Roon

[SithAcolyte]

"Who were they? Your beasts, who were thy before you twisted and manipulated them?" Darla was shouting into the darkness.

 

She felt a could icy hand around her heart her for a moment. Instantly she panicked, but her body fought against the assault. Her heart pumped faster, blood rushed through her veins reaching her muscles at an astonishing rate. It was moment later that Trowa made his first blow. She was ready.

 

Every hair on her body was tingling. She could feel every movement through the musky air against her skin. Hear feet against rock, muscles twitching, heart beating. She let the sounds and the feelings fill her and let her body respond to them. Let the force guide her movements. She wasn't aware of her own movement's only the movements of her enemy.

 

Trowa was fast but Darla matched him blow for blow. Ducking and weaving, parrying and making counter blows. Their bodies were a whirl of movement. The force filled Darla's muscles with superhuman strength, making her faster and more agile than any human should be. But the force was with Trowa as well. Darla knew that he had strange powers that she couldn't even grasp. She only hoped she could keep up the flurry of violent movements. She could flush the acid from her burning muscles, she could use the forces energy to power them. But eventually she would fatigue. The force both gave and took from it's wielders.

 

Her lightsaber met his black sword over and over in a whirlwind of blows. Her forearms straight from the effort. Veins visible through her skin fighting to pump more blood. The wound on her arm opened from the strain. Thick blood ooze from the pressure sliding down her fingers and making her hand slick. In that second her grip slipped and she missed Trowa's strike.

 

The black growth on his arm slashed through the tough material of her flight suit's leg, biting into the tender flesh of her thigh. A yelp of pain escaped her lips and she instinctively threw her body backwards. She landed awkwardly, but out of Trowa's reach. Blood ran from the fresh wound and Darla hoped that their was no poison on Trowa's blade.

 

Thinking fast Darla plunged the tip of her lightsaber into the ground and dislodged a small chunk of the rocky floor. She quickly thrust upwards spraying the rocky debris in Trowa's direction. The rock was superheated from her saber's touch. Using the force she guided it through the air towards her enemy as she righted herself.

 

As she guided the debris towards the heat of Trowa's body she tried desperately to heal herself. But she couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate on the healing. Her attention was stretched too far. Focusing her senses. Keeping a lock on Trowa. Lifting the rocks through the air. Had she been able to see, she would have easily healed the wound, but the force was now her eyes. If she directed it away to her wound, she would be blind.

 

Darla struggled, only managing to close half the wound. It would have to do. For the moment she focused on the molten debris, willing it to crash into Trowa.

[Bad karma]

The shards of molten debris were like delicate kisses placed all over his body. He was no stranger to amazing feats of flexibility, so when he called upon the force to allow him between every piece of super heated rock he could avoid it was to difficult a task, but due to their diminutive size a few of them licked at his skin, burning and slicing into and causing him to let out a groan, one that hardly showed pain.

 

”œCome now, they wanted it”¦I've got every last one of their names on document, signing a waiver. Money is a powerful aphrodisiac, so powerful in fact that some forget to read the fine print.”

[SithAcolyte]

Darla screamed out in agony as her body began to superheat. Her screamed grew louder and louder until the ground began to tremble. The air around her began to twirl and twist forming wind currents. Loose rock from the walls and floor began to break free. A maelstrom of debris soon formed as Darla continued to sing her rage. Her own ears began to bleed from the sound.

 

She thought of her duel with Alora. She thought of the mob on Coruscant as she had carved her way through them. She thought of the beast she had crushed on Tarrian's order. She thought back to Dagobah, to the war with the Hutts to the first time the darkside had taken her over. She remembered all the moments so well. The element destruction, the chaos...and she embraced it.

 

Were her eyes visible Trowa could have seen that they had turned black. Small blue veins popped on her temples as her siren song continued to shake the room. Her rage had finally broken through and manifested itself as a palpable force. A hateful burning energy directed entirely at Trowa Barton.

