Other Worlds

[Jedi X]

Kari smiled almost gleefully as her gaze shifted around, spreading her arms out as if she almost wanted to yell the thumping she felt in her chest as she stretched out her small toes in the sand that had risen from their landing. Just ahead of them was a small mountain range with a hut at its foot, the grass nearly as they were surrounding their sides and rear. Kari simply pointed in the direction of the small hut which mirrored in the distance just barely upon the horizon. Her worda escaped with both excitement as well as dread, perplexing as she uttered them. "We're home."

 

On the outside, Kari mimicked a small girl returning home after a long trip that took her across many worlds, lapping up the smells, taste, and sight of home. But on the inside, there was hesitation, gloom, and weariness, like someone who returned to a darkened manor full of horror and spirits of the past. And in truth, it was both for her. Motioning Ban to follow, Kari slowly made the half hour walk to the hut.

 

The hut sat in shambles when they arrived, much like it did when Kari and Faust came nearly a decade ago. As she approached the door to turn its handle, Ban could easily see her unwillingness. But despite this, she turned the knob and the door opened. The abandoned hut upon entry, sat a room to the left that held memoirs of Kari's past, mostly dusted pictures of Angela and what appeared to be their mother, none of them containing Kari or Tori and both standing alone. Kari's gaze barely adverted to it as she moved deeper inside, a room to the right past the living area that had been left untouched for nearly a century aside from the single impression that was left by Kari's former Master, his own dusted over since. And in the back stood a door with a lock dangling open, Kari's gaze fixated upon it.

 

She stood before the door for what felt like hours, her breathing labored by the emotions she fought to withhold, tears still managing to fall before she finally reached her hand out to open it and reveal its dungeon. Like the other two rooms, it was dusted over as if it hadn't been touched in many years, the sun barely shining through the boarded windows. But what separated this one from the others was the cage within that replaced where a bed should have been. Bending down, Kari reached her hand out and slowly slid her fingers across its metallic frame before unlatching it and letting its door swing open before she stood back up and walked back outside. It was evident that a part of Kari did not want to be walking down memory lane, but there was also the part that knew it was a path she must walk if she was to figure out her sister's purpose. Outside in the fresh air, Kari was frantic in her pacing, running her fingers across her montrals and headdress before grasping at her mouth to fight back the tears. Kari may appear strong willed and full of purpose. But this place always held a deep emotional scar and imbalance within her, and it was noticeable.

 

Taking deep breaths, Kari slowed her pace and looked off toward the mountains, distinctly the caverns that ran beneath it, the nexus within swirling with darkness that even the local fauna could feel. Turning to Ban, Kari questioned him, speaking for the first time, her voice slightly trembling with the emotions she was still fighting. "Do you feel it?" 

 

One could see why she had always worn boots, stifling her connection with both nature and her emotions that ran through her roots upon Shili. And in her barefooted state, the connection had returned with gusto, flooding her form with its entirety. But Kari felt the urge to feel it, to know it once again, and in return, become one with again. But this also posed a dangerous opposition for her, her hand tightly gripping the Sith Mask in secret through the lid of her satchel. "The nexus has grown unnatural."

[Jedi X]

"Darkness and Light are but two sides of the same coin, existing within the nature of every living creature. It's as much a part of the Force as it is with you and I." Kari spoke, her gaze fixated upon the mountainous range and the caverns that ran below it, the catacombs where her people had buried their dead for millennia upon millennia. However, it was severely evident that what she felt was against the laws of the natural order, the Togruta curling and expanding her toes in a repetitive fashion.

 

"I cannot put in words the unnatural aura that I feel, only that I feel it, cold and crepid as it may be." Kari shifted her gaze back to Ban, a look of hesitation and subtle fear in her eyes. "It is familiar, yet unknown. And it calls to me, asking me to come to the Catacombs. I won't deny that it scares me, Ban, a sense of fear that I have never felt before in either life I have lived."

 

Yet despite the fear and unease that Kari felt, both she and Ban knew it was going to lead them straight down the rabbit hole so to speak, and while they still could turn around right now and leave, it would plague Kari worse than even her past two lives ever could. As Ban was left to briefly ponder on her words and what emanated from within, Kari's gazed shifted back toward the Catacombs, small bumps rising up upon her soft orange skin as her emotional state made her vulnerable to the fear she felt. Perhaps she wasn't ready to truly face what laid ahead of her, but she still had to tread forward even if Ban chose not to follow. But if he did, perhaps because he was there, she might just overcome it.  Perhaps this was why the Force brought the two together.

 

"I am going in." Kari spoke without looking back, her fists clenched despite the trembling that engulfed them. "Prepare yourself if you follow, and remember my words of Ventras. She is a Master of Illusion and Manipulation. There is no telling what traps lay ahead of us."

 

And with that, Kari began her trek down a long winding crevasse behind the hut that delved into the mountain's side and led to a large cavern just inside it. It was there that the entrance to catacombs would be found, and at its heart, the nexus.

