Chapter Thirty Three
An End to Every Beginning…
Mother Talzin could suppress the joy she felt, staring down her enemy, even as the Sith Lord judged her hastily in his foolish superiority. Even the apprentice thought himself better than her and her magics. She would show them all, she was above their power, and would prove that their Force was nothing but a grasp at the full flames of darkness.
"You thought to come and use me to restore your failing body," she said, accurately predicting the Sith Lord's desire for coming to her. She had known, through her divinations of his coming, and his need.
"You are far too late for that; however," she breathed, watching the rage fill his soul, "my power is absolute here, and my darkness will spread to all corners of the Galaxy. You should know that though, you created me thusly."
"Whatever light is left inside you, I will tear out by force if I must!" Veneficus seethed, clutching his weapons tighter, "my reign is absolute, and eternal, I will strike you both down a return to the rest of my empire."
"Your empire is in ruins," Diábolis threw back at the human Sith, "it crumbles due to infighting and the rebellion you so thoroughly ignored in your misguided quest for immortality."
"Then I will raise up another, and take control of everything that I need." Veneficus spat in return.
"You may try," Diábolis said, drawing a Force Sword from his waist. Talzin smirked. Their weapons and their fresh strength were far greater than the Emperor, without his tricks and power in the Force. Together they could actually beat him, but how long their alliance would last was yet to be seen.
"You've underestimated me for the last time!" Veneficus said sharply, leaping forward.
With her knowledge of the combat style of the Sith, Mother Talzin dodged to the left, swinging the staff of Ragnos and deflected a redirected strike to her back. The pair of Sith Lords engaged head on, their power over the Dark Side of the Force welling up and seeming like twin titans clashing in the realm of the Force.
Weaving her magic around her, Talzin crafted a bubble of energy to deflect any oncoming attacks from Veneficus. She had already foreseen that lightning would be heavily used by all of them, and she planned to throw the first bolt.
Green lightning crackled in her hands, spilling forth in a pair of devastating beams, charring the ground of the cave toward her intended target, locked in a saber clash with his former apprentice.
Veneficus snarled as he saw it coming, and pushed off, dodging the rapidly advancing wave of lightning, and retaliated with a flurry of blue-white bolts of his own. The points of pure hatred were harmlessly absorbed by Talzin's shield, and the Witch Mother laughed at the desperate nature of the bolts.
"Your power is no match against my magics!" she taunted, brandishing the scepter before her, and allowing her connection to the ancient spirits of Dathomir course through it.
"Your magic is an illusion compared to my power," Veneficus snarled, kicking off his apprentice and leaping toward her, swiping heavily with both sabers.
Talzin raised the scepter, blocking both strikes, and began her chants, willing magic to course through her and enter the Sith Lord. Calling upon her ancient wizarding training, as well as the ancient secrets of the Orks, Talzin dematerialized in a burst of emerald fire, teleporting a short distance away to the center of the chamber. "Your doom is nigh, old fool," she said, slamming the base end of the scepter into the ground, transforming it into a font of magical power.
Green energy erupted from the spiked head of the staff like a gas, flooding the roof of the caves, empowering Talzin and refining her abilities. Conjuring a sword of emerald flames in her hand, she knew that victory was hers at last.
All that was needed was to wait for the magic to collect and overwhelm the Sith Lords, and to that end she charged in, leaping at Veneficus to attack. Diábolis struck from behind the Emperor, and forced the madman to split his attention.
"Enough!" Veneficus roared, using his power over the Force to simple throw both his attackers from him. "I have waited too long for this moment, and no amount of resistance will prevent me from achieving my destiny!" he shouted, stalking toward Talzin.
She knew what he intended, and welcomed it as he drew her toward him with an iron grip of Force power.
"Your knowledge and light affinity will restore me, whether you are willing or not!" he shouted, gathering power in the Dark Side to expel his own soul into Talzin. The wispy green energy leaked from his eyes and entered the Witch Mother, even as the body of the Emperor crumpled before her.
Pain; pain and agony such as she had never experienced blossomed into being inside her. The Sith Lord was relentless in his search through her very being for what he sought, but Talzin simply laughed, chanting her spell. The gas around them, her magic waylaid and stored outside of her, flooded back into Talzin in a rush, giving her the strength required to overwhelm the will of the Emperor, trapping the man's spirit inside her.
