A massive cataclysm has struck the universe, and destroyed most everything in its wake. The survivors are now trying to pick up the pieces, and figure out exactly what has befallen them. Gather together, lightsiders!! The darkness has shattered the peace and calm of the galaxy...and they will do anything to stop anyone from finding out exactly what has been done! This is our first sitewide RP plotline. Lightsiders, you are looking for the source of this massive event. Clues must be found, lackeys tracked down, and bits of memory discovered. Darksiders, you guys don't want that to happen....because of the one behind the whole thing is furthering his ultimate goal. Mandalorians, and non-force users, you guys can decide where you stand on this line....do you side with the Jedi, and try to discover the reasons behind the ruined universe, or will you side with the darkness, and protect those secrets. Will the secret of the cataclysmic reaping be kept under wraps? Or will the Jedi and their allies find out the truth? Your RP and writing will decide the outcome!
BATTLE ARENA
Welcome to The Saga Continues. We have a section called the Battle Arena. Here you can use your characters to fight other characters. Hone your skills and see what you are made of. Don't worry, anything that happens here, does not effect your characters in posts, so if your character dies, you can still use them over and over. Have fun and check it out!
The Saga Continues is the product of the mind of ADMIN ADI; all contents are copyright their original owners. All characters belong to their original creators, and may not be used or replicated without permission. All images are copyright their original owners. This skin Operation Mindcrime was made by pharaoh leap of Pixel Perfect and put together by ADMIN KRYSTAL
They had burst back into Honoghr's atmosphere, nearly where they had been sucked into the time portal. Adieumus knew not how much time had passed since last they had been here...was it a day? A week? Month? Years, perhaps? The destroyed hulk of a Republic ship still floated like a silent ghost in orbit. The hulk stood in silent tribute to the ones that had lost their lives to protect the precious cure that this crew still held. They had been through tremendous strain to get back here...but the years they had spent had been well-spent....
....They had learned much on how to stem this growing tide of darkness that was still spreading.
Adi himself was even different, more determined than ever to stop the encroaching darkness. One didn't have to be a Jedi to understand the destruction that the Darkside caused in its wake, and the universe was adrift in dark power....he could feel it. He didn't know how, but the Arkanian was as determined as ever to stand fast against it, even if it meant his very life.
They had drifted quietly for a while, just taking in the scene. The fires had long-since burned out in the abandoned Nystao, the RDMC having burned to the ground, and below. The entire planet was shattered, as the Order of Ruin had most likely orchestrated it. They, however, did not count on the resourcefulness and tenacity of the group they had sent into the past.
Obviously, because here they were again, no matter how hard the enemy had tried to get rid of them. Now? They had to get somewhere that could get this cure produced, without getting caught by the ones that didn't want it out there. One of the clone troopers suggested Kamino. It was true, Kamino would have the facilities to produce the cure, along with the added bonus of the Kaminoans being reported somewhat immune to the red-eyed death.
"I agree...They might be our best chance to get this cure out there. It might be a small effort, but its worth it in the long run...at least others will know about it, finally."
"I figure that I would try to spread the love, Loki. It is meant to be shared, you know this. I dont know who smokes or doesn't, but I'm gonna offer either way."
Loki was being his normal paranoid self. It was part of his charm, but it was also an irritant sometimes. Drez and his men seemed worried about the flora and fauna on Felucia. Regardless of who was in possession of the planet, it was still hostile...
...To a point.
"Inside is better, yes. I would rather not be in a position to have to fight any of the..err...locals."
Finishing the smoke, Adi knocked the end off the joint, and put the remainder in his pocket. He turned toward the ship, and headed up the ramp. He was already feeling a bit better, not anywhere near as sore or in pain as he had been. The bones had started knitting...the ones who had worked on him had done an excellent job. Stretching his shoulders as he entered the Wayward Son, he grunted a little.
Ok, so he wasn't quite a hundred percent....yet.
As he made his way inside,he turned,and went into the small shop he had set up in the one corner of the cargo hold. There, the CLoWDS armor had been charging, and Gregory had been running diagnostics. There were several systems that were still inoperable, along with even more in critical state. There were parts that could be scavenged from the RESCUE suit, but the heavier weapons would have to be replaced at another time.