[Jedi X]

For Kari, the crevasse was familiar and full. But for Ban, it would likely be a dark and dank cave littered with bugs, humidity, molds, and algae. Basically any old cave he would trek through. But this passage had been trek more times than could be counted by Kari's people, a holy and sacred place where they buried their dead with hopes that their souls would rejoin the Force that gives life to all. But as they grew closer to the cavern within, an unnatural aura would begin to surround them and attempt to persuade them.

 

Kari walked with slight fear in her heart, and it seemed to grow as their trek drew them closer. However, it wasn't the aura that Kari seemed to notice, but it was something darker that laid deeper within, a power not of this world. Some would call it a scar, others would call it a wound. But the tear in reality that laid at the entrance only spoke of the unnatural feeling that Kari had spoken of earlier, something that her former Master was great at creating.

 

But this wasn't a creation of Faust, at least not intentionally. No this held the presence of another, a presence very similar to that of Kari's own, only more sinister. Kari stops briefly, the echoing voices calling at her name in unison as they neared the cavern's entrance. At first, she seemed spooked by it, but in a brief second, a happier aura emerged from within her and she dashed toward it.

 

"Mother? Angela?" She questioned as she darted ahead, tears flowing from her eyes leaving their imprints upon the stones that surrounded her in her dash. But what laid in the cavern wasnt possible, at least not in the natural order. For as Kari came into the opening of the large cavern, with it's natural display of light that reached in through the cavern's open ceiling, sat Angela and Kari's mothers rotted forms upon the pool of water that collected the rain. Kari gasped and screamed. "No Tori. What have you done?"

 

It seemed Tori wasn't just a Master of Illusions.

[Jedi X]

Kari could hear his words, feel his serene sincerity, and nodded in agreement. But as she took a step forward, the rotting carcasses of Angela and Lynn both stood, arms reaching out as they called upon Kari. Kari, frozen by fear and want, could do nothing as they made their approach, tears flowing from the Togruta's eyes even as they embraced her, the feel of their rotted flesh upon her skin sickening her and yet she still could not move.

 

"Join us Kari." They spoke in unison, their voices like whispers upon the wind as they crossed the veil into the living world. "Come with us. Tori awaits us. We will be a family again."

 

"No!" Kari shouted in disgust and anger, her shout reeling with the Force as it shoved her mother and sister backwards, her sobbing hindering her thoughts and her heart breaking as her gaze fell upon them. "You're dead. You're all dead. Please. Rest in peace."

 

But despite her pleas, despite the begging she gave and the ache she longed for to return them to their graves, she couldn't, nor did they relent upon their calls to her and their reaches for her form. And all Kari could do was sob, one hand on her aching chest while the other grasped at her forehead. For most, this simple sight would be enough to drive them mad. But for Kari, it was worse. It was driving her to the point of wishing her own death just so she didn't have to choose. Despite what her mother and sister had done to her in life, they were family, and because of that, she loved them dearly, long forgiving them in her heart.

 

"Come Kari. Step through the wound." Angela whispered into her ear, a subtle caress of Kari's montrol. Lynn leaned over, kissing Kari's forehead like a dutiful mother would, only causing Kari even more pain as she had ached for such a thing her entire life. "Let us join Tori on the other side, like Lusef intended."

 

As Lynn spoke these words, a cold aura set upon the atmosphere around them, chilling the air nearly into crystals. Kari's sobbing quit, her form limber as her gaze lit with fire. The two rotting corpses squealed with unfelt pain as the twin indigo tonfas blazed to life through their forms before they slunk to the ground, seemingly lifeless once again. 

 

Her tone was void as she spoke, as was her emotions, as she stood there in her stillness, her gaze as lifeless as the two at her feet as it shifted past the wound and into the chamber beyond. "What did you say?"

[Jedi X]

The chamber doors began to creak as they slowly parted, a crepid old form draped in dark garments slowly pacing out of the inner catacombs, her face hidden by the cloak's hood. But there was no mistaking the montrols and lekku that it covered, nor the presence that emanated from it. Almost beastial, Kari's snarled at the form, her carnivorous cuspids exposed as she spoke. "Ventras"

 

"Greetings Dear Sister." She spoke as she lifted her face to greet her gaze. She chuckled, and poised Kari a question. "Why do you still despise me so after everything I've done for you?"

 

Kari's eyes lit with fire at Tori's words, as if capable of lighting her sister ablaze with hate filled intent. Spinning her tonfas within the palm of her hands, Kari gazed upon the decaying flesh that shown under the light from above, not nearly as rotted as Lynn's and Angela's, but just as sickening for Kari to see, and just as sickening as the hate she felt swelling in her heart for the former Sith Master. Tears still plagued her eyes, but her gaze remained void, fueled by the rising darkness within her heart as she stood there, a statue of her own making.

 

"You're unnatural, an abomination. You should have stayed dead after Lusef..." Kari's voice stopped mid sentence, realizing she still called him that despite it being a false name he chose to bare, something they both knew all too well "When Faust slew you."

 

"Death isn't permanent, sweet Kari." Tori spoke in return, taking the seat by the pond where Lynn and Angela had resided, a devilish grin crossing her face. "You of all people should know this. After all, your form now, your new life, is a product of my work. I made you dear sister, brought you back to life after it was ended so abruptly, gave you a second chance. That is the love of a sister, is it not?"

