Author's Note: Shall we continue? Yes, lets!
Be warned, this chapter invokes the M-rating for strong violence and disturbing themes.
-Chapter 141: Ahsoka Tano Must Die-
Location: Olanet
"When this wickedness consumes me, nothing can save you and there's no way out."
His search had turned up nothing and Dynnal ambled back to his meeting point with Ahsoka in a state of doldrums. Her cold insistence on his persistence in spite of his parents injurious condition had rubbed him wrong and he was still feeling raw about the matter. He wasn't quite sure how to proceed from here, obviously there was still work to be done, but the condition of his parents weighed heavily on his mind.
So heavily, in fact, he failed to notice the lightsaber hilt until he kicked it.
He stopped suddenly, Dynnal's gaze jerking down to the object with a look of surprised bewilderment on his face. He stooped low, taking it in his hands and recognizing it in a heartbeat. It was Ahsoka's. "She would never abandon this." He murmured, twisting around to find her shoto hilt not far away. He picked them up in both hands, eyeballing the two as he began to piece together the possibility of what happened here. His keen eyes spied bootprints in the dirt, deep and skewered from frantic movements. Something went wrong, not long after they parted ways.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." He murmured.
Standing up, he reached out with his senses, expanding the reach of his Force-enhanced perception across the area. Soon enough he discovered a void he could not register, a blank spot where the Force seemed to simply not exist, or avoid. Both of those options were heavy indicators for him and he started moving. His blood pumping, his heart pounding, if some twisted fate had befallen Ahsoka, then he was determined to get her out of it.
Her lightsaber blades carved through walls as Dynnal forged his own path, using his girlfriend's sabers to great effect as he sliced open holes on a direct route to the nebulous mass his senses detected. Cutting down battle droids and automated detection systems with flashes of green and yellow. Powering through every level without even slowing, he burst into the Force-deaf mass within a few minutes. It was dimly lit, only the bright glow of the twin blades in his hands illuminating the dark. His eyes adjusted in an instant, his five natural, super-honed senses taking over where the Force failed him. A cold sensation against the back of his head was the first indication he was not alone, the pistol barrel pressing tightly against his flesh.
"Welcome to the party, kid." Aivela greeted him, her synthesized voice was one of many as Banshee, Cerberus, Ravage, Esne and Phantom emerged into his vision. The multiple super-soldiers were unexpected, none of them had been seen in the prior battle. He began to analyze his situation and right away, the odds weren't good.
"And so he's here, just like you predicted." Cerberus drawled to Banshee.
"Indeed. This, Cerberus, is The Wraith." The Umbaran informed him. "Regardless of his current alias. He's the first of our kind, the pinnacle of achievements." Dynnal's eyes narrowed at her words.
"The reason a lotta people signed up." Cerberus mused.
"I am not The Wraith." Karn cut in firmly. "Where is Ahsoka?" He demanded.
"Straight to the point, as always." Banshee mused. "Spectre! Chimera!" The line of super-soldiers parted and two more stepped forward out of the gloom, dragging a body between them. Dynnal started, stepping forward as they tossed Ahsoka forward.
When she was revealed to him, he gasped in horror.
She was bruised and bloody, her tunic and leggings torn, and slumped against the bonds Spectre was holding tightly. Ahsoka looked worn and in pain, every breath seemingly a struggle. She had been beaten, heartily too, and Dynnal was aghast at such barbaric treatment. "D-Danny…" She rasped, coughing and wincing from a likely cracked set of ribs.
"What've you done to her?!" He cried, lunging forward towards Banshee only to be grabbed and held by Cerberus and Phantom, with Ravage quickly coming between them just in case. His gaze swept back and forth across the super-soldiers, his blood running hot in a vain attempt at retribution.
"Nothing. Yet." Chimera responded, and Dynnal could hear the smile on his face.