"You fool! You fool!" she gleefully cackled, "I have your power now, and you will grant me all the knowledge that you contained from the old ways, before you cease to exist!"
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Filius pressed the attack against the Sith Pureblood, forcing the Dark Adept away from the precious console that they were hacking. Severus may have his dark curses and former Death Eater training to fall back on, but Filius was a master duelist for several years running, and knew tricks and skills to distract and lead his opponents on many a merry goose chase.
Conjuring walls and other barriers to impede the Dark Adept as he tried to attack them, Filius circled around, trying to find a point to flank the being, but he was doggedly pressing through whatever obstacle was thrown at him.
"Enough of this madness," Severus grunted, thrusting his wand forward, and blasting the dark adept into the door. Filius quickly followed up the spell by animating the metal of the door to wrap around the Force user, binding him in place and sealing the bridge at the same time.
The console chimed at them as soon as the relaxed. The Dark Adept struggled feebly in the grasp of the warped metal. "Well, at least that will prevent more from showing up to distract us…" Severus said, even as the pair of wizards focused on the hacked console.
Filius, the most experiences with technological things of the two, quickly typed out commands to see what systems that had taken control of, and widened his eyes.
"Veneficus seemed to have been completely paranoid of anyone else under his command," Severus said, looking over Filius' shoulder.
There were commands to override systems and destroy every other ship in the Imperial fleet. "It would certainly make dealing with traitors simple, if he so chose to use this," Filius agreed.
"So we can cripple and annihilate every Imperial Vessel in the Galaxy with this," Severus breathed, realizing the magnitude of what they had found.
"To instantly kill so many…" Filius breathed, fearful of the insane power that had been at the Emperor's fingertips at all times.
"Again, those who are fanatically loyal to that madman are less than innocent," Severus snarled, reaching over and plugging in some targeted commands himself. As if confirming what they suspected about these hideous commands, the derelict imperial cruiser, which the rebels had used to come to Coruscant in secret instantly started to self-destruct.
"That proves it," Severus said, looking between his commands in the console and the ruptured ship, "now that we can eliminate the Empire's fleets, the Rebellion will gain control of the starlanes, and the individual systems can throw off their garrisons without fear of Imperial reprisal." Severus said, smirking.
Filius quickly looked through what other systems they had control of, and curiously found that they had control only ninety percent of the ship, but several key weapons were not among the list.
"We don't have control of the devastator ray," he said to Severus, concerned.
A surge of power behind them caused both wizards to turn. The Dark Adept they had imprisoned had regained consciousness, and was rapidly breaking out of the folded metal.
"We need to issue the self-destruct commands to the entire Imperial Fleet, and then find a way to destroy this ship as well," Severus said, taking command of the console and typing away rapidly. Filius kept his wand trained on the escaping prisoner, but before he could strike to put him under again, several charges from the far side of the door exploded, sending the being and chunks of metal flying into the room.
Armored troopers appeared on the other side, firing their weapons into the bridge as they stormed in. Filius had a shield up in a heartbeat, blocking the projectiles, and began returning fire with his wand.
Severus assisted where he could, but his focus was primarily on the console, even as the ship started to lurch of its own accord. "Someone else is taking control of the weapons and targeting systems," he shouted over the din of blasterfire, "They're targeting the planet for the devastator beam!"
Filius thought hard. They needed a way to prevent whoever was trying to wrest control back from attacking their allies. The Dark Adept was rising to his feet again, shaking his head groggily as he regained total consciousness. They would be outflanked soon.
"There!" Severus shouted, stepping away from the console, "I've started the chain reaction. The Imperial fleets will all self-destruct over a matter of time, as soon as the signals reach them from this ship."
Filius nodded, pegging another trooper with a powerful hex, knocking the armored being to the ground. He flinched when he heard the telltale snap hiss of a lightsaber, and flung himself to the side as the Dark Adept rejoined the fray.
"We've got to find a way to destroy this ship, and fast," he said swiftly. But even as he said it, the thoughts revolving through his mind were focused on how he had expected such a plan to go afoul. Since they started using the Seer Stone, Filius had feared that something this dire would happen, and they were seeing the proof of that worry even now.