 

"You call what you did love?" Kari's voice spat back at her sister, spit spewing as her words escaped her hate filled mouth. "You stole the life of an innocent infant, and replaced its soul with my own, brought back from where it should have remained. And because of it, Angela suffered the same affliction that mother did, hating me for my existence and me not knowing why."

 

"Yes, yes. And then you killed her when she snapped and tried to take your life." Tori spoke, her words irritated and emphasized with the shooing motions of her hands. "I thought our dear baby sister stronger than that, but that was a miscalculated consequence of our mother's abuse." Tori stood up and made a cautious approach to Kari. "But that won't happen again. This time I can make it right. This time we can all begin anew. And we can use this body of yours to do it. All I'd have to do is erase the memories of Mother's attack and replace them with memories of love."

 

"No Tori. No." Kari pulled away, causing Tori to flinch back as well, Kari staring at her sister with almost horror now at such a suggestion. "How could you even think that? How could you think that I would even begin to consider letting you destroy more lives than the ones you already have? I have to live in this body until I die, a body not of my own, stolen from a soul that will never know the joys of life."

 

As Kari began to back away, a vague mist began to creep into the cavern and surround them, not limiting sight, but eerily creeping in around them from the catacombs below and empowered by the wound that resided before them. But Kari could not see this beyond the scope of her own disgust. All she could see was her sister and the foul creature she had become. To Kari, she was pitiful, pathetic, downright sickening. And her intent was to cause more of the same pain that she had inflicted upon Kari through this life and into then next not only to her, but to her sister and mother? Kari could no longer stand to see Tori like this. She had to be put to rest, here and now. Walking toward Tori now, she raised her blade out to her side, intent to strike Tori down when Tori screamed, causing Kari to stop.

 

"Kari, look out, behind you. Tori screamed in horror, her form bent down to one knee with a look of fear that even caused Kari to pause, the skin of her form catching a chill as she went to turn. "How is it even possible?" Kari questioned as she saw Faust behind her as she turned, those unmistakable blue eyes glaring back at her. "Quick. My mask. It will protect you. I can't have him kill you."

 

Looking upon her former Master's gaze sent chills up Kari's spine, his sheepish grin glaring back at her with intent. She knew he was still alive. That was her reason for leaving Tython. But meeting him hear of all places? Perhaps he knew more of Tori's intent than she thought and came to end it once and for all. Kari looked down at the mask in her satchel, briefly contemplating letting him. But as she deactivated one of her tonfas and reached in to grab it, she knew she had no choice. Tori may be misguided, but she knew Faust as pure evil with malicious intent. If she didn't kill him here and now, there was no telling what he would do with the knowledge Tori held. Placing the Blade upon her face, Kari reactivated her blade and readied herself. Faust would die here and now, by her hand, and Tori would find the rest she needed for eternity. 

 

"Your mine finally Faust." Kari yelled, charging in with the feriosity of a wild beast, leaping into the air with the intent of her right hand dropping the first of her blades downward at his head. "Today the Galaxy is free of your reign." Her voice echoed as she fell downward into her strike.

 

(5 post spar with predetermined outcome as agreed, no deaths, with Chris and Tim overseeing)

[Jedi X]

Sparks flew and rocks grew slithers of molten as Kari's attacks became unrelenting, the devilish display of her study under Faust apparent. As a Practioner of Form VI, the duel bladed variant known as Jar'Kai, Kari was well versed in keeping her opponent on the defensive, rarely yielding enough leeway for the tables to turn. Tori knew this, and it had played to her advantage. But for Kari, all she could feel was her blood boiling at the sight of her former Master. Again and again she strove to disarm and dismember him before her, the Mask adorning her face whispering the melodies of sweet revenge as it fueled her intent. Little could she nor Ban have guessed the true intent and purpose of the Mask as they two danced about the caverns.

 

The two were seemingly deadlocked in both skill and power, both knowledgeable of the Force, but capable duelests as well. Kari could almost immediately foresee every strike and blow before it came, the young Togruta's ability in the Fighting Sight developed by the Aiing Ti aiding her as the clash of blue and purple lit up what remained in the darkened corners of the cavern. And all Tori could do was remain bent over, her smile hidden beyond the shadows that draped her face until finally, Ban managed to provide space between them.

 

It was in that moment that Ban's voice managed to reach over the whispers in Kari' mind, and for a brief second, revealed the face of her opponent beyond the smoke screen causing Kari to grasp at the Mask that was bound to her face, unsure of what was real and what wasn't. A glare from Tori fell upon Ban, and before Kari could manage to free herself from its binding, Kari's form became constricted as it was lifted into the air, Tori's hand extended. "Tsk, Tsk." Tori spoke, her hand gripping Kari's form so tightly that the flesh began to peel and fall. "You should have played your part Kosai. Now I have no other choice."

