Right here Grendel...

[Lady Mara Jade]

::Ignites her LS::

If you won't fight me with your fellow Sith then perhaps you can at least bring yourself to fight me here...

[Darth Grendel]

Very well, then.

(Darth Grendel steps out and faces Lady Mara Jade. A burning hatred in his heart for her. He looked around at the scenery. A decrepit, filthy city. Scarcely populated. He looked beyond Mara Jade towards the horizon, noticing that it wouldn't be long before the sun set on the abysmal city in which he found himself in.)

A fitting place, Lady Mara Jade, for you grave.

(Darth Grendel charged Mara, the twin-blades of his fork-staff plunging for her heart! Mara parried them and spun around, kicking Grendel in the side of the head and Force Pushing him back. Grendel stumbled, but regained his footing and charged again. Aiming low for her gut. Mara swung her lightsaber low, knocking it out of the way. Grendel then twisted the haft of Soulreaver, and struck Lady Mara across the face with the pole-end. Grendel then kicked her feet out from under her and knocked her on her back.

Having her at his mercy, Grendel plunged the twin-blades of Soulreaver for her heart, intent on killing her, but Mara rolled out of the way and back on her feet. She stood at the ready, lightsaber in hand. Touching her nose, she realized that blood was coming out of it.)

First blood to me, Lady Mara Jade.

[Lady Mara Jade]

Aren't you so proud of yourself? :)

::Mara closes her eyes and feels the breeze flow through her hair. Grendel stands in his place confused as to what her actions mean. Suddenly, a large crack appears below him and the ground drops out from underneath him. He falls 20 feet downward and lands on his spine. Gasping for air he begins to stand up and looks around the pitch dark room. Sensing a presence he spins around quickly but calms himself as he sees nothing. After a brief moment of silence he is suddenly picked up by a massive dragon-like creature. Swinging his LS frantically Grendel manages to slash the creature's hand but it's grip is not loosened. Grendel yells out loud as the creature begins to open it's mouth::

"Surprise."

::Grendel is suddenly smashed in the face and sent flying backward rapidly before smacking into a tree. Mara twirls her LS around then leaps toward Grendel, slashing the blade across his chest. Grendle barely scrambles out of the way and escapes with only a flesh wound::

[Darth Grendel]

(Grendel barely dodges out of the way as Mara slashes at his chest with her lightsaber, inflicting only a flesh wound upon him. Grendel, disoriented, looks around and realizes that they're still standing on the street. The crack in the street floor and the dragon were nothing but illusions)

You're mind tricks may have worked on me once, Lady Mara, but they won't work twice.

(Grendel concentrates, strengthening his Force Mind Block ability, making himself impervious to mental attack)

Now, Mara. NOW we battle!

(Grendel Force Sped towards Mara, backfisting her across the face! He then slashed at her, cutting her thigh. Mara regained her balance and began parrying his blows, whilst being driven back. Grendel then Force Pushed her, knocking her through the door of one a nearby skyscraper. A dark and foreboding building.

Mara burst through the door, quickly rolling back to her feet, as Grendel smashed through the remains of the door and followed her into the building. Mara then noticed people there. Weak, hungry, and hopeless people lying on the floor in rags. Unwilling to risk their lives, Mara began to ascend a nearby flight of steps, to take the fight away from then. And Grendel followed her up.)

[Lady Mara Jade]

::Mara suddenly fazes out of Grendel's sight as she engages force speed and advances up to the second floor. As Grendel walks through the door he is suddenly smashed in the face with a large statue. He falls backward and nearly down the flight of stairs once again but manages to keep his balance. Mara narrows her eyes and extends her hand forward. Grendel feels a slight tug then is suddenly pulled forward rapidly by the force. As he soars over Mara's head she quickly charges her hand with electricity and leaps into the air, shoving her fist into his chest. A large crackling explosion is heard as the electricity begins to course through his body and he is sent flying upward through the roof then lands on a large cooling unit. Grendle rolls off of it slowly and rises to his feet, his body still smoldering slightly from the earlier blow to his chest::

[Darth Grendel]

(Mara, not waiting around, walks towards one of the elevators and gets inside, pushing the button for the top floor.