After a couple hours of tinkering with the suit, and getting some of the easier to repair systems back up, Adi plopped into a chair, and sighed. It had been one rollercoaster hill after another ever since he had first returned, then fled, Honoghr. He yawned, and groaned as his ribs reminded him of just how close he had come to dying so very recently. For some odd reason, the Force had seen fit to keep him alive yet again. Perhaps there was a higher purpose....maybe not. Either way, Adi was seriously tired of getting the crap kicked out of him.
They needed to have a fight with some kind of monster who just wanted to have a drinking contest....but Master Frantz was far from a monster, so that was right out the window.
In what seemed like just moments, Adi's eyes had closed, and he had fallen into a brief, but very deep sleep. Now while he had slept some in the trip here, he hadn't really slept like this. His mind was filled with familiar images...ones from times far from where they were. The flashes of light blinked between fire in the streets of Adascopolis, to screams of those being slaughtered. Men, women, children, it mattered not to the forces razing everything. Eerily similar to the plague that would follow it, there were very few survivors. It had started as a small insurrection against the royal family, the Adascas, but it had grown into a seething mob of thousands.
And they were hell bent on the death of every single member of the ruling family.
Adieumus remembered fleeing through the streets, heading for the castle keep. A sniper shot meant for him went slightly off-target, striking his younger sister instead. She had been in their mother's arms, and slumped as the shot struck the young girl in the forehead. One of the royal guards immediately killed the shooter...but it was too late for the little blonde haired girl....
...The true heir to the Adasca family was now dead.
Their mother never left go of the little girl as the family sprinted through the gate. Behind them, the massive doors slammed shut, and the guards that remained took up as strong a defensive position as they could. The normally bustling entrance hall was now only occupied by the small group that had made it through the hail of fire. Adi's father had been among the first to fall in the attack, and his older brother soon after. It was now just Adi, his mother, and his deceased sister. Tears streamed down both their faces, and the young man of 11 was sobbing uncontrollably.
His mother began to somewhat compose herself. Placing the young girl on the hard marble floor, she stood, and walked past the young boy on the floor, putting her hand on his shoulder as she did so. It was as if Adieumus was watching his younger self in the first fight for his life as an outsider. It was here that the dream began to go in an unexpected direction....
Adi's mother began to speak....to him. No, not the boy...to -him-.
"You must. Keep. The Path. You all are our only hope for salvation, my son. Each of you has a role to play....and you must see it through."
The words were shocking...to the point where the Arkanian sat up awake...in a dripping sweat. The words were still ringing in his ears, as if she had been standing right here, and speaking to him face to face. It was entirely too real to be just a dream. What had she meant?? Why him?? Why -them-??
Luckily, Gregory was there to snap Adi out of it.
"Sir, power core diagnostics are complete. We are at ninety-four percent capacity, and the drains on the system have been isolated from the main. We have full use of the flight and repulsor system, along with one of the grenade launchers. The minigun I am afraid, it cannot be salvaged with our current parts inventory. Perhaps we can switch it out for a rotary blaster cannon for now?"
Adi just gave a nod, as he was still somewhat in shock from the dream-turned-drama. He would have to meditate on it, maybe see something that he had not before. Until then, all he was going to be able to do was prepare himself for the inevitable engagement, or engagements, that followed this group like a dark cloud.
After the smoke sesh with AkriZik in the last round of the tournament, Adi had grabbed the tournament transport. At the beginning of the ride, he had tossed earbuds in, and had been tapping his foot to a really fun song by a guy he really didnt know. It was, however, something to take his mind off what was really bothering him. This is how he had spent the ride to Raxus Prime. Wait...Raxus-frickin-Prime??? AGAIN????
At least it wasnt a travel agent's fault this time.
