Vampire's Shadow

[D.C.]

VAMPIRE'S SHADOW
Taris Undercity​

It was the Undercity of Taris. A dark, dangerous place. A wretched hive of scum and villainy. Gangs of thugs always blasting each other to pieces with their deadly blasters and slugthrowers. Always lusting for blood. Always looking for a fight.

It was a very dark and cold night. If it wasn't for the streetlights, the Old Man would not see a thing. He was riding a speeder bike and the lights flashed by as he raced on, constantly reaching out in the Force so he would sense any potential danger right on time.

Yes, the man was tired of the long journey, and I am not just speaking of the one from Thyferra to Taris. I am speaking of the grand adventure which took him all across the galaxy. He had learned so much in his long life, he had learned how to find perfect balance in the Force. To understand both sides of it. The light and the dark. He was a Shade Master, a Grandmaster...

Whatever that meant.

Well, I'll tell you what it means. It means that the Old Man, once a youthful Knight roaming the galaxy to protect those in need of protection, was a champion. He still is and he will always be a champion. He was tired, yes, but that was justified by the fact that he was old. But this chapter here, will prove that the Grandmaster would always go on, even when he was tired, even now that he is old.

This Old Man, wearing his trademark mercenary outfit, was Quentell Xall. A seeker of justice, truth and a man who walked the Shaded Path.

He was tired indeed, but the Force kept him going. The Force was with him and it was always with him.

And there he was, on the world of Taris, speeding through the dark night into the Undercity. A small holographic screen lit his pale face. His piercing blue eyes shimmered in the faint glow. The screen displayed the coordinates of the location from which the message was sent.

A distress signal. A cry for help.

And Quentell Xall had recognized the message. It was from an old friend of his. One he had worked with quite a few times. They had traveled to worlds together to explore those worlds. They had studied Force Crystals and although his old friend was not a Force User, he did know a lot about the Force. The man was called Thomas.

And when Thomas sent the distress call to Quentell, the Shade Grandmaster did not waste a minute and immediately took off to save his friend.

So he ended up in the Undercity of Taris. The hive of scum and villainy. Quentell loved it...

***​

Quentell stopped his speeder bike in a small back alley. Up ahead lied the wreck of a speeder and Quentell figured it had been lying there for quite some time. The wreck was rusty and looked ancient. He was not surprised to see a wreck here, because the Undercity was a crowded place, with buildings close to each other. One had to be careful not to hit something.

He shut down the engine of his speeder and stepped off the vehicle. He ran a hand through his long, grey hair. His light blue eyes shimmered in the dim light and his beard waved up and down on the soft wind.

This was the spot. This was the location from which Thomas had sent the distress signal.

Quentell reached out in the Force, but did not immediately sense anything. He reached for the blaster pistol inside the holster on his right hip and took a few steps towards the old wreck.

"Thom!?" he called out in his strong voice. "Thom, are you there!?"

There was no reply.

Feeling uncomfortable he drew his pistol and moved past the wreck, deeper into the alley.

It was a dead end.

Quentell frowned and wondered if this was right. Did he make a mistake? Maybe this wasn't the right location at all? But the device on his bike led him here...

For a moment the Old Man was confused. He turned and laid eyes on the wreck once again, but it was not the wreck that made this whole situation so suspicious. It was the tense atmosphere and the empty alley. It was as if something ugly was about to happen.

He turned around again and looked into the alley. When he looked to his left he finally saw it. It was a metal door inside the left wall which apparantly led into a building.

He was about to approach the door and open it when he suddenly heard a sound.

He turned around again in a flash and aimed his pistol at one of the men who walked into the alley. They carried guns of their own, and some wielded swords. There were about twenty of them and they looked rather dangerous.

"Where did you take him!?" Quentell shouted.

The guy Quen aimed his gun at burst out into laughter. Soon his mates followed.

"He is dead, old man. He is DEAD!"

The thugs spread out and two other thugs appeared, dragging the dead body of Thomas along. They dropped it. It smacked face down onto the ground and a crack could be heard once the head hit the floor.

It filled Quentell with rage. But that was the thing with Shade Masters, the rage that boiled up inside them was under their control. They could let it subside in a matter of seconds and they could summon it when they needed it.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," the thug went on, "Alexander sends his regards."

"Who the hell is Alexander!?" Quentell demanded. "Why did you kill an innocent man!?"

"Alex is the boss. He hired us..." the thug said with a grin. "And now you're gonna die, old man!"

Blasterbolts cut through thin air as they errupted from Quentell's gun. The thug who had spoken was the first to die. The bolt from Quen's gun slammed into the guy's mouth. A rain of blood exploded from the wound as the guy was launched backwards. He fell onto his backside a few meters down the alley. The other thugs immediately returned fire.

