Descent [Dark Data]

[Lord Zedd]

Zedd tuned out the chatter of his teammates. He had enough of their thoughts, sharing a head with one of them and all. They might have been saying something useful, but he was in agreement with what little he did hear. His mission was to storm up the middle, and cut a path towards the monument to Palpatine’s laziness.
 
Sword in one hand, staff in the other, Zeddman charged forward. The darklings didn’t show the least bit of surprise at such a brazen approach, and swarmed towards the merged warrior. Fortunately the support of their allies helped thin the herd to an acceptable level, and allowed them to violently bludgeon their way through.
 
Voices echoed in Zedd’s mind. They called for him to show mercy, and pulled him towards the light. He wasn’t sure if it was simply Desman’s influence on him at the moment, or if the fusion had awakened a long forgotten part of his history. On the other hand, the influence of the Dark Chip still remained, and he heard its call to turn and slaughter his allies. The only thing missing was a mini angel and devil hovering over each shoulder.
 
It was no matter. He was stronger than these feeble mind games. He used Desman’s sword to lop the head off a darkling, and his own staff to impale another. That was what he was here for. These things would not change him. All that mattered was clearing the monster from the lower tier, because when he seized control from Palpatine he would take control of all the levels of this verse. Something like this would surely be in the way.
 
A particularly large darkling stepped in his path, but he thought little of it. It wasn’t until he tried to cut through it like the rest that he realized this one needed a little extra attention. The sword bounced off the darkling’s metallic hide, but with Zeddman in full sprint he collided with the warrior and sent them both tumbling to the ground. Zeddman rolled to his feet slightly faster than the heavily armored darkling, and then turned and drove the sword into its neck.
 
While that was a fortunate weak spot and ended that threat, the other darklings had begun to mass around them in the precious seconds wasted on a single adversary. Zeddman held both weapons ready as the horde gathered.
 
“We need to keep moving,” Desman’s voice echoed in their shared mind.
 
“Yes, I am fully aware,” Zedd announced out loud, having not quite grasped the nuances of fusion as quickly as the small machine.
 
“...Then keep moving!” Desman mentally demanded, not sure what was taking so long.
 
Zedd’s only response was to take a deep breath. He didn’t expect fatigue to be getting to him. He’d fought for much longer before, but it had to be something about these Nebula forces and their effects on the area. He decided to forgo the usual insisting demand about how he should be properly addressed and instead just get to work.
 
Zedd willed the shared body back into the crowd, wildly hacking away with both weapons. Nothing would stop him. Not the odd voices in his head, not his own exhaustion, and certainly not these robotic monstrosities. He would approach this situation like he had every other one for the past ten thousand years. He would conquer it.