Jedi Insurgency 264

Advancing his twin blades in an X-shape, Corvus was about to decapitate the Zabrak, when a chunk of ice the size of a Temple pillar came flying at him. 

Entering Pause, he saw that the Chiss Sithspit was standing on a disc of ice, glimmering frost surrounded her, making the air appear to be like shattered glass. With one hand, she had sent an attack at him, and with the other, she was providing support to her allies, bombarding both Kiran and Sari's positions. The elderly man was hard pressed to seize the initiative, as he was also dueling the lanky, sickly pale brunette in a fiercesome clash of blades. 

Meanwhile, the red-skinned Pureblood Sith and Sari were both trading Force techniques. Where the bronze-robed son of Korriban focused on withering curses, red lightning, and obscuring haze, the large foreheaded young woman cleansed the air making it itchy or even ticklish for the Sith, constantly testing their mental defenses trying to distract them and look for an opening. 

The fight for the grand hall took damage due to their great battle, and off to the side, Keira, Zellow and Malgus were rocking the room with their great clashes. 

Although Corvus couldn't immediately slay the Zabrak due to the incoming icicle, he knew what he had to do. Kill the caster. 

There was nothing more annoying than trying to kill the tank in a game, only to have the mage in the back row save the day time and time again. 

Un-Pausing, he [Shadow Hopped] out of the way of the freezing death, and hid behind a nearby pillar. From there-once he was out of sight-he became invisible, and jumped away. It wasn't a second too soon either, as Perfonicus rammed his way through, shattering stone, and creating clouds of dust everywhere. 

Running low to the ground, he bypassed a Knight & Lord crossing blades, jumped over a telekinetic stone flying faster than a bullet, and then [Shadow Hopped] behind the cold beauty. Plunging his hot plasma into her back, the air crackled, and she shattered, revealing herself to be an ice construct! Sharp shards exploded backward towards him, and tried to work its way up his arms, flash freezing him! 

Fortunately, [Force Resistance] coated his form, staving off the worst of the attack, however, that shield was shaved in half. Just as he was recovering, and habitually looking around himself in a second of Pause, he noticed something peculiar. Just below him, a fragment of the shattered ice the size of a hand mirror showed the reflection of the Chiss. Smiling cruelly at him, her hand was about to reach out. 

!!!

Alarmed by this sudden development, and by the power of the ancient Sith, Corvus responded with a feral smirk of his own. So what if the ice is your domain? 

THEN I'LL JUST MELT ALL THE ICE!!!

Un-Pausing, a lightsaber and a sharp piece of Darkside attuned ice lunged towards his back at super speeds. The penetrating power of that particular shard contained slowing effects, meant to discombobulate the target. In her moment of triumph, Corvus was about to blow her away with [Force Repulse], letting her taste despair. 

“Die.” Pernificus stated simply, arriving with an incredibly ordinary yet exceedingly lethal straight edged thrust from the front. 

The runes on his sword flashed, and instead of enhancing strength as one might expect, they released a psionic wave, disorienting him. Between that and the ice shard, his [Force Barrier] wavered, and a small portion of his mind was affected. 

“Samadhi yo bego-n!” Kiran said in an alien language, his wizened voice brimming with power. 

Fire burst onto the scene, melting the shard that the Chiss woman was emerging from, forcing her to retreat. Corvus-no longer under her debuff-met the Zabrak's straight edged thrust midair. Forming an X block, he was once again surprised by the large man. Red and blue cleaved through this rune covered weapon as if it were made out of common steel. Right when he was going to stab all the way down, and dice the alien to pieces, a purple blade was ignited…Pernificus had used the hilt of a lightsaber, and attached it to a buster sword! 

Meeting him with Form II, Makashi, the large strong man wielded the most elegant form of saber combat. He met Corvus with straight thrusts that could pierce through several decks of a Venator, lightning quick ripostes that made one question the meaning of speed, and parries that were simply evil. 

Meeting his match in terms of lightsaber skill, Corvus was making zero headway, and had become locked into a deadly duel. Meanwhile, that ice bitch was reforming from the frozen ground, and an ‘ice clone' had risen into the sky once more. Elemental bombardments were sure to resume. 

The purple lightsaber came once again with a forward stab, whilst the Zabrak clenched his fist, applying a [Force Choke] that threatened to shatter what remained of his shields. 

Pressing into the oncoming lightsaber, Corvus decided to trade damage for a kill. His [Energy Resistance] squealed as it tanked the purple blade. Within seconds, it popped, and his [Force Barrier] was flickering uncontrollably. 

“No.” Pernificus simply stated, furrowing his brow. The big man tried to jump back, and reorient the fight. 

“Did I say you could leave?” Corvus tilted his head, and asked in a light tone. 

Reaching a hand out, his flesh soldered now as the purple beam of plasma was gripped in his hand. Between the feats Master Toughness & Force Enlightenment, he too was a tank. When the weapon touched the edge of his Cortosis-Weave sleave, it shorted out for just a second. The Zabrak was talented in the Force, and harmonized with his kyber crystal to reignite it within a millisecond. 

However…’I'm in your guard!’ 

