Chapter 12: Duels of ferocity and skill
[Song suggestion: Celldweller-Jericho]
They were brought up to a row of four pillars that stood tall in the middle of the execution arena.
" Anakin? What are you doing here?" master Kenobi, himself already shackled to a pillar, asked.
" Rescuing you, of course!" answered his padawan on a semi-sarcasting tone.
" Hmph! Some rescue! Did you at least relay the message I sent?" the jedi master asked, shaking his head in disbelief at his padawan's foolishness. " Padme and Nelo too? I'm beginning to think letting you off Coruscant had been a mistake!"
The other three didn't speak another word as they were shackled to their respective pillars. The geonosian spectators cheered, expressing their eagerness to see the four humans shredded to pieces.
A couple of minutes later, Archduke Poggle the Lesser gave another one of his speeches, raising his hands in a grandiose manner. He was flanked on either side by mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett, Viceroy Nute Gunray, Count Dooku, a couple of battle droids, but no dark acolytes, much to Nelo's bewilderment.
Four metallic creaks announced the opening of the beast pens. Geonosian guards mounted on big lizards were using electrified rods to push a Nexu, a Reek, an Acklay... and a Kell Dragon - a baby one, but still large enough to look menacing.
" I assume that the most horrid of the beasts will head my way!" he told the other three. Hivaarr was situated furthest to the right, right in the path of the said Kell Dragon.
" Well... you did insult and provoke the Archduke!" Padme, who was to his left, said with a worried tone.
Nelo Hivaarr began channeling Force energy into his body. Having absorbed Inanna's lightning attack and stored the discharge, he could call on that reserve at the right time. This once, it was all about timing and coordination.
The Acklay was the first one to pounce. Obi Wan Kenobi dodged its first strikes, managing to use the beast to break his chains. He then retreated, avoiding further deadly swipes, all the while looking around for a solution.
Anakin, on his part, waited. The Reek ran headlong for the pillar, so the padawan simply jumped, landed on the beast's neck, coiled the chains around it, thus managing to free himself from the pillar.
Padme, on the other hand, having hidden a lockpick in her hair, freed herself and climbed her pillar, desperately trying to shake off the shackles and stay away from the terrifying Nexu.
Hivaarr turned around to face his enemy. The Kell Dragon ate one of the geonosian guards, but nontheless continued his approach.
" Come on, Nelo... think fast!" he berated himself. The cursed beast was related to the Tatooine based Krayt Dragon, so it meant that it was somewhat Force resistant. Also, it meant that the hide itself was tough. A lightsaber would have done the job, but he had none at his the disposal at the moment.
That got him thinking...
" This has got to be one of Inanna's tests to see if I am strong enough to really challenge her!" he thought.
Nelo Hivaarr used the Force to slowly, but carefully pick the lock of his bindings, eventually snapping them off. Proud of his work, he barely had time to register the now rampaging creature coming at him. He dashed to his right, using the Force to augment his jumping power. Just in time too, for the Kell Dragon crashed into the pillar, shattering it.
The beast hissed in frustration, lashing out with its spiky tail. The 16 year old padawan dodged this attack as well. Backing away, he tried to Force push the dragon away, but it merely delayed the beast for less than ten seconds.
A scream echoed in the arena. The Nexu dug its claws deep into Padme's back.
As a response, Nelo pulled the creature off her with the help of the Force, but could do no more, because he was faced with his own adversary. He searched his suit for any remaining weapons. He had made a habit of hiding vibroknives in a secret sheeth beneath his right chest plate. Eventually, he found one. The difficult part was actually putting the weapon to good use.
He made a huge leap with the help of the Force, landing on the creature's spikey back. He held on tight, while looking around for any weakpoints in its shell like skin. The Kell Dragon shook violently, trying to throw the annoying pest off of itself.
Nelo Hivaarr went for the neck, hoping that he would be right in his assumption. With a swift, precise movement, he dug the vibroknife deep into the exposed flesh, causing the beast to roar in pain and indignation. It then lifted itself on its two back legs, throwing the padawan off.