This was when Quentell dropped his gun to the ground and pulled out both his lightsabers. A silver blade and a blue blade ignited from the hilts and the Grandmaster used them to deflect the bolts.

One of the bolts slammed into a thug's belly, wounding the man severely. Another bolt cut down a thug when it hit his head and a couple of arms and legs were blown off when bolts seared right through the limbs.

Then Quentell tapped into the Force and sped forwards, straight at the group of thugs. The Old Man was outnumbered, but that did not mean he was less powerful than all of the thugs together. Oh, he was so much more powerful than these weak, little pathetic boys.

A blue blade sliced straight through the abdomen of a thug, his body cut into two, showering the Old Man with blood. Quentell did not care, because he was filled with rage. He would avenge his old friend.

His silver blade cut through the neck of another man, his head falling of his shoulders and landing onto the ground with a thud.

Three thugs rushed at Quentell with swords drawn, but the Shade simply lunged out his right hand, while still holding his beautiful, blue bladed saber, and unleashed a powerful Force Blast. The thugs were thrown back into the wall behind them and the cracking of bones could be heard. To finish them, Quentell summoned even more anger and unleashed a wave of blue lightning. He fried the thugs and killed them off in cold blood.

He turned and was right on time to block off a vibroblade with his silver lightsaber. He thrusted the blue one forwards, straight through the man's belly. The tip of the blue blade came out of the man's back. The man coughed, groaned and died.

Quentell pulled out his blue blade and faced the remaining thugs. He saw that the anger and satisfaction which had burned in their eyes had turned into fear.

The Old Man approached the remaining thugs very slowly, with a grim look on his face. The thugs backed away and fired off more laser bolts, but Quentell easily deflected them. The bolts crashed into the ground and the walls instead.

"This is what you get for killing him..." he said. The anger burned in his piercing blue eyes. The determination to kill these thugs and to avenge his old friend.

"...But..." one of the thugs began, "it wasn't us! Alex killed him! Alex! Alex is the killer! He... he killed him! Please!"

But Quentell would have none of it. He threw his blue saber at the group of thugs. The glowing blade circled in the air and cut the thugs down one by one. Then the blade returned to Quen's hand, like a boomerang, and Quentell deactived his sabers.

"Oh, Thomas..." he whispered and he approached the dead body of his old friend. He knelt beside it and took it in his arms. Normally Quen would control his emotions, but this time he did not care. He let the tears flow...

***​

The Grandmaster stood tall. He had lied the body of Thomas back onto the ground. The body was bruised and bloody, but it looked like he had been killed only a few hours ago.

Quentell closed his bright blue eyes and spread out his arms, like an eagle spread its wet wings to dry them in the hot sun. He stood tall like a statue and reached out in the Force. He was able to sense everything now. Every Force Sensitive being in the nearby area... But at the moment there was only one in the area.

A dark, but powerful entity and he instantly realized that this was the one responsible for Thomas' death.

Quentell glanced over to the door in the alley and approached it...

He slipped inside and stepped into the darkness.

He could not see a thing, but that was no problem for the Grandmaster. He called upon the Force once again and used the ability many referred to as Force Sight. His eyes glowed with a slight silver hue and everything became clear. It was as if someone had switched on the lights.

Quentell clenched the hilts of his lightsabers, but did not activate them. He did not want to alarm the Force User inside this building. Of course he was not so naive as to think the Force User was unaware of Quentell's presence, but he still did not want to active his sabers yet.

If it was a trap, Quentell would notice it on time and then he would break the one who dared to hurt his friends.

He walked down a corridor and slipped through a second door. He ended up in a staircase. He sensed the Force User was upstairs, at the top of the building, and Quentell began to climb the stairs.

It was a four story building and soon Quentell had reached the fourth story. He opened a door and stepped into a big room. The room was empty, or so it seemed, but Quentell felt the eerie atmosphere and he could sense that the Force User was nearby.

He could sense it.

 

[Mars]

A single man sat meditating at the top of the four story building. His meditative trance holding fast through the small skirmish outside, the thugs he hired being brutally massacred by the Shade Grandmaster. His father had banned him from hunting Jedi but had never said anything about other targets. He was a born predator, he needed to hunt. The eyes of the killer aristocrat shone a pale blue beneth his eyelids as his Force innundated body prepared for what would be the single hardest battle of his life.

Click, click, click, click.

