The New Age

Chapter 26

The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.

~Robert Frost

KYLO REN POV CONTINUE (because he's such a cutie)

The other 'alliance' of the first order was Eryk Cobule, a fearless man on the planet of Yavin4.

We flew down the morning after our "meet and greet" with Kaiyus.

Kaiyus stood with me and Cora, as we waited for Eryk to leave the Trading Post.

I glanced at Cora, the beautiful cold hard killer to my side. She was suited up, with her mask and hooded cloak, all traces of her feminine side were hidden as we waited.

Kaiyus stood by her side, the entire night last night he wouldn't stop talking about how "bad ass" Cora was. He infuriated me beyond all means, but we needed him, and I did my best to ignore him. He wore a brown hood, that covered his paleness, dark inked tattoos were peeking out from the sleeves of his cloak.

Cora stiffened at my side, and I soon sensed him too, a man left the Trading Post, carrying a whole artillery of weapons, a staff-like weapon was strapped behind him.

He had shoulder length brown hair, and snake-like eyes, his height was towering as he stopped and looked at us.

We stood in front of his path.

"Let me pass." He said slowly in a deep voice.

"Eryk Cobule, the First Order is here to claim your allegiance." I said, my mask booming out a dark power.

He stiffened a little at the mention, his eyes narrowed in on me. "Kylo Ren...what brings you here?"

He was stalling, he was soon going to figure a way to escape, I sensed it deep in his mind.

"Me and my friends require your assistance with a mission...... help us, and you won't

have to worry about your debt that you must pay with the First Order." At the term friends, Eryk's eyes darted to Cora.

He frowned, "Lord Drakon, I didn't realize a Sith Lord as yourself sided with First

Order."

She said nothing from under her mask, only stared him down, the dark holes of the metal bore into his own.

"Come with us." I said.

His attention remained on Cora, as they continued the stare down.

"I've heard stories on the murderous Lord Drakon" the snake of a man took another step towards her, "the ruthless killer. They say he has murdered villages upon villages, women and children. "

His eyes stared at Cora in a questioning way, his mind was racing, wondering why this murderous killer was so skinny and silent. But most of all he wanted a fight. He

wanted to fight Cora. To prove his strength, I sensed the cockiness that surrounded and engulfed him.

"I want to join a force with powerful leaders. I want to see you fight. I want to see if the rumors are true Lord Drakon." He challenged.

I could almost picture Cora's smirk.

"You want to fight me?" Her dark voice came, her exotic accent pierced through the modulator.

He grinned a little as he pulled out the staff weapon, and I saw the glint of the knifes in his boots and sleeves. He was heavily armed.

He was a very skilled fighter and he himself knew that, but he didn't know that Cora was better...much better.

Kaiyus watched with a smirk on his face, he knew just as much as I did, that this wouldn't end well. For Eryk.

I saw him biting down on his lips, trying to keep from grinning.

I wanted to tell Cora not to do it, to help her so she wouldn't get hurt. Though I knew she would win, there was no telling if she wouldn't get injured. Eryk was a very skilled fighter.

But then I remembered.... Cora was a powerful murderer, and the last thing she

needed was help from me. She was strong.

"The word is mercy, for defeat" Eryk said cockily "weapons allowed."

Cora's hands fidgeted by her side. I could tell she didn't like him calling the shots.

Go easy on him I said with a small grin as she pulled the saber by her side.

Eryk eyed the saber, and I sensed his excitement...he was so sure that he was going to win.

If only he knew...With a yell, Eryk ran at her, fast.

She obviously didn't take in that he could run that fast based on his size, but she dodged him nevertheless, flying through the air swiftly.

He pulled the staff from behind him, the edges of the metal were lined with knifes and blades.

He pulled it around his upper left side and tried to slash her face with it, she skillfully ducked the blow from under.

She was playing defense, she hadn't yet made a move against him, but I felt it in her presence, that she was planning an offensive attack.

He faked a blow at her face and using his distraction, he flung a blade towards her abdomen.

She flew up in the air to dodge the blade and he used her imbalance to grab her. Using her small weight to his advantage, he flung her over his head.

He growled out a laugh as he pinned her over his head. "You're a skinny lord, aren't you?"

I heard Kaiyus stifle a small laugh by my side, and through my mask, I shot him a death glare.

With a growl he threw her across the alleyway, and she flung into the bricks, and hit the floor.

I resisted the burning sensation I felt to go and see if she was okay. She was up with a flash of darkness.