 

As Tori's form fell limp and upon the ground behind Kari, the mist grew thicker as it began to swirl swiftly around the levitated Togruta before it became confined beneath the Mask, Kari's memories of Faust locking her away in her own hate filled mind, releasing her suspended form to fall upon the ground where it remained briefly. Ban would be able to hear Kari's screams though they were not verbally expressed, sounds of pain and terror escaping upon the ripples of the force as Tori took possession of the body.

 

"You may be stronger here, but I am limitless." Tori and Kari's voices spoke in unison as Kari's form came to stand, the Togruta in control stretching the form to her control. "I will have this body. My family will be reborn."

 

Kari's tonfas, as well as the red blade clipped upon Tori's demented and soulless form came to hover around her, encircling the witch slowly at first as she adjusted to Kari's body, but grew faster. With a smile, Tori reached out Kari's hand and sent one flying his way, striking at his blades before another soon followed as the other returned. Kari may have been proficient in using Jar'Kai, but Tori was never one for close quarters combat. And because of this, she was highly skilled in Telekinetic Combat, leaving her free hand open to gather the Force within its statically charged palm, and releasing the hate filled electrical current it ignited.

 

((1))

Edited February 5, 2020 by Jedi X
Duel Post Count

[Jedi X]

The memories within Kari's mind kept her locked away, flashes of Lusef's face haunting her relentlessly as she struggled within. Their chance meeting on Haruun Kal where Kari had been raised as a Jedi Padawan after the death of Angela, her training under him on Tatooine where she was far removed from the Order for his nefarious motives, and Gala, where he revealed to her the hidden truth of her existence and of his purpose. Over and over again, the events that broke her played at her, plaguing her mind and her heart. Slowly she began to feel faint, as if a part of her simply wanted to fade away, her existence removed and her soul finding peace in the abyss, her vision clouding as she began to close her eyes. But then....

 

"Kari, I know you can hear me, listen to my voice. You can fight this. You must fight this."

 

Her gaze shot open as she screamed with all of her might, the Togruta within began to fight again against her sister, her oppressor. For too long had Tori held sway against Kari, the sister bond that bound them deeper than most could ever understand. But now Kari began to use that to her advantage. Even as the memories began to hasten their onslaught, Kari blocked them from her mind, focusing solely upon the voice she heard echo in the darkness, her hands stretched out in an attempt to reach for it.

 

On the outside though, Ban would see a different view. As soon as he spoke his words, Ventra stretched out her arm and grasped at his throat, the elongated invisible tentacle attempting to wrap its form around the intruder's neck as she hissed in her displeasure at him. "I told you to stay out of this Kosai. Know your place or else..." Yet, before she could finish her expressions of disdain, her body rocked, her gaze looking in sheer unknowing as Kari's fight within began, Ventra grasping at their shared mind and the two voices screaming in unison as her hands reached up in agony. Her form began to contort, and her exposed skin seemed to crawl as if something underneath was attempting to get out just as the two souls both began to illuminate the battle within.

 

For Ban, all he would see is the contorted souls both seeking inhabitance, only distinguished by their true visages and the body simply stood in deathly stillness, the visages of Kari and Tori nearly impossible to tell apart save for the auras they emitted and both different from the body they possessed. For for Tori and Kari, the playground was quite different on a plane where time stood at a standstill, incapable of moving within the empty abyss they dwelled in, floating upon the currents that breathed life into them.

 

"Leave me Tori." Kari pleaded with her sister, tears within streaming down her face from both what Tori had done to Kari as well as the loving bond she still held for the Sith Master despite of it. "I will not ask again."

 

"I will not dear sister." Tori replied, a smirk across her face as she laid their afloat. "Our family deserves this, a chance to be reborn, a chance to redefine their lives. And you were created for this very purpose. I will not let this chance escape us."

 

"This is not natural, Tori. This is an abomination of the Force, perverse and unnatural." Kari replied, her gaze shifting to meet the mirrored version of her sister's. "Nothing good will come it. Trust me. I would know."

 

"So you condemn us, Kari? Tori questioned, her own gaze meeting Kari's in return. "To let the lives that me, Angela, and Mother be the only chance we recieve?"

 

"The only one condemned is me." Kari spoke, a smile adorning her face despite the tears still flowing down her face. "When I die and leave this body, there will not be no afterlife for me. I have made my peace with this."

 

"Foolish sister. I won't let my life be for nothing." Tori spoke with fierce rage as foam flew from her carnivorous cuspids and lips. "I will finish what I started!

 

Before Kari could react, Ventra had regained control of the body once more, and this time locked Kari even deeper into her own mind with memories of her lives flashing before her eyes. Kari would know all of her pain, unbridled and without remorse on Tori's part as she severed the sisterly bond they shared and took complete control. And in that moment, a mere millisecond since their departure into their shared mind, Kari's visage all but disappeared as Ventras returned, her glare at Ban fueled with rage. "You were warned."

 

Ventras began to wail her arms in oddly motioned circles, sweeping her feet around in an almost rythmatic dance as she began her chant, the three blades around her encircling her in an unsettling stillness with their points pointed down. "Stig op og blive talt. Søg din hævn og ved, at det er herlighed." She chanted over and over, her gaze never leaving Ban until she finally stood erect as the blades drove themselves into the ground before falling upon the floor deactivated. And in that moment, ghoulish groans filled the cavern as Lynn and Angela stood upon their feet once more, their hollowed eyes matching Ventra's own as all three stared upon Ban.

