tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

When; Thursday, Feb 23 -- Late night
Rating; PG likely due to violence, may increase
Characters: Darth Bane

henkonasuisho
Summary: Bane is hunting for heart shards, and Zaheela's his first target.
Log: Bane moved through the darkened corridor of the apartment building, wrapping the Dark Side around himself like a blanket, practically blending in with the shadows. He could sense the heart shard mere meters ahead of him, it was like a beacon in his mind. This one emitted a profound sense of loneliness, something every Sith could relate to. He closed his eyes and focused his senses, trying to pinpoint the precise location of the shard. It was so powerful, trying to localize it was no easy task. He moved a few more feet down the corridor, then a few more, then a few more. He stopped turned to his right and opened his eyes. Apartment 3+4. This was it, he was sure. He reached for the knob and turned it ever so slowly, and silent as a shadow he slipped into the room, closing the door with barely a whisper of sound behind him. The apartment was somewhat larger than he'd expected, but that was no matter. His quarry was here somewhere, he would search room by room if he had to.

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With a familiar snap-hiss Bane's lightsaber flared to life, but he held it to his side and made no threatening moves with it as Zaheela's power reached for him. He allowed the lashes to strike him in several places, blood flowing freely from the wound, savoring the pain. His smile faded as he began to bat aside her attacks with his lightsaber. "So you have teeth little one," he said, reaching toward her with his free hand and probing her with the Force, trying to pinpoint the shard within her.

Irritation was one word for it, Annoyance was most likely better. With what almost could be a howl of anger, she abandoned herself to the shard, making it easier for Bane to pinpoint but also lashing out with Ice. Ice which had caked the cracks in which the shard had seeped in. The Thorny Vine like ice almost lunged for Bane, attempting to wrap around the strange blade he bore, his arms, his neck, impale him and draw blood.

The power she drew upon was Holy magic with killer instinct, something contradicting. Something in her twitched, but she ignored it, eyes glowing with anger as she let her full ability show. She would drive this intruder out, and within her, something smiled.

With his concentration elsewhere Bane was unprepared for the sheer ferocity of her attack. He yelled in pain as shards of ice buried themselves in his body and his lightsaber was ripped away, the blade disappearing as it clattered to the floor. He staggered backward under the weight of the ice, but he forced his mind to concentrate on the Force, pushing the pain to the back of his mind and tapping into the Dark Side. Her loneliness and despair were almost crushing, he drew on that power and gathered it around himself, and with a cry of rage he threw out his arms and forced it all out, shattering the ice holding him. His eyes glowed with energy as he reached toward Zaheela, gathering the Force around her neck and lifting her into the air. "You have a great source of power girl," he said, venom dripping from his voice, "perhaps it would be a waste to simply take it from you."

The Ice shattered and faded and she grew startled. She had never seen anything like that before, and it left her open to the attack. Something unseen had clasped around her neck, jerking her upwards as she hung in the air. Hands grasped her neck, as if trying to feel out the invisible force as she felt the air run out of her lungs slowly.
"Lea...ve...." She wheezed before shutting her eyes, gritting her teeth and praying, begging, URGING the Mana around her, within her, to come to her aide.

The surge that followed was massive, the dragon answering the call of it's tamer and around Bane's feet did ice begin to form, the power hissing and snarling in it's ferocity before it surged outwards to pin the Man to the wall in it's grip.

He felt the ice creeping up his legs and braced himself for another violent attack. Suddenly he found himself pinned against the wall and heard something crack within him, gritting his teeth against the extreme pain that came with it. He forced himself to fight through the pain and concentrate on her, his hold growing ever tighter. "Submit and I may not kill you girl," he said through clenched teeth

"For...Get...IT! I'll Never... submit willingly to...YOU" She snarled, concentrating inwardly. She could feel her body screaming in agony, but she refused to give in. She had already been used by one person, she refused to bow to another if she could help it. In the same way, she refused to die. Closing her eyes, she listened to that voice, it's hissing.

"They'll leave us, dearest. They'll tear us apart and leave us alone. So alone. Let us never be alone. You're mine..." It purred, stroking her heart like one did the hair on the back of the cat. She listened with half an ear before focusing on that hidden well of power within herself.

She didn't care that she was attempting a job shift outside the circle, that it could kill her, she wasn't going to die without a fight. She felt the darkness creep around her before she choked and let her body shift, but something went wrong, horribly wrong.