"Jump to Hyperspace directly into a sun, or a black hole," Severus said, going for the console again to plot their suicidal course. The Dark Adept was not about to allow them anymore access to the ship; however, and hurled his double weapon like a javelin at Severus' heart.
"No!" Filius shouted, tackling the Potions Master out of the way, and feeling the burning plasma enter his own body instead.
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Veneficus knew nothing but pain. His consciousness had been forcefully repressed by the Wild Force energy that flowed so freely through Lovegood's body. She was leeching off of his mighty spirit, stealing information and knowledge from him about the magical history and arcane secrets of their former people.
In the attempt, she was trying to crush his sentience from existence, but the Sith Lord would not allow it. He glimpsed what he desired, the tiny core of Light Side energy that still lingered in the woman's form, incorruptible even from the depths of darkness she had fallen into in her madness.
Closing himself around that bundle of Light energy, Veneficus felt the devastating effects of this creature, Talzin, lessen, and his own strength started to reform. Taking the small metaphysical globe of Light with him, he forcefully broke free of her mind and her body, soaring through the open air back to his crumpled form.
Veneficus' eye snapped open, and despite the lethargy that overcame him, his veins burned with newfound strength and fire. The tiny core of Light Side energy would be consumed quickly to heal himself, but it would be a worthy boon in order to have the strength to crush his two greatest foes underfoot.
Blearily, his lost orb rejuvenated itself, and the silvery, magical hand disappeared as a new flesh one grew in its place. "I am reborn, regardless of your desire and theft," Veneficus said, smirking as he rose to his feet, healthy and strong once more.
The Dark Side radiating off of the Sith Emperor, finally free to be unleashed once again without the side effects of destroying his physical form. These two would at last pay for their treachery and pride.
With lightning speed, Veneficus flipped backwards, his sabers clashing with the hastily raised defenses of Diábolis. Veneficus snarled at his former apprentice, leveling his entire strength into the saber lock, and trying to force the Devaronian off balance.
Then, in a move of pure whim, he altered trajectory, and threw his arms upward, dragging all their weapons up and opening his apprentice's torso to a deft kick to the ribs, sending the younger being skidding backward, with the addition of a few light burns from the crimson blades.
The younger Sith had been fast enough to keep his own hands, but Veneficus would deal with him in time. A blast of green lightning caught his attention, and Veneficus caught the powerful beams of electricity on his weapons, absorbing them harmlessly as he leapt to the side.
Talzin was not going to give up, now that she had the secrets of the forgotten Dark Arts in her, and no core of Light to subdue her desire for revenge. At the same time, Veneficus was sure that her attacks would become sloppy and uncontrolled, without the modicum of patience guiding her attacks and preventing her from frustration.
Unfortunately, that blasted green protective shield around her would make getting at her very difficult. Diábolis leapt at him once more, and Veneficus dodged, his powers over foresight returning little by little. He understood that without the spirits of the ancient Sith strengthening him, he would not be the same juggernaut of power that he once was, but he had strength enough for this fight.
Flipping backward as his former apprentice swung the Sith Sword at him, Veneficus threw one of his sabers at the Devaronian, using the distraction in order to reach out and grab the younger Sith by the throat with the Force.
"You are not my equal," Veneficus hissed, his saber returning to float around him like an orbiting moon, "and I reject your claim on my throne!"
Hurling Diábolis away, Veneficus grasped the waiting saber hilt and charged at his more pressing enemy. Talzin was aiming the scepter of Ragnos at him, and Veneficus was fully aware of the devastation the powerful artifact could cause.
But he had wasted too much time casting his apprentice aside, and the Witch was releasing energy that had been stored for many years in the scepter, the orange crackle of raw Force power flaring out in a destructive beam. It carved a massive trench in the stone floor, and forced Veneficus to dodge, rolling hard across the floor to avoid the uncontrollable beam.
Talzin deactivated it, and conjured a flaming sword in her other hand, advancing on the Sith Lord even as Diábolis roused himself and rose to his feet.