 

Without warning, Lynn and Angela attacked. But unlike before, their forms were more limber and agile, encased in glowing auras that would negate any energy that attempted to strike them. And at the rear stood Ventra, her cold gaze and focus poised solely upon the action unfolding before her. It was nearly time, as the sun was beginning to set and the moon was full tonight. Just like it was that very night years ago.

 

((2))

Edited February 5, 2020 by Jedi X
Duel Post Count

[Jedi X]

"Look at them Kari...see them, remember who they were" Came across as whispers to Kari as she was bound within her own consciousness, there to be heard, but not loud enough to drown out the hauntings of her own mine and noticed. For Kari was reliving her own past lives continuously, without Tori's compassion nor remorse, the Sith Master determined to hold her sister off just long enough to complete the ritual. For once the moon rose center, it's light falling upon the pool, the wound would empower Tori's spirit to rip Kari from her form and replace it with Lynn, memories made to grant a better life for the three that would grow within it's womb.

 

All Kari could do was lay within the darkened pool, watching the memories of her past unfold, feeling the emotions within tear at her heart. She could still see and touch the face of her first Master, the stubbles upon his human face as he smiled at her, her love for him tugging at her as it shifted to her last memory of him, the report of his death splitting her heart in two, her new Master's hands more wandering than what was formal as she cried. Then she witnessed his attack on her, his jealousy, his greed, his lust as he took from her what he prized most. and then the darkness that followed, the empty void of her death and the peace that she found within it.

 

As the battle ensued outside her mind, Tori's fogs of war left an enlightening view of Kari's mind and visions playing all around them, their point to distract him. He could see Kari's painful past being played out amidst the encircling fog as his attackers continued relentlessly, unhindered by mortal restraints and empowered by Tori and the wound. and all Tori could do was smile, her attempt at prolonging the inevitable becoming apparent as a success, the last rays of the sun disappearing behind the mountains and the cave growing dim and dark outside the illuminations of the sabers and mist. There was one fatal flaw in what she was showing, even as the ritual that led to Kari's rebirth began to play...

 

Next came Kari's rebirth, the cries and wails of the infants soul drowning out as Tori snuffed the child's soul as she called upon that of her sister's within this very cave on a night just like tonight, the full optical of the scope a rare and draining task. And then the twisting of the spirit's memories and suppressing the power that it held so that it wouldn't destroy it's creation as it was placed within the soulless form. and in a brief moment, the screams and cries return as Kari had been reborn, the tear apparent within the Force cracking as it did so. And as Kari grew, raised by her youngest sister until her death played out, it became ever apparent Tori's one fatal flaw, the wound growing as Kari's life grew harder and harder, just as her first life did.

 

"Kari...seek the truth."

 

The wound was not created by Tori when she rebirthed her sister. The wound it's self was Kari's own soul, and it's attachment to the place where it was reborn. Only here, in this place, would the pieces of the puzzle be put into place, and something even Faust had overlooked while here nearly a decade ago just before Kari went nuclear, the power this wound provided from two lifetimes converged into one place. Kari was the abomination, the wound upon the Force. and only she could close it.

 

((3))

Edited February 10, 2020 by Jedi X
Duel Post Count

[Jedi X]

Tori chuckled vigorously at the sight of Ban's own torment, the visual plagues of her sister's pain playing upon his own amplified by her own justification. As the two corpses retained their assualt, Tori simply watched and waited, pulling on the power of the wound, focusing her energy on what would come next. The sun had set and by now the moon began to pierce the tomb's veil, its light illuminating the mist and Kari's memories just as they began to foretell the rest.

 

The mist began to grow even thicker, the illuminated scenes playing next the realization of Kari's past the first time, the young Togruta standing over the fallen form of Angela, a spitting image of Lynn. And then it spanned across Ventra's own as she wiped cleaned her sisters memory yet again and dropped her off at Haruun Kal as an orphan to the Jedi Order. Yet, something happened that Ventra had not planned on, the arrival of Vladimir Faust portraying himself as the Jedi Lusef Aryan, causing the Sith Master to come out of the shadows of her sister's life and be reintroduced.

 

As the scenes of Kari's training under him began to unfold, hidden in the mist, a figure began to stir after nearly over a half a century, its brittle form leathered by it's time within the catacombs. Lifeless, it rose from its tomb, the sounds of scratching and clanking as its bones climb upright, causing even Tori to glance in its direction in wonderment just as her form stiffened in its ensnare as the mist only grew thicker. And from the shadows a raspy voice echoed....

 

"Seek"

 

Tori's form floated stiffly into the air, horror filling her gaze as a flesh less hand erupted from the mist that surrounded it, causing both Angela and Lynn's forms to halt their attack on Ban and become stationary, the heavy breathing within the mist as grizzly as a beast, the power coming from it even stronger than Tori. 