Step after step his prey climbed the four stories of stairs towards his inevitable death. The Anzati warrior prince stood in a single motion, his Rancor leather trenchcoat swirling in the darkness that surronded him. A quick tug of the Force and his lightsaber launched into his hand, a soft pale-blue glow illuminating his face as it engaged with a snap-hiss. Alex rolled his shoulders and grinned a devilish smile, he was ready.

"Hello Quentell. A shame Thomas had to die, the ends justify the means however, I'm sure you won't beg for your life like he did. Your too old and wise to believe that would work."

A chuckle escaped the mouth of the blue-eyed killer.

"Come, lets see that legendary offense of yours Master Xall."

 

[D.C.]

The faint glow of a sapphire blade illuminated the dark room. Quentell could see the one responsible for Thomas' death.

The Old Man glared at the dark sider, an Anzati called Alexander. Quentell had not heard of this specific evil creature before, but he had encountered lots of men who were just like Alexander.

Although the room was dark, Quentell could see clearly thanks to the Force. The Anzati warrior looked rather young, but that did not mean anything. The Grandmaster knew that looks did not count for much when it comes to Anzati. Often they were much older than they looked. For all Quen knew, this Anzati could even be older than himself, and that made the Anzati dangerous.

However, if there was one thing Quentell had learned in his long life, it was that 'dangerous' wasn't the same as 'deadly'.

"I realize what you're up to, Alexander," Quentell said, sounding rather angry. "The fact that you are Anzati explains it all. When I received the fake distress call, I thought this all was suspicious, that it might be a trap. I came to investigate, just in case. The moment I arrived in the alley outside, I knew for sure it was all a trap!"

SPEW!

Quentell's silver lightsaber ignited for the second time that night.

His own light-blue eyes still glowed with a silver hue, matching the saber's mighty blade. The Force Sight technique did not really cost a lot of energy, Quentell had no problem maintaining the technique.

His blue saber was not ignited yet, but it would be soon enough...

"YOU WILL NEVER TAKE IT!" the Grandmaster said in a loud, powerful voice that echoed from the cold stone walls. He was referring to his soup, the stuff Anzati could drink from their preys.

"I have tried so many times to redeem Dark Jedi. Independent ones; Ospions when they were still around; Bogans... But you... I won't even try. You are beyond redemption."

Quentell's gun still lied outside in the alley, but he would not need the gun. This battle would be all about lightsabers and the Force...

He would not underestimate the Anzati warrior. He wasn't that stupid. The Anzati had been able to lure the Grandmaster into a trap. If this all had been nothing more than a test - and nobody had died - then perhaps Quentell would have applauded the Anzati. But this was different. This was the real deal.

A battle to the death. No mercy shown.

"Let's dance, bastard," Quentell hissed.

The Grandmaster took the Ataru opening stance, a form he had almost mastered. Of course Shien was his signature form, but he wanted to reserve that one for later, to surprise the Anzati and perhaps to gain the upper hand in the inevitable fight.

Let the battle commence.

 

[Mars]

The vaunted Shade Grandmaster didn't respond as Alex had hoped to his taunt. Master Quentell had gained a reputation for his fierce dual-bladed lightsaber assault and not using it to get the edge on the vampire prince was not a wise decision. A quick Makashi salute from Alex, a move from a secondary form he'd been working on, would work to disguise his true nature as a powerful Djem So duelist.

And so the assault would begin.

The force flowed through the veins of the Anzati killer, manifesting itself in a blinding white flash from his left hand. Quentell was likely using the force to make it easy to see in the dark, which would make the sudden flash of light all the more damaging to his ability to see. Shortly after the blinding flash, Alex moved to Quentell's flank, his speed augmented slightly by the force, where he launched a Force push, hopefully provoking the old man to engage.

 

[D.C.]

The blinding flash only hurt Quentell a second. He immediately dropped his Force Sight technique and saw, in the bright light, how Alex moved towards him and right past him, landing at Quen's flank. When the light faded, he used Sight once again to see clearly.

The Old Man turned around lightning fast; so quick that he was almost a blur. He could sense something in the Force, telling him that Alex was about to use a technique and instantly Quentell used Absorb just to be on the safe side.

Alex's Force Push was in vain and Quentell decided to strike back violently.

Quentell Xall leaped into the air, using the Force to make him both faster and stronger, and he jumped right over Alex's head. When he was right above the Anzati's head, he slashed downwards in an attempt to behead the Anzati and to end the duel quickly.

When he landed on the floor behind Alex he quickly turned around and raised his lightsaber in both hands, so he would be able to block any counter-attacks from Alex immediately.

He already prepared for his next assault.

 

[Mars]

Tsk tsk.

Ataru was a highly mobile form and good for those that lacked actual saber skills and sought to confuse their opponents with fancy, spiny jump tricks, but it lacked the elegance and precision of Makashi and the power of Djem So. Quentell flew through the air and struck towards the face of the towering monster. Alex quickly parried the strike and away, spinning and feinting a low slash towards his opponents leg before unleashing a very real stab towards Xall's chest.

If Quen parried the strike, Alex would immediatly counter with another Force Push, this one more powerful and strong enough to send the Grandmaster flying through the wall behind him.

 

[D.C.]

Quentell parried, the sparks spat from the glowing blades.

And then there was a Force Push. Even Grandmasters sometimes make mistakes and so did Quen. He was knocked off his feet and was thrown backwards to the cold, stone wall.

Quentell knew he was about to slam into the wall and gathered the power of the Force. He was unable to stop himself from being blown through a wall, but he could summon a shield that's strong enough to protect him from severe damage.

CRASH!

Bricks were thrown in all kinds of directions as the Grandmaster crushed right through the outer wall and was launched into the dark night. His hair danced around his face as he fell and he saw the Anzati still inside the building, looking through the hole in the wall.

Quentell neared a second building, but he managed to turn in the air. He 'landed' with his feet on the wall, and then leaped back towards Alex. It was a gracious and amazing leap and the determination that burned in his eyes could have been frightening.

"MURDERER!" Quentell growled, still in mid-air, and he raised his silver blade, which was still activated, in both hands above his head. He went back through the hole, landed on the floor and sped towards his opponent, utilizing Force Speed.

Quen's piercing blue eyes burned with anger and seemed to glow. Not because of Force Sight, he had dropped Sight the moment he slammed through the wall. He did not need the technique anymore in this battle, or at least, not at the moment. He could sense the Anzati through the Force and that would be enough for now.

His clothes were torn up and a stream of blood seeped from a cut in his forehead. His strong arms were bruised and cut at a few places, but none of these 'wounds' were serious. Quentell did not even seem to notice them.

He dashed towards Alex in the blink of an eye. Quentell was a blur, a flash. The one second he was flying towards the second building and the next he stood in front of Alex and unleashed a very powerful flurry with his single, silver lightsaber. Slashing and slamming and hacking and slashing and it was all so fast. So amazingly fast.

He was a demon... He was an angel...

He was a Shade.

And finally, after so many slashes with his saber, Quentell landed an overhand powerblow right on the Anzati, killing the man in one brutal strike. Ending this duel once and for all. Avenging Thomas, his old friend. Quentell would watch this sick figure become one with the Force after spitting on the dead body.

That is...

If Alex would be unable to defend himself against Quen's rage...

 

[Mars]

A devilish grin crossed Alex's face as his combo landed near perfectly, the stab providing a perfect set up for the powerful wave of telekinetic energy. The results were equally satisfying to watch as Quen blew threw a wall and sailed across the short gap between buildings before rebounding.

His eyes shone with the light of a younger man, his spirit burst with the anger of one less wise then he, his actions that of a man who did not know better. The poor Grandmaster would meet his end in this torn apart building in Taris' lower city.

Alex switched his stance from the elegance of Makashi to the power and effeciency of Shien, widening his feet and abosrbing the powerful strikes of the smaller man as he came forward like a madman. The human possessed terrifying strength for one of his size and age. The silver blade of the old man bounced off the pale blued of the Anzat after each attempt at offense. Alex built up Force energy all the while, since his telekinetic assault before. Surely Xall would begin to feel fatigue after such usage of both the Force and the big-swinging offense he'd been using thus far.

The vampire prince deflected the offense of Quentell like the well-trained machine he was, slowly waiting for his opportunity to strike, the Force tugged on his senses and.....

There.

Quentell rose his arms above his head to deliever an overwhelmingly powerful blow, the Force flodded Alex's veins and spured his movements to inhuman speeds as he dumped the majority of his vast energy reserves into speeding up his movements. No sooner had Xall's arms gone above his head had Alex reacted instantly, deftly bringing a strike up and across to sever Quentell's arms off at the elbow, one after the other. Given that the Grandmaster had placed them above his head and the speed at which Alex struck, putting him as quick if not faster then the aging warrior, it was virtually impossible to avoid the strike.

Anger breeds foolishness, the foolish will never triumph in a field of battle.

 

[D.C.]

The Old Man screamed in agony when both arms were cut off. Smoke circled up from the messy wounds created by the pale-blue blade, that cut right through bone and flesh.

It burned, oh IT BURNED!!

His arms were cut off right at the elbow. His upper arms flew across the room and crashed against the wall. Only then did the dead hands drop the lightsaber to the floor. It landed with a thud that echoed throughout the cold room.