Stepping out of the transport, Adi was carrying no weapons, and wearing no armor. For some odd reason, it was as if there were a ton of ysalimari in the area as well, because Matango could not feel the touch of the force. It was odd, to be sure, but not unheard of. He took a stroll among the debris and destruction all around him. One of the only things with him, besides his almost never-ending stash of endorian endo *and papers to roll it*, was a rather large bottle of Corellian Ale. It mattered little if anyone was here to fight the Arkanian, he was determined -not- to have to do so. Hopefully, whoever showed up to this shindig was of the same mindset.
After a few minutes of walking, Adieumus decided it was time to spark up some of the Endorian he had brought with him. Looking around, he spotted the cockpit of a broken light freighter. It was strangely similar to the Wayward Son, but there were enough differences to the destroyed cockpit to tell the former Jedi that it was not the ship his friends were currently off gallyvanting around the universe in. The seats, although dusty as all hell, were still there. Brushing one off, Adi plopped down, and took a chug off the bottle. He then proceeded to pull out the bag of green herb, sprinkled a bit in a paper, rolled it up, and gave it a lick. Finishing the sealing-up process, he reached into the same pocket, and pulled out the lighter that was never off his person. With a single flick, it came to life, burning the end of the doobie that was now hanging out of his mouth.
If someone -was- here to kill him, at least Adieumus Matango would be too medicated to even feel it. If he was gonna go out, he was gonna go out on his terms, no one else's. It remained to be seen as to how, or when.
The only thing telling Adi that the strike had hit home was the acrid smell of burning cloth and flesh. AkriZik was still moving...and this time it was effectively carrying the Echani out of Adi's strike range. Not bad for a guy that was asleep in a stone coffin for as long as what he said he was. No matter, there were more important things to attend to....
Like the sword that was flying at Adi's head....
With a turn, putting his left shoulder forward and twisting his body to follow, and leaning back a little bit, the first blade shot millimeters past Adi's nose. The turn had also put him out of the original position the second blade was intended for, but having to turn his head away for that briefest of moments had taken Matango's eyeline away from seeing the second blade. The edge of the weapon sliced easily through the thin cloth of his t-shirt, and creased the upper abdominal muscles, creating a thin line that immediately began to bleed. It wasn't an exceptionally deep wound, but the weapon was sharp enough that it didnt have to be. It sliced deeply enough that the blood literally was staining his shirt already. It was like Adi had just met a very large razor blade, and the blade won. Instinctively, his left hand shot up, and checked the wound, and was soaked with red. This was going south VERY quickly.
Both weapons clattered to the ground behind the Arkanian as he heard the distinct sound of a lightsaber being unhooked. For crying out loud, Adi didn't even really wanna fight this guy...he wanted to move onward, and find his real target. This Echani though, he was putting up a hell of a battle. It was time to try a new tactic.....Putting his left hand up, and deactivating his saber, Adi spoke quickly.
"Woah, woah, woah!!! I think we got off on the wrong foot. I really don't wanna have to fight you anymore than you wanna fight me. What say we just smoke a doobie, and call it a day? Maybe see where the next location is for the second round?"
In a show of good faith, Adi reached into one of the pockets of his cargo pants, and pulled out a fat, but slightly battered, joint of Endorian Endo. Only the best for Adi Matango!
"This shit'll take you to places that just dont even exist anymore. Cmon....we've beaten each other up enough, eh?"
The man was one of the quickest Matango had fought in a very long time, but his style was filled with more movement that it really needed. The first spin that Adi had parried was a good decision...Added power, and attempted to set the tone. However, after the pull back from the quick saber lock, ZikRibos again started to move into another spin. This one was ill-advised.
To Matango, a fight was two things. Firstly, it was time, and how to best manage every single second. A fighter's eyes needed to see everything around them, notice every twitch, every movement, and every single moment, they had to be searching for an opening to exploit. The other was circles. If there were two fighters, there were two circles...depending on the range, the size of these circles could expand, or close, but there were always two...an inner circle, and an outer circle. To a defensive, counterstrike type fighter like Adi, the inner circle was everything. By baiting Zik into coming at Adi at the range that the Arkanian had picked, he had started this exchange in that inner circle. By parrying the initial double slash, he had defended it, keeping the inside spot.
Now, that well-timed inner circle mentality was about to pay off.