 

"The"

 

The voice from beyond snarled as Tori's form flew across the catacomb's entrance and landed with a hard thud, knocking the wind out of her as the moon's light began to pierce the thick mist surrounding the lifeless form and reveal a third Togruta in skeletal form, its eyes glowing with knowledge and rage as it stepped forward into the light.

 

"Truth" 

 

It yelled as its hands out stretched to reclaim the tonfas that once belonged to it, igniting them upon reception as its gaze fell upon Tori. And amongst the mist, only a singular memory remained playing. It was Ban's voice echoing in the backdrop of Gala, intertwined with the memory of Aryian's own voice reaching out with the same words. And with that, Kari pulled upon the Force around her, her blades slicing Lynn and Angela down a second time as she charged toward Tori, the wound in the background crackling with kinetic energy. As Kari's blades met Tori's, sparks erupting with dramatic flare as they intertwined each other's ensnare, Kari's true face reached out to Tori's. "Die."

 

((4))

[Jedi X]

Nature...

 

At its primordial core, Nature was beastial, wild and untamed, neither dark nor light, balanced and intertwined by life and death. And Kari was stuck between both, neither dead nor alive, neither light nor dark, beastial, driven only by her primordial nature as her gaze found its self fixated upon Tori and the crimes she had committed both against their family, herself, and the Nexus which fed them. The Force had weighed her heart and found her severely wanting, Kari's soul there to collect Tori's toll after finally being freed from the prison Tori now inhabited.

 

And yet Ban defended Tori, Kari's glowing gaze shifting from her sister's toward his own with a beastial snarl. She had corrupted the Force, twisted its currents and bound her soul in such an unnatural way that it wounded the Force its self and left it bleeding. And he defended this? Kari's soul could not believe this. Tori had to be punished. The natural order demanded it, entrusting her with the price Tori would pay for such heresy. Even as the indigo and crimson blades scrapped against each other in the struggle of the two Togrutas, Kari's focus solely fell upon Ban in this moment of disbelief. And it was because of this, that Tori managed to land a blow that sent Kari sliding backwards into a stooping slide as she grasped at the hole where her ribs once were. Kari snarled again, standing and flipping toward Tori with a solid kick from her position as the blades struck and intertwined on multiple occasions, Kari's plight relentless as she turned a deaf ear to Ban's words.

 

Blow after blow would land, sparks erupting about like the celebration of Yavin's Day, when the Rebel Alliance managed to defeat the Empire nearly two centuries before, as Kari vowed to finish Tori here and now, her crimes unforgivable and knowing she would never stop no matter how many times she chose to overlook her out of love. And once Tori had met her end, Kari, finally, could be granted the peace she so desperately desired and return to the Force and its eternal embrace. It had to be done. There was no other way. To close this wound, to restore the balance of nature here, Tori had to answer. And despite Tori's attempt to defend herself and stave off her sister, Kari proved to be the better as with a final swing, cleave off her left arm and leg, leaving Tori at Kari's mercy. And in that moment, Kari would not give her any.

 

"Kari, stop!" Angela cried out just as Kari brought her blade up for the final blow. "She did this for you, for us. Mother always blamed us for his actions, blamed us for her misery. Don't you remember?"

 

Kari lowered her blade and deactivated it upon hearing her sister's voice, feeling the true presence of the youngest sibling within the corpse behind her, feeling her grasp at her legs. "I am as guilty as she is, both of us choosing to give our family a second chance. It was a part of my soul that was used in the ritual, a part I gave gladly so that we would be whole again." Angela's hands grabbed even tighter as she ached to climb Kari's form just to reach her face. "We didn't anticipate what it would do to me, so if she is to blame, then so am I."

 

Kari bent down, falling to both knees as her hands cupped Angela's face as Kari's soul began to ache knowing this. They should have known better, they should have left well enough alone, Tori especially because Angela could not touch the Force like she and Kari could. There were some things even the Sith knew better than to delve into, equivalent exchange being too heavy a price for anyone to pay, and this cost Angela a part of her own soul, the part that was capable of love and endearment. It was all beginning to make sense now, and in that brief moment, Kari wanted to forgive.

 

"Angela" Kari cried out, embracing her sister for the first time since she slew her so many years ago, the shimmering of Kari's soul illuminating outside the leathered form of her true corpse as tears flowed from her face. And in that brief moment, Kari turned to reach for Tori too, only to see her sister laying there at her feet as the moon encompassed Kari's form near the pool. "Tori? Nooooooo!"

 

"Vekjið móður og endurfæðist á ný og látum okkur endurfæðast í gegnum ykkur." Spoke Tori as she grasped at their souls, the wound behind them ebbing by the moon's flow. "Láttu vilja minn ganga í gegnum sálir okkar."

 

((5)) Great spar.... I've really enjoyed this despite the fact that this turned really more into a plot than a spar.

 

@Delta73 @Fieldgrey

[Jedi X]

Kari could feel Tori's power coursing through her soul, through Angela's soul, through all of their souls. Through Tori, they had all became connected, and in that moment, Kari held a revelation of clarity. She could see everything, from Angela's intent and broken heart, to Lynn's own pain and regret for what she had done, and even Tori's own hate filled and misguided deeds to resurrect and restore the family she had always believe should have existed. Fueled by the moonlight upon the nexus, and their souls hovering above their forms, Kari felt and knew all as Tori began her final preparations. With a humbled sigh, Kari closed her eyes. 