Veneficus was growing frustrated. He once commanded the power to simply crush this entire mountain with his will alone, but because of the treachery of his apprentice, things could not be that simple anymore.
All three combatants locked weapons, Veneficus split between holding back Talzin and his former apprentice. He knew that if they continued to work together to defeat him, they stood a decent chance of actually winning. Therefore he had no choice but to separate them, eliminate Talzin, and then finish off Diábolis.
Throwing their weapons off of his own, Veneficus grabbed the red clad woman by the arm, forcefully transporting them to a location of his choosing, well away from the cave network and his former apprentice. Talzin struggled to resist, but Veneficus' surprise attack with their mutual heritage magic was quick enough to transport them before she threw him off.
"You'll regret this decision," Talzin said hotly, the Scepter crackling with its near limitless power. Veneficus had to separate the witch from the artifact, and then he would be free to slay her at long last.
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Severus saw Filius throw himself at him, heard the sizzling sound of lightsaber on flesh, and felt the shift in the air as an old friend expired. He was alone, deep in the heart of his enemy's ship, with nothing and no one to protect. He rose steadily, oddly cold and collected.
He was the last; the last Mage-born alive, the last remnant of their once remarkable people.
The Dark Adept smirked as he started to summon back his weapon with the Force.
"Accio…" Severus intoned, his voice far away. The hilt shuddered as it locked in a battle of wills, one of the Cosmic force, the other of the Wild. Severus held the weapon at bay, preventing its owner from seizing hold of it so easily.
"Old fool…" the adept hissed, "Your magic is nothing compared to the power of the Dark Side. The Emperor has trained me well. I will succeed him, and rise above all my former rivals. You will be honored as the first great victory of Isrishza, the scion of the Sith race and apprentice of the darkest Sith Emperor to live."
"Young fool…" Severus replied, throwing the insult right back in the adept's face. "You honestly think that Veneficus cares for an instant about you, or anyone other than himself? He is a madman who threw away his own world for power. Robbed countless innocents of their lives, and will destroy everything in the Galaxy if it means adding one minute to his already prolonged life…"
"We shall see…" the adept said, still high off the killing of Filius. Severus narrowed his eyes, willing his magic to aid him.
"Repulso," he said, instantly reversing the direction of his force on the saber, and with a deft flick, activating the switch that powered the deadly crimson weapon.
Isrishza flinched as it struck him, the searing plasma blade entering his chest without resistance. Before the device shut itself off and clattered to the ground. "Now, lay there and die, while I go about tearing apart your Emperor's precious fleets," Severus said coldly, turning back to the console, which was still well on the way sending out the self-destruction commands to the scattered Imperial ships throughout the Galaxy.
Copying the commands and sending them elsewhere would be a simple task, and Severus knew that the main base on Hoth would be more than capable of continuing the work. The transmission of the command, as well as the long list of ships that the Terrasque had control over was large, but he was sure that it would reach Sanctuary without delay.
It was set to automatically recommence the process once it was fully downloaded there, which allowed Severus to concern himself with this ship. Whomever was trying to wrest control back had succeeded in turning the Terrasque to face the planet, and was working furiously to recharge and arm the devastator beam once more, but Severus had far more control over steering than the unknown engineer trying to destroy all those on the capital world.
Plotting a Hyperspace jump was simple, lining up something to collide with at the same time took a little longer. Severus was certain that troopers would come to try and stop him, and therefore once he set the ship into auto-navigation to its intended jump point, he faced the blasted hole where a door once stood, waiting for the resistance that would come.
The first to round the corner was struck dead in an instant. The rush of casting the killing curse was something that Severus had not felt in a long time, but he was allowing his rage to guide him at this point. The same emotions that fueled him as a Death Eater spy now ran rampant.
The next troopers were smarter than the first: riot shields and an aggressive use of grenades. Severus was forced to put up a shield to block the shrapnel and follow-up blaster bolts. Severus was actually somewhat impressed. Despite not being able to actually harm him, the troopers were keeping him pinned down against the console he was defending, unable to retaliate or otherwise halt the flow of more troopers.
Still, the impasse would work in his favor in the end, as soon as the ship aligned itself for the jump into the nearest star. Or so he thought, until the console flashed red and stalled out its preparations for the jump. Glancing at the screen, Severus swore. Whoever was trying to counter hack the virus was gaining ground and countermanded the navigation controls that he had implanted to the Nav computer.