The fighter in the 'outer' circle had to move more in order to keep the attack pressed. This is where searching for that perfect moment was everything. Whereas when Zik started to spin away, he had to go much further in order to bring his attack back around...Adi had to turn about forty five degrees, which, even from his missed strike, would be far faster than a complete spin. From the low position his saber had been in from the missed wrist sever, it put him in a good spot for a bottom-to-top style backhand slash that, at the range he was at, would hopefully catch Zik from the Echani's now-exposed lower left rear abdomen, and tearing upward to the right, ending only when it would clear the man's right shoulder. If he had to take a step to follow the Echani in order to land the attack, the former Jedi would do so. However, from where he was, he didn't think he would have to. This slash wasn't meant to kill, but a deep shiim across the back was debilitating in its own right.
The force enhanced speed began to take its toll on Adi's muscles, having driven them into a frenzy to keep up with the power being fed into them. No sooner had the slash finished its arc, the precious force-boosted speed bled off, and Matango stumbled back a short step. He could not keep this up....not at the level of speed this man was travelling at. He was fast, sure...but he was no Echani. Knowing that a retaliation was sure to come, Adi kept his saber out in front of him, as ready as his vision would allow. The exertion had exceeded the amount of air the Arkanian took in, and now, his vision was fading from clear to fuzzy. He was breathing in deep gasps, each an every single muscle throbbed from overuse, sweat was running down his face....but Adieumus Matango was know for something that was far stronger than anything this speed demon had to throw at him...His will to never quit. This fight would end the same as every single one before it...
....It would end as yet another mission accomplished.
A bolt ripped by Adieumus, and struck the area where he had thrown the utility belt. No big deal...but those swords apparently were able to channel force....Damn sith weaponry, anyway....they looked so innocent, and tiny. And yet, they could do things that would slag normal weapons. Probably spelled so that they always remained razor sharp, no matter what objects they struck, and all that. Quietly, as the bolt shattered the trigger charges of the detonators, Adi slipped the hilt of his lightsaber out of the pocket he had dropped it into earlier, and blinked...just once.
Just. Once.
When Adieumus' eyes were open, the world appeared as normal, everything moving at proper speed. However, in that briefest of moments, when his eyes closed, they reopened to find the very same world moving far more slowly....How Adieumus loved the many applications of force speed.... The force was filling every molecule of his body, propelling him far beyond his normal limits. However, speed could be applied, even when standing still, to observe things around you at a slower pace. Matango's thoughts calmed, his body poised, ready to move. He fell deeper into the trancelike zen, and concentrated only one one thing...his foe. Zik's body positioning was solid, and strong defensively...but Matango was still studying every twitch of the man's muscles. However, Adi was slightly alarmed to see the other man not really moving as slowly as what he first anticipated....Damn Echani, they were speedy bastards to begin with, and with speed added in, this would get tricky. It only took Zik three steps to get to Matango's distance, but again...force speed had many applications to those who studied it in-depth.
To counter the left to right slashes, Adi's right thumb hit the activator of his lightsaber,and he spun his body ninety degrees as the two sith blades came in. He snapped his own weapon around with him, into the path of first the blade in the other man's left, the one in Akribos' right hand impacting quickly thereafter, both roughly striking mid-saber. If the motion of the weapons was stopped, as Adi hoped, he would pull back slightly to try to release the blade lock between the two of them. Quickly, the blade dropped back into the hilt, and Matango moved it forward, ever so slightly. It came back to life just as quickly as it had disappeared, and growled its anger at ZikRibos. He would then rotate the lightsaber so that the spin would carry it toward Zik's outstretched wrists, hoping to sever them both in one fell swoop. Trakata, combined with pure, blinding speed. It posed a deadly combination.
As quick as this guy was, Adi was pretty sure it wasn't gonna work as planned, though.
It was all Adi could do to keep from laughing out loud when he heard "The greatest little derivative pile of blackberry pudding pop fuckery to ever glaze this shitty little galaxy" come out of this man's mouth. He had managed to get clear of both the flash, and the seismic grenades with little effect...probably due to the fact that Adi had misjudged the distance, and pretty much thrown what would end up being -behind- his foe, rather than in front of him.