The Pressure of the uncontrolled change could be felt by those within the room as she felt her power contort, shift. She fell to the floor, gasping as she fought for control. Eyes unfocused, the energy raged, from Holy to demonic, then to back to the other, it was unstable.

Bane felt the sudden change in state within her, and he used the momentary reprieve to release his hold on her and focus the Force on his own body, and with a surge of enhanced strength he burst through the ice and freed himself. He stood there for a moment to catch his breath, wincing slightly at the sharp pain in his side. Seeing her writhing on the floor, he wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. There was some kind of turmoil going on inside her, that was certain. He called his lightsaber back to his hand and activated it, settling into a guard stance in case he was forced to continue this battle.

The power clashed, raged and tore her apart from the inside, and then all was quiet. Standing, she stared at the man calmly, sparkles of ice forming in the air around her.

"Fade away." She barely whispered before the ice swirled into her hand and formed a saber. She lunged, her eyes a deep purple, her rage clear. She would not let anyone close to her heart. No one. She was alone, she would fade, and everyone else would as well if they attempted otherwise.

His lightsaber hissed in protest as it clashed with her ice saber, and the dance began. Bane sank into the Force, letting it guide his movements as he parried each of her attacks, staying on the defensive, giving up ground and stepping to the side as he went. "You have a great well of anger within you," he said, "it gives you strength."

"But it will consume you if you do not learn to control it." He parried a particularly nasty cut and smiled. "You and I, working together we could make this entire world fade away, if that is your wish," he said, sensing her desires and speaking more to the heart shard within her, recognizing it's hold over her.

"Only I, you, need to fade. The world remains, we are apart." She responded, her eyes flashing clear for a moment. Bane misunderstood the wish to fade. She was a warrior who fought to protect the world, and thus she could never truly endanger it. She closed her eyes as the saber began to warp and shift into a gigantic scythe, mimicking her normal death scythe, and swung downwards.

"Anger, hate, none of this matters. Disappear, fade, I will." She murmured as she swung the scythe.

Bane's eyes narrowed as her weapon changed, and as it came down he let go of his 'saber with one hand and, channeling the Force through his arm he caught the weapon by the hilt, rage burning in his eyes as he glared at her. "Then fade," he said flatly. Reaching into her with the Force he found the shard, and with a surge of power he pulled.

She screamed as pain laced through her body. The pressure on her heart was something no one should or could tolerate. Like having your heart ripped out something so cold it sears the flesh as it tugs. Her chest glowing, she let the scythe fade away and clawed at her chest, her eyes unfocused before she suddenly lashed out, the power of the shard firmly stating that it wished to remain in place to it's host. It did not like someone trying to pry it from it's chosen.

Her eyes grew vacant in the fight, as the struggle of the shard to keep latched onto the heart it resided in and the mysterious force tried to pry the thing out. Her heart was near close to shattering until with a force, both of them were sent flying. The shard refused to budge, but her eyes were vacant, empty. Her emotions had been sealed.

Bane did nothing to hide his yell of pain when he hit the wall again, but again he fought through it as best he could as he picked himself up and regarded Zaheela's form on the other side of the room. She no longer contained the fire she'd had before, it was as if something had snapped closed when he'd tried to remove the heart shard from her. He approached her slowly, blade still activated, unsure of what to expect from this dangerously unpredictable girl. "Can you hear me?" he said.

As if she were a doll she stood, not doing anything more then staring at the floor. The power around her simmered in despair, but she remained still, as if awaiting a command from someone. Eyes once a brilliant purple indigo were a flat purplish red and her face was expressionless.

"What is it you wish of this one, Sir?" She asked, her voice hollow. Somewhere deep within, a voice snarled and struggled against self made chains and yet another, not her own, just giggled and held her closer. The Shard would accept that, the soul all to herself and the body to whomever wished to use it.

Bane's eyes narrowed again at her question. All manner of depraved acts passed through his mind at that moment but he pushed them all aside and instead focused on her. He sensed no duplicity in her, just a strange duality that he couldn't explain. No matter, a willing servant was a willing servant.

"Come with me," he said, "and keep quiet." With that, he turned to leave.

Not even bothering to answer, she followed quietly behind. Without a glance, she fell into pace behind him.

A voice inside screamed. Another laughed. And her eyes remained empty.

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