The landing was painful. His innate Force Protection alleviated the fall, yet the fact that the was tired took its toll; the energy reserves were proving hard to properly manage.
" I've got to find a larger, sharper blade... or something!" he told himself as he dodged the beast's tail sweeps. He caught glimpse of the arena porticulis. Twelve sharp, wide, heavy durasteel bars.
"... or something like that!" he added.
Gathering his Force energy, Nelo broke into an augmented run towards the closest of the gates. The enraged Kell Dragon was close behind him.
At the same time, Padme managed to kick the Nexu off the pillar yet again, then Anakin showed up atop the Reek beast, which killed the other predator.
" Jump!" he urged the woman he loved.
Padme took a deep breath, then plunged. She managed to land safely behind Anakin on the beast's back. Skywalker pulled the chains, urging the Reek to stampede against the incoming geonosian guards.
" Ani...!" Padme hissed, still hurting from the pain that the Nexu inflicted on her back. "...ugh! What about Nelo?" she pulled his sleeve and pointed to their right, seeing their friend running away.
" Oh, no! That baby Kell Dragon is one tough bastard! Not even if we run this Reek into it will we make any difference!" he sadly admitted. " He's on his own, for now!"
Somewhere around them, Obi Wan Kenobi was running for his life. Hands still cuffed, he wasn't able to use much of his Force power. Still, the calculated steps he took kept him alive so far. The Acklay wasn't backing down, though. After having chased him for a couple of minutes, it ran itself into a pillar, almost crushing the jedi master in the process. The latter then Force jumped backwards a couple of times, putting as much distance between them as possible.
Two mounted guards approached, bent on finishing the beast's job. Kenobi skilfully grabbed on of the electrified pikes, pushed and rotated it in a swift manner, throwing off the guard along the way.
The Acklay approached him rapidly, killing the unlucky geonosian by step-stabbing it in the chest.
Obi Wan used the pike to parry the incoming attacks while trying to score a direct hit at the mantis-like beast. Eventually, he backed away a few steps, aimed and threw the pike at it, piercing a spot between its neck and front-left leg. To his horror, after less than five seconds of confusion, anger, the Acklay managed to turn its head around, tear off the pike, before snapping it in half with its teeth.
The jedi master broke into a Force induced run, while the remaining geonosian guards pushed the beast after him. Anakin called to him, gesturing his master to hop on the Reek. He did just that.
" Thanks for the lift!"
" Now we have to somehow pull Nelo out of the frying pan!" Anakin said with a bit of uncertainty in his voice.
" Where is he? I didn't really have time to look around for you and him!?" Obi Wan asked.
"... Trying to survive his first encounter with a Kell Dragon. We should help him!' the 20 year old padawan answered, to which the other two simply nodded.
Nelo Hivaarr eventually reached the intended spot, Force pushed the guard away, then turned around to face the incoming menace. The enraged Kell Dragon could not think about anything else but the annoying prey in front of it. With a deafening roar, it lowered its head, prepared to crush the human in one assaulting move. In its bloodlust, it didn't pay attention to the cranking noises coming from above. The last thing its eyes registered was the human bringing down his hands slowly, in a peculiar way, before jumping forward as far back into the arena as possible.
The porticulis worked, much to the awe of the audience, which was left utterly speechless. The dreaded creature had been stabbed to death in multiple places across its head, neck and back areas.
As Anakin brought his beast close, Nelo joined his companions as they made their way towards the closest open gate.
Hidden in the shadows of one of the access tunnels that led to the tribunes, Inanna was impressed by her prisoner's performance. It was indeed at her insistance that her master, Count Dooku, picked the strongest of beasts to send against the four intruders. The test had been a sound succes, as it could now be seen: the four republic agents were making their escape, although, knowing the Separatist Council, it would be a futile attempt; it was.
Eight droidekas (destroyers) rolled in from the three gates, effectively surrounding the group of four.
" Let's see how you get out of this one, Nelo&co. !" she mused, watchin intently.
Suddenly, however, she felt the reveal of multiple Force signatures; all of them light sided. Were there more jedi around?