Hey, YOU try to judge a good two armed grenade throw, all the while surfing a sarcophagus lid thrown by a darksider who appeared to be a grumpy old man....Let's see where they end up for you, eh?
Back to the action, Adi remained hidden, barely keeping Akribos in view as the man's weapons struck his hands. He listened to the man speak, catching his breath from the earlier quick actions. The projected attack had taken some exertion, but after a few seconds of resting, Matango was able to calm his breathing, and relax for a moment. It was annoying, but this guy was absolutely right, Matango was here, regardless of what he was telling himself, for a good fight. As much as he was kind of torn right now. It WAS true that Adi had entered this tournament to find the one responsible for unleashing the virus...but he was also here to test himself as well. It was a toss-up, really...He could easily draw a bead and fire blaster shots until Zik went down, or he could actually be goaded into a head on incursion.
And then...there were two big reasons that reared their ugly heads. Two things that Adieumus had tried to keep buried for a long time...pride, and ego. It was a challenge that had been laid down...and as much as it truly pissed Adi off, he had to agree with AkriZik. The Arkanian had been treating this as a military operation, not a duel. This is where Adi was probably making a huge mistake, but those two problems...erm....'reasons' won out. Emotions were a powerful motivator, even things as different as pride, and ego could be drawn on to elicit connections to the force to be regained. Knowing what was coming, adrenaline began to surge through the former Jedi Watch lead, renewing his vigor from his earlier exertion, and driving him forward.
A few moments after Akribos finished speaking, Adi stood. If ZikRibos wanted this, dude was gonna get everything he wanted, and more. Adieumus stepped out from his hiding spot, roughly 45 feet away from the Echani, and began to walk toward him. He was silent, but he pulled the lightsaber from the utility belt, shoving it one of the pockets right below it in his cargo pants. He unbuckled the utility belt when he was about thirty feet away, and the active camo began to waver. Knowing that he was now visible again, Adi took one more stride, and he tossed the belt to the side *with the blaster, and the rest of his detonators on it, along with the camo unit* snapping back at the man.
"My Master would have broken your neck for talking too much long ago." Another stride and a half, and it carried Matango to within 15 feet of Zik.
"Be glad I'm -not- her." One more pair of steps carried Matango to just ten feet from his foe. He stood, feet shoulder width apart, knees ever so slightly bent. His hands hung at his sides, and his icy blue eyes fell cold upon the Echani standing front of him. Snarling out the last he would say, he waited for Zik to make any kind of move.
"There was no such thing as disappointment. You either succeeded, or you were killed. I'm obviously still alive. I have yet to find anyone to cause my failure...but you are welcome to try."
Adi was awake the entire trip to Felucia. Indeed, he didn't sleep much anymore, not after the events that had transpired on Carida against the Mandalorians. Besides, he wanted to see what the planet was like before his time. Granted, he knew that being in the past could really screw up the timeline, but he couldn't help but be rather excited to see events he had only witnessed through many holocrons and history tomes.
To a history buff, this was a dream come true....even if they were screwing up the timeline. Then again, Adi didn't believe they were.
Listening to everyone worrying about messing up the timeline, Matango just smiled. He felt differently than the others. He, in his mind, felt they were on the path laid out for them through the force. He waited for a few moments, letting Rai and Loki discuss the time issues before he spoke up.
"What if we are supposed to be exactly where we are...right here, right now? Yeah, the history books don't have us here, but they don't tell everything."
For the first time since before the battle that had destroyed the RDMC, Adi pulled out one of his hand-rolled smokes, and lit it. Sure....he liked the herb and its effects, but still, this was something he adamantly believed in....they were here for a reason. Fate would not allow them to be somewhere they were not supposed to be. Besides....if he was gonna be trapped in the past, at least he would be rather happy about it.
"I know it seems strange, but what if fate intended us to be here all along? I mean, we do nothing without being affected by fate and the force...what if this was the ultimate intention? What if we are -meant- to be here?? I know it sounds strange...but....what if?"
Matango offered the hand-rolled endorian cigarette to Rai, to see how the Cerean would react. A lot could be said for a person if they took it...even if they weren't normally a smoker. He wouldn't be offended if it wasn't taken...but good manners dictated that one should partake of something offered, even if it wasn't the usual thing you did, if only to better understand those you were newly working with. It was an unofficial test, one that had very little riding on it, but still gave much in the way of trust. As for the question Adi had asked, he simply waited for what the others had to say about it.
'Kriffin lucky bastard...' Adi thought to himself as Akribos launched away from the projected attack. Adi had really been banking on the attack landing...he didn't have the time to play around with this guy. Even the blaster bolts were batted away with some apparent ease....Only one of them had even -remotely- struck home, and even that just caused a minor wound. This guy was pretty agile, even for an Echani. If he got through this in one piece, Adi would most definitely have to go back to the drawing board on the delayed projected fighting.
Then, he did something that really ground Adi's gears...he threw the lid of the sarcophagus toward him.
If he wanted to get Adi stoned, all he had to do was ask, for crying out loud...not throw the roof of his most recent home at him....It was irritating, because even though the other man had just woken up, gave a long-winded monologue, and finally began to advance...Adi was kinda starting to like him. Then again, this guy and Zik were the same....In another time or place, they might even be able to get along. Here though? He was just another body in his way. Oh well, maybe if he pulled through, they could burn one later. Until then, it was time to be getting back to the actual action.
As Akribos began to advance directly behind his projectile at a rapid clip, Adi holstered the blaster quickly. As the lid flew toward him, the Arkanian looked closely as possible at the height, and judged the speed.
Waiting until the very last moment, Adi leapt up, and slightly backward, clearing the lip of the sarcophagus by a few feet. Careful to land lightly, landing on the balls of his feet, and rolling his feet down until he was flat-footed, he caught his balance, and began what would appear to most to be nothing short of insane. With its heavy forward motion, Adi, in essence, was 'surfing' the stone lid as the other man moved in an arc out to Adi's left. At the same time as he jumped up to land on the sarcophagus lid to get some distance between himself and Zik-Kribos, Matango had grabbed two of the spheres from his belt in each hand. At the same time, both activators were pressed, and the spheres thrown hard toward the onrushing Echani. If someone would think Matango was crazy before...they would -really- be thinking it now.
The lid, burdened with the extra two-hundred plus pounds, began to rapidly drop to the ground within a second or two of Adieumus landing on it. However, the spheres that had been thrown were set to go 'pop' in a sequence...starting about a second after they were thrown. The first one, a flash grenade, aimed at obscuring the vision of whomever had the misfortune of looking in its direction for a time, barely made noise, but exploded in a bright flash of blinding white light. Knowing the timing of his weapons, Adi closed his eyes for the briefest of moments as the flashbang went off. His right hand shot to his belt as his eyes came open, and he thumbed the activator for the active camouflage. Hopefully, the flash had blinded Zik long enough so that he would lose sight of Adi, and let the active camo do its job. The second one, meant to be the one that actually did the damage, was seismic. It would continue on for another half second, to let the flashbang really set in, then it too went bang. This was a miniature version of the same tech used in naval warfare charges, or mining hard minerals. It went off with a very unique sound, throwing a seismic shockwave out in all directions for about thirty feet.
And THIS was why Adieumus had caught a ride on the sarcophagus lid express...to get out of range of what amounted to heavy impact damage in that thirty-foot range. If Zik had continued on his current arcing path, it would roughly carry him into the very deadly close range of ten to twelve feet. Inside their short range, they were among the most powerful non-explosive weapons available. Outside of that interior blast radius, the impact was still quite powerful, able to do damage to soft tissue and bone quite easily. Even past the thirty foot damage radius, Adi had even seen the shockwave still knock full-grown men off their feet for another meter or two. They were no joke, and to use them effectively took guts, skill, and a lot of luck.
When it went off, the shockwave tore apart the handful of crates nearby, shattering them, and carrying the debris along with the shockwave. If the initial bang didn't manage to get Zik, the secondary shrapnel might. Then again, it would be awesome if both caught him. That would be a pretty effective way of going back to the original idea of ending this duel quickly.
The lid, now growing dangerously close to the ground from the Adi on top of it, was caught by one of the lesser, outer shockwaves, and began to wobble dangerously. Hopefully unseen under the protection of his active camo, Adieumus finally jumped off it to his right when he was about fifty feet from where he had started, and rolled behind some crates. The heavy stone lid crashed to the ground, shattering into thousands of pieces. Matango needed a moment to clear his head from the earlier fog created by the intense concentration needed for the use of the projected fighting. The active camo unit was good for about a minute of continuous use, so if he remained still, hopefully Zik wouldn't be able to see him until Adi was again ready to engage. He had really been hoping that the projected attack would be enough to win this....Apparently, Akribos had other ideas, and came through it fairly well. If this seismic grenade trick didnt do it, Matango would have to go with plan b...
....Now...he just had to come UP with an effective plan b....and fast.
Adieumus watched closely as the man cleared the sarcophagus. So, he wasn't Zik....not the one that Adi knew at least. Good to know, kicking his ass wouldn't come with the extra baggage of knowing that it was a friend that he had to cut through in order to find out the perpetrator of the plague. This guy was definitely not the one....hell, he had only been awake for a few minutes....maybe Adi -would- feel a LITTLE bad for what he was about to do.
Maybe. Just a little. He would get over it, though.
The man calling himself "Akribos" sure liked to talk a lot. Hmmm...maybe he wasn't as different from Zik as Matango first thought. At least there were a few similarities. Regardless, he was in the way, and there were bigger fish to fry. Whoever, or whatever was responsible for killing half the universe in one fell swoop lay beyond this round. This Akribos guy was just gonna be a stepping stone. As the one that Adi had now nicknamed "AkriZik" in his head monologued on about who he was, Adi went into one final series of movements...again, twelve in all...the force rolling through him like a raging ocean.
This series started with a right-left combo, followed by a left elbow, right knee, right elbow....
"I have been awakened for reasons beyond...."
A jump spinning left snap kick, followed up by a hard, down-driving left as ZikRibos continued talking.
"Formerly of the Dark Council of the Sith...."
As he watched the pseudo-Zik approach, closing the original thirty-foot distance slowly, methodically, as he continued talking, Adi threw a wicked right uppercut into the air in front of him, followed by a downward driving elbow on the same side....seemingly at nothing....shadowboxing at its best....
"I killed a -LOT- of people to get that title. I deserve to be called as such."
Finishing the warmup combo with a left elbow snapping out to propel another spinning snap kick, Adi answered simply.
"You talk too much. None of it is what I wanna hear."
Snapping into a left-side front stance, Adi grinned, and cocked his head at his approaching enemy. Akribos was about thirty feet from where Adi had posted himself. With the flick of his finger, the trap was sprung. See, there were a lot of tricks Adieumus Matango had acquired over the years, and one of them was one of his favorites...projected fighting. However, being who he was, the Arkanian had taken it to another level. Instead of directly throwing projected blows, Adieumus had learned how to delay their timing, even stacking attacks on upon another....even going as far as to string about...oh, a dozen of them together?
...yet one more potent weapon in Adi's vast arsenal....one of many geared for situations just like this, when time was short, and the mission was at stake. It was a risk to use this much so soon, but it was one worth taking.
Within the span of a half second, the entirety of the last series of twelve kata movements came in, stringing together one right after the other, like a rapid-fire triphammer. First was the right-left punch combo, aimed at the face of Adi's foe. These first two blows would come in at about cheek level, the right attempting to connect to the left cheek, and the left projected punch at the right cheek, respectively. The projected left elbow would strike out at the right side of Akribos' neck in very quick succession, coming down with a hard, sharp blow to the soft flesh that connected to the shoulder. The right and left knees that Adi had thrown? Those two attacks followed up the elbow, aimed at the front of the left and right knees of the approaching Echani, in an attempt to slow down what could potentially be an extremely fast enemy. The first of the jump spin kicks now came in, and it was aimed at right side of Zik's head to knock the other man into the left fist that had been driven downwards, hopefully catching AkriZik on the top of said thick head.
