pandorika, welcome to Omega Base One. To most of the Brotherhood this is home."

Small droids whirred around the newcomers, scanning each for tracking chips before allowing them to enter the great atrium. Soldiers and civilians alike seemed to shy away from the orange-skinned alien, having already heard of her peculiar abilities.

"I'm sorry about that. In time, they will come to accept you as one of their own. For now, let's get you situated. You must be hungry. We have some of the best cooks in the whole realm here on Omega Base One, like Marris over there," he smiled, waving to a heavyset man that was dripping in grease as he labored behind a grill. "He used to be the head chef of House Weldon until they decided to bend their knees to Prince Alistar. When he refused to do the same, they murdered his wife and his four children. We were fortunate enough to storm the castle when we did, or another great man would've been lost that day."

His countenance turned dark for a moment as he looked back to the young hybrid. After about a minute of focused introspection he curtly commanded, “Follow me.”

“Sir," Ulick Trench, the Beta Wolf interrupted as he stepped in front of the pair."That is inadvisable. The inner sanctum is reserved only to Brotherhood High Command.”

“Okay, new rule." Jordyn raised his voice for all in the surrounding area to hear. “The inner sanctum is now open to all.” He took a step toward the apprehensive Beta Wolf and put a hand on his shoulder. “Truth should be shared, not hidden.”

“Very well, sir,” Ulick conceded before stepping aside.

As the Alpha Wolf made his way into the small room, followed by Pandorika, so to did a sea of eager listeners, all entering the Inner Sanctum for the very first time. The room was fairly nondescript except for the large parchment hanging on the wall. It’s edges were wrinkled and grayed by time but its words, written in Lastic, the ancient Ariostan language, still shone in proud crimson.

The Alpha Wolf began to read the revered text, careful to enunciate each word so that all in the room would understand.

"The horned warriors will come with engines of war and swords of light, yet we will prevail.

The gaze of a single eye will fall onto the land, turning the heavens red and breaking our brothers to the East, yet we will persevere.

The eye becomes a moon, the years fade into obscurity, yet we will remain vigilant.

When the horned warriors return they will set their eye on us once more, and...."

The prophetic poem was incomplete, its last words having faded long ago. For years, Brotherhood scholars had debated on what the last line was meant to say. When one such scholar had set about to decipher the mystery using technological means of reconstruction, he quickly came across the unsettling truth. "Ariosto will burn,"the prophecy ended. But these days, that was all but forgotten, replaced with something a lot more optimistic.

“The Brotherhood shall prevail!”

The congregated Brothers cried out in unison. It had become a rallying cry to the millions of Ariostans who still opposed Alistar’s alliance with the new Drakonid Empire.

“The Brotherhood Shall Prevail,” Jordyn repeated stoically before turning back to his foreign ward. “Pandorika, I sense the Current flowing through you. You are a conduit of great power and could be an asset to this rebellion. Will you join our fight?” the rebel knight asked, his voice barely audible amidst the revelry of his enthralled brothers.

@alpha_wolf:

Pandorika was still very tired, she listened intently and followed and offered only a nod when he apologized for everyone behaving strangely around her. She was used to it. Before she'd come to Earth her very presence would cause people to panic or kneel before her as if she were an avenging goddess. The truth was, Pandorika didn't like that sort of treatment, she never associated well with her inner Time Siphon.

"Actually I don't really need food all that often, if at all, if you need to keep it for members of your group instead it will be ok." She assured him gently. It was true, she tended to eat because she wanted to feel less like a Time Siphon...but her metabolism worked both ways, a truth she tried to avoid sometimes.

Once inside the inner sanctum she listened respectfully but couldn't help herself at the end. She crossed the distance between herself and the scroll and shifted to her temporal vision. The vision allowed her to see the words as if the scroll had been written yesterday, revealing to her all the words in their un-faded glory. She frowned briefly when she reached the end and bit her lip, deciding it was best left unsaid. She shifted and turned her attention to her host and savior as he asked if she would join them.

Time can be re-written. She shifted back to her ordinary vision. "Of course I will." She said with a smile. "You have saved me from a life of captivity and I have more often than not been on the other side of these wars." I have seen rebellions against my people, I've seen what happens to those who resist...these are nice people, good people...I don't want to see it happen to them. "My master will soon come for me and when he does, we can all fight against the Tyrant of Wrinkles together. Until they, I'll be at your side." Though they seemed like the words of a petulant teenager, calling Lord Lothal the Tyrant of Wrinkles, they were carefully chosen to show her absolute lack of respect for Lord Lothal and his minions.

@rive_drakeis: @cestus: @_alistar_:

Sweat dripped from his brow and made its way down his half-shrouded face. The Apex Aggressor had run all morning through the desert of Ariosto, his men following close behind on their speeders. Now, here he was, here desert met forest, having found what his master had ordered him to search for.Approaching it from the West, the Sicilian Psychopath could hear the sounds of chanting emanating from inside. A dark energy permeated the structure's walls, hinting at a mighty Darkorce presence inside.

Silently, Corvo gave the order. His men immediately moved to stand at either side of the entrance, waiting to back up their leader if the need should arise. Clicking the button on his forearm, Vinicus transmitted,

“Master Cestus. It appears we’ve found what we've been searching for. How should we proceed?”

"Get your hand off of me."

Rive says, pulling his head out from under her talons.

He uses his arms to thrust his body up from the slab the guards drew him in on. His apprentice's guards, who now lay lifeless some six feet away. Compassion was not his, nor the aggressor way. But loyalty? Honor? These are the things men of all worlds measure and build themselves of. He thinks all this, then pops his ankle which felt stiff.

Then he realized, he was feeling it at all. He looked down to see the mechanical pistons that took the place of his organic limbs. The sensation was more alien than the ship he now resided in. He could hear the oiled squeak of the gears and cylinders within, but it felt no different than the clenching of a thigh muscle. The joint of his ankle was completely 360 degrees and crackled with the release of rust and marred metal, but yet it still felt like bone popping after disuse. "Who are you...and what have you done to me?"

"I made you whole. I made you a true, Aggressor. Do you feel it." She said floating effortlessly across the floor and placing her hands on the putrid green Drakonid's shoulders. He didn't speak. He merely stood there glaring at Rive with his maleficent green eyes, to which Rive stared right back. The Drakonid was the largest he'd ever seen. a third larger than him in nearly every way. But.... "Ah" he thinks to himself, "There it is." The look of resentment was for the obvious lack of force power in comparison to the Drakeis' own. A sadistic smirk curls his lips, and the tall one knows why and growls with anger.