Luckily, the hacker couldn't wipe the coordinates and totally undo everything that Severus had started, but he had forced a flaw into the logic of the system, which required an override on Severus' end.
The struggle was that in order to override it properly, Severus had to pull two levers on either end of the console simultaneously. That would require him to stow his wand and lower the protective shield keeping him from being torn apart by blasterfire. Looking back at the faceless soldiers, mindlessly trying to stop him, Severus felt the same rush of vindictive anger.
He had nothing left to live for. The same deadening emotion that took him when Lily Evans had died so long ago returned, which had caused him to throw himself at Dumbledore, hoping that the old man would end him, and instead being placed on this damning path that caused so much agony throughout a Galaxy of sentient beings.
But now, he would stop all of it. He would forever cripple the space faring power of the psychopathic Emperor, and destroy this titanic ship. Throwing his wand aside, Severus spun and grabbed both levers.
The first blaster shot hit him in the shoulder, almost throwing him forward, but Severus stood his ground and pulled for all he was worth.
The last thing he saw was the stars blurring around them, before another shot slammed into him, and everything ended.
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Zhar sensed the moment that Fury entered his chamber, high in the former Imperial Palace of Dramund Kaas.
All around the city was burning, building rigged to detonate by Euka crumbling and crushing many of the Marauder's forces, and scattering what populace remained.
"You're later than I expected…" Zhar commented, not rising or even opening his eyes from his meditation, "I suppose the loss of power on the fifth floor hindered your use of the lift to get up here…"
"How?" Fury said, before stopping himself, "It doesn't matter what you've seen, there is only one way that this will end."
The snap hiss of the warrior's sabers was as predictable as Zhar thought it might be.
"Always one for action, even if it was futile and purposeless," he commented, slowly rising to his feet and drawing his own weapon. "I had such high hopes for you so long ago, but you've utterly failed every aspect that I had thought of to help you in your life. It's rather ironic that you managed to survive long enough for me to be the one to end you."
Fury snarled, and charged like a maddened animal. Zhar did not even activate his own weapon as he spun out of the path of the flashing crimson sabers, narrowly avoiding the direct rush. "You honestly think that I haven't been preparing for your arrival since I foresaw it?" Zhar commented, rising a single hand, "Fool…"
Lightning blasted out from his extended fingertips. Fury tried to move his sabers to block the bolts, but Zhar was not aiming for the man's body or head. The electric current flowed into the mechanical hand of the Marauder, overloading and disabling the powerful limb, transforming it into a useless weight on the side of Fury.
"That may even the playing field," Zhar said, smirking as he activated his own weapon. Roaring with rage, Fury charged again, and Zhar shifted into his tradition Djem-So counterattacks. The cuts and hacks were effectively blocked and repurposed between the pair of them, and Zhar had to admit that even with the loss of one arm, Fury had grown in his saber skills, and was a force to be reckoned with in martial combat.
Luckily, there were many more aspects of being a Dark Adept than just skill with the lightsaber. Zhar maneuvered them precisely, angling the back of Fury to a wide window of the palace, which he had already foreseen would take damage due to the battle.
And he was not disappointed. Within moments the glass shattered, exploding inward and showering over Fury, thoroughly distracting the Marauder and permitting Zhar to charge in. planting his boot on Fury's chest, the Supreme Prophet relished the sense of terror as he shoved hard. Fury sailed backward, only barely stopping before the open section of the Palace structure, and teetering on the precipice.
Pressing hard with the heavy-handed swings of his form, Zhar battled with his one-time apprentice on the edge, trading blows and weaving on the spot to dodge the more gregarious swings from Fury. Out in the city, Zhar could sense that Euka was gleeful in her destruction of the army, as well as Jol, recently sneaking down from space to join the melee in the city.
"Your army is lost," Zhar said, forcing Fury to listen, "And the destruction of the Imperial Fleet is nigh, why consume yourself with this madness. We could join forces once more and survive this dark time, find a peaceful existence here on Dromund Kaas, and be forgotten by the rest of the Galaxy!"