Corvus let loose with an evil chuckle as the palm of his hand had roughly latched onto Perfonicus's face. Digging his fingers deep into the Sith's eyesockets, he unleashed hell. 

A point blank [Force Lightning] fried the Zabrak from head to toe. His skeleton briefly became visible, and Darkside energies rapidly left him, only to be feasted upon by Corvus, filling his FP bar to the brim. 

Exploding into a pile of ashes like some vampire that gazed upon the sun, Pernificus was no more. 

Shadow lengthening, and standing tall, Corvus clenched a fist, and breathed deep. Victory was his mantle by right of conquest. 

“You call yourself a Jedi?” The Chiss mocked, her voice whispering insidiously from a streak of nearby ice. “They will never accept you like this. Do not delude yourself into thinking you are one of them.”

Her words traveled through the ether. Without his [Force Barrier] up, each one was like an ice pick drilling itself deep into his mind. 

Anger. Rage. Depression. They hit him like a sack of bricks, tempting him to fall to the Darkside…aaand promptly slipped off him like an insect splattering against a high speed train's window. 

Standing still with his head down, Corvus deliberately appeared weak. As if he were some mentally unstable loser easily swayed by the thoughts and ideas of others. Breathing rapidly, and staggering forward a step, he practically slipped on the ice. For all intents and purposes, his current aura all but said: pathetic. 

To maintain the illusion, he even began to mutter the names of the Bad Batch, manifesting what he had felt when they were all murdered in front of him by Maul. 

“Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, Echo.” Clenching his fist, very real anger and heart wrenching rage coalesced around him as he recounted that loss. 

“Ooo, here, come into my embrace, I can make it better.” The ice mirage said, holding out her arms in an understanding gesture. 

Meanwhile, Corvus was using Pause intermittently to find her true form. Stumbling slowly around like a drunk to buy time, he felt like his act was almost about to run its course. The Chiss was about to discover him. However, he caught the corner of a shadow from one strip of ice clinging to a pillar, and in that speck, he saw the future. Just as a hand was about to reach him for a hug, and transform into a shiv to stab him in the back, that insufferable woman would emerge. 

Corvus reached forward, and much to her surprise, he lifted his mask, and pressed his lips onto hers. In that one moment, she was completely stunned, her red eyes going wide in confusion. However, that surprise morphed into delight as she started to freeze him from the inside out…only for her to blink again not able to comprehend why he was okay?! 

[Valor] flared around him, and wielding the enhanced strength, and power of the Lightside, he shoved his fist through the construct's chest, and pointed his finger at the pillar. A red orb smacked into it, catching the hidden Chiss offguard. Afflicted with [Slow], and blood filled with corrosive poison, she had no time to react. 

Corvus appeared practically out of nowhere thanks to [Shadow Hop], and plunged the super hot plasma of his weapon into the ice mirror, and into a different dimension. The Sithspit's eyes widened in surprise as a black hole melted her brains, dropping her dead. 

Permafrost coated his gloves, as well as the mask he had slipped over his face. Cold tugged at the tips of his gloves, and his joints were icy. Breathing out a mist of air, the Lightside & Darkside commingled around him, generating a whirlwind of power. 

At that moment, several teenage Padawans within his vicinity were beaten back towards him. Tired and worn out due to the constant barrage of incoming red lightsabers, they were hounded at every turn. 

Corvus closed his eyes, and reapplied all of his buffs to both himself, and his allies. The sudden surge in support buoyed the Padawans, once again granting them courage. A pair of Sith Warriors were stabbing down upon a shorter girl, only for her to tank their attacks, and then cut them both apart at the waist. A Wookiee Padawan roared, and used his body as a battering ram, crushing several black-clad mooks as if they were bowling pins. 

When a Lord stepped forward brandishing [Force Lightning] in a wide arc, three Padawans bravely worked together, and diced her to pieces. 

Seeing that these dozen or so Padawans were doing well, he was going to go reinforce Kiran & Sari, when 50+ Lords surrounded him and the Padawans. 

A tense standoff briefly ensued. 

Corvus-standing at the vanguard-raised both hands, and unleashed [Force Lightning]. The vast beams of brilliant blue spread forth, disintegrating the ground, and snarling forth like a living beast. 

All 50 of them responded in kind. Red hazes enveloped the warriors in a state of wrath, whilst the inquisitors and sorcerers met him with barriers and lightning of their own. A heavy explosion rocked the temple floor as their powers canceled one another out. 

“Master…there's too many of them, what are we going to do?” One young Padawan-barely 12 years old-asked in a quiet voice. 

Corvus crashed both of his lightsabers into one another, creating a violent hum, and then flourished them to the side as the oncoming horde rushed him down. 

“We go through them. Watch my sides, and fight together. A Jedi is strongest when he protects.” 

Swallowing a thick mouthful of saliva, the boy-one who looked oh so much like Jax-nodded. 

Corvus steadied himself in the Force as he looked at these youthful faces. 

In this very same spot, Vader had murdered a group of Younglings whilst he was powerless, forced to look on as tragedy gripped his heart. Although this might only be a simulation, he would not allow a similar outcome. 

Today. Was. His. 

For he was: 

Master Corvus, Protector of the Jedi Order!