The woman places a hand on his chest to hold the dog at bay, "Rage (Raj pronunciation) is a pure Drakonid. Unfettered by the hands of the Ulurans as you were. He was able to reach his full potential-"

"Physically, perhaps. " Rive says, hopping haphazardly off the table, feeling buoyant above the unaccustomed new appendages, catching himself on the table at his backside before rising again.

"Yes. He is not strong in the force. But he is strong in every other way that matters. As are the other two thousand Drakonid that reside on this planet's sub-surface." She hisses approaching her machination of a man, "We have been hear, for centuries. When the Eye was shut we were left behind to act as sentries. To ensure the Ariostans did not use it's power for their own gain, and eventually on Drak." She says, "I have been here for nearly two thousand and sixteen years...awaiting the arrival of the Drakeis." She says looking into his eyes, then bowing to one knee, "For my lord to return to lead us back to our true place in the galaxy."

The one called Rage stood in defiance, grunting in shock with wide eyes at her display, "Get up mother. You dishonor us. He is no king...he is a dog of a false aggressor!"

The woman's hand shoots up covered in green mist then crashes to the floor of the ship and fans out, the mighty Drakonid dragged down to his knee and fist with little to no effort on her part, "You will respect our culture, or you will be exiled."

"..." He admittedly did not expect this level of devotion, "What do you want from me woman?"

"My lord...I address you as my emperor, I would be graced by the opportunity to receive respect, as Arch Sister Gerida. I merely wish for you to lead us BACK, to what we once were...no more and no less. "

Her eyes rise above the veil of her hat to pierce with anger, "With no equals, and no superiors."

Rive's eyes dart as he stares into the ground, searching his thoughts and feelings for an answer, despite his pride in his lineage, he knew nothing of the ancient ways beyond what his master told him"I.."

Just then, the sounds of laser rifle fire begin to fill the air mere feet outside of the hangar door, an Ariostan soldier rushing in, "Lord Drakeis! Enemy soldiers are attacking, we arrived to-" He stops short, noticing the fallen bodies of his brothers as his Ariostan blood begins to boil, "What happened here sir?!"

"These men were ambushed...I pulled them inside to receive medical attention from... " He looks back at the risen duo, "Arch Sister and Royal Guard. But it was too late. Who is attacking?"

The soldier looks confused, even skeptical, but he knew his Prince trusted this man and that fact swayed him back into the issue at hand, "We've never seen them before. As they ran out of the trees they screamed...'for King Cestus' "

"False royals. They spring like weeds in the summer, do they not?" The witch asks rhetorically with spite on her tongue

"Anything else, soldier" Rive asks, hearing the Arch Sister but ignoring her words of stinging truth.

"Yes. They have an aggressor with them...and he's powerful."

"Well then-" Reaching out to the pile of ancient metal rubble in the ships side, Rive feels for the dim essence of an Aggressor crystal, and calls it forward into his hand. An ancient saber that still held power in it's hilt. "It is fortunate you have one as well. "

@cestus@vinicius_corvo@_alistar_

@cestus:

@last_guardian:

"I am the Queen of the Ninjan Empire, I will not have you play Earthling tricks with my namesake. Do Not Call me Maddie!" She hissed in irritation (Despite her name not actually being Madison). Once again manning the controls, The Grey Guardian targeted the concealed personnel on the ground attacking her allies. The walker's powerful blaster sent entire squads flying, it wasn't until she was absolutely sure they ground troops wouldn't be a problem that her attention turned toward the remaining three walkers. By now, the crew of the other machines were aware of Madison's intrusion and begin to fire on her vessel. The powerful blaster cause her emerald body to jar back and forth before finally regaining control. "Putrid beast!" She curse targeting the walker positioned to her right. Engaging the trigger, she again brought a plethora of powerful gunfire on the Imperial destroyers, causing it to crash down face first on the surface. "Just two more" She murmured, before sensing the presence of the Dark Lord Cestus. As anger swelled within her bosom, her beautiful green skin slowly began to blemish with red blotches. He killed her, he killed Old Guardian Maynard. And now hundreds of years later, he'd meet his end by her blade. The irrational hate burning through her pores lightly blinded her to the danger she was actually in, another concussive blast from the enemy shattered the outer shielding on her vessel--in short it was time to evacuate. Force jumping from her seated position to the top of the dilapidated Walker, she knew if she were going to survive then she'd have to remain in control. As the walker slowly began to dive-bomb toward the surface, the Exiled Queen surfed the dorsal side until the exact moment of impact, before force leaping into the air and landing safely on the ground.

She hated him, Cestus, almost more than she hated her twin brother. The result of her hatred towards her own flesh and blood saw him forced into a vegetative state via her powerful telepathy. But Cestus? She would detach him from his limbic system and mount him on the alternaught.

Watching from afar as the funny looking Green Frog, and Grayson engaged the mad king, Madison's own blade came hummed to life as she ran en route toward the battle. "He belongs to me!"

@madison_maynard@last_guardian@cestus

"Alright, you heard 'em." Caetus muttered to Thrakk, who grunted curiously. Caetus flicked a switch, and grabbed the joystick of the ship, turning the Osprey to narrowly dodge some incoming blaster fire from the walkers below. Glancing down at the rear view monitor, Caetus sniffed, and noticed something. The walkers, they were in formation, specifically set up for maximum efficiency. Like proper soldiers. "Let's give the kid a hand," he cracked his neck, and started to buckle in his seatbelt. Thrakk followed suit, and got ready for whatever was next, a lone grunt prompting Caetus to explain.

"Start rerouting power, T. Give everything we've got to thrusters and the dorsal cannon. Target the legs." Caetus, meanwhile, pulled up the actual firing mechanism, and the machinery began to whir to life, computers covered in dust finally being used. Stretching out the crosshair on the small navigational map, Caetus grimaced. "For the love of- I thought you said this ship was used, not half-dead." He snapped at the shaggy man beside him, who growled a response. "Two hundred credits?! Jesus, that's a good Virilyian steak, and you thought it'd be a fair price for a ship!?"

Thrakk snarled at Caetus, who proceeded to back off, wary of the larger man's anger. "We ready to fire yet?" As he asked this, Thrakk pulled down one last lever, before making an enthusiastic grunt. "Good." Aiming down the nav systems, Caetus let loose a stream of laserfire, with only some of which actually making contact against the narrow walker legs. At first, the legs only shook, capable of withstanding the blasts. But soon, the legs actually collapsed, making the walker fall to the ground before the other walkers. "Got 'em!" Caetus yelled to Thrakk, and they swerved back around, sending a stream of laser fire down at the Aggressor @cestus.

Nothing could withstand that much firepower.

Could it?

