Ever noticed how a situation tends to get hairy? This was one of them, and it just kept getting hairier. Vic had scrambled out of the black mist, and made his way, limping, to the other Jedi's side, their sabers blazing their myriad colors into the arena.

No matter what one expects in this kind of situation, odds are that you never guess right. Jedi or no, you could never have expected to see the rather large lizard that proceeded to come out of the mist, in what had otherwise been a solid arena wall. It made one wonder if this was even truly something that could be hurt by them. Anengy had no question about the creature's ability to hurt them, as it's claws looked fit for rending, teeth that could snap through bone and a long tail that could crack like a whip resulting in a broken bone or three. Then there were the horns above it's eyes, a malicious intellegence visible in those eyes, and a wicked sense of power felt through the Force. As if that wasn't overkill already there was the wings that could knock one over, the foul breath and smoke that roiled from it's nostrils. All in all, this was turning out to be a very bad day.

Vic proceeded to have the understatment of the century, and put one of his blades up figuring that it would be of little use against such a large beast. There was a sense of something lacking, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was. Of course, the Balosar's life might depend on it, but there was little that could be done about it as the beast before them was truly mesmerizing. "You don't say... any other brilliant insights?" Her Anengy's voice was slightly breathless, and it wasn't precisely meant in a biting manner, even if that's how it came out.

One suprise, two surprise... of course there had to be a third. Third times the charm after all.

Next thing they all knew Hardin had jumped astride the beasts neck, like some beastrider out of legend. This can't be happening. How can one tame such a beast? Yet there it was before them, living, breathing... and spitting a fireball straight at all of the Jedi.

Vic had said they had to work together, which implied surrounding the thing. Suddenly this seemed like a very good idea, but they had very little time to coordinate for the moment should they all wish to survive.

Simply leaping the thing wouldn't help most likely, as the resulting explosion that was the likely result would catch one. Muttering to herself, not having the time to confirm what Vic said to the others she leapt as far to the side and forward as she could, trying to catch the edge of the arena off to the right side of the beast that threatened to engulf them with it's monstrousenss.

Calling to the survivors, "Surround it! It's our only hope!" And should one of them have been caught in the heat wave that had effectively helped carry her up to where she'd been aiming, adding in a blast to the back as she hit the wall, odds were there was nothing left of them. In which case they were suddenly a very large amount more trouble.

The Arena, Mineshaft

The Jedi separated, darting in different directions and encircling the gigantic dragon. They had avoided the first fireball, and now their strategy was simple- surround the beast, attack it simultaneously and find an opening.

The dragon roared as it tried to keep its fearsome gaze on all its enemies. Hardin hissed once again into its ear, and the foul creature began turning on the spot, stomping around 360 degrees. It swung its enormous tail as it did so, whipping it around the arena in an attempt to strike each of the Jedi.

As if that wasn't enough, the dragon also poured fire from its mouth, breathing it downwards in vicious trails of flame as it spun round.

Tag: Xan, Trimaj, Despised, Nemisis

Vic was glad to see that he and his fellow Jedi had successfully avoided the fireball hurled at them by the giant dragon. Though, Vic felt himself slightly embarrassed by his companion's reactions to his words. He did speak the obvious, but how was he to know that the other Jedi were not scared into shock with their minds erased of all thought at the sight of the beast. That sort of thing happened all the time, and he was only trying to help his fellow Jedi. Within the second, Vic wiped those thoughts from his mind as he took cover behind a fallen rock. Unfortunately for him, Kara, Anengy and Kimara, there wasn't much cover for them to hide behind. The cover that was there would provide little cover, and could easily be smashed to pieces by the beast. So, the situation was not good. However, the fact that the Jedi had scattered, like Vic had originally suggested, gave them a slight advantage.

The beast began to twirl around, stomping on the ground as he turned 360 degrees in order to stomp, crush and thrash his tail about at the request of the "beastrider" - the role that Hardin had taken on when he leaped onto the dragons back. While the beast twirled, he also spat fire from his mouth, resulting in a three-pronged attack, something that put the puny human and his near-human companions at great risk.

Vic had perhaps the greatest disadvantage: he was still not fully healed from his giant Force-assisted flight that had turned out to be a bad idea. This proved to be a challenge as he had to avoid the beasts' tail, feet and fire. He was able to catch a glimpse to see what the other Jedi were doing. The only Jedi that caught his eye was Kara, who lunged forward in an attempt to get on top of the beast's tail as it came close to her - only one talented in the Force could pull off such as that, but Vic had no time see if she had succeeded. He hoped she did, for that would prove to be quite a distraction for the dragon. Vic readied himself behind a small fallen-stalactite, preparing his own maneuver. If Kara was successful, Vic planned on running forward and getting underneath the beast. It could prove to be foolish, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

The Arena, Mineshaft

The dragon spun away from Kara, bringing its tail around to where she waited, poised and ready - at the last moment she ignited her lightsaber and leapt into the air. Her jump was accurate and highly successful, and she landed on the base of the tail, clutching for a grip on the creature's scales. She managed to steady herself within moments, clinging on tightly. The back of the beast was heavily scaled, and it would certainly not be impossible to climb right to the top. Unfortunately for the Zeltron Jedi, Hardin had spotted her from his vantage point at the head of the dragon. He leaned downwards and reached out his hands, hurling arcs of lightning at Kara's head.

While its rider was thus distracted, the beast began thrashing about, clearly trying to dislodge Kara from its tail. As it flailed wildly, it reared upwards and exposed its underbelly for the briefest of moments...but perhaps enough to invite Vic or one of the other Jedi to dart forwards and attack.

Tag: nemisis, Xan, Trimaj, despised

Vic let a sigh of relief wash over him when Kara had managed to grasp on to the tail, succeeding in her plan to climb aboard the beast as well. He then saw Hardin hurl lightning at Kara. Unfortunately, he was unable to see what happened next as the dragon thrashed about even more wildly than before. This time, the beast reared up on it's hind legs, revealing the underbelly of the giant beast. Vic assumed it was one of the most fragile and vulnerable spots on the beast. Without a second thought, he rushed forward, ignoring the stinging pain that shot up his leg as he ran, assisted by the Force. With his blade lit, he lunged, again assisted by the Force, and attempted to shove the blade into the beast's underbelly. As he soared through the air, the thought came to him that this beast could have hide that was impenetrable, which would prove to be very bad to Vic. He only hoped that this plan would do the trick. If it did not kill the beast, at the very least, he hoped it would be injured.

The Arena, Mineshaft

Vic darted forward, trying to ignore the pain throbbing in his leg. Lightsaber lit, he dived underneath the dragon and lunged, attempting to shove the blade into the beast's underbelly. The attack was more successful than he might have expected. His saber tore through thick scale and soft flesh, driving deep inside and causing a black pus to seep out over his hands. Before he could tug his weapon out, the dragon roared with pain and jerked violently, knocking Vic backwards into the air with swipe of its claw (though leaving his saber embedded in its stomach).

Kara, meanwhile, was only just managing to hold on to the beast's back. She had managed to block Hardin's initial bursts of lightning with her saber. As the dragon thrashed around, she slipped down the rough scales, attempting to hold on with one hand and swinging her saber in a wild arc, slashing the beast's left side. It roared with pain. For a moment it looked like Kara might manage to maintain her hold. Hardin's lightning was passing safely above her head- clearly he didn't want to accidentally injure the dragon by aiming too close to it.

However, the beast's violent reaction to the stomach wound caused by Vic was enough to throw Kara off completely. She lost her grip, and tumbled to the ground. Fortunately, her ignited saber had dragged along the dragon's skin as she fell, gouging a long red wound down its back and tail.

The dark creature continued to stomp about, clearly enraged by its injuries. The violence of its thrashing was not just a danger to its foes- atop the beast, Hardin seemed somewhat precariously placed. His legs were beginning to slip. It struck the Jedi that perhaps, with the slightest push, the cultist would be forced off...


Tag: nemisis, Xan, Trimaj, despised

Vic was glad to see that his lightsaber actually did penetrate the skin. The saber burned right through the rough hide deep into it's belly, causing some sort of black liquid - blood or pus of some sort - to seep out all over Vic's hands. The seepage was accompanied with a horrid smell that was quick to reach the Jedi's nostrils, almost causing him to vomit. He held it in though, and attempted to dislodge his lightsaber. However, the beast reacted too quickly to the Jedi Knight's attack, jerking violently. The jerk caused Vic to go flying, the black pus making his hand slip free of his lightsaber. He fell to the ground several meters away without one of his lightsabers, landing on his injured leg once again, making it burn as if it were just stuck in a pit of fire.

The Jedi, who now grabbed his other lightsaber from his belt, managed to get out of the beasts path as it thrashed about more violently than before, obviously angered by the attacks from Vic. With a quick glance, Vic seen Kara flying off the tail of the beast. Though, her attempt was not in vein; she managed to injure the beast as well, slicing a long gash along it's tail. So, now both he and the female Jedi had injured it, which really angered the beast. Vic managed to catch a glimpse of Hardin, the Sith who was controlling the beast. It appeared that he was losing his control over the beast as the thing continued to stomp around more violently ever second. An idea came to mind right away as he seen the Sith nearly lose his grip over the beast.

Vic began channeling the Force inwardly, gathering enough of the Force to send a strong burst of energy towards his opponent. With a thrust of his hand, the power that he harnessed was unleashed outwards towards Hardin. He put just enough on it that would reach the Sith and, hopefully, send him sailing off the beast. Perhaps, then, the beast may trample Hardin in his frantic frenzy.

The Arena, Mineshaft

Vic began channeling the Force, stretching out a hand and unleashing a strong burst of energy towards Hardin, hoping to knock the man off his mount. The cultist's head swung around, madness and fury blazing in his face as he sensed the attack- but it was too late. Hardin's defenses were not raised in time, and the blast hit him square in the chest, sending him flying from the dragon's head and falling to the ground like a ragdoll.

Meanwhile, the dragon continued to thrash around violently. Kimara and Anengy were knocked aside by vicious strikes from its claws- the two Jedi scrambled away at the edge of the arena, nursing their wounds.

Kara dodged the beast's enormous foot, slashing out at it but this time not making contact. She aimed one last slash at a leg as she spun away- and this time she felt the momentary resistance as her blade met flesh, and sliced satisfyingly through it. As she sprinted out from underneath the dragon, she glanced back to survey her handiwork...and saw that she had managed to cut the dragon's left foot clean off. All that remained was a bloody stump.

The creature roared as black pus oozed out of its wounds, and returned to breathing fire, sending streams of flame from its mouth towards the Jedi. Without its left foot and without its rider, it began to lose balance, swaying on the spot, threatening to collapse.

Hardin, meanwhile, had gotten to his feet, and was staggering towards the edge of the Arena.

Tag: nemisis, Xan, Trimaj, despised