"I don't believe you!" Fury sneered, "I will triumph, and return gloriously to the Empire! We will crush the rebels and rule the Galaxy forever!"
Just then, high in orbit over the planet, the cruisers that had carried Fury and his forces here suddenly self-destructed, showering the outlying jungles with scrap and wreckage from their hulls.
"You were saying?" Zhar asked, keeping himself on the defensive, for when his first apprentice flew back into a rage. "That was the chief standing order of the Terrasque. In order to maintain supreme control over the fleet, Veneficus had every ship rigged to explode at a moment's notice, and held the passcodes and commands to himself. He was always willing to throw anyone aside that outlived their usefulness. And it is that paranoia that has led to the downfall of his Empire."
Fury sneered back, his saber aloft. "The Empire is done for." Zhar affirmed, "The Republic will return, and a new golden age of rebirth will begin. There is no stopping what is to come…"
Fury roared in rage, swinging wildly. Zhar had hoped to avoid this fate, but it was not to be. He blocked, locking sabers with the maddened man turned beast, and shoved hard. Fury teetered, and lost his balance, tumbling over the edge of the shattered window.
The saber went flying, and the man was clinging desperately to the ledge just below, with nothing to prevent a steep and deadly fall to the ground far below. "I tried to save you, you know," Zhar said calmly, pointing his blade at the man's wrist, the only thing keeping him alive, "So long ago I did what I could to strengthen you for what was to come. But you allowed yourself to be consumed by hatred and a petty need for revenge. This is what weakened you, blinded you to the greater aspects of the Force. You handicapped yourself long before I took your arm."
"I hate you!" Fury raged, lashing out uncontrollably in his final moments.
"I cared for you, after my own fashion," Zhar retorted, "I wanted to spare you the horrors I had faced in my path down the Dark Side, but you wouldn't have it, and now the journey ends. Goodbye, my old apprentice…"
Zhar stabbed deftly, severing the hand at the wrist. Fury screamed as he fell the long distance, only to be swiftly cut off by a sickening crunch as he met the stone ground in front of the temple. The Supreme Prophet looked down forlornly, recollection of his apprentice and their early years together. So long had Fury been consumed by the silent animosity that Zhar had tried to remove from the young man, only for it to swell and focus solely on the older Force user.
"Such a waste…" he commented, deactivating his blade and turning away.
Now they, the new trio that formed the core of the Prophets of the Dark Side, had to focus on how they would survive the coming calm that followed the breaking of the storm. Veneficus' reign was coming to a swift and devastating close, and those left behind would be utterly at a loss on how to proceed.
Zhar knew that there would be countless Dark Adepts scattered throughout the Galaxy, without anywhere to turn or anything to give them purpose. He could not allow them all to run rampant and destroy the Galaxy in their driven passion, directionless and without meaning.
The communication system for the Empire may be gone, thanks to their actions, but Dromund Kaas still had a powerful broadcasting station, able to send out signals on secure, and secret, channels that only those with the right knowledge would find.
They would recalibrate the signal to summon as many Dark Adepts as would heed it back to Dromund Kaas, and reform the Prophets properly, as a means to survive whatever the Galaxy threw at them.
Through the power of their foresight, they would hide from the Jedi, and seek out and destroy the Sith wherever they could find them. Zhar would become the harbinger of the end for all those that would threaten the Galaxy as a whole.
He could sense that his people would need much in the way of training, and once the Sith Lords went to ground again, to hide their presence from the Galaxy, they would need all the knowledge possibly in order to find them again.
Zhar only wondered if it would be possible for them to successfully slay one of the Sith once they were found… that was something that none of the Prophets had as of yet been able to foresee.
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Diábolis cursed loudly as Veneficus disappeared with Talzin. The cursed Mage-born and their powers to teleport wherever their heart desired. He rushed for the exit of the caverns, hoping to find a speeder or some other form of tracking technology so that he could find where the pair had gone, but he encountered a major problem.
The hordes of undead that Talzin had created were waiting, and charged him the moment he emerged. She must have set them to attack anyone who exited, in case Veneficus fled, or else to betray Diábolis the moment all was finished.