 

Tori may have knew how to wield the power of the nexus, the darkness created by the wound fueling it farther in its despair. But Kari could see the truth behind the wound as clearly as if she had created it and understood her role as her mind melded with each. "Róa Storminn" Kari's voice spoke as her form stood up against Tori's pull. "Láttu náttúruna eins og hún var." Her voice echoing of the language of Tori's knowledge as Kari used the wound created by her birth to counteract her sister's own. There was no more hate, no more pain, nor pity or endearment with her ghostly gaze as Kari gazed upon her sister. Only the gaze of neutrality, of knowing the natural balance and the way things should be stared back at Tori through Kari's eyes and in that moment, Tori knew.

 

Tori released her grip upon the otherworld, turning her plight one last time upon her sister in a last ditched effort to bring her dream to fruition. But it was in that moment that Tori sealed her fate, Kari not even activating her blade in retaliation as Tori's red blade found the Tonfa's guards deflecting her kinetic attacks as Kari stood there. Slowly the nexus began to grow unstable, the price of the darkness fueling it no longer capable of feeding off Kari's emotions, and turned its attention to the only darkness that remained to sustain it. And though understanding filled her heart, Kari still wept as the nexus began to attack her sister, using the very same methods Tori had used against Kari as it prayed upon Tori's own.

 

Visions of Tori's life began playing upon the mist, from her fall after Kari's death in search of a means to restore her sister, to her delving deeper when Kari killed Angela, to here and now as Tori viewed Kari's act of betrayal. And in her final moments of despair, Tori's final attempt to reach out to feel her sister's touch one last time as Lynn and Angela's forms lept to devour what remained of her darkened soul as the nexus claimed her as it's own, sending a wave of energy that resounded in all directions and leveling even Kari and closing the wound that once resided within it. Darkness claimed all as the moon above eclipsed, and when Kari stood up, igniting her blade to see, she stood in disbelief.

 

Kari knew that when Tori fell to the darkness of the Nexus, her own fate would be sealed with the destruction of the form she had been imprisoned within, effectively sealing the wound as well. But as the indigo hue enlightened the area, she found her own form whole, flesh and bone once again after nearly a century in rot, her organs functioning as she could feel her heart beat and her lungs breath as she gazed to where her family was last seen, only dust and cloth remaining. Walking up to the pile of dust and cloth, Kari dropped her Tonfas to the ground and hit her knees in tears, the only sounds echoing throughout the cavern were drops of water and her wails as she finally let herself weep.

 

((Shout out to @Ban Ulfson for this amazing development as well as the idea behind this final post to end Tori's reign of terror upon her sister. Finally, after a decade, this chapter of Kari's life has closed.))

[Jedi X]

Kari wept, knowing that in Tori's darkened heart, that her family was eternally lost. Tori had corrupted their souls, twisted them into darkness, and because of that, they were lost to its chaos. This broke Kari's heart more than anything. But Tori had chosen this path, walked it with absolute disregard, and because of it, she condemned them, and Kari only survived by allowing them to their fate. Such was the the price they had to pay to the natural order of the Force.

 

But why was she spared? Kari had been willing to pay the price herself even though, like her mother, Kari did not ask for Tori or Angela to make such travesties in her name. So why did she still live and breath? This puzzled Kari in ways that even she could not comprehend. Wiping the tears from her eyes, feeling a brief hand upon her shoulder before it disappeared with Ban's fate into unconsciousness, Kari looked back with a chuckle at his snoring form. He didn't even know her, and yet, her fought for her when she was all but lost in her memories. Truly, there were good people out there in the Galaxy, and it gave her the feeling of hope like none had ever had before.

 

Rising, she shook a little bit with trembles as she got used to her new form, or rather, her original one. But she managed and was soon sitting at the small pool at the cavern's center, looking at the moon filled sky reflecting in the water as much as her own, not having seen this face in many years, almost seventy in fact. Taking her hands, she palmed some of its water out and drank, feeling it's cool touch flow down her parched throat, it being a weird feeling to be alive in her own form again, even her tastebuds different. And when she was done with the moment, and her confusion passed, she gathered her things including her sister's momento, the Sith Mask Ventra had worn for years before she walked over and stood over Ban with a smile.

 

When Ban had regained himself, and awoke from his deep sleep, he would find himself and Kari back out on the plains, Kari enjoying tastes from her homeworld through her own form around a small lit campfire, the smell of roasting flesh seared on a small metal rod. If he had any questions, Kari would gladly answer. After what he had done, he deserved them. Or he could enjoy her cooking, a treat in an attempt to repay a debt she felt she owed. But until he did awake, Kari sat in silence, taking in the moment and pondering on why and how she survived.