 

She twirled her lightsaber in fast cutting movements tearing up even more of the flooring and walls to join her little hurricane. But she knew that she didn't have long before her blood boiled her alive. In those few moments that she felt the searing burning pain inside her, she used it. She used the burning agony to fuel her attack. She wasn't sure where Trowa was exactly but the force that shook the cavern and the sheer amount of dislodged rock meant that something would hit him.

 

And it did. Just for a moment she felt her blood temperature stop rising. At that moment she stopped screaming and fell to the ground breathing deeply. She absorbed as much oxygen as she could and quickly sent it flowing through her bloodstream, cooling herself. Her throat felt like it was torn to shreds from the force of her scream. Breathing raggedly she regained her footing. She didn't know how much damage Trowa had taken from her assault.

 

Darla knew that it might come down to using the Darkside...But something had just snapped in her. There was very little holding her back now. She ran to the nearest tunnel as she entered she struck the cieling just behind her with the same dark energy that had claimed her in the cavern. The ceiling collapsed blocking the entrance. She knew that Trowa could find her, would know another way in but she prayed that her escape would buy her some time.

 

What the hell am I doing??

 

Her breathing came raggedly as she kept trying to pull more oxygen inside her. She still felt like she was burning even though she had escaped Trowa's influence. She ran blindly, her eyes still cover with the black goop Trowa had thrown at her. Not even her lightsaber could illuminate the darkness she was now descending into.

 

Hold on Nivana...

[Bad karma]

Trowa smiled as the shadows crawled up his body, producing a shivering effect as the covered his ears and solidified. He was no stranger to what she was doing; he had done it several times in the part himself, each time turning out worst then the last. Obviously she was no stranger to the darkness; she embraced it far too easy to be a stranger to it.

 

When the cavern began to collapse in on itself he stepped backwards and formed up to the wall, taking on an intangible form in effort to avoid the debris. Unfortunately he couldn't maintain the solid shadow over his ears and his current form at once, so his ears were subject to the scream that would surely rip his skull apart if she kept it up. He relinquished his pyromantic attack through the force and allowed her relief, even to an extent assisting in such relief with an ability that had quite the opposite effect of the aforementioned. A touch of cryo-kinesis rushed through her body as she retreated.

 

She was without her senses of hearing and sight, with only the force to guide her as she moved deeper into the tunnels closer to the area that was completely absent of her greatest tool. He made no move to go after her, as easy as it would be for him to pass through the cave in. Rather he gathered the force around him help stabilize the ceiling so he would have a place to fix himself up.

 

Once he was sure that the roof would hold he gingerly touched his ears. Pain racked his brain, causing him to pull away from his hand quickly. His ear drums had not been completely ruined to the point blood poured out of his ears, as happened once or twice in the past. He gathered a pile of rocks and tossed them at the walls, but heard nothing. Stripping the webbing out of his eyes in a fit of anger he tossed it aside and raised his hands once again to his ears.

 

It was a pointless task to the eyes of onlookers, but now that he had the time to rest he had the ability to accelerate his rate of healing to a monstrous degree. It would take a few minutes for his ears to completely heal, and then he would have to work on their structure a bit more to insure that his hearing was back to its former levels.

 

A good ten minutes went by before he moved towards the blocked path, still limping slightly from his activities earlier in the day. He ran his hands over the rocks, smooth and jagged, and grunted his displeasure at the obstacle. Whispers of the force were directed at Darla, echoing within her head”¦

 

”

[SithAcolyte]

Darla had hoped that the tunnel she had run into would eventaully lead her to Nivana. But now she was unsure. Trowa's words in her mind confused her. If he was going after Nivana did that mean she was in the opposite direction? Darla's gut insticnt was that Nivana was somewhere in the catacombs, but she couldn't be sure. The beast from her vision wasn't one of the arachnids that side had encountered. It made her wonder what else wa down here. What horrors awaited her?

 

After several minutes of running, following the forces guidance alone, Darla stopped. The gooey blindfold felt slack and she tore it away with no ill-affect. She quickly survayed the damage to her body. Blisters peppered her chest and stomach. Her right forearm sported a large acid burn that still wept some blood. Her left thigh was slashed open and still weeping. There was a ringing in her ears that didn't stop. Darla realised that she had probably burst an eardrum, possibly both. A painful cough told her that she had also damaged her throat from screaming.