Looking up to the place where her master and the Separatist Council stood, she spotted a black man dressed in jedi robes, holding a purple lightsaber at Jango Fett's neck. She couldn't hear what was being spoken there, yet it didn't really matter. The surprise came in the form of a sea of blue and green lightsabers turned on at the same time. The geonosians screamed in fear, most of them flying away to safety as quickly as possible.
Another snap-hiss, this time behind her. A cyan blue light filled the dark corridor.
(Make sure to play the song: Celldweller-Jericho)
" Surrender, sith!" a female, red skinned nautolan commanded.
" Hmmmm...!" Inanna put her hand to her masked chin. " I think I'll pass!" she said, her eyes turning towards her prey, this time back to their bright yellow glow, as she activated her crimson lightsaber.
The Jedi Knight attacked her quickly and agilely. By the elaborate, though beautifully coordinated moves, Inanna deduced that her enemy was a skilful practicant of Ataru. Plus, the rather narrow corridor didn't seem to obstruct her too much, thanks to the nautolan race's famous flexibility.
" I like your style, missy!" the dark acolyte mocked her as she easily parried a series of blows that would have killed most duelists. She wasn't like most, though.
" Pitiful creature! Only the cruel, the greedy, the weak embrace the Dark Side! I despise you monsters!" the nautolan insulted her.
...
Something snapped inside Inanna. She gritted her teeth, as the familiar black veins around her eyes showed up again. The power of her anger, indignation, disgust washed over her like a rejuvanating lava wave, empowering her entire being.
" Peace is a lie. There is only passion.
Through passion I gain strength.
Through strenght I gain power.
Through power I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me!" she chanted aloud, each word more poisonous than the last, to the point that her entire body was being engulfed in red-black clouds.
" Wench! How dare you call me weak and pitiful!? I wanted a classical one on one duel, but no it's personal! Now it will be a fight to the death; your death!"
Inanna raised both her hands, unleashing Force lightning upon the unsuspecting Jedi Knight. The nautolan was literally shocked and it took her a lot of effort to raise her own cyan lightsaber to block the onslaught.
Again, the dark acolyte stopped the Force attack, then used Force push to slam the Jedi Knight into a far away wall. The impact was violent, but not deadly. The reason the enemy took it so bad was because of the surprising switch in Force powers; she didn't really have the time to put up any kind of barriers to alleviate the damages.
The nautolan's body hurt in a lot of places. By the pain in her backside, she feared that a few vertebrae and ribs had been broken. Touching the pulsating areas, she found out that she was right; she wished she hadn't been. The sith was more powerful than she had ever realised. She had paid dearly for underestimating this dark lady.
Inanna saw the unbelieving look in her opponent's eyes. That disbelief turned to fear, then pain, then fearful anticipation and what not. It pleased her to see that the bitch was getting accustomed to the punishment that she deserved; part of it at least.
With a confident stride, she made her way to the beaten nautolan. She lifted her victim with the Force, bringing her to eye level.
" You are beneath my contempt, Jedi Knight! Instead of a fair duel, you chose to insult me in the lowliest of ways! Why?"
The jedi gritted her teeth in pain and winced. The pain was slowly overcoming her. Still, she tried to talk back.
" Why... wouldn't I? All you... sith do is start wars, killing countless innocents this way! Galactic history is filled with your kin's dreadful acts of violence and genocide!"
" And you, who serve a corrupted Republic with a nonchalant Senate, are moral, proud, shining and noble? Don't make me laugh! YOUR precious Republic cannot weed out its own troublemakers and is ready to sacrifice entire planets, peoples to ensure the so-called peace! Coruscant is full of crime, yet you couldn't or WOULDN'T stop that! In case you didn't know, wench, the Outer Rim planets still practice slavery out in the open!" Inanna seethed, her eyes glaring daggers, the yellow colour more dangerous than ever, her aura, more menacing than ever before.
The red skinned nautolan jedi knight quirked an eyebrow at Inanna's mention of slavery. She knew that she would most certainly die here, so she tried to throw her opponent off, annoy her by all means, if only for a somewhat rightful, sadic, last satisfaction.