"We're prepared to do far worse, boy." Cerberus drawled. Realizing the intensity of the situation, Dynnal forced himself to calm down. Lashing out would not get him anywhere. He analyzed his options, there weren't many and none of them all that pleasing. The super-soldiers had every advantage over him, if he so much as attacked they could kill Ahsoka, they had numbers and strategic positioning on their side. He could maybe kill two or three before they got to his beloved.
He needed to cooperate, appease them no matter what. They had the leverage and were going to use it one way or another. Hopefully he could lessen its effects by shifting their focus…. Hopefully.
"Alright, I get it… what do you want?" He questioned, pushing away from the soldiers holding him.
"We want you, Wraith." Banshee stated pointedly.
"I'm not Wraith." Dynnal repeated.
"Oh but you are, regardless of your denial." Banshee pressed. "We want you back, we want our premier warrior back. The Confederacy needs you."
"I did not want to be a part of them before, why should I now?" Dynnal shot back.
"You'll join us… for her sake." Banshee growled, roughly grabbing Ahsoka's montrals and jerking her head around, forcing her to cry out in pain.
"Alright alright!" Dynnal interrupted loudly. "You have me, let her go!" He offered. "I surrender, I'll cooperate. Just leave her alone." To further expemplify his words, he reached for his belt and unclipped the entire kit, dropping his weapons on the floor, Ahsoka's lightsabers included. he raised his hands, hoping to appease Banshee. The Umbaran appraised him, smiling beneath her helm as everything rolled out according to her plan.
"Ravage, Phantom, hold him!" She ordered. Phantom suddenly produced a pair of sickles from behind her, with chains fused to the base of the handles. Swinging the one in her left hand around, the sickle-like blade pierced clean through Dynnal's unarmored right arm. Letting out a fierce roar as his blood spilt across the ground, Dynnal attempted to free himself only for Phantom to pull tight on the sickle's chain and toss the other to Ravage. That one was also buried in his left forearm, the two super-soldier's forcing his arms open with vicious tugs as the impaled blades splashed his blood across the ground.
"Dynnal!" Ahsoka hoarsely screamed, terrified of what would become of him. Growling in pain, Dynnal struggled hard only to be wracked by pain as each blade dug deeper into his arm, threatening to slice clean through an artery or rip his limb to shreds if he continued. His struggles slowed as he accepted the precarious nature of his situation and refused to do anything that would bring Ahsoka harm.
"Take her to the room. If she struggles, make her pay." Banshee told Spectre and Chimera, who immediately complied and dragged Ahsoka into the adjoining room. Ravage and Phantom forced Dynnal up against a wall, fusing the chains of their sickles to hooks on the wall, ensuring his limbs held aloft above his head. So aloft, in fact, he was forced onto the tips of his toes out of fear of having his arms shredded.
"Weird way to get Wraith back." He growled to Banshee, fighting through the pain.
"I have my reasons." Banshee reasoned.
"I'm only doing this for Ahsoka. You better let her go untouched." Dynnal snapped.
"You're not in a position to make demands." The Umbaran retorted, grabbing his body she forced him to turn around before she gripped his clothes. Tearing apart his jacket and shirt, the skin of his muscled back was laid bare for all to see and Aivela growled with sadistic glee as she ignited her electrowhip.
"Maximum charge. Make it hurt." Banshee ordered and her fellow super-soldier complied, cranking the voltage high.
"Is this wise?" Ravage asked in a whisper.
"He can handle it." She replied in equally hushed tones. "The goal is to break her. Listening to him will be the first step in the right direction." Their conversation ended as Aivela reared back and struck, the whip lashing across Dynnal's back and leaving a red mark in its wake. He flinched, grunted in pain, but did nothing more. "Again." Banshee ordered. Aivela did so, striking him again and leaving another red mark.
Behind them all, out of sight and unnoticed by the super-soldiers, a little black bat watched.
In the opposite room, Ahsoka heard every crack of the whip and feared the worst. The sound brought back memories from Zygerria and she knew this could only end one way: poorly. "Please," she begged her captors, "please stop… why are you doing this?!" She asked weakly.
"You hear something?" Chimera wondered of his partner.