The Grandmaster managed to stand tall for a few seconds, gazing at the Anzati lord who had just disarmed him, literally. Then the Old Man fell to his knees and coughed. Never in his life he had been wounded like this. His body was scarred and not all that pretty anymore, but never he had been severely wounded. He never realized the pain would be so damn intense.

He coughed again and even now that he was pretty much defeated, he tried to use the Force. He lunged out his arms - or rather, what remained of his arms - and he let out another agonized scream as lightning erupted from the wounds. It made the pain even worse, but at least he managed to strike back. He didn't care if the strike was in vain, or dealt at least some damage, he just wanted to show that he would never give up. Even when he was a dying man.

"I..." he whispered hoarsely, "I spent my life training, teaching, learning and traveling and I have seen the galaxy. I have seen miracles... I have seen the wonders of the Force... And... And now it seems I will finally become one with the Force..." He coughed once again. Blood dripped from the terrible wounds on his arms.

Even though the man was in great pain, the determination still burned in his eyes, so intense. Before Alex sat a man - down on his knees - who would just not give up. Never.

"But before I go... Before you cut off my head, or stab me through the chest... Or cut me into pieces, or whatever the hell you will do...

TAKE THIS!"

The Force swirled around him like a whirlwind. With his last bit of remaining power he controlled the Force. His jacket opened and his second lightsaber, the one with the blue blade, appeared. Quentell used his telekinetical abilities to pull the saber and ignite it. The blue blade burned like a flame of justice. He let it fly straight at the Anzati's abdomen. This all in a matter of seconds, and it would hopefully suprise the Dark Prince.

Quentell spread the stumps of his arms. The blood still dripped from the wounds and the pain seemed to get worse every second. He grimaced, but the power in his pale-blue eyes still burned intensely. He tilted his head up and looked straight into the eyes of the Anzati.

"Go ahead..." he whispered. "...strike me down and I will become one with the Force. I will become even more powerful than I ever was. So, little prince... Go ahead, and grant me this glorious exit."

 

[Mars]

Victory.

Flawless, complete and total victory was a high like none other for the vampiric prince. His limbs began to feel slight fatigue from the violent assault of the Shade Grandmaster, it was like none he'd seen before outside of a very brief sparring match with his father as punishment one time. However, now was not the time to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Lightning erupted from the cauterized stumps that were previously Quentell's arms. The blue blast of Force power was sucked into a strange vortex as it contacted with Alex's outstrectched left arm. Tutaminis. Alex's favorite power.

The old man uttered a brief monologue and Alex let him speak, standing two meters or so from his prey. Something was wrong though. The force tugged at the towering monster, precognition flaring up.

A brilliant blue blade launched forth from Xall's jacket and soared towards Alex. He'd not have enough time or strength to power the final attack of the Shade's Grandmaster, he merely stepped to the side hoping to get out of the way. A searing pain errupted across his side as the blade skimmed him, leaving a six inch second-degree burn mark across the right side of his ribcage. Aion could fix that later.

Now for the finisher.

Alex stepped forward, using one of his other favorite powers with the remainder of his Force reserves, Mind Domination. At full strength Quentell would be able to batter aside the attempt without much difficulty, but the fact that he was kneeling there, armless, broken and without much in the way of defending himself it was not difficult for Alex to take control of the old man. It'd prevent him from killing Alex during the most crucial part of this trap.

The vampire prince placed his forehead against that of the former Grandmaster, placing both of his hands against the sides of Quentell's head, palms on his cheeks and fingers outstreched to further root him in place. From the sides of Alex's face came a pair of proboscises, the only mark of him being different then any other near humans. The tubes ran up into the nostrills of the broken man before him, searching for the soup that would quench the thirst of the hungry monster. Alex closed his eyes in anticipation of the meal to come.

Bam.

His eyes shot open as the incredibly potent Sea of Memory was drained, immediatly feeling the effects and newfound power within. The flood of Quentell's memorys, abilities, trips, battles, students, everything was almost enough to overwhelm the 'young' Anzati. The process was long, taking nearly ten minutes to complete the drain. Once finished, Alex felt like a new man. He'd gained more in that drain then he'd ever from any single event in his life.

Standing, his veins inundated with newfound power, Alex re-ignited his blade and stood before Quentell, who was essentially a vegetable at this point.

"You fought well, Master Xall."

And with that, Alex brought the blade across, decapitating the kneeling warrior of the Shaded Path with a single slash of his pale blue blade. The deed was done. If Alex was scary before, he was nightmare fuel incarnate now.