Grendel, meanwhile, gets up, his body still twitching from the electric shock of the Force power Mara used on him. A evil grin plays across his face beneath his mask)

That's something only a wielder of the Dark Side can do...

(Grendel leaps through the hole back down to the floor below, looking for Mara. An old man, steps out of one of the rooms, holding a bottle of whiskey.)

OLD MAN: What the hell's going on here?

Quiet, old man.

(Grendel, with one casual blow, severs the old man's head. Then walks over to the elevator doors. Charging the energy field around the blades of Soulreaver, Grendel slashes at the elevator shaft doors, sending them plnging to the shafts lower levels.

Grendel looks into the shaft, seeing Mara's elevator going up. He then attaches a cord to one of his quarrels and fires it at the elevator!

Mara jumps as the quarrel punches through the floor of the elevator! While below, Grendel uses Force Speed to quickly work his way up the cord. Mara is about to strike at the quarrel with her lightsaber, when she feels a darkness enroaching on her mind, and hears a voice within her head)

How does it feel, Mara? To know that you're all alone? That there's no-one here to help you? But then, you should have seen this coming. You've betrayed everything and everyone in you life. You've betrayed the Sith, the Jedi, your friends, your family, and your husband, Lynch, who is DEAD now because of you! SO tell me, Mara, do you really have anything worth living for?

[Lady Mara Jade]

::As Grendel speaks to Mara telepathically she sifts through his thoughts momentarily. Suddenly he is overwhelmed as she casts him from her mind, causing a mental backlash. Grendel yells and falls to the ground below.

Mara raises her LS and cuts a circle in the bottom of the elevator. The large mass of floor falls downward rapidly and lands on Grendel, nearly crushing him. Mara drops down gracefully::

You're cute when you're emotional, Grendel.

::Mara pins her LS to the Sith's neck::

And btw...that's EX-husband.

[Darth Grendel]

(Grendel Force Pushes Mara into a far wall, slamming her into it hard, while the elevator floor is cast aside. Grendel had cushioned the blow from the elevator floor with the Force, making it appear as if he had been badly hurt. Grendel gets up, facing Mara.)

Yes, ex, because you betrayed him, Mara!

(Grendel stabs at her, and she parries it.)

Just as you betrayed the Sith...

(Mara thrusts with her lightsaber, but Grendel catches it between the twin-blades of Soulreaver)

...and just as you have and will betray the Jedi.

(Grendel twists his fork-staff, disarming Mara, then grabs her by the neck and holds her high up into the air, choking her.)

MARA: (gurgling) ... they ... trust .... m...

Trust, Mara? Do you honestly think they trust you? You've betrayed them once before, Mara. You were a Sith. Do you think they will EVER trust you?

(Grendel throws Mara against the far wall of the shaft hard. Mara, lying on the floor, touches the back of her head. And looks at her hand covered in blood)

Then answer me this, Mara. Why do you have 2 Masters while most Padawans have to make do without even ONE?

(Mara stands up and Force summons her lightsaber to her hand, standing at the ready)

I'll tell you why. Because you're an incredibly beautiful woman, and they've allowed their hormones to overrule their better sense.

MARA: No...

THAT'S why nearly every Jedi wanted to be your "Master" when you appeared there, Mara! Like mangy dogs, they fought over you.

MARA: No! They're not like that!

(Mara slashes at Grendel, but Grendel parries, their weapons locked and the 2 of them face to face)

And even now, Turbogeek and Garik are fighting over which one of them has the "right" to "have" you.

(Grendel throws Mara back, slamming her back into the wall. Mara deactivates her lightsaber, putting it away, and immediately begins climbing up the ladder, using Force Speed to get up to the top all the quicker.)

You may try to convinve yourself that it's me you're running from Mara, but it's not. It's the truth you flee from!

