There were a lot more of these Knights than Kytra had been anticipating, especially after Revan and Aria had disappeared into the ship, leaving only Kytra and Neta to fend them off. She put every single technique that Aria had taught her to use in a desperate attempt to hold her own, but as the Knights kept coming at her in trios, the Selonian quickly found herself getting overwhelmed. In fact, Kytra almost thought she was done for when she was forced to lock her lightsaber with two of their pikes, had Neta not suddenly appeared swinging a combat knife and come to her rescue.
As Yerbol and Ethan both expressed their desires to follow Aria and Revan onto the ship, Kytra’s hackles rose and she quickly piped up with a protest. “B-But...Master Aria said to stay here and-!”
Of course, she couldn’t very well stop Yerbol from deciding to go after his wife (nor would she presume to), but Kytra couldn’t help but feel rather...nervous, of the whole plan.
“Neta actually saved my tail back there.” the Selonian added with the best smile she could manage in their current situation, “I’d have been in serious trouble if it wasn’t for her.”
Kytra’s assurances seemed to put Yerbol at ease, and the Champion finally agreed to let the pilot split off from the rest of the group.
“I’ve still got a bad feeling about this…”
As if to emphasise the apprentice's point, suddenly a loud scream erupted from behind the door Yuno had indicated, rattling the frame ominously.
"...That was Aria." Yerbol growled in agitation as the other three looked between them in confusion. It was all the encouragement they needed to hurry and join the other pair in the next room.
__________________________________________
Aria kept her sabers up and stuck close to Revan as they began to move through the confines of the ship. This was undoubtedly a trap, and if he was going to insist that they walked into one (especially one where they might die), then the Champion was resolved that she was going to go down swinging. Revan paused once again, apparently sensing something, before he growled lowly.
“Arcann’s here…”
“We can take him.” the comment earned her some serious side-eye from her companion, who quirked his brow at Aria and retorted.
“Arcann is no joke, Saal. He’s very dangerous. Even for me, and especially for the rest of you.”
“It’s Massani, now, actually…” Aria’s back straightened in surprise at the use of her maiden name. “And more importantly, HOW did you know my maiden name?”
Revan peered around the corner to check for hostiles, then withdrew and gave her a crooked, knowing smile.
“Your great-great grandmother fought with me during the Mandalorian Wars, you walk and talk a lot like she did. Nice to see the Saals haven’t changed very much.”
He gestured ahead of them, adding. "They're this way."
Unnervingly, the steel blast door at the end of the hallway opened itself as soon as the pair approached it. Revan squared his shoulders, straightening his posture and heading inside with slow, deliberate steps. Aria paused to draw in a breath to calm her own nerves, and followed him, trying not to flinch as she heard the door slam ominously shut behind them.
"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show, Revan!" A man's voice, slightly distorted by some sort of respirator, rang out clearly from the far end of the room as they entered. Aria peered past Revan to train her gaze on the source of the voice, finding it belonged to a rather tall and imposing, bald-headed human man dressed in striking white and gold robes. A black mask covered the left side of his face, but his remaining eye was trained on the pair as Aria and Revan began to move slowly towards him.
"I could say the same. You're brave to show your face to me again. This time I WILL kill you." Revan was more interested in the Exile's crumpled form on the dais, but Aria found her own attention drawn to Arcann’s companion whilst the two men exchanged verbal jabs and Revan did his best to subtly inch closer to the dais without being noticed.
The woman was only slightly shorter than her companion, and in stark contrast to him she was dressed from head to toe in black. A good pulled over her head concealed nearly all of her face, save for the pair of fiery yellow eyes that glared at the Champion as she moved slowly along in Revan's shadow. Revan's eyes fell onto the Exile, but before either of them could say anything to the other, Arcann spoke once more.
"That's close enough."
Aria darted forward to intercept the woman in the same moment that Vaylin lunged for Revan's jugular with her own sabers. Her face twisted into an enraged snarl as their blades clashed and a shower of sparks bounced off of them. The Champion had planted her feet, but before she could push back and swing her second saber for Vaylin's wrist, Vaylin had brought her free hand up and in one motion flung Aria violently into the wall.
Before the Champion could pick herself up off the ground again, Vaylin was on her again and she found herself being lifted into mid air while her airways began to rapidly tighten. Aria's eyes blew wide as she realised what was occuring, kicking and struggling frantically to break out of the chokehold the other woman held her in. Revan was presently engaged in a duel with Arcann himself, and thus unable to offer her any sort of assistance. Couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe...she needed to do SOMETHING. She couldn't reach far out enough to pull her lightsabers back towards her, but maybe...She barely had any air left, but Aria thought she could manage it.
She screamed.
It had been several years since she'd last used a Force scream, but it had the same effect on Vaylin as it did on the ice demons from Quensu. She released Aria to reel backwards with a shout of pain, clutching at her head. The shockwave even seemed to hit Arcann and Revan before it died out. Revan recovered quickly, lurching to his feet and sprinting over to crouch beside the Exile.
"Meetra! Come on, we gotta go." While Revan attempted to help the Exile to her feet, the rest of their party (minus Neta) appeared to cover them. Yuno, Kytra and Ethan quickly formed a line between Arcann and Vaylin and the leaders of the Heralds, whilst Yerbol dropped onto one knee to help Aria.
"Ari! Ari, are you okay?!"
The shorter Champion spat out a mouthful of her own blood as he hoisted her into a sitting position, managing to nod despite the burning pain in her throat and lungs.
"F-Fine." She huffed, spitting again. "S-So that's what it...feels like. Damn, I feel...bad for all those people I ever...choked, now." While it was another technique she hadn't put to use in several years, being on the receiving end this time provided her with a sobering new perspective should she ever need to do so again. She needed another brief moment before she could stagger to her feet again, calling her errant weapons back to her hands and activating them again.
"Well, there are an awful lot of you, aren't there?" This time, Arcann appeared content to remain where he stood, gaze darted from one party member to the next, sizing them up whilst Vaylin paced with jerky movements, her teeth bared as she forced herself to hold back on her brother's request. He looked to her again, the smirk evident in his tone as he said: "I told you they would all come."
"How convenient...for us!" Vaylin cackled gleefully. The sheer joy in her voice at their impending demise caused icy claws of fear to grip hold of Aria's heart.
They'd made a mistake coming here. A big one. They weren't attacking them again, which meant they must have had something else planned...and by extension, then this was about to get SO much worse for their group.
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