@last_guardian: @vinicius_corvo: @rive_drakeis: @madison_maynard: @caetus_:@gravatav

The air grew thicker and thicker, weighing more heavily with a quality of dread, with the Mad King's power. From behind the dark lenses of his helmet, Cestus gazed upon the Guardians, and his blood boiled at the sight of them. They were a plague. An affliction. Followers of a comfortable lie. They were poisonous. And he was the solution. Cape fluttering in the scorched air, his armor's ebony plates glistening under the sun, the Darkforce blanketing the atmosphere as he strode forward, Cestus' helmet rang, and the voice of his apprentice; Vinicius, the voice of his apprentice echoed. And with his sights set on the Guardians before him, his lightsaber humming louder with each stride, the Mad King's mind answered.

'Take back what is ours, apprentice. Show me that nothing will stand in your way when the end of the Guardian Order is nigh'. That was his command. Vinicius was to storm the structure and claim the Eye of Duhamat, to awaken it and bring it's destructive gaze upon the Guardians. It was Gravatav and a younger Guardian who stood before him. And as they came forward, so did the Mad King's counter. He'd sidestep the younger Guardian, move past him and in doing so, spin in a full circle, gathering momentum and centrifugal force to what should have been a swinging lightsaber, one whose plasma blade sought to cleave into the back of his foe's neck and slice through cleanly. And yet, Cestus did no such thing. The Lightforce had claimed him.

A telekinetic grip had rooted him to the ground. His legs wouldn't move. Gravatav. The Last Torchbearer had trapped him. Lured him into this intangible prison. He'd tricked him into thinking he'd tricked the young Guardian. And now, now Cestus would pay for it. To break free with a burst of Force energy would be simpler but taxing. Gravatav like Lord Lothal, was one of the few whose skill and power could challenge him. To overcome him, the Mad King summoned the creativity that had made him such a feared legend among Aggressor and Guardian alike. One hand held his lightsaber, and his other shook with a cruel power. And from his gloved fingertips, Force Lightning surged, burning and ionizing the air as a torrent of it sped after both Gravatav and his younger foe. He poured the Force into his attack, telekinetically seizing the Force Lightning's molecules and vibrating them.

Vibrating them till the storm of electrical energy phased into both Gravatav and the younger Guardian and set their organs ablaze and fried their nervous systems. If not, it would at least succeed in repelling their joint attack. And soon, another had emerged... Madison. He gripped his lightsaber tighter then, yet as he turned to face her, a stream of lasers rained down upon him from above. With a Force Barrier erected, the Mad King struggled, many a laser stream had seeped through, scorching his armor beyond it's ability to regenerate, searing his skin till the air smelled of cooked meat, and heating his bones till an indignant roar of agony echoed from behind the Mad King's helmet.

His hand trembling, his body crying out in pain from the swarm of heat and energy that threatened to bring him to his knees, Cestus summoned the Force and commanded it to seize the stream of laser-fire.. before telekinetically redirecting it in Madison's direction. Whether or not she'd survive wasn't immediately important. It bought him time. It offered him a moment of reprieve, a second of recuperation. "What doesn't kill me will make you wish it had", the Mad King warned. Farther away however, another was to approach. But he would be no Guardian. No, Cestus' senses told of an Aggressor.

But for now, his greatest concern was the pilot who'd rained down a barrage of lasers that had burned his armor beyond it's ability to self-repair.

@cestus: @madison_maynard: @caetus_:

Jacob’s swing was erratic, the strike of a desperate man who came into the fight expecting a loss and who's only hope at glory was to come out swinging in measured volatility. But where the Lightforce Soldier believed himself a hurricane of unpredictability, Cestus seemed to plainly disagree, easily sidestepping his advance.

The Paragon of Los Angeles felt a pang of shame as he went careening into nothing but empty air like a wild bull that had been faked-out by a skilled matador. He knew in that moment that the Dark Warrior would surely attempt to counter. The end was nigh, and all Jacob could do was close his eyes and take it.

The end never came. Instead Gravatav, the Last Torchbearer heroically held the imposing Aggressor in place, denying the Darkforce manipulator a kill-shot at his younger partner. Usually a stranger to such showmanship, Gravatav shamelessly looked towards Cestus metallic helm and smirked, understanding that one of the best ways to best an Aggressor was to pit him against the very same anger that he sought to harness.

As it usually was when dealing with Aggressors, the brief moment of victory was short lived. Soon, the emerald knight was seized by an unbridled stream of Force Lightning that somehow surge past his outer shell and into his very being. The blazing pain was intense but, still the weathered Warriors had the wherewithal to look towards his younger counterpart and notice that he, too, was gripped by the same dominant force.

Extending a small arm, Gravatav pulled the beams of electricity currently assailing Jacob towards himself. The tremendous energy input was too much to totally counter but the Diminutive Duelist was still strong enough to redirect it, and redirect he did; straight into his body. The Reptilian Guardian jerked and sizzled as the second helping of unusual Force Lightning dove into his being, tearing away at his small frame like a school of sharks devouring a rotting whale carcass in the open sea.

“No!” Jacob shouted out telepathically as he fell to one knee, his body slowly repairing itself from the unique electric onslaught he had fallen victim to.”You can’t do this. We still have a mission, we need your help, Master Gravtav!”

“Young one, ended days ago my mission did, the moment my eyes met Madison Maynard’s. Of the old times, I am. Of the new, you are. Only beginning, your journey is. But at an end, mine is.”

It was then that the jerking suddenly stopped, signaling an unceremonious end to a great Guardian's life. The sea of energy inside the Last Torchbearer's corpse reached a boiling point within its small confines until it exploded in a torrent of skin, bones, blood, and guts that shot outwards towards Jacob, Cestus, and the suddenly on-the-scene Madison.

PURE, UNABATED, ANGER suddenly high-jacked the young Guardian’s senses, quickly dulling them to drown out the sound of walkers stumbling onto the sand nearby, the aircraft flying overhead, or Madison voice. The only thing that remained was Jacob, his suit stained in red, and the man who had just murdered his teammate. The young Guardian had only known Gravatav for a short time, yet even in that time, he had come to revere him as a mentor.. Jacob wanted to scream to the heavens; to thrash wildly at the dark assassin who had so expertly claimed his compatriot's life. Nevrtheless, he collected himself, aware that if he was to honor the legacy of the Emerald Knight, he would have to do so with his emotions in check.

No warsong or cry for vengeance escaped his lips, only a monotone voice that hung in the hot, humid air between him and the Obsidian Beast. "Why is it you wear such an elaborate get up? What is it you’re hiding?"

Jacob raised his hands towards the Mad King, tendrils of telekinetic energy shooting forth from his hands. "What does a person as powerful as you have to fear?"