(Grendel jumped onto the ladder, and used Force Speed to get up quickly and pursued Mara all the way to the top)

[Lady Mara Jade]

::Mara looks down toward Grendel and shakes her head, rolling her eyes. As he continues to advance Mara leaps down and shoves her foot into his face, breaking his nose. He yells and she shoves him downward onto the ground::

First of all, I don't run.

::Mara grabs Grendel by the face and smashes his head several times into the pavement::

Second, my reasons for having two Masters are none of your business. As I recall, I have explain this to you in the past.

::As Grendel's eyes begin to blur Mara picks him up off the ground with the force tosses him backward like a rag doll. Shutting her eyes Mara rips several metal studs from the wall then strips them down with the force and folds them until they are cylinder shaped with sharp points. Mara then waves her hand and Grendel soars toward the other side of the room, slamming into the wall. Mara then blinks her eyes and pins the Sith momentarily with the force. He is helpless to stop her as she drives the metal studs through his arms, pinning him in a more permanent fashion.

Mara walks toward the hanging Sith. As blood begins to trickle from his mouth she places her hand gently on the side of his face and wipes it away with her fingertips. Slowly her body begins to glow with energy::

[Darth Grendel]

(Grendel, his mind awash with pain, looks down at Mara fiercely. His rage increasing within him, his fury, his anger, his hatred, and his loathing for this woman before him growing to a massive intensity.

Mara steps back as Grendel pulls one arm free. And then another. He then pulls his legs free and drops to the ground. Focusing, using the power of the Force, Grendel draws out the metal studs from within his body. They drop to the ground, covered in blood and mechfluid. Grendel looks at Mara, hatred burning in his eyes. A hatred Mara can see even through his mask. Or rather, a hatred which Mara can feel!

Mara raises her lightsaber to defend herself, but Grendel slaps it away and grabs her by the throat again, slamming her into the wall)

Yes, you told me Mara. You told me that they both said they were your master. But WHY do you require 2 Masters, when there are Padawans WITHOUT Masters? The answer is simple. You don't! It's lust which drives the 2 of them to want to be your "Master", even though there are other Padawans without.

(Grendel, still holding Mara by the neck, slams her head into the floor, on the hard, sharp rubble. Her head begins to swirl, as Mara hangs on the brink of unconsciousness)

Do you TRULY think the Jedi could ever trust you, Mara? Do you truly think ANYONE could trust you after all your betrayals? No. They only accept you for their own selfish reasons. No other.

(Grendel lifts her back up and slams her against the wall again. Letting her go, he holds her against the wall with the Force, and then fires 4 quarrels. Each puncring a limb. Pinning her to the wall. Grendel then steps close to her, and whispers in her ear)

How could they ever trust you, when you've betrayed them before? How can anyone trust you, when you've betrayed your family!

(Grendel steps back and looks at Mara, concentrating on the quarrels. He focuses on his Force Implosion ability, and causes the quarrels to EXPLODE, sending sharp metal shards through her arms and her legs. Mara falls to the ground in extreme pain, as the shrapnel tears through her flesh from within and without)

That was for Aya and Lynch...

[Lady Mara Jade]

::Mara drops to her knees and lets the force flow through her as she withstands the extreme pain. Concentrating, she begins to cast all thoughts aside and uses all of her energy to create a small sphere of energy. As Grendel stands his ground Mara unleashes the energy upon him. The Sith bursts into flames suddenly and falls to the ground, his body in shock from the extreme heat. Mara rises, still bleeding heavily from the flesh wounds that Grendel inflicted upon her she removes her cloak and shreds pieces of it then wraps them around several of her larger wounds, momentarily slowing the bleeding::

Grendel, I did not join the Jedi because they trust me. You are grasping at straws.

::The Sith hears her not as his mind is now consumed with torment from the burn wounds inflicted upon him. Mara looks toward him almost sympathetically then closes her eyes and uses the force to dispose of the rooftop above them. She then lifts them both up into the night sky::

Beautiful evening, isn't it?

::Grendel begins to cough up blood. Mara raises her arm into the sky as her eyes glaze over with energy. Clouds form suddenly overhead and the sound of thunder can be heard::

Do you hear that Grendel? It's the beginning of the end...

::Grendel suddenly screams out in agony as a massive lightning bolt strikes him. Mara extends both arms and struggles to hold him steady with the force::

I will no longer stand by and allow you and those like you to torment the innocent people here. I have stood by for far too long, allowing my emotional attachments to influence me.

::Mara speaks over Grendel's screams::

No longer will I show mercy to those who KILL without regret. The reign of the Sith is OVER.

::After what seems like an eternity the lightning stops beating down upon Grendel. He looks down at his burnt and still smoldering body then goes limp. Mara looks into his eyes for a moment then creates a whirlwind, picking him up in it and sending him plummeting downward toward the earth. He yells in freight but is quickly silenced as he is shoved through the wall of a building. He is then shoved down through each floor, the whirlwind taking out several meters of the building around him as he travels downward. At last he hits the subbasement and lays for several moments in a pool of blood. Opening his eyes he looks upward slowly, vowing to kill Mara just as the building begins to collapse on top of him::

THAT was for all of the innocent lives you have taken.

::Mara turns slowly and walks away wearily::

(Sorry to end it like this but I've gotta leave for a bit. Perhaps you can get someone to judge the fight for us?)

[Darth Grendel]

Dogs and cats of the world UNITE!!!

[Darth Grendel]

[Lady Mara Jade]

(This message was left blank)

[Lady Mara Jade]

(This message was left blank)

[Darth Grendel]

[Lady Mara Jade]

[The Lounge Lizard]

OOC: I think Mara should have acknowledged the disabling wounds to her hands and feet more, but aside from that...that move was fine and legal.

[Optimus Pyre]

I like pie! :)

[Darth Grendel]

[Darth Grendel]

>>>O.O.C.: I'm not gonna get any sleep soon, so I might as well do something. And I feel like an idiot, because this was the PERFECT opportunity to try out a new Force ability I added when I defeated Nom Anor! (I add a Force ability for every victory over non-Sith. Click my name in my sig and you an see my characters info. Just scroll down to the list of Force Powers)<<<

(Grendel, carried in the wind currents created by Mara Jade, tried to focus. He HAD to focus! Otherwise chances are he would DIE! He concentrated, and knew what he had to do!

Mara, using the winds, hurled Grendel towards one of the nearby buildings. Drawing every ounce of power he had, Grendel used his power of Force Intangibility and became ethereal! He sailed right through the roof of the ceiling without being harmed. Like a ghost! But he knew that wasn't enough! He HAD to convince Mara that he was plunging through the building! Lower her guard so he could take her by surprise later!

But using his Force Intangibility ability left him unable to use any other Force powers while intangible. Which left him with a very DANGEROUS course of action!

Grendel turned around to face the ceiling as he fell at breakneck speeds, and became tangible. He then used his Force Implosion ability to cause the ceiling to explode! Then, in the split second before he hit the floor, he became intangible again, passing through the floor without harm. As soon as he passed through it he became tangible once more and Imploded that floor, too.

He repeated this process well over a HUNDRED times! Passing intangibly through floors, becoming tangible, detonating them, and becoming intangible again!

Mara watched from outside as the building began to collapse, believing Grendel to be smashing through each level! But Grendel was completely unharmed. He had finally passed through the final floor and was beneath the street. But he knew what was about to happen, so using Force Speed, he ran as quickly as possible before the tunnel collapsed above him!)

* * * * * * * *

(Several minutes later, Grendel climbed out of a sewer manhole, covered in muck and slime, but ALIVE! Drawing out his fork-staff, Grendel then began to hunt for Mara Jade. He was about to have his revenge. Oh YES!)

[Lady Mara Jade]

(This message was left blank)

[Lady Mara Jade]

(This message was left blank)

[Optimus Pyre]

>>>O.O.C.: You're right. I apologise. That crushing me with a building thing and the lightning are pretty much what ticked me off. Had I THOUGHT before getting pissed then I would have realized there was a way out of it, the way I did with my last post. Will you forgive me? If you go back and edit out all those posts after you tossed me in the building then I'd be willing to edit mine out, to.

As for Sage, it wasn't a long thing. I just wrote a one line OOC post asking him not to do it again. It isn't things I don't like that annoy me. It's the contradictions. Some people say they don't like that, others do. Some say it's not good to crush with a boulder, others say it's okay to crush with a building. It's the CONTRADICTIONS that irritate me. That's all. I'm sorry for getting angry Mara. I apologise. It just gets under m skin, but I can't POSSIBLY know what each person expects out of a fight. :( <<<

[Lady Mara Jade]

In the morning sweetie, I'll edit the posts. But I'm very tired right now so I need to get some sleep.

[Darth Grendel]

>>>O.O.C.: That last post was just me avoiding your last post, without attacking you, so if you don't mind I'll attack you now.<<<

(Darth Grendel stalked through the streets, searching for Mara. At last he came upon her. She was leviting down from the sky to the street just outside the building where they battled, next to the one that was collapsed. So Grendel took a couple steps back, til he was in a shadow, and was gone!

Emerging from the shadow of the building behind Mara, Grendel drew his lightsaber and calmly walked up behind her.)

Nice to see you again, Mara.

(Mara was completely taken by surprise, believing Grendel to be dead. Before she even had a chance to draw his lightsaber, he had slashed her across the thigh, a bright red gout of blood splatering on the hard pavement. Grendel continued the motion, and struck her in the face with his elbow, knocking her to the ground. In an instant he was on top of her. Dropping his knee onto her chest, breaking a few ribs. The other leg holding down her left arm and his left arm holding down her other arm. Grendel then put the lightsaber blade to Mara's throat.)

That was a very nice speech you made, Mara. Very impassioned. Unfortunately you proved it a lie the moment after.

(Grendel looked in the distance and Mara looked, to, at the collapsed building. A building which had been occupied. And who's occupants were now making their way out of the ruin that their home had become. At least those that had survived!

A small child emerged from the ruins, his arm hanging limp after having been crushed by the rubble, looking for his parents. Whie a woman searched through the rubble, only to scream in horror when she found what she was looking for. Mara looked, and saw the tiny arm of an infant peeking through the rubble. An infant who was now dead.)

YOU brought that to those people, Mara. You, the supposed protecor of life, brought death to those people! And you can blame me all you want to, Mara, but that's not the truth. You know it's not the truth. It's not my fault they died. It was you who cast me in there. It was your choice to cast me in there. And ultimately you are the one responsible for destroying the lives of those people forever!

Now you have 2 choices, Mara. You can either continue battling me, and risk destroying more "innocent" lives, or you could surrender to me and give up your lightsaber. In return I will grant you your life. You will then present yourself to those people and take responsibility for the death you have brought to them and their loved ones. Whether they choose to allow you to live is up to them.

(Grendel pressed the lightsaber closer to Mara's neck, burning the flesh. But Mara continued to look at the mother, weeping over the body of her crushed child.)

[Darth Grendel]

>>>O.O.C.: It doesn't look as if Mara wants to finish this fight, or if she'll be showing up for a while. And she did want it judged after her last post, so can someone please judge this? (With the exception of Stone. And Mara herself, of course. :p ) Thanks!<<<

[JediBoricua]

well I'm a story freak and I truly believe Grendel did not meet his beowulf this time. Sorry Mara but his storytelling was superior and so was his mental warfare.

[Darth Grendel]

>>>OOC: Wow! Thanks! :) And seeing how I won this fight, I now get to make the last post that ends it.<<<

Mara looked away from the wailing woman and up to Grendel, shame written across her face.

MARA: Take it.

Grendel stood up, allowing Mara to stand up and walk away. Force calling her lightsaber to his hand, Grendel watched as Mara walked towards the pitiful survivors and began to speak to them. Grendel couldn't hear what was being said but he understood well enough what was going on, as the survivors began to circle around Mara. Snarls of anger on their faces.

Grendel, not caring a bit what happened to Mara, turned and headed to his ship, and took off. Returning to the Sith Empire with his prize. The lightsaber of the Lady Mara Jade.