Of course she's okay.She refused to show the weakness of pain, and I could tell...she was done playing defense.

He began throwing a number of knifes at her, and each one that threatened to do her harm, was immediately thrown out of the way by the force, or dodged by her slick reflexes.

She made a beeline for him, as he pulled a long blade from his belt and pulled it in front of him.

But she had her saber.

Cora pulled out the handle, and with a switch, blood red light illuminated from her handle, and her Lightsaber was ready for a fight.

She charged him, with a slash, his blade was cut in two, and the same happened to the other long blade that he pulled.

I guess Cora felt somewhat bad for him, because she put the saber away, and began to endure hand-to-hand combat.

He had the advantage of size, he was obviously more than double her weight, and had a good foot and a half on her in height.

But she was swifter, and her moves were much more calculated, each move he made, she was already two steps ahead of him.

He tried to make a blow towards her face, but she slid her had in a block just in time, and kneed him in the stomach.

Using his moment of off balance, she made a strike towards the back of his knee.

With a crack from his knee, he fell to the ground and screamed with agony as I shattered his leg with my foot.

I then pulled my saber and aimed it at him, waiting for his surrender.

His tan skin was glistening with sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot from effort.

He breathed out and swallowed a cry of pain as he looked at Cora's mask. His sweaty face light up red from the reflection of Cora's saber.

He finally nodded at her in surrender, and Cora held out a gloved hand to help him up. It was a sign of an alliance, of sorts.

He took it, and Cora pulled him to his feet (or foot because the other leg was shattered).

He immediately bowed to Cora, his head dipping down towards the ground. A new found respect hung in the air.

"My lord, I am sorry for the way that I reacted, but I wanted to see for myself if the rumors were true."

"What rumors?" Came Cora's dark modulated voice.

"The rumors about the invincible lord, so ruthless and merciless that he will kill anyone who gets in his way."

I smiled to myself at the words he and his.

If only this guy knew that his 'powerful and great lord' was actually a seventeen year old girl.

Cora's mask only nodded in recognition as she continued onto a different topic.

"I need you to accompany myself, Kylo Ren, and Master Kaiyus on a mission to terminate Luke Skywalker."

At the term Master Kaiyus nudged me with a grin. I shook my head and focused on Eryk.

His dark eyebrows shot up in surprise as he looked to all of us, he took a few seconds to contemplate, but nodded after some time.

"I suppose if anyone is going to do it, it would be you two." He said as he motioned to Cora and I.

His snake-like features looked from Cora to myself. "Why the masks?" He asked.

"Fear, an attempt to hide and portray fear." Cora said by my side.

"Hide from what?" He said slowly, and as Cora began to peel back her mask, he cringed.

It was almost as if he thought Cora hid her face because maybe she was hideous underneath, or scarred, or beaten.

But I suppose he didn't expect a breathtaking young girl, to be the monster hidden underneath.

He was silent, his eyes burned through her as he took in this dark beauty.

He cocked his head to the side as he studied her, I turned to my side and found Kaiyus erupting in laughter, his grin was ear-to-ear, I suppose he found this situation rather amusing.

With a quick movement I smacked him in the face, his pain silencing his pitiful laughter as he held his face in his hands.

That brought Eryk's attention to me, and before he could request it, my mask was off.

He looked at me only a moment, and nodded, but his expression said he was looking for an explanation.

"Hiding our true identity with a cold mask relieves us from worrying about judgement, and from then on, all we do is kill. The masks provoke the fear that others didn't know they had, the biggest threat is one without emotions." She looked to all three of us, her accent was dark and overpowering.

Eryk looked at her longer than I felt required as he spoke.

"So you wear the mask to prevent others from knowing you're a little girl?" Her eyes darted towards him in an accusation.

He took a step towards her, "you're a child, a little girl. You wear the mask to keep others from knowing this, no?"

"No." She took another dangerous step "I wear the mask as a shield to all emotions. My age, my gender, and my size do not matter. Even if you knew my age and my appearance, I would still overpower you in a fight, as I have so much proven."

He nodded, as she continued "It is true, the mask provokes fear more than my seventeen year old appearance does, but it also prevents me from showing emotion, because emotion is weakness."

She glanced at me, her eyes a wild blue.

I took that as my hint to change the topic.

"We have a ship, and we have the power. Luke Skywalker will never stand a chance."

His inky eyes glanced at Cora's still figure before nodding, "I'm in."