The tendrils crept towards their target. Had they been visible, they'd seem like an endless knot of snakes slithering menacingly about, savoring the air in preparation of their next meal..

"Are you vulnerable inside that thing? A weakling? Maybe a little old?"

If they were successful in reaching their destination, the tendrils would attempt to grip each ebony plate, pouring themselves into the small seams between those plates in an effort to tear the suit apart, piece by piece.

“Big Man in a suit of armor. Take that away, what are you?”

To engrossed to even noticed the laser attack from above or the subsequent counter to it, the Guardianhoped to have Cestus' suit in shambles by the time Madison could enter the fray, allowing her to take what could be the killing blow since the two so clearly shared history.

@caetus_: @cestus: @last_guardian:

Raging with insatiable hatred, Madison continued forward, her face slowly eclipsing with red as the images of his lightsaber piercing her master burned vividly in her green mind. As she drew closer, she saw it; she saw Grav sacrifice himself to save Grayson. "NOOOO!" She screamed, realizing another one of her friends were gone. What was it that fueled Cestus? how was he so angry? What had turned him down this path of incurable darkness. These were questions she would have to ponder, but as of now she wanted his life. As she drew close, her own security came under fire as his mastery over the force sent a wayward blast from the walkers screaming her way.

The blast again landed just before her, the earth shattering blast sent her Emerald frame soaring through the air before landing coarsely on her side. "ehn..." she moaned, something was missing. The pain of the ground was no competition to the pain surging through her wrist. "My-My hand..." she grunted, realizing she'd inadvertently cut her own wrist with her saber.

It wasn't bad, in time she could reaccelerate her cells to regain her missing hand. Rising, now her face was shifting to a more human appearance. "I can't help this way" She grunted, whilst turning over on her side. Mentally stirring the Alternaught, Madison's ship stormed overhead toward her downed frame, force jumping from the ground to the open cargo bay. She moved toward the controls unable to manually man them.

"I let you live once princess!" She hissed, mentally triggering the ship's thanix cannons, the flew above both Grayson and Cestus firing mentally precise shots toward the Dark Lord. "Grayson, we are wasting time!"

@rive_drakeis: @_alistar_: @cestus:

Plasma fire caught the small strike team off guard, blanketing them in superheated bolts that looked to sear trhough their alloyed armor. Where his team moved to evade the sudden onslaught, Vinicius Corvo instead relished the challenge, reaching out with lightspeed reflexes to literally catch those plasma bolts that strayed to close in mid air, harmlessly absorbing them into his body. Each small bolt added fuel to a fire that burned inside, a fire that was soon harnessed and ejected as Force Lightning right back to the surprise attackers.

Vinicius' new master had instructed him in the art of Krasitano, a combination of electrokinesis and telekinesis that worked to literally phase lightning through protective armor in order to help it reach the target’s vital organs. Enemy soldier after enemy solider literally exploded as a result of this attack, the scene’s carnage quickly becoming something straight out of a horror film. The Sicilian Psychopath let a out a gust of laughter as he allowed his soldiers to take care of the rest of the beleaguered Ariostan squadron.

Amidst the sounds of war, Cestus' words echoed loud and clear in the the Dark Apprentice’s mind.

"Take back what is ours, apprentice. Show me that nothing will stand in your way when the end of the Guardian Order is nigh."

"Yes, master," he dutifully responded.

Strands of telekinetic energy enveloped Vinicius arms and worked themselves around his fists, creating a super-hardened layer that maximized the Darkforce Warrior's already impressive striking power.

Bang, the metallic door to the Aggressor ship rang out with each of Vinicius' punches. Soon, his knuckles began to bleed but the pain only made him stronger and the door was beginning to cave in the light of his fury.

“Come out and fight me, coward. I will have what is mine!”

@pandorika: @captain_carrick: @_alistar_:

"Of course I will. You have saved me from a life of captivity and I have more often than not been on the other side of these wars. My master will soon come for me and when he does, we can all fight against the Tyrant of Wrinkles together. Until then, I'll be at your side."

Jordyn couldn't possibly maintain his composure at the nickname that the headstrong young woman had given the insidious Lord Lothal. He laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, sister. I've heard of reports of an unknown group engaging the Royal Forces in Hansia. I will send a scout team to investigate. Perhaps, we'll have more help than I expected. For now. It's best that we rest up, and heal."

@devika:

The conversation was cut short by a noticeable commotion emanating from the south tunnel. A rowdy group of soldiers poured into the barracks bellowing with laughter and hoisting their weapons high in the air.

"Scarlet Squadron," Jordyn muttered under his breath. knew. Their fatigues adorned with the iconic red wolf insignia and a smile on their rugged faces, it was evident that the elite squadron had enjoyed yet another victory.

The Alpha Wolf walked towards them, the soldiers responding to his presence with a mixture contemptuous smirks and conspiring whispers. Many of them had been members of the Brotherhood long before Jordyn had shown up to claim the title of Alpha Wolf. Despite the success that the Brotherhood had enjoyed under his leadership, Carrick had not yet won this particular group over. He suspected it had nothing to do with his own actions and everything to do with the woman at the Squadron's helm.

He continued to walk through the group, the squadron parting before him like the red sea before eventually revealing their leader. Her shock of red hair shone in the artificial sunlight of the underworld and a smug look of effortless confidence spoke to the brashness of her character.

"Squadron Leader Devika. Another successful raid, I see. Mission report?" he inquired unamused by their showy entrance.

THOOM

Rive stares at the door with a small smirk on his tattooed face, his saber releasing with a "vish" from the hilt

"Sir, it's him!" The Ariostan soldier says with a twinge of fear in his voice as he moves from the door beside his superior officer. "What do we do sir?!"

THOOM, THOOM!

"We fight, soldier. We fight for our master" He replies, looking to the shadows, a phantom image of Lothal, standing intrigued and hidden with a sinister smirk of his own just out of view, returned by his apprentice as he flips his saber over his knuckles.

"Come out and fight me, coward! I will have what is mine!" He hears between the thunderous cracks of blows to the temple doorway.

"So you shall." Twisting his saber backhanded and extending his pointer, ring and middle finger along with his full left hand Rive reaches with the DarkForce for the door, and consciously yanks it inward with ease thanks to his enemy, then twists his arms, the heavy door twisting vertically end falling forward, then vertically once again. With a forceful push he jettisons it out the doorway at his enemy. Running behind it, pushing his body with his bionic legs, surprised at his own speed but smiling intensely with satisfaction at the results.

He catapults himself just behind the door, turning on a dime to the left and thrusting his backhanded saber at the air, hoping his target and attempted to dodge into that direction. If he hadn't he would send a force push in the opposite to break his footing and intimidate the rogue aggressor with his power.