The projected right uppercut? Oh, the uppercut...it was meant to catch the other man in the chin as he was being driven down by the attack before being driven back up into the next projected elbow, also aimed for a chin shot, to really give the shock of direction changing rapidly to the apparently-groggy Akribos. The final elbow thrown was meant to knock him in the right side of his head, followed up by the left projected snap kick, aimed again at the soft flesh on the right side of his neck, where it met the shoulder.
With the preparation that had been allowed, not only were these blows able to be pretty darn accurate, they could also be stronger than they would if they were the real, physical thing, these were landing with almost twice the power they would be, should Matango actually be throwing the physical attacks real-time. He truly meant business, and he wasn't going to allow anyone, or anything, to stop him from his goal.
If the blows landed as intended, Adi could simply sit back and watch after launching the carnage....but he wasn't content with that, no. He wasn't here to play games. Instead of waiting to see if the projected attacks were successful, Adi grabbed the DL-44 blaster from the holster on his right hip, drew a bead center mass on his target, and squeezed off three bursts from the heavy pistol. While the force was his first ally, technology followed a close second. These shots were meant to strike literally as the combination finished landing....an insurance policy to the string of viciousness thrown AkriZikoBos' way.
Sure, it was cold, it was mean, it held no honor. However, right now? It was transcending honor. The situation of the universe was critical, and there wasn't time to waste.
"I warned you. If you are still alive, stay down. This was just a taste of what's to come if you get back up." A sneer crossed Adi's face, as he kept the blaster trained in the general direction of the self-proclaimed Dark Lord. This was not a day to be someone in the way of the former Jedi Master. He was in no mood to play games, nor would he tolerate them. AkriZik had taken what Matango considered aggressive steps toward him, and he had reacted accordingly. He would continue to do so, should the man survive the first barrage.
Adieumus continued his kata-like movements as the large Mirialan raised his finger. It piqued Adi's curiosity when he talked to whoever...or whatever...was in there, but his focus remained on continuing his warm up. The Arkanian's eyes never left the stone sarcophagus as it opened, and the stone lid slammed to the floor. Something was about to exit, and the large man took off like a shot toward his ship, exiting as rapidly as he could, in true fear.
What, would he now have to fight a mummy? He was handsome and could kick ass and all, but he wasn't Brendan Frasier, for crying out loud!!
Oh, good, it wasn't....but it was nearly as ugly. It looked a LOT like Adi's old friend, Zik....but, there was something off. Well, a few somethings, to be precise. There was no facial scar, the energy was ALL wrong, and he was saying something about 'Every few hundred years'?? Yea....this wasn't Zik. The speed of the arkanian's blows increased, as the kata intensified. It followed a well-practiced pattern of lefts, rights, intermingled with knees, elbows, and interspersed with a pair of rather acrobatic spinning aerial right kicks. The movements would repeat in a mixture, never the same one twice. There were, however, a dozen of them in all. It was something that Matango used if he had a chance, as it used nearly every single fiber of muscle that could possibly need stretched out, and limbered up. It was nothing really taxing, and he hadn't even broken a sweat...yet.
Not breaking stride, Adi answered the strange man in the box.
"I think big homey really had to use the bathroom. He took off like he was poppin' a turtle pretty good. And truthfully? It's time for you to just let me pass, that's all you need to know for now."
It was meant to appear that Adi was about as oblivious as he could be. Sure, he knew it wasn't Zik...but the man seemed to carry himself in a similar fashion. They would have similar strengths and weaknesses to a point, and with the training he had done alongside his old friend, Adi was pretty sure he could figure out a way to take this guy down if he got aggressive.
"You get one chance. Stand down, or I will put you down. I'm not here to fight you, but I won't hesitate, trust me."
Adi's graceful, quick, and powerful movements continued, each punch snapping out so rapidly that they almost appeared a blur. Each move flowing into the next like a dancer's. He was patiently keeping his muscles ready, the force pouring into him like a tsunami. If this guy so much as twitched in any kind of manner other than respectfully agreeing, Matango would make good on the words he had spoken.