Descent [Dark Data]

[Lord Zedd]

The divide and conquer approach had proven effective in the end. The liberators were working their way through the troops, who had become worthy opponents when in great number. Still, the ragtag band of primes were each earning their salt in this brawl. The crowd was thinning, and the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel was in sight.

Any warrior knew that situational awareness was a valuable part of their skillset. Just as it was important to account for the location of all of one’s enemies, keeping track of allies was just as mandatory. He didn’t mean to be so helpful, but Zedd’s loud and maniacal laughter from the middle of the horde prevented his teammates from forgetting exactly where he was. Whether that was a benefit or not was an opinion that differed from person to person.

Unfortunately for Zedd, his triumphant cackling caught the attention of the Darkling Commander, who made the decision to silence the loudest of them first. The Commander snapped his wrist to his side, brandishing and igniting a red lightsaber blade as he did. A stray Darkling was hurled at him from the side, but the Commander struck his fallen kin from the air. Nothing would slow his advance.

Zedd’s attention was temporarily pulled from the hulking monstrosity. The dark lord drove his bladed staff through the skull of a particularly persistent Darkling, which continued to struggle long after it should have been dead. He slammed his weapon into the ground and pinned the Darkling downwards, forcing the last bit of life from it.

“Minion of the Nebula, cease your futile struggles and give in to the inev-”

Zedd’s taunt quickly degraded into unintelligible squawking as he was struck in the gut by the Commander and launched across the battlefield. After a few bounces and a little bit of rolling, Zedd climbed to his feet. He was visibly shaking with barely contained fury, yet he kept his voice calm as he addressed his newest foe. The others were wrapping up the generic infantry, so it he would have to take the Commander alone, for the moment.

“Oh, you strange being, I don’t envy you and how you’ll spend the final few minutes of your existence,” Zedd slowly spoke through the rage that threatened to burst forward. “I hope you don’t have any absurdly deformed children that will miss you when-”

Once more, Zedd was interrupted. This time the Commander held his free hand upwards and unleashed a Force Push that threw Zedd backwards telekinetically. The screaming overlord once more bounce himself facedown on the street after an exhilarating tumble. This time he quickly rose to his feet and let out a roar of unbridled fury.

“I will learn that sorcery, techno-cretin!” Zedd bellowed as he held his staff upwards, and his skin actually glowed a slightly brighter shade of red. “But I will forget you!”

The challenge was made, and accepted just the same. The Commander broke into a sprint and charged directly at Lord Zedd, who didn’t budge an inch. Instead, he merely unleashed a lightning bolt from his staff and into the Darkling. The bolts of electricity wrapped around him and should have slowed the Darkling down, but it continued its determined charge with no trouble. Zedd also remained unphased, and quickly grasped his staff in the other hand as well. He swung his weapon downwards at the Commander, who countered just as quickly with his lightsaber. The two held their weapons in a firm lock for only a moment.

Zedd kept quiet this time, though whether it was because of an intensive focus or he had simply run out of insults for the time being was anyone’s guess. Instead he pulled his staff back far enough for a good wind up, then slammed it into the Commander’s face. The Commander was stunned, but he still suddenly swung upwards with his lightsaber, dragging it across Zedd’s exposed chest.

The Darkling finally showed an emotion: surprise. It appeared stunned that a direct lightsaber strike hadn’t completely incapacitated its opponent. This look once more enticed Zedd to emit another gleeful cackle.

The two began a brutal exchange of blows. There were no coordinated martial arts-like maneuvers. They were completely out of sync, each getting a free shot in and allowing the other to land their own blow during the recovery period. Zedd was impressed by the creature’s resilience, and certainly noticed that every strike was plenty powerful. As the throwdown wore on, he finally let himself be knocked backwards by a particularly devastating slash of the lightsaber.

The Commander held its weapon ready for another round, but then saw why Zedd had allowed the brawl to end. He was surrounded. Few Darklings remained, and the others were on all sides, and prepared to all strike simultaneously. Once more, Zedd let out a sickening laugh.

“I’ll give you the same choice I gave your brethren,” Zedd announced, showing his mock mercy. “Screaming or grovelling.”