"Holly shit are we in space" commented Aren looking out the window. "I ain't even mad this is to cool." She'd been knocked out by a silver armored tower of a person early on her way to class. She wanted to be furious but then she saw the stars and distant worlds closer then ever before. Her captor was less amused though as it kneeled before a hologram. The feint blue image one of two women one in a meditative stance and clearly in charge.

"I need you to relax" the women spoke and even though Aren would swear they were only words she instantly felt calmer then ever before. "This side of the galaxy is under the thumb of an empire you should know however that they lack ambition." Aren was about to protest but the armored captor's hand twitched and the parkour expert knew it was best to not interrupt. "Instead of treading over say your home world or making Nordok bend a knee they surrender to a feud to old to be worth a damn. The aggressors want to be superior but can't get over the past. Their enemies the guardians are more willing to compromise wanting balance. They to are naive though to complacent to see change. We the Covenant while not first to look at both sides want it to actually be the case. We desire a unified galaxy the measures to reach that I'd say are justified."

Aren yawned, she tried being a good listener and student and so on but usually it was a losing battle. "Okay so where do I come in?" She was to unfamiliar with the warnings of the force to know better and Lady Coven was to good at playing this game.

"I need you to simply make a friend with the guardians. So that later perhaps we can unite for something more then guardians and agressors." With that the hologram dissipated and the armored figure handed over silently a cylindrical device. Flicking a small button a warmth familiar like the Arizona sun washed over Aren. A crimson hued blade of plasma illuminated her features. Aren had never used a weapon in her life but despite that it felt comfortable and familiar, though a little off balance. Typically one would design their own blade but the Covenant didn't have the time for such things. As the desert hailing newcomer tried to get a feel for sword play the platinum patrol who'd dragged Aren into this adventure began landing procedures.

"I still don't get it. Why me?" She asked hoping maybe the metal monolith would speak.

"Your a force user. The late and first Lady Coven hypothesized that the reason for apprentices taken in when young was the control that could be honed in. That leaving one untrained would make for a prodigy later. I'd argue it worked given that your green in most ways but exceptional at shatterpoints." To Aren's surprise the armored figures voice was feminine. She'd be puzzled by the world she'd been thrust into if it wasn't for her child like captivation. Soon after the roar of the twin engines on the space craft were fading as the ship landed alongside the beach.

"I hate beaches" having spent countless hours running along streets and roof tops the openness of the land scape was an unwelcome one. Before she could complain further though the metallic monolith pointed towards a series of columns of smoke in the distance. Of course these guardian people had to be in a mess she thought to herself. Before she raced off to the battle zone, one where she'd soon be hit by a wave of dread Aren had to ask "what about you? Your supporting me right ms uh who are you?"

"it's Reaver and no I'm not." With that they parted Aren sprinting toward a warzone she wasn't to concerned though when she started. If one had asked her thought before the sprint she'd just mention a hope for wreckage of ruins for mobility sake. When she got there though would be another story. As for Reaver her walk was a leisurely one, but the heading was a place of legendary soldiers and the recent visitor of tangerine skin.

@rive_drakeis:

The Sicilian Psychopath's last strike connected with nothing but empty air as the door was harshly pulled from its hinges, no doubt by the very same individual that the young Aggressor had just called a coward. Vinicius had only seconds to react as the solid steel door shot back towards him in apparent revenge. Pulling out his lightsaber and activating in what seemed like a thousandth of a second, the Darkforce Warrior sliced at the metallic slab, shearing through it as if it was butter. Careful to avoid a follow up attack, the Shadow of Lothal stood his ground, only to be forcefully pushed back by a powerful telekinetic gust that sent him tumbling backwards.

The great majority of the Ariostan soldiers now taken care of, Vincius' strike team moved in to protect their leader, opening fire on the red-and-black demon. For his part, Vinicius smoothly transitioned his backwards plunge into an athletic roll which landed him back on his feet. Finally, his eyes fell on the attacker. Scanning him from head to toe, he noticed that the frightening figure is almost as much man as he is machine.

The demon's acrid words expertly struck at the Red Crow's greatest insecurity, but Vinicius did well to brush it off. "Perhaps I am poorly trained, creature. Maybe you should come teach me."

There was no insane rage in his eyes, no tightness in his face as he had during his battle with Grayson. Something has changed in the Drakeis progeny. His darkness still resided within, the boiling of his blood didn't run wild anymore. It was like his intense emotions were once bubbling lava, now flowing down a clearly cut canal to a swelling ocean of energy. He had never felt so emotionally empowered, yet physically entuned. Bolts of blue energy began to fire his way, and time slows. Inhalling the cool air he feels it transition into a ball of heat in his chest, as he expels a neon green fog.

pocketing his makeshift saber the Drakonid Emperor twists his arms in a martial formation like he were making a ball with the air, the split pieces of door flying past the false aggressor and at their source of attracting, floating like two controlled magnets centered in front of his forearms, acting as giant shields. The blasts bang with a resounding clang on the metal, scorching it but unable to penetrate. Running forward, with a thin slit between his overlapping arms to see through, Rive darts with a force push at his enemy, as the green Drakonid and the Ariostan high ranking soldier move in to attack the Cestus sect platoon. The green one, while not force sensitive, showed impressive skill with an ancient metal katana. His prowess would make him a deadly foe for even the most specially equipped aggressor.

The blaster fire dims as they begin to turn their attention from the horned harbinger, and give him the opening he awaited. Hi flings his arm back then forward, ejecting the half of the door at his Earthling enemy, putting the other at his side as he calls his saber back into his hand and flips it forward. With a flick of his wrist he sends his blade crashing down at Vinicius, using the force simultaneously to do something unheard of. He adjusted the length of his saber back and forth between random lengths with the force to not allow his enemy to acclimate to his reach while slicing through the air in a chaotic pattern of downward and side swiping thrusts in an attempt to do to this one what the other of his kind had done to him.

After Captain Carrick’s observation of her men and her advice to the Dark Prince, Alistar and her continued to head towards her brother and his intolerable rebellion. The Dark Prince had made up his mind to follow the Ariostan Traitor and the Guardian Apprentice, but he did heed to his Captain’s advice. The two of them didn’t know much about the Ariostan Rebellion, and not enough to go in alone to dismantle them once and for all. Alistar had ordered Carrick to call for a small army of soldiers, at least enough to take down a small town, but that wasn’t the only request from the Dark Apprentice.