 

Her major organs were fine. Her nervous system was in a little shock and her heart still pumped dangerously fast.

 

As qucikly as the Darkness had taken her over, it had left her once again. Her rage had subsided and the clinical part of her brain had taken over. Her black eyes had returned to their natural pale green hue. Before she travelled any farther Darla needed to heal. She shut down her lightsaber plunging herself into darkness and sat quietly alone. She slowed down her pulse rate, control her breathing and became deathly still. Darla dropped into a small trance, but was ever aware of her surrounding.

 

Focusing the forces energy she began to rebuild the damaged tissue inside her ears. She would need those the most. Once her eardrums were functioning she sealed up her wounds. She didn't completely heal them, that would take a deeper trance, but she did stop them from bleeding and grew a layer of scar tissue over them.

 

 

Darla stood up, still breathing deeply, but much calmer than she had been. Her ears still rang and they were still painful, but she could hear through them now. Lastly she removed her tattered flightsuit. It was bloodstained and bulky. Underneath she wore a simple black vest and grey pants. Not much protection, but at least she would be more agile. She looked down at clothes. The acid blood had eaten holes right through them. It didn't matter. Darla wasn't going to enter a 'best dressed' contest anytime soon.

 

Clipping her lightsaber to her belt Darla continued to walk through the tunnels. She decided that stealth would be a greater weapon than might in this situation. She drew the force to her cloaking herself with it making her presence seem small and insignificant. She would become a shadow among shadow and she would find Nivana in the darkness, where ever she was.

 

Darla knew that there would be repercussions from her outburst of rage her wanton use of the Darkside...But she didn't care. If she needed the darkside to save Nivana, then so be. With her convictions as strong as ever Darla continued the search for her lost apprentice.

[Darex Trevelian]

The sight was truly astounding. He had expected something totally different, but was unsure to what degree the difference would be. He was unprepared for the grandure and hugeness of the sight, but he didn't allow it to overwhelm him. He accepted it, and moved on.

 

"Your highness," he said, bowing to the Hive Mother respectfully, "I came here looking for a friend. I did not mean to intrude on your lands. She was taken from us a while ago, and we have spent the time tracking her down. It was by accident that I came here. I mean you and your people no harm, I merely wish to recover my lost friend and leave you in peace."

 

The words rang clear and true in the Force. He hadn't even known about these creatures, and didn't have the desire to see any more of them killed.

[Bad karma]

Soon Darla would reach the same Cavern that Darex had marched through. It was void of motion, of life this time around. All of the beasts that Darex had witnessed had seemingly vanished, not that Darla would be any the wiser. Unlike the tunnels she had been in, this place had a bit of ambient light. Enough that, with force sharpened perception would allow a person to see clearly.

 

The entire Cavern was an empty space, not only of the physical abominations but also of the force. Trowa had made sure it would be stripped away completely, so that he could further. He moved ahead of the one, towards the encased body that was Niv's. He snaked his hand through the webbing and grasped her weapon.

 

He did the same with the ragged clothes she had been wearing, letting them fall to the ground behind the large pointed rock that her body had been webbed too. He gritted his teeth as his muscles began to contract and his bones began to shrink. The entire process was relatively painless, but the sensation of ones body not only shrinking down its mass, but also changing genders was not one that would have light effects on anyone.

 

__

 

”œDarla!”

[SithAcolyte]

Darla was shocked when she felt the force leave her completly, but it had been something that she ws expecting. The sensation was still horribly unnerveing. Much worse than being able to use her eyes. She had reached a large cavern, it's walls covered with sticky webbing. Now that the force was gone Darla would have to be more vigilant than ever. She drew her lightsaber and held it tightly, ready to ingite it if she needed to fight. It was her only weapon now.

 

A voice so familiar that it brought tears to her eyes called out her name. Soon she saw her apprentice, looking very worse for wear, rushing to greet her. Darla was almost afraid to reach out and touch Nivana. Afraid that she wasn't really there. But she did reach out, embracing her tightly.