"Probably a draft." Spectre nonchalantly responded, evoking a chuckle from his comrade. Despite her pained and injured state, Ahsoka was determined to do something.
"Why are you hurting him?" She asked insistently.
"Why wouldn't we hurt one of our enemies?" Spectre retorted. "I know he's Wraith, I've worked with him. But he's done some traitorous stuff and what has to be done has to be done."
"Please… just let us go." Ahsoka pleaded.
"Not without compensation, sweet-thing." Chimera replied, kneeling beside her. "Gonna give us something worth our while if we do?" He queried lecherously, gripping her chin with two fingers. Ahsoka jerked her face away, bearing the stinging pain from when a boot connected with her cheek as she avoided the super-soldier's leering gaze. Chimera merely chortled and stood, apparently pleased with himself.
Aivela's repeated lashings had reduced his back to a reddened, swollen mass, harsh electrical burns raking across his skin and opened anew with multiple strikes. Dynnal had reached his breaking point, the next crack from Aivela's whip ripped a cry of pain from his throat. That seemed to spur her on and multiple lashings struck his exposed back in quick succession. Each one caused him to screech in pain and writhe against his bonds, struggling as the sickles tore deeply through his limbs and sent rivers of fresh blood pouring down his arms. His repeated cries had another effect. A far more psychological one.
Forced to remain stationary, Ahsoka couldn't bear to listen to Dynnal's pained outbursts, shackled and powerless while he was tortured mere meters away from her. Each crack, each outcry, it was becoming too much. As a Jedi it was her mission to keep people from harm, that alone was enough stress. Topping it off, this was her boyfriend.
"Stop! Please, stop, give him a break!" She begged her captors. "You… Y-You have me, don't you?" She looked up at Spectre and Chimera with pleading eyes. The two super-soldiers looked to each other before Chimera moved to the entryway and poked his head out.
"Hey! Banshee!" He called out, halting Aivela as she drew back for another strike. "The Tog wants a word with you." He explained with a jerk of his head. Dynnal, quite out of it with his mind wracked with pain, barely registered the words and the meaning behind them. Banshee began issuing orders.
"Esne, watch him. Phantom, Ravage, Aivela, Cerberus, with me." Drawing her rifle, Esne trained her weapon on Dynnal as the other five super-soldiers made to leave. Connecting the dots, Dynnal struggled to act.
"No... No! Leave her alone!" He cried, desperate to keep them from laying a hand on her. But the super-soldiers remained deaf to him and filed into the room one by one, Ahsoka now cornered by the towering ranks of seven super-soldiers. Banshee moved to the forefront, crossing her arms.
"Spit it out, Jedi." She demanded. Shifting her position, Ahsoka tried to give off more power than she seemed to possess.
"Leave him alone. Please." She stated again, defiantly staring up into Banshee's optics. The Umbaran impassively gazed back, her plan coming around as Ahsoka gave in. She wanted the Togruta to offer herself up willingly, one step closer to being broken of her own accord. This was going very well, Ahsoka's demise would be the single step she needed to freeing Wraith and restoring him. His pleasure at her demise would sure be the strength he needed to regain his prominence.
"How badly have we wanted to beat up a Jedi?" She asked her crew.
"Long time." Phantom remarked. None of them broke eye contact with their Togruta captive.
"How often have we dreamed about giving it to these stuck-up monks?" Banshee asked again.
"More often than not, especially since this one dresses like a street whore!" Chimera remarked with a laugh. Cerberus chuckled and Spectre snorted in agreement, the others somewhat echoing their amusement as Ahsoka felt her headtails flush.
"We have one in our midst. I say we get to work fulfilling our wildest dreams." She determined and the troopers offered exclamations of agreement and excited affirmation. Ahsoka swallowed nervously. "By all means, indulge yourselves." Banshee offered, taking a few steps back.
"It's like Life Day, only better!" Chimera cackled. They crowded around her, Ahsoka growing more and more uneasy as they loomed above her. He and Phantom knelt down on either side of her, the male super-soldier gripping her chin and guiding the Togruta in his direction. "Whatever are we gonna do with you…" He wondered with a menacing hiss. Ahsoka hated everything about him, from his attitude to his mannerisms, and she tried to pull away.
"Back off, horn-head!" She bit back, her words falling short given her disheveled look. At that, Chimera slapped her, hard.
"Still a mouthy little thing." Phantom remarked, grabbing Ahsoka's montral and forcing her head back. "Aren't you, Jedi? Hm? Still a lippy, mouthy little thing!" She growled, slapping Ahsoka three more times on both cheeks. Ahsoka winced, her already bruised features amplifying the pain of each slap. But she bit her tongue and refused to cry out. "I know something we can do..." Phantom mused, reaching for her belt and withdrawing Ahsoka's own shoto hilt. Retrieving it from Dynnal's belongings, the possibilities it presented was her sole reason for collecting it. Switching the yellow blade on, Ahsoka gulped at the snap-hiss. In the hands of the enemy, her own weapon was in the dangerous position to be used against her.
Phantom took painstaking patience and effort to level her weapon very close to Ahsoka's exposed copper-skinned arm. The tip of her lightsaber hovered dangerously close to her shoulder and Ahsoka tried in vain to refrain to emoting any of the terror she was feeling. The super-soldier pressed the blade closer and Ahsoka felt panic shoot through her. She flinched, instinctively jerking away, which caused her tormentors to chuckle. Another press and the searing heat burned into her shoulder, causing her to cry out but quickly bite back the scream that threatened to follow. "Does it hurt?" Phantom darkly chuckled. The next press was far more forceful, and Ahsoka could not stop the scream that was ripped from her throat as the barest tip of her lightsaber punctured her shoulder.
"STOP! STOP PLEASE!" She screamed, desperate to alleviate the burning. To her surprise, Phantom obliged her, and Ahsoka was left gasping in pain with tears in her eyes.
"So busy blockin' shots, the Jedi don't know how to handle pain." Spectre mocked. Phantom had an idea.
"Ravage, bring your electro-sword over here." She tasked, grabbing Ahsoka's wounded shoulder and squeezing hard to cause the poor Togruta much discomfort. The Kage super-soldier strode forward, brandishing the signature weapon of his people. The thin vibroblade crackled with electrical energy and Ahsoka was scared to imagine what it could do. Following Phantom's lead, Ravage ran his blade along Ahsoka's opposite arm, the Togruta wincing as a burning sensation flared in its wake. Her skin shuddered under the electricity, the blade sharp and leaving a trail of blood in its wake.
Suddenly, Ravage pierced her biscep, Ahsoka screaming in agony as electricity seared her inner muscle and blood, wreaking excruciating pain in its wake.
The blade pulled away and Ahsoka slumped in the hold of Chimera and Phantom, the other super-soldiers mocking her misery. Aivela stepped forward, jerking Ahsoka's head up by her montrals. "These things are like reins," she remarked, "your boyfriend pull these when he rides you?" She asked teasingly. Ahsoka grit her teeth and did not respond, the harsh jerking on her sensitive headtails hurting more than anything. "I've heard your people used to be animals. Haven't evolved all that far, have you?" Aivela cruelly remarked. Stifling a groan of pain, Ahsoka opened her eyes a bit.
"You're one to talk." She weakly shot back. Dropping to her knees, Aivela rounded a punch to Ahsoka's gut, knocking the wind from her lungs. Keeping her head jerked up, Aivela looked to Banshee as she left the defeated Jedi on display.
"Your turn, Banshee. Whaddya feel like?" She wondered.
"I'm a little more old-fashioned." Banshee mused as she stepped forward. Ahsoka looked her up and down, her armor a myriad of blue and white and silver, like her homeworld. Only her crimson optics could stare back at her, and they seemed to radiate with sinister intentions. "The Jedi took my home. Conquered my people." She growled, cracking her knuckles as Aivela, Phantom, Ravage and Chimera all backed off. "I've been eager for some payback..." winding up, she threw out her first blow. The punch cracked across Ahsoka's face, snapping it to the side. The second crashed into her jaw and pitched her face back the other way with a cry from the Togruta. Her head hanging limply for a second, Ahsoka felt sharp pain flash across her face before the super-soldier grabbed her montrals and viciously jerked her up. That pain was unbearable and she cried out again before her fist crashed into her face again and Ahsoka tasted blood.
Out of sight of the super-soldiers, a green and gold convoree bird looked on silently…
Grabbing her neck, Banshee forced Ahsoka towards her as she started wailing on the Togruta, deliberately landing blows on her face, headtails, not caring what she struck only that it hurt. "BANSHEE!" Dynnal screamed from the other room, halting the super-soldier as her fist was drawn back. "HURT! ME! NOT HER, ME!" His words gave her pause and Banshee chose to release the beaten Ahsoka, standing up.
"He really wants it?" Ravage wondered.
"Evidently." Banshee replied. "Chimera! Cerberus! Spectre! Watch her." She ordered. "The rest of you, come with me." The group all filed out of the room, making their way back to Esne and the bound Dynnal, barely on his tiptoes as he tried to keep from losing his arms to the sickle blades. He fixed the Umbaran with a deep scowl, simmering anger flaring in his emerald eyes.
"Leave her alone! You have me, isn't that enough?" He demanded. Banshee strode over to him, her crimson optics locking with his gaze.
"You still have his fire. I can see it in your eyes." She commented in a low tone. Wth a growl, Dynnal lunged for her, ignoring the pain in his limbs as the sickles cut deep and spilled fresh blood down his arms.
"If not for these chains I'd wring your neck!" He seethed. Banshee retorted by landing a heavy punch to his head, her armored knuckle splitting open skin on the side of his brow. Inwardly, Dynnal was gloating. He'd turned Banshee on him, now he needed to goad her all the way. "You stupid shadow schutta, was that supposed to hurt? I've stepped in Bantha mounds that hurt more than that!" He sneered, Banshee driven to land another punch that struck his jaw. "You hit like a girl! You couldn't hurt me if you used crush-gaunts!"
"Shut up!" Banshee screeched, landing multiple hard blows to his body and felt a moment of satisfaction as his ribs cracked beneath her knuckles.
"That tickled, are you using a feather?" Dynnal grunted. "I can't believe this was your plan. You're such a failure, Banshee! Just like your father!" He retorted, shooting her a toothy grin.
"GRAHH!" Banshee shrieked, wailing on his face with multiple hard blows until blood started flying from his mouth and nose. Then she unleashed her sonic emitter at point blank range, high-pitch frequencies battering Dynnal and causing his ears to bleed. Doing his best to focus, offering Banshee the hardest glare he could muster while being assaulted by ultrasonic waves, he maintained his defiance far longer than any average organic could. Finally, Banshee disabled her weapon, dropping her arm as Dynnal struggled to stay upright. She was breathing hard, more out of furious anger than exertion.
"Uh… Banshee?" Esne questioned.
"Hit. Him." The Umbaran seethed.
"What?"
"HIT HIM! All of you, hit him now!" Banshee shouted. "He's a traitor to the Confederacy! He needs to pay!" Dynnal suddenly coughed, spitting out blood.
"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard." He rasped, his face a bit more messy thanks to bruises and blood. "Face it, Banshee, you're a lousy excuse for a super-soldier. Wraith never liked you. He always thought you were pathetic. And this grudge match with Ahsoka? It just proves how miserable and useless you are." He could tell the Umbaran was seething, even with her helmet on. She tromped over to him, hands balled into fists, shoulders heaving.
"You dare?!" She screeched. In response, Dynnal spat out a wad of blood that splattered across the face of her helmet.
"Yes I do." He retorted calmly and coldly. Banshee maintained a stunned look for a moment longer before she pulled a knife from her belt with a scream and started tearing into his torso, stabbing him over and over again in a blind rage until Dynnal was certain his innards would spill out. Then, leaving the knife buried in his abdomen, she continued to vent her anger on his face, pounding his skull with blow after blow as heavy impacts fractured his bones and metal bit deeply into his flesh. She kept going, beating him over and over and over until his vision gave way to blackness and he lost consciousness and even then she kept going.
And all the while, the black bat remained unnoticed, watching from the corner.
Much later…
His head was pounding, his ears rang, his body ached, he didn't want to wake up but somehow his body had restored to consciousness. Pain began to flood every inch of his body, dull and constant, a reminder of the multiple wounds that had been inflicted. Maybe only Wraith's encounter with the Titans could evoke such similar feelings. But never had Dynnal endured such things before.
He groaned, his head lolling from side to side as he feeling returned to him. "He's waking up." A synthesized voice announced. He was getting tired of hearing them, his blurry vision revealing a super-soldier decidedly feminine. She was not alone, several others crowding around. It begged the question how long he'd been out for.
One of them stepped towards him and he blinked a few times to fix his vision, blue and white revealed to him. He tried to move, his arms aching terribly as sharp pain flared where the sickles dug in deep, and he managed to straighten up as he met Banshee head-on.
"Got it outta your system yet…?" He wondered in a quiet, raspy tone.
"I grow tired of toying with the matter." Banshee retorted with a growl. "I'm putting an end to this."
"Finally gonna kill me, eh?" Dynnal asked tiredly.
"Not you." The Umbaran responded. The Titan shifted his gaze as the line of super-soldiers parted, allowing two of their own to drag Ahsoka onto the scene. She looked worse, miserable really, dried blood cracked around her nose and lips, her cheek and eye puffy as bruises swelled. Her eyes were reddened, evidently she'd been crying at some point, and Dynnal loathed every second he couldn't spring her free from this hell.
"You leave her alone." He growled, noticing her dishevelled clothes as strength slowly filled his limbs once more. Her face was covered with a glistening sheen that, to him, looked like sweat. What manner of torture had they submitted her to…?
"I will not. I will do what should've been done long ago." Banshee retorted. "She is the only thing keeping you from us. With her dead, Wraith will finally rejoin the Confederacy." She was serious, Dynnal could tell as much.
"You're crazy. Where'd you come up with that hair-brained idea? Back of a ration packet?" He bit back, trying to deviate her attention. He turned to the other super-soldiers. "You know how crazy she sounds, right?" Esne shrugged.
"Wraith or no, either we get back one of our own or we kill a Titan and a Jedi. Makes no difference to me." She summed up, the group nodding in agreement.
"Then you're all crazy. Stupid too, for following someone as useless as her." Dynnal cuttingly remarked.
"You wouldn't be so smug if you'd known what we did to break her." Banshee retorted smugly. Dynnal's gaze narrowed. "We took turns beating her as we saw fit, showing her that Jedi are nothing in the grand scheme of things. That she is little more dirt on our boots." She boasted.
"I swear, I'll make you pay." Dynnal threatened, spitting out a wad of blood.
"That sure would've been more threatening if you didn't look like a blood-rag." Cerberus noted. "Still, had plenty of fun with her." He added.
"Yeah, you got good taste, Danny-boy," Chimera sneered, nudging Ahsoka with his foot, "your Tog makes for one helluva lay." He explained with a snicker, Spectre and Cerberus sharing a knowing chortle. Having been in enough circles to understand his jargon, Dynnal looked upon Ahsoka in a new light, heartbroken as his features fell to a look of shocked horror. He was completely lost for words, his eyes watering the longer he looked upon his broken beloved.
He… They… They had…
"You… animals…!" He said hoarsely. "You… Y-You monsters!" He exclaimed, voice rising in pitch as his eyes overflowed down his cheeks. He started thrashing against his chains, rising emotion fueling his efforts as he felt more driven than ever before. "YOU HEARTLESS BASTΑRDS!" He screamed. "I'LL TEAR YOU APART!" The super-soldiers crossed their arms, appearing mildly amused by his outburst.
"You'll do no such thing." Banshee curtly retorted. "She will die, and then you will rejoin us. I could care less about what 'Dynnal Karn' thinks. But I know Wraith will be overjoyed to know the woman who backstabbed him is dead." Igniting her lightsabers, she grabbed Ahsoka's wrist, ready to strike her down. The Togruta weakly looked up, her gaze dim.
"Danny…" She whimpered. Dynnal thrashed against his chains, desperate to act.
"No! NO!" The Force was a liquid fire in his veins, filling him, consuming him. He embraced it willingly, welcoming the rage that would strengthen him suitably to free her, to destroy them all.
As the flames grew hotter and hotter, he let the Force wash over him, reaching deep within himself to draw upon a power far stronger than his own...
And in that moment, everything changed.
Across the galaxy, a sudden pulse of Dark Side energy struck Force-sensitives and made their senses come alive with an intense heat. Palpatine looked up from his work in his office, the Sith Lord experiencing a sudden rush the likes of which he'd never known before.
Yoda's meditation was disturbed as the Dark Side briefly overwhelmed the Light, like the shockwave from a bomb or the ripple of a droplet on still water, all of it emanated from a single powerful source.
Even on Olanet, Anakin and Obi-Wan looked up from their battle plans as the Dark Side flooded their senses, looking to each other with mixed expressions of confusion and concern. "What was that?" The bearded master asked worriedly.
"I don't know." Anakin answered, his gaze turning to the epicentre… the factory.
Talon was coordinating with her mercenaries when she felt the wave overwhelm her, literally pausing in mid-sentence as she turned to look upon its origin. She could feel it within the factory, calling out to her, as it had to her ancestors, drawing them into its inexplicable web of dark mystery.
"What is it?" Her heavy-weapons specialist Raptor queried. It took a long time for Talon to respond, not even looking at her team when she did.
"He's here…" She answered breathlessly.
A burst of flame incinerated his bonds and the immense heat that flared from him forced the super-soldiers back as they shielded themselves from whatever he was doing, Dynnal lunging forward with a strength not his own to grab Banshee around the neck and hoist her off the ground. The room was suddenly filled with an orange glow as fire engulfed Dynnal's body, hiding his appearance from view, accompanied by a deep, beasital growl that sent rippling shivers up and down their spines. By the time they could lower their hands, something stood before them that certainly was not Dynnal.
It stood tall, reaching almost to the ceiling. Its body gleamed as if made from a blackened metal, woven with orange veins of pulsing heat. His fingers tipped by sharp, thick claws, his shoulders adorned by curving spikes, his clawed feet dug deep into the durasteel floor, and his entire body was framed by a great pair of shimmering, waving wings that were themselves lined by fiery plumes.
But his face... his face was what terrified them most.
Flat, smooth and noseless, his chin marked by spiked protrusions, a pair of curving horns like an Iktotchi framed his features, but what signified his presence were the two horns sprouting from his forehead and pointing straight up like a demonic crown. Pupilless eyes of scarlet and ember fixed Banshee with a hellish gaze of raw hatred as his grip tightened around her neck.
In all her life, the Umbaran had never seen anything so demonic before.
With a roar that shook the room and their bones, the demon slammed Banshee into the floor, flailing her body about like a ragdoll as he beat her into the ground over and over again. With a final swing, it pitched her body into the wall, sending her through three different rooms before she crumpled to a halt in a heap. It turned around, fixing the other super-soldiers with a murderous glare, none of them felt very superior any more.
"What… What the hell is that thing?!" Chimera shrieked fearfully.
"I don't know!" Aivela cried in response. None of the other super-soldiers could muster the words to summarize what they were witnessing.
"Who cares what it is! Shoot it!" Phantom shouted, brandishing her weapon. The demon took a single protective step as it covered Ahsoka, wings snapping out as fire flared from across his body, uttering a guttural howl as blaster rounds ricocheted off of its hide. Lashing out, a clawed hand swept across Spectre and Ravage, cutting clean through their armor and pitching them to the floor. Its other hand grabbed Phantom by the foot and turned her into an improvised club, using her body to beat down the other super-soldiers, knocking Aivela off her feet and slamming Esne into the wall. Fire slowly consumed Phantom's lower body as the demon turned and pitched her body into Chimera, bowling them both over.