Flying into a rage, Diábolis carved through the rotting corpses of former Imperials and Dark Adepts. It took far longer than he desired, but eventually he reached the shuttle he had arrived in, and called down a speeder and a tracker from inside its cargo hold.
The technology would scan the planet swiftly, but he wasn't sure if it would find his prey fast enough. However, a flare in the Force to his left, far in the distance assured him of the direction to begin his search. He threw a leg over the speeder and revved the engine, allowing the vehicle to speed off toward the overflowing of Force energy.
Clearly the fight between the two had intensified, even as Talzin made use of the Scepter of Ragnos and Veneficus his own restored powers. Diábolis was not sure what the man had done to rejuvenate himself, now how much of his substantial power it had granted back to him, but the Apprentice was not willing to take too many risks.
If Veneficus had tried to separate the pair of them, it meant that he truly feared that he might lose this fight. The quicker Diábolis arrived and attacked, the sooner Veneficus would be put back on the defensive.
Dodging through the trees as he flew at the maximum speed, Diábolis allowed the tracker to home in on the precise location of the two powerful Force users, weaving a complicated path through the dense undergrowth and homing in on them.
Mount a rise, Diábolis spotted the flashed of light through the last bend in the trees, and heard the telltale clash of sabers. He was forced to duck; however, when a powerful orange beam cut horizontally through the growth, severing trees and foliage like, sending them falling to the ground with a massive crash.
Talzin was using the power of the Scepter wildly, fending off Veneficus with everything she could muster, and it seemed to be at least keeping the Sith Lord back. Aiming the speeder directly at his former master, Diábolis pushed the device to its max speed, locking it in forward and stepping onto the seat.
Activating his twinblade at the last moment, Diábolis leapt from the vehicle as it plowed into the artificial clearing, bearing down on his former master.
Veneficus teleported in a hurry, reappearing on the far side of the vehicle as it crashed into one of the remaining stumps of the many trees and exploded. Diábolis rose from his landed crouch, and flourished his weapon at Veneficus, "We've not finished our duel, my old master," he snarled, eager to press the attack once more.
"If you are so willing to die, then so be it…" Veneficus snapped back, closing the distance between human and Devaronian with Force-aided speed, and their crimson sabers clashed heavily, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Diábolis fell into Juyo, throwing off the twin sabers and cutting back and forth twice with heavy reaching swiped. Veneficus stepped back for the first, and ducked the second, trying to perform a double upward lunge, but Diábolis spun away to the side, building momentum for a powerful overhead slam.
Veneficus blocked with a strong cross of his blades, locking all three of their weapons at once. But Diábolis had momentarily forgotten Talzin, who was waiting for the opportunity to strike. "Master, and Apprentice, mine at last!" she said, smirking madly as the Scepter pointed at the pair of them.
Both Sith pushed off each other as the orange beam of pure Force energy ripped through the space they once occupied. Diábolis didn't need to sense the wrongness of using the Force in such a manner to know that it would tear apart anything it struck.
Veneficus leapt at the witch, but she was prepared for a direct attack this time. Slamming the head of the Scepter into the ground, a powerful pulse of Force energy washed in all directions, throwing the Sith Master away and into a large patch of demolished undergrowth. He emerged with many cuts and blood flowing freely from his face and hands.
Diábolis quickly realized that the pair had little to no fixation on his presence as they lunged at each other again, crimson sabers finding purchase on the emerald fire of Talzin's weapon. He was a momentary distraction for Veneficus and a passing tool for Talzin.
Diábolis felt his anger for the pair rising, and drew the Sith Sword that he had brought with him. Acting on instinct more than any rational plan, he charged in, allowing only Talzin to see his approach.
Veneficus started to turn, but through his rage and the Force enhancing his speed, Diábolis moved like lightning, and drove the sith blade into his master's back, ripping through the armored material of his robes, breaking bones and rupturing through organs.
The point of the blade exploded out of the front of Veneficus and dug into Talzin as well, although not nearly as deeply as Diábolis hoped. The witch staggered back, injured but not impaled, while Veneficus fell to his knees, fatally wounded.
"And so it ends, my hated foe," Talzin simpered, the sword fading from her hand as she started chanting, and waving the green spell-like mist over Veneficus' features, "Be forgotten!"