" Speaking from experience, sith?" she asked with a daring tone.
The strange sparks in the dark acolyte's yellow eyes were a sign of impending doom. That had been the most sensitive chord to touch. The jedi would suffer for her mistake.
Inanna flicked on her lightsaber and swiftly cut both the nautolan's arms, along with one of her head tails-things. The screams that her current prisoner let out were outright adorable, delicious. She wholly deserved it too. The wretched woman.
" I may have been a slave, but as the Sith Code goes:
" Peace is a lie. There is only passion.
Through passion I gain strength.
Through strenght I gain power.
Through power I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me!"
And it did free me from slavery! There is no room for weakness in this Universe, you worthless jedi! Do not let the fact that you still draw breath be mistaken for mercy; oh, no!"
Inanna let out a few brief, yet powerful sparks of Force lightning ravage the body of the prisoner.
" Only one of your spiteful Order ever bothered to try to understand me, instead of criticizing me. Why can't all of you pseudo-pacifist scum be like him?" she asked, a bit too contemplative for her own good.
The nautolan female jedi's face fell immediately. Her surprise reached new peaks. An avalanche of questions rushed through her her mind, the most pertinent one being: / Who in their right mind would try to understand a sith; this sith?/
As if sensing her prisoner's question among the delightful pain and fear that emanated from the mutilated nautolan's body, Inanna searched her hidden pocket, revealing Nelo's lightsaber, which she then put against the jedi's stomach.
" I believe this to be the best of clues!" she laughed maniacally, then turned on the weapon. The golden coloured plasma blade pierced the nautolan's stomach, the tip errupting from her back. Such a wound rarely leaves someone living for more than a few minutes.
Between her cries of pain and her already sore throat, the jedi knight could mutter her words of surprise, disgust, but more importantly... betrayal.
" Nelo Hivaarr...understands you? That's... that's...!"
" Lovely, isn't it?" Inanna interjected on a truly happy tone.
"... preposterous, disgusting, heretical! How can he betray us so? Consorting with a sith... one of the brightest stars of our Order's padawans... Force NO!"
Inanna's satisfaction rapidly turned to irritation, the likes of which hit the jedi knight with the force of a starship. The sith's eyes remarkably turned to their stunning emerald.
" Unlike you, wench, he is special! In many ways that you and your outdated Order will ever understand!"
" Your... eyes... turned back to normal... because of him? You CARE for him?"
That was a hard thing to admit, especially for a sith like her. So far, however, no matter how much she tried to lie to herself, she took care of her special prisoner. He never judjged her (yet, though she had a feeling that wouldn't happen). He never instuled her. Granted, he had been ironic, but no swearings whatsoever. Always polite, had a few jokes to crack. She brought her her necklace back, along with a piece of her lost life. Unnecessary she would have thought, but he still did that. Selfless and thoughtful... On top of all, he brought her the peace of heart that she didn't realise that she needed.
" I... do!" she admitted, then turned her head to the left for a moment, before matching the nautolan's smug gaze. " But now, it's time for you to perish!"
The dark acolyte hid Nelo's saber away, pocketed her own, as well as the jedi's, before taking off her gloves. After putting her bare palms on the victim's forehead and chest areas, she drained the remaining life and Force energy that was left in the nautolan's damaged body.
With a satisfied smile on her face, Inanna returned to her usual spot, watching the battle as it went on.
Author's note:
Here it is: the arena fight part 1. The megafight is due for the next chapter. It felt just right to end this chapter this way, so sorry for not prolonging it :))))
Then again, any suggestions, ideas you have are welcome. Just make sure to review or send personal messages. I appreciate all the help I can get!
Thank you for viewing my fanfic and special thanks to my followers!
I would very much like to hear your thoughts on my story!
*Credits for the song go to Celldweller*
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-Also, for those of you that are fans of the Jedi Knight game series, I have another story going on that I will begin to update next week. It's called "Path of the Dark Jedi Jaden Korr".
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See you next time, dear Star Wars fans! ;)
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