 

"I'm so sorry." Tears ran down her cheeks as she spoke into Nivana's ear. "I've been trying to find you for so long. I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I had a vision of you, you were in terrible danger. I knew that I had to reach you as quickly as I could. But I've done some terrible things since I've been here...Please forgive... I did it all for you. I'd do anything to protect you. You're the last part of me that's good and right."

 

Darla wept on Nivana's shoulder, hoping that the two could find a way out. Hoping that Nivana could understand how much she meant to Darla. Hoping she could understand that she had slipped into Darkness olny to save her.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex nodded. The Hive Mother, it seemed, was one to get directly to the point. "I must rescue my friend, and as I believe she is down here, somewhere in your caverns, it is necessary that I may pass through them. I'm sorry for trespassing. What would you have me do? Name your price, and so long as it is in my power to do so, I will pay it."

 

He paused briefly. "May I suggest a deal? If my offering is to your approval, not only will I be able to travel through your lands unharmed, but that anyone who travels with me will also remain unharmed. You will have my word as a Jedi that they will leave as peacefully as I stand before you."

 

He waited to see what the Hive Mother would deem an appropriate sacrifice. He knew it would be difficult, but that wasn't about to stop him. If they desired proof of his intentions, he would do everything he could to provide them that proof.

[Bad karma]

Niv held the weeping Darla close for a bit, allowing her to through the overly emotional and drawn out act of being ”˜reunited.' Of course she gave every appearance that she was utterly speechless from the joy overwhelming her at finally being returned to Darla. Salty, warm tears ran down her cheeks as she pulled away from Darla with a smile plastered upon her face.

 

”œI”¦was so worried I'd never see you again. I have done terrible things to; I was only trying to escape”¦”

[SithAcolyte]

A feral snarl crossed Darla's face as she saw the two beasts. Her lightsaber was ignited within seconds. Had she been able to use the force she was sure the darkness would already to offering her it's gifts.

 

She had come to far to lose Nivana now and she would do whatever she needed to escape.

 

"Stay back!" She hissed at the creatures, backing away, her lightsaber held out in front of her. "Nivana! Stay close! Do you still have your lightsaber?"

 

With the force she would have crushed the hideous abominations before her, but she was afraid that her slender mortal body would be no match for them. She was strong and agile, but nowhere near the size of the monsters before her. She was still shaken and scarred from her earlier skirmishes as well.

 

At that moment in time Darla would have killed for a blaster rifle.

 

She soon realised that running might be her best option, but first she had to evade the approaching beasts. Even if she could nimbly escape their grasp she couldn't guarantee that Nivana would as well.

 

"Look...I just want to leave this place. I won't attack you if you leave us alone."

 

The beasts had seen Darla slay one of their brethren. She hoped that the sight of her blazing lightsaber was enough to make them think twice about attacking her.

[Bad karma]

The beast in front of them hissed, gobs of thick saliva spraying out of his mouth and landing in the water before the two females, causing it to super heat and boil then evaporate near instantly. The long appendages extending from either side of its mouth unfolded, a clicking sound coming from within their mouths.

 

It didn't appear that either of them had even heard her words as they swung their massive bone scythes towards the two women. Niv tried to move forward and evade the natural weapon, but the type of it caught her side and left a wide gash. She cried out in pain as she stumbled forward and reached out to grab Darla to help catch her balance.

 

”œYes, I've still got it.”

[SithAcolyte]

Darla's body went into complete shock as Nivana's blade erupted through her back. Her organs were pierced and cauterized as an unbearable agony filled her. Darla's first though was that her spine had been severed that she was totally screwed. Blood emerged from her mouth in a small spurt, splattering her chin and staining her vest.

 

Everything began to slow down. Darla fell backwards, unable to stand upright. The fall felt almost graceful in Darla's disoriented state. Her eyes rolled back and her arms fell to her sides. Darla thought that she must be in a dream because tiny spiders caught her and broke her fall. As they began to weave their web around her started to fall into the blackness of sleep.

 

Oblivion awaited her.

 

As she looked up she saw that taunting creature that had taken Nