[The maze is unexpected but Grievous had not been deified in his homeworld for nothing. With tactics and a little patience, he negotiated the traps and turns, possibly quicker and more expertly than many others would have. Known for his brute force in battle, sometimes his strategic nature could be overlooked but these smarts were coming into play with both here. His single-minded purpose to rid himself of these intruders along with his surprising agility also aided him here and soon they were at the centre and another cloaked figure. Another red saber but the hood this time was brown instead of black. There was no laughter from this one. Just a grim silence and a more elegant form. Grievous also recognised it and his fury rose. He launched at the figure with another furious flurry of strikes - but they deftly avoided every blow then vanished but in their place were shadowy aliens. He knew these too. The ones who performed their surgery on him. The rage increased and he cut them down with angry, guttural sounds. They fell easily but still there was the matter of the evasive lightsaber user. Then he appeared as if diving from above. Grievous just managed to deflect the blow before it fell. This was his teacher and the Count had taught Grievous many different styles of Jedi fighting. He called upon many of them now and the combat was longer; more difficult, but eventually Grievous dealt a sweeping death blow and this shade also vanished, silently this time. The General coughed and shook with the effort, struggling to regain his composure.]
[chaos' aid this time comes in the form of healing. He cannot restore the parts of Grievous' body that are absent, but he can repair what is left - and here, in the general's mind, more of those are starting to form. It seems like each time he destroys one of these cloaked fiends, some part of his 'body' is made whole again. chaos will let him discover this for himself, though. Once the shade is defeated, the maze collapses and is replaced by another memory construct, this one larger than the last.]
[The healing helps bolster him and he straightens up and gives chaos a nod of appreciation. He turns toward the reconstruction. Yes... His father. His family. His wives... His children... He shudders as things come flooding back, both good and bad memories. But something very important is still missing. He knows what it is. Who it is. She is as elusive now as she was when her body was lost to the sea after that terrible battle. He can remember her and knows what she means to him but the details are what is lost; the depth of his feelings. He can feel the surface of them but can't break underneath it.]
There must be another.
[He turns, searching. It seems this most important memory is harder to find as if it has been very deeply buried - and for good reason. Her loss had driven his despair and his hatred. He had destroyed civilisations to avenge her. His perpetual grief had given him a new identity. One purpose. Dooku and Sidious had twisted all of this, along with his loyalty to his own people, to their own ends - while diminishing those original thoughts and emotions in the process. Maybe now they would appear again and together. Or would he have to defeat others? The Old Republic. The Jedi. The Separatist allies who had also used him. All of them? Something else? He didn't know but he wanted to find this enemy. He believed it may be the last, but also of course it would be the most difficult to overcome.]
[chaos nods, and scans the horizon. It appears this one really is buried, since it's not immediately visible.]
We're going to have to search for it. You know your mind better than I - you should be able to find some trace of it, even if it's been hidden completely from casual view.
[How does one hide a gigantic megalith? Disguise it as something else. Much more care was taken in concealing this alteration, but it can still be found - indeed, Grievous should have little trouble spotting it, if he clearly remembers the original layout of the area they're in. His mental landscape mirrors the one he spent most of the formative parts of his life in, as many people's minds do.]
[They walk through jungle, it seems for a long time. Nothing catches his eye. They head onward and come to a beach. The sight of it brings a sharp pain to Grievous' heart and he winces but presses onward across the sand. There is a vast ocean beyond it; the sight not only brings back memories of his own downfall - the terrible crash that almost destroyed his body - but also of her. There. It must be in there. He strides forward, into the waves. Once waist high in the water, he halts, sensing more than seeing. Reaching out and concentrating there is a sharply grating sound as if of metal tearing into metal and the monolith they seek rises slowly from the depths of the water. Grievous lays a hand on it and winces again as if it has burned him but he doesn't pull away.]
It is here. How do I break into it?
[He may be speaking aloud as much as asking chaos for advice. No forms are appearing as quickly as they had with the other two. No visible enemies. But he suspects what they may be. Not the Sith this time or anyone involved with the Clone Wars. He senses the original enemy of his world. The Huk. The giant insect-like creatures who invaded and enslaved his home and his people. The Sith may have corrupted his body but the Huk stole his soul and destroyed his heart, by killing his figurative other half - his soulmate. Nobody else could ever take her place. The Huk had murdered her - despite her prowess as a warrior - and she had sunk beneath the sea, lost forever. The grief alone had nearly killed him but then he'd channeled it toward that enemy and devastated their ranks and their worlds. For her; for himself; for his people. His triumphs had been so great the Huk had begged the Republic for help. In turn they sent the Jedi and started the path that had led to all of this manipulation against him. Ultimately, he had to blame the Huk for it all. Even as his mind dwelt on these thoughts, shadowy figures began to form. Huge, seven foot tall praying mantis-like beings in the misty shapes that began to appear. Grievous takes a step back, weapons again at the ready.]
[More and more of those figures appear - a veritable army of them. But even as they appear, a change comes over the monolith - its shell thins, a little more with each new batch.]
We're going to have to defeat them all to break the shell. Something else hides within - what, I cannot tell. Whatever it is, it's powerful beyond the measure of the ones you've faced before.
[His assessment delivered, chaos goes on the offensive. This will be Grievous' first real look at his combat abilities - and they are formidable. The form of his enemies seems not to matter; he moves through them like a scythe through wheat, wielding no weapon but his fists and feet. But every enemy he strikes seems to crumble away, leaving no trace that it was ever there. If there weren't so bloody many of them, he might even have been able to destroy them all alone. But human hurricane or not, the sheer numbers are overwhelming, and it's not long before he's surrounded.]
[With a furious growl, Grievous also launches at the enemy. The vast army of Huk that underestimated his determination and power in the past and here they would again, he thinks. All his lightsabers were out, slashing brutally through the hoard. In his world, he had done so with rifle and sword. Later, on other worlds, he had used the sabers and they were a fearsome weapon, particularly in his expert hand. He could not use the Force but he was a highly skilled warrior even without it. He notices chaos becoming overwhelmed and heads that way, cutting many of the Huk into pieces. Their bodies littered the area but there were still so many. He stops one from attempting to impale chaos with its deadly claws, dismembering it easily. Was there an end to this onslaught?]
[chaos doesn't have time to do more than nod his thanks to Grievous. He lunches forward, striking a great brute of a Huk in the abdomen with both palms to both knock it back and cause its back to explode with a chi wave. Given a moment's breathing room, he bows his head, then leaps upward, helped in this by the snap of a pair of wings - where did those come from?]
Angel Blow!
[A storm of light beams rains down on the Huk, wiping out a huge swath of them - very nearly all of them, on the side he was facing. That just leaves a little over half of their numbers, and the monolith's shell is definitely showing signs of wear. chaos lands and immediately goes to a kneeling position, momentarily winded.]
[Grievous is thinking he needs to reassess his thinking of chaos as merely a doctor or healer with these ongoing displays of power. Clearly there was also a warrior there and he was impressed - but there was no time for comment or praise right now. Grievous cuts a path back to the monolith, destroying any Huk who approach it as if he had to defend it. His determination makes their numbers dwindle, his mental strength increasing and maybe helping him more than even the physical blows to the enemy. The monolith is crumbling.]
[To be fair, they are inside of Grievous' mindscape. chaos may be able to brush off any such displays as only possible under circumstances like that. He'd be lying if he did, though.]
[He follows Grievous back to the monolith, his wings nowhere in sight. Had they ever been anything more than a brief gathering of power? Whatever they were, it's clear he's not going to be able to use that ability again immediately. Not with his power freshly divided, at least. Give him a few months to get back his full 'normal' strength.]
[The structure has been progressively decaying as every Huk is struck down and every enemy is weaker than the last until they all begin fading away to be nothing more dangerous than ghosts who cannot touch the living. Grievous focuses his attention completely on the monolith which is partially melted and the rest just crumbling to dust - spreading out over the water and there was so much of it that the ocean in his mind actually began drying up. This gave him hope. He could find her. He could see her. That one thing he had missed and that had driven him into further despair. That one last glimpse that he never got...]
She's here.
[His voice was gruff yet hopeful and he began desperately tearing down the monolith. More and more was revealed and it glowed with a blinding white light until that was all that was left. He reached for that light and it abruptly vanished with a sound that was partly a whisper but partly a wail. The noise also dissolved swiftly as if carried away by the wind and what was left was.... nothing. Emptiness. Whatever Grievous had been expecting to see, it wasn't here. But of course she could not be there... The ocean had swallowed her up. What he wanted to see was not a part of his memory since it hadn't happened. With a despairing sound, Grievous dropped to his knees, his fists rising to the air then slamming on the newly formed ground. He couldn't see her but a flood of memories did now hit him. All of her. All of that past. It temporarily crippled him; blinded him and this huge cyborg let out a sob, seemingly crushed by his emotions.]
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There must be another.
[He turns, searching. It seems this most important memory is harder to find as if it has been very deeply buried - and for good reason. Her loss had driven his despair and his hatred. He had destroyed civilisations to avenge her. His perpetual grief had given him a new identity. One purpose. Dooku and Sidious had twisted all of this, along with his loyalty to his own people, to their own ends - while diminishing those original thoughts and emotions in the process. Maybe now they would appear again and together. Or would he have to defeat others? The Old Republic. The Jedi. The Separatist allies who had also used him. All of them? Something else? He didn't know but he wanted to find this enemy. He believed it may be the last, but also of course it would be the most difficult to overcome.]
no subject
We're going to have to search for it. You know your mind better than I - you should be able to find some trace of it, even if it's been hidden completely from casual view.
[How does one hide a gigantic megalith? Disguise it as something else. Much more care was taken in concealing this alteration, but it can still be found - indeed, Grievous should have little trouble spotting it, if he clearly remembers the original layout of the area they're in. His mental landscape mirrors the one he spent most of the formative parts of his life in, as many people's minds do.]
no subject
It is here. How do I break into it?
[He may be speaking aloud as much as asking chaos for advice. No forms are appearing as quickly as they had with the other two. No visible enemies. But he suspects what they may be. Not the Sith this time or anyone involved with the Clone Wars. He senses the original enemy of his world. The Huk. The giant insect-like creatures who invaded and enslaved his home and his people. The Sith may have corrupted his body but the Huk stole his soul and destroyed his heart, by killing his figurative other half - his soulmate. Nobody else could ever take her place. The Huk had murdered her - despite her prowess as a warrior - and she had sunk beneath the sea, lost forever. The grief alone had nearly killed him but then he'd channeled it toward that enemy and devastated their ranks and their worlds. For her; for himself; for his people. His triumphs had been so great the Huk had begged the Republic for help. In turn they sent the Jedi and started the path that had led to all of this manipulation against him. Ultimately, he had to blame the Huk for it all. Even as his mind dwelt on these thoughts, shadowy figures began to form. Huge, seven foot tall praying mantis-like beings in the misty shapes that began to appear. Grievous takes a step back, weapons again at the ready.]
no subject
We're going to have to defeat them all to break the shell. Something else hides within - what, I cannot tell. Whatever it is, it's powerful beyond the measure of the ones you've faced before.
[His assessment delivered, chaos goes on the offensive. This will be Grievous' first real look at his combat abilities - and they are formidable. The form of his enemies seems not to matter; he moves through them like a scythe through wheat, wielding no weapon but his fists and feet. But every enemy he strikes seems to crumble away, leaving no trace that it was ever there. If there weren't so bloody many of them, he might even have been able to destroy them all alone. But human hurricane or not, the sheer numbers are overwhelming, and it's not long before he's surrounded.]
no subject
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Angel Blow!
[A storm of light beams rains down on the Huk, wiping out a huge swath of them - very nearly all of them, on the side he was facing. That just leaves a little over half of their numbers, and the monolith's shell is definitely showing signs of wear. chaos lands and immediately goes to a kneeling position, momentarily winded.]
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[He follows Grievous back to the monolith, his wings nowhere in sight. Had they ever been anything more than a brief gathering of power? Whatever they were, it's clear he's not going to be able to use that ability again immediately. Not with his power freshly divided, at least. Give him a few months to get back his full 'normal' strength.]
no subject
She's here.
[His voice was gruff yet hopeful and he began desperately tearing down the monolith. More and more was revealed and it glowed with a blinding white light until that was all that was left. He reached for that light and it abruptly vanished with a sound that was partly a whisper but partly a wail. The noise also dissolved swiftly as if carried away by the wind and what was left was.... nothing. Emptiness. Whatever Grievous had been expecting to see, it wasn't here. But of course she could not be there... The ocean had swallowed her up. What he wanted to see was not a part of his memory since it hadn't happened. With a despairing sound, Grievous dropped to his knees, his fists rising to the air then slamming on the newly formed ground. He couldn't see her but a flood of memories did now hit him. All of her. All of that past. It temporarily crippled him; blinded him and this huge cyborg let out a sob, seemingly crushed by his emotions.]