[Jedi X]

When Ban began to stir, Kari was gazing up toward the stars, a serene gaze glazing over her eyes as she sighed and looked over toward him. It was true. She felt complete again, whole, no longer an abomination condemned due to her sister's actions. So when she smiled, handing him some meat that had been broiled over the fire, it was genuine. She may have not fully understood why she still lived or how her true form had been restored, but here in this moment, none of it matter.

 

"I'm better. Thanks for asking." Kari replied to his question, an awkward uneasiness briefly settling over her at what he saw. "I apologize for everything that happened. I didn't know that Ventr... Tori held such power, nor of her plans down there. I should have know the dangers ahead of us when I led you here."

 

Yet, despite her forward apology and the sincerity behind it, a part of the Togruta was happy that he had been there. For if he hadn't, she could have lost herself eternally, being reborn as many times as Tori planned until it was finally gotten right, countless souls lost to her sacrifices. But now, everything had returned to it's natural order and her homeworld had found its balance again. And for that, she was forever grateful.

[Jedi X]

Kari smiled. She hadn't forgotten her promise, and with a nod, she answered his question without a word as her canine cuspids tore a fresh piece of meat from her own stick, her gaze staring out into the vast void above them. Shili had always held a semblance to her state of mind when it came to her thoughts and plans, letting nature take its course and guide her to where she was meant to be.  But now, back in her own skin, she silently questioned its symbolism. Scrunching her toes in the dirty beneath her feet, she pondered his question.

 

"I honestly haven't really thought about it in truth. With Tori's programming of Ghost and her plans here, I figured it would end here." Kari began to speak as she swallowed her bite, her gaze focusing upon the sky. "But given what happened here, and the wound I produced during birth, I'm wondering if there are other places disturbed by me."

 

Kari let her words linger. Tori's ritual here to bring her back had started this all, but Kari had visited many places during her second life and it stood to reason places that held significant attachments to her could have also been effected, which made her mind wander to Gala, the place where her mind literally broke during her confrontation with Faust. Or perhaps her tutelage as a youngling on Haruun Kal. Both could very well have remnants of the wound that she was. Perhaps not as strong as Shili, if at all, but it wouldn't hurt to investigate. Her gaze shifted back to Ban.

 

"I was raised at Haruun Kal as a Youngling after the death of Angela." Kari spoke, taking a sip of water to moisten the dryness of her mouth. "But Gala was where my guidance under Faust boiled over and I lost myself. Either would make a good place to start investigating, if you're still willing to aid me farther."

 

Kari was leaving the choice up to him if he did intend to aid her a little more.

[Jedi X]

Kari's eyes fluttered as she smiled and gave an approving nod, her lekku shifted against her vestiage. In truth, she had half expected his answer, especially given what she had just gone through and how much aid he had truly given. Reaching into the satchel she had gather from her former host, she tossed a cred stick in his direction with more than enough compensation for the job he had done. He had deserved more than she could offer, so she did not worry about what part of it belong to her.

 

"I can do that, or you can take Tori's ship as a bonus. It lays just on the other side of the ridge north of here, maybe an hour walk at best." She spoke with a unhindered smile, a sense of balance having settled across her soul since her form returned. "But if you decide to take it, I think I will stay here a few more days and leave this chapter of my life behind me on a good note thanks to your aid, even if you feel it isn't deserved, my friend." 

 

With that said, Kari took another bite and grabbed the flask of water laying near her thigh.

 

((I've never really described Tori's ship or named it, so have at it.))

[Jedi X]

The next few days for Kari went by like a passing Mynock. She spent most of it cleaning and dusting the old hut, tossing out the cages that had been most of her pain, and over all tidying up her old homestead. There were moments when memories flooded back, causing tears to form and flow, but for the general time spent, her memories were of her childhood and the good moments she remembered, however few they were. And with each passing evening, Kari made the small trek to where Ban had stationed himself and left a meal for her companion whether he ate it or not.

 

But as the third day came, Kari stood outside in the sun, her bare feet dug into the sand as she gazed at the finished product. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she smiled. The old hut looked livable again, as if she had fixed it up to stay. Yet, that was not the case. She simply wanted it to remain, just as she would in spirit. Taking a drink of water, she sighed. For the first time in a long time, she felt no pain, no anger, no imbalance. It was almost as if the Force had willed her life to this very moment, and she smiled at the thought. Gathering her things, and loading them aboard her ship, she made a small detour to Ban one last time before she would leave, if only to say goodbye.

 

"Ban." She yelled as she made her approach. "Just wanted to say farewell my friend and goodluck. Think I'm going to head to Haruun Kal next, just to make sure there isn't any residual effects lingering there as well. If not, I'll head to the Temple at Gala then. If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to hit up my comm. I owe you more than you know."

 

She paused, letting his words reach her from afar, before she turned and departed. It was a casual departure, almost as if a weight had been lifted to never return, and the walk back was one of the few enjoyable walks she had had in many years. But as she grew near her ship, a sudden sadness rushed over her and she gazed back briefly in Ban's direction. In truth, she had grew a sense of reliance and attachment to the human, something she hadn't done in many years. Turning away, she climbed aboard her ship and in minutes, blasted away from Shili into space and then hyperspace. Next stop would be Haruun Kal.