The Zabrak was laid out, struggling to pick himself up as the demon stalked over to him. He scrambled to back away, a free hand throwing knives that merely bounced off the demon's hide. "No, no! Stay away! Stay away!" He grabbed his pistol, firing off a few rounds that struck its chest. But the demon never bothered to react, stalking forward with a low threatening growl. "STAY AWAY!" Chimera screamed moments before the demon pounced on him, roaring in his face as the Zabrak succumbed to his fear. Gripping his arms, the demon pulled and tore them off with a single fluid motion, leaving only bone stumps behind as blood splattered the ground. Screaming in agony, Chimera was trapped as the demon turned and threw his body into another wall before it took flight and picked up Ahsoka, leaving the complex behind in the blink of an eye. Powering through walls with one arm raised, the beast soon broke free and slowed to a halt outside, landing on the ground as its wings were reduced to smoke and fire. The same ashen effect spread across its body, its hulking features disappearing into plumes of flame until Dynnal had been returned to normal.
The Titan fell forward, bracing himself on one knee with Ahsoka still in his arms. He was breathing heavy, completely taken aback by whatever had just occurred. Wide-eyed and lost for words, he could feel the Dark Side through the Force, strong and thrumming like an electric current. All his efforts to lose it, ignore it, avoid it, had been for nothing. Especially that heat…
He looked down at the body in his arms, Ahsoka passed out from pain or otherwise, he didn't know. "I'm… I'm so sorry." He whispered, looking upon her ruined features. Dynnal knew he had failed her. He hadn't been what she needed. He hadn't been enough of a man for her. He wanted to cry, to drop to his knees and curl up with her into a protective ball. But he had to keep moving.
Ignoring his pain, Dynnal stood tall and lifted her form into his arms, doing his best to carry Ahsoka back to the safety of the Republic lines.
The trees were thick, a healthy area of forest growing around the Republic's landing site. They had regrouped after the first attempted assault on the factory and were planning to go again. Dynnal pounded through it all, knowing exactly where to find Anakin. Ahsoka needed medical attention, and needed it badly.
"General!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he reached the border, hoping to alert them to his presence. "General Skywalker!" Bursting from the tress, his ruined and bloody appearance swiftly caught the attention of Clones, his clamorous arrival quickly stirring the camp as he hobbled towards it. Anakin and Obi-Wan rushed to greet him, Skywalker far more concerned with the state of his Padawan unconscious in Dynnal's arms.
"What happened?!" He demanded urgently. Dynnal caught his breath, inhaling deeply.
"Super-soldiers. More than three… Seven, eight, I can't remember." He revealed, the Clones murmuring grimly. "Captured us… tortured us…" Dynnal continued, his explanation causing eyes to go wide with concern. "We barely managed to escape."
"Get a medical team over here, now!" Anakin snapped, a pair of troopers scrambling to do as asked. Ransack soon arrived with a pair of medical corps troopers carrying a stretcher and Dynnal gingerly laid Ahsoka on it.
"This is most disturbing." Obi-Wan mused, stroking his beard out of nervous habit. "Never have the super-soldiers stooped to such a level before." Anakin was far more concerned with Ahsoka.
"They… Th-They took us to separate rooms… I don't know…"he paused, swallowing his building emotions, "I don't know the full extent of the damage." He lied.
"You certainly look like you've been through the ringer." Kenobi commented, eyeing, Dynnal's bloodied torso as the young man stood and stepped back. "How did you survive?"
"Oh... you know..." he replied, speech slurring somewhat as his steps back became jerky and on the verge of faltering, "adrenaline's... helluva painkiller..." That was the last he managed to say before collapsing to the ground, passing out as the strain of everything finally took its toll on his struggling body.