The Dark Prince, known as Alistar made one specific request for this mission, that he be sent 2 Imperial Elite Guards. Imperial Elite Guards were the best of the best, when it came to Ariostan soldiers, trained in combat from every distance: close, mid, and far. Alistar himself trained with 2 at one time to better himself in combat. Imperial Elite Guards were also the soldiers, who were sent in to finish those who were against his right to rule, when he took the throne. It was only right that 2 of them would be there to finish off the Ariostan Rebellion once and for all.

The last request of the Prince was for the soldiers that would be accompanying them, he ordered them to stay back until he gave them the go ahead to attack the Rebellion’s home base.

The Ariostan Prince at first, was unsure to whom his focus should be. Was he supposed to face Jordyn to cut off the head of the rebellion? Or was he supposed to attack the Guardian Apprentice, in hopes to make the Aggressors closer to their goal of Guardian Extinction? He chose the latter, once again putting his trust in Captain Carrick, and hoping she wouldn’t fail him again.

As he drew nearer to Jordyn and Pandorika, he noticed another force user, one he hadn’t sensed ever before. Sensing this new foe’s aura cause Alistar to stop dead in his tracks and resulting in Captain Carrick to stop shortly after, “Could it be…?” he thought to himself.

The Dark Prince had heard rumblings of another force user in the Ariostan Rebellion, a woman. A deadly woman, one who had caused his soldiers more than just a headache, when it came to stopping the rebellions. Alistar was almost eager to finally come face to face with the Force User known as Devika, eager to see if the myth was exaggerated or if Devika was truly someone to be afraid of.

“Change of plans Captain. Notify the Imperial Elite Guards to capture the Guardian Apprentice, as soon as your men are in position tell them to bombard the settlement. I trust in you to handle your brother, do not let me down Carrick, as for Devika...she’s mine." A smile hid behind the young Aggressor’s mask as he was ready for the battle about to wage on.

@_alistar_: @alpha_wolf

War had come, as it always did. It came and it practically snuck up on them as the sound of explosions and the violent shaking of the ground announced the impending assault upon the supposedly hidden rebel base. Pandorika shifted her footing as she darted down the hallways towards the levels above, intent on confronting the army with her new allies at her side. She closed her eyes and navigated purely through Temporal Vision and The Force, a combination of powers that gave her an unrivaled picture of the battlefield. The rested Pandorika darted between soldiers as she arrived on the surface, neatly dodging shells as fire reigned from the sky. Time to cut up some shiny types. She activated her paired temporal blades and vaulted over a hill, flipping over a trench and landing in the midst of the imperial forces. Her blades flashed out around her and as she landed and assumed a defensive position, their heads fell to the ground with their corpses.

"Come on people, let's turn this assault into a route!" The eager young apprentice shouted. She channeled the force to enhance her speed and darted forward into the front lines, a whirlwind of slashing blades, The Hybrid given form. In this moment, Pandorika was flawlessly in sync with the two warring sides of her life, the time siphon animal and the guardian apprentice. The apprentice guided the animal, leashed it, allowed Pandorika to function almost perfectly. Blaster shots were deflected, men and women cut down without hesitation and if someone got too close? Sometimes they just screamed and dissolved into ash before the eyes of their fellow troopers, victims of the animal side, the time siphon side.

If no one stopped her, she'd cut through Allistar's troops like a tornado, buoyed by the arrogance of a Time Siphon and the confidence of youth. She wasn't afraid, not right now. Something kept telling her that her master would soon be at her side, ready to lead her again and that knowledge that...feeling...gave her all the confidence in the world. She leaped upon an assaulting vehicle and landed in a neat crouch, one hand on the vehicle's top. The metal cracked and began to fall apart beneath her touch, soon the entire vehicle was reduced to rusted out hulk, the people inside turned to dust by their contact with the vehicle itself through their own seats.

@rive_drakeis:

"What the fluff is that?" Commanding Officer Crosby reacted to the huge green Drakonid sprinting towards them. Bravely, the men of his small squadron, some of the best mercenaries that Earth could offer, moved to engage the pureblooded monster. Horrified, Crosby watched as the the burly sword wielder effortlessly hacked away at his platoon as it inched closer, Finally their eyes met, the horned creatures harsh demeanor sending shivers down the soldier's spine.

A normal man would've run for the hills, forgotten the contract that he signed with Cestus, and started a new life on this strange planet. But Mark Crosby was no normal man. He had fought on the front lines in Venezuela against powerful mutants and had risked his life in Central America against bloodthirsty, axe-wielding orcs. He was a warrior, through and through, just as much as Vinicius, just as much as the monster that now stared him down...

...but he wasn’t stupid, so he ran as fast as he could away from the encroaching alien.

Vinicius was taken aback by the strange green mist that emanated off of the imposing Rive Drakeis. As the metal door barreled forward, Corvo stopped it with a strong telekinetic push. For a moment, the door floated between the two Force users, caught in a tug of war of cosmic energy. Soon, the combined power caused the slab of metal to crumple until it disintegrated into a pile of dust, the unstoppable potential of the Force on full display. The Shadow of Lothal had no time to appreciate the feat because in seconds, the Demon of the Darkforce was on him, swinging with crisp precision and control.

With unmitigated tenacity, the Sicilian Psychopath brought up his saber to block the first few lunges. Corvo valiantly fought back, attacking Rive with his own flurry of strikes. Buoyed by his tremendous hubris, the forgotten apprentice failed to account for the dynamic changing length of the Demon’s saber. The Red Crow lunged in at a woefully inopportune moment, extending his left arm straight into the path of a suddenly lengthened lightsaber blade. Searing heat instantly cut through the Darkforce Disciple’s tricep, the majority of his arm falling to the floor in a smoking ruin..

“GAAAAH!” Vincius roared out in agony, while still expertly evading the rest of the attacks. “Pain is power,” he told himself internally, despite the fact that his body seemed to want to shut down from the torment coursing through his system. Bringing his lone arm up between himself and the merciless assailant, he focused no small amount of telekinetic energy into the palm of his hand, squeezing it until it was as compact as possible and begging for release. Timing this technique during one of Rive’s forward thrusts, he released the super concentrated sphere, letting it fall near the attacker’s feet.

Unable to keep its tightly packed shape without Vinicius’ guiding hand, the freed sphere acted as a sort of Telekinetic Grenade, expelling a great amount of energy violently in a deafening blast. Acting quickly, Corvo set up a defense against the onslaught of energy, erecting a solid wall of TK in front of him that absorbed the brunt of the explosion. Even the small fraction of force that remained was enough to eventually break through the shield and launch the young Aggressor backwards onto the fertile Ariostan soil.

Fearing for his own life, Officer Crosby watched as the man he had followed across miles of alien desert was catapulted away from the scene towards the wall of trees that marked the beginning of the Radiant Forest. “Sir!”the loyal military man yelled out, summoning his speeder bike with the click of a button.

Rushing to the his leader's side he noticed the missing limb and quickly mounted him up on the back of the summoned hoverbike. Unclipping a frag grenade from his belt, Crosby tossed it towards the red-and-black Drakonid as a follow up to Vinicius’ force-based attack. The seasoned veteran had seen these Force users in action and understood that one measly grenade wouldn't be enough to take one down, He only hoped that the combined attacks would allow his remaining men, Corvo, and himself time to escape into the forest.

"I have failed you, Master @Cestus," the Dark Disciple transmitted through the communication device on his wrist, fading in and out of consciousness.

@_alistar_: @alpha_wolf:@pandorika

Adrenaline surged through her veins, coursing through her with a life-affirming rush. There was nothing comparable to the rush of battle, the excitement of a mission, the thrill of a well-earned kill. She couldn’t be prouder of the Scarlet Squadron, and the work that they were doing. They were crucial to the war, to the well-being of the planet.

Everybody looked at them as glory-hounds, as showoffs, Alpha Wolf had a particular distaste for them. Could they be blamed for taking pleasure in their work? For living for the rush of the adrenaline? They got the work done, their success rate almost unparalleled. And they came back alive.

No, she’d never apologize for it. She’d never apologize for their love of a fight, she’d never apologize for her skills behind enemy lines; her skills when she wasn’t wearing her insignia. No, she wouldn’t. Devika had a long and colored history behind her. Sordid, dark, and dirty. And she wouldn’t make any apologies for it.

She had the men and women under her command, she had their trust and their loyalty. And disapproving, discerning looks meant nothing to her unless they were coming from them.

She pulled the black scarf she’d wrapped around her hair off and tossed it to the side, shaking her crimson curls free as they all walked side by side down the barracks hall. Rumbles of laughter fell upon the air as they regaled one another with shit talk. Cartemian and Androsa were going back and forth as they always did, while Andaluzza was quietly humming an old folk tune to himself.

Her lips spread in a wide, genuine grin as she tilted her head up and laughed right before gently shoving Cartemian, causing her to stumble into Androsa, who shoved her back in Devika’s direction.

Sweat sheened her skin lightly, cooling now that they had slowed their pace upon reaching the barracks, and a slight shiver went up her spine as the adrenaline began fading. She would need food, alcohol, or some other form of sustenance before the night was up.

It was then that her men and women stilled, ever so slightly. She turned her gaze forward and the smile became plastered onto her face, instead of resting their naturally. Jordyn, Jordyn, Jordyn. If ever there was one who would draw her to an early death, it was him.

Her violet gaze rested on him, and the corner of her mouth quirked up. “Carrick,” she said, addressing him with an almost painful lack of propriety. She was all for rank and camaraderie, but if he was going to be stiff, she was going to be the opposite, and that’s just the way this was going to work.

“Mission was a success. Seven scouts were tracked, located, and neutralized.” They were the kill team, after all. Scarlet wasn’t just for the color of their insignia, it was for the blood they spilled in their wake. They could form up and sweep over armies with a skill unseen before to many. But their speciality lay in the covert….they thrived in the shadows, something else she suspected set Carrick on edge.

Many of their feats were unbelievable, in the most literal sense of the word. It helped that she was a Force user, but nothing they did was outright unachievable without the abilities that flowed through her veins, abilities that she worked very hard to keep very quiet considering her past...illustrious career.

“I’ll have a full debrief for you…” She stopped mid-sentence, stumbling slightly over her words as her blood began to tingle. Her eyes sparked as her lids fell slowly over them, and she cracked her neck.

“Devika?” Alessia Cartemian’s voice was soft, with a slight cultured lilt to it. She derived from one of the great Houses of the planet, and had eschewed all lands and titles out of derision for her overbearing parents. She had instead rebelled, and joined the Wolves at the age of 17. She had become Devika’s dearest friend, and knew clearly that something was wrong.

Dev didn’t want her to know that something was wrong, but that tingle…..it disturbed her. She avoided Carrick’s determined gaze as she shook her head slightly. The hairs on her arms stood on edge as she squared her shoulders and quickly looked around the hallway and barracks.

Men and women were milling about, nothing out of the normal. She recognized every face, knew every name and rank. She may like to hotdog, but she knew her shit. There was nothing out of place, nothing to justify the warning bells going off in her head.

And then she felt it.

A great force of power, reaching out and tasting her own. Somebody’s power pushing against her own, inquisitively sensing it, in the way that only those with her abilities could do. And for somebody who had learned to hide what they could do from every sensor the way that she had? No, this was not good, not good at all.

She tilted her head up and searched Carrick’s gaze. “This is bad,” she muttered under her breath. Bad and good…….oh so good. Her blood began to sing as the love of impending battle began to surge through her, and she grinned with a fluff-em-all, devil-may-care joy. “There’s something - somebody - coming. Soon.”

@last_guardian: @cestus: @madison_maynard: @caetus_:

"Grab what you can from him" a voice called out through her mind as the parkour Phoenix traversed the forest leading to the beach. A fallen guard of some kind was before her. She didn't know the sides but he was littered with scorched holes his body twisted a bit from a fight. He was a scout she could tell probably in the trees when spotted. The superior amount of gun fire probably killed him before the branch broke and the fall began. A grappling hook in his belt and some blades were still on his person. Anything else appeared alien to her, figuring out how to use them would take to much time. Removing the man's helmet Aren was greeted by a face as young as her own.

Allowing herself a moment she did her best to lay him at a rest with arms peacefully resting over his heart and eyes closed. His helmet balanced on the breast plate. It wasn't much but at least it was something. Death was nothing new to her, to often was it plastered on tv. This was the first she'd seen up close and she didn't look forward to more. More had to come she knew though, the guardian voice over of lady Coven was for a higher purpose Aren was led to believe. Unifying the galaxy was idealistic and improbable but maybe just maybe with enough hands it could be an actual turn out. To do that however some people had to be stopped and in the distance it was clear one was close by.

Reaching for the clouds was several columns of smoke the iron behemoths could faintly be seen through the brush in their wrecked state. The roar of a ship could be heard from above, powerful weapon systems spewing massive bursts of energy downward. The numbers game though was enough for Aren to know the sides and who she was supposed to assist. Dashing forward the parkour Phoenix ran up the shell of a giant. A war machine of all terrain traversing capacity and massive damage out put was used as little more then a ramp. The world able to fall apart to become no more then a playground of traversal for Aren. Pulling the cylinder from her hip the weapon came soon to life.

With a powerful hiss a cobalt blade snapped into focus its blade making her arms feel a comforting warmth that soon came over her entire body. It was a simple but amazing sensation to Aren. She could tell the blade burned with a heat to carve through almost anything and yet it felt soothing to hold. Held in a downward fashion as opposed to a typical swords use the blade dangerously close to her own arm she leaped from the head of the metal creature of a machine.

Below her was something that was sick, the very air about him felt wrong and heavy. And a week ago she knew she probably would of ran. But the charm and confidence of the covenant had allured Aren in and given her a faith in her self and a clear mind. A guardian spoke to him a duel of fates perhaps on verge of starting but the parkour Phoenix was tired of this enemy already. Stacking odds looked to be their game and so Aren hoped to make such a case for the Guardian. Even though he had allies as well at the time it was vehicular and to the force adept novice that wasn't what was needed. Though perhaps if she had been fully aware she might think other wise.

In a downward arc her blade hissed its sapphire blade seaking out the neck of the obsidian King. However she was no swordsmen her mastery of the blade nonexistent by comparison probably. As soothing as holding the lightsaber was she knew she shouldn't trust in flanking position and her skill with the weapon. Rather it was a ruse. Aren would land, her blade likely deflected or dodged in some way. But as such an act was done her fist would thrust forward a single finger extended.

Collected into a single point was a gathering of energy the force emitting a faint light as her finger sought the mad king's spine. Small fractures short and brief in life appeared in the man's armor from what she could see. Even now several were closing as the armor self repaired. As she saw it though she also knew where to direct the force. And in a single jab she looked to use shatterpoints to demolish a large chunk of the armor particularly in the back. It was then that a second burst of energy would go off. Its intention, to shatter the spine completely and paralyze if not kill the imposing figure.

She was nobody as of yet in the grand scheme of things. Her understanding of the force novice in most ways. Left untrained and untouched by the Covenants bidding Aren had grown in a way all her own. And while perhaps inferior at first glance to anyone else on the scene she'd developed in her own way leading in a near mastery of the advanced force technique at a relatively young age.

@_alistar_: @pandorika: @devika: @alpha_wolf:

"My lady won't this conflict with what you sent Aren out to do." The armored monolith remarked as she traversed the brush. "Understood each side has a role." She didn't see the big picture of it all, the vision of Lady Coven alluded Freyja but it wasn't the Batik's First Knights job to know such things. "Target confirmed. Success is never certain but I'm confident I have this covered." Absolutes were never real, but this was what Reaver was made for. And thankfully the empire made for a massive cover.

Troops a plenty, their white armor and numbers almost making it look like snow fall at the high elevation the Covenant Knight was at. Looking down on the battle that was starting, Freyja really didn't know which side to wager on. Clearly these wolves had a ferocity and pack mentality not to be underestimated. Reaver could see it, how such a force could hinder the effort of progress put on by the empire and more important Lady Coven's vision. However sometimes all it took was the right target, the right kill and a nation could fall.

"Confirm targets" Freyja spoke over her comms as she readied her sniper rifle. She'd taken her time to place herself between camera vantage points, to hide from sensor arrays and all the potential measures that might lead to her reveal. The chrome crusader doing her best to go unseen even if focus was all on the empire. She was positive the force users wouldn't find her but technology and the siphon were another matter.

Freyja had no connection to the force. The ties broken and leaving a hollow shell of a being for the covenant to command. To the force user Freyja wasn't there, her presence hard to find for all but Lady Coven to find. And that was only because it was Coven's twisted ideals that made such a being. The breach of the force didn't change temporal lines though. It was possible the half breed would find her in another scenario. Now though the young guardian was engrossed in another battle.

Raising the scope to her eyeline the covenant monolith took aim. Her movements clean and precise moving from target to target with a level of fluidity with the guns motion rarely seen. A shot at the apprentice, then the wolf, then the apprentice again, then the redhead, then the last shot once more at the half breed. Even if these wolves lived Lady Coven didn't want one of those untame abominations on the game board. For the two force users the target was just the head, for the half breed it was two for the heart and the last for the brain pan. The shots taken only took two seconds to fire in entirety.

The rounds themselves though were another thing entirely. Using a massive amount of energy from the magazine styled battery those five bursts of plasma were sent off at a speed bordering on instantaneous. Nearing light speed the plasma shot off rarely ever missed. Moving at a pace that few eyes could follow and at a speed that usually even outclassed the force attempting to warn. Having almost no mass at the start there was no real impact on a physical level. Such energy though burned as hot as the sun if not more. Dispensed radiation like an atomic bomb. Even though the aim was usually at a vital point most targets were vaporized. The short lived energy likely to pierce almost anything before reducing the target to nothing. Odds were the empire wanted capture, but the way Reaver saw it death was the best resolution. And start a one woman war here and now if need be.

@reaver_:

Pandorika was busy in the midst of combat but she was more alert than she would have been months ago and keeping a general view of the battlefield. She never saw the person that shot at her but her temporal vision picked up on the temporal lines of plasma bursts heading her way even before the Force alerted her. She was already moving to block the first shot and just in time. Her first blade absorbed the first chest shot and she flipped her second blade around to consume the second. The head shot was more problematic and she didn't have time for a truly effective block. Instead she force pulled a fallen imperial trooper into the direct line of fire. The plasma blast struck his armor and vaporized his body. The released heat and explosive force of impact sent Pandorika flying backwards and slamming into the ground with considerable force.

She groaned and slowly forced herself to her feet, once more drawing her temporal blades and activating them. She crouched low, her eyes scanning the horizon. She could feel the burn of pure heat on the left side of her face and down the same side of her neck. Without Temporal Armor, there was no way she could absorb direct hits and she had no protection what so ever from the heat released by the blasts she'd not been able to consume with her temporal blades. She ignored the pain as best she could but it was beginning to distract her. She tried to focus, she shaking her head. She reached out with the force in an attempt to find her attacker but there was nothing there. She placed the fingertips of her left hand on the ground and focused.

Rika didn't so much shut out the force as focus more heavily on her temporal vision. Three hundred and sixty degree line of sight, it was better than the Force in many ways, at least when it came to viewing a battlefield. With pain coursing down the side of her face, it was difficult to drown out the clutter, there were thousands of temporal lines, each one unique, each one specific to its owner. It was hard enough just untangling one side from the other, let alone organic matter from inorganic matter.

Determining she needed to stay mobile Pandorika Force Jumped suddenly, launching high into the air and landing on the back of an imperial tank. She drove her blades down into the hull and spun, carving a hole in it and dropping inside. There she cut down the troopers operating it and chose to use the tank as a means of protecting herself until she could finally track down her attacker. She closed her eyes, pushing out all inorganic matter, focusing only on the organic and began the process of determining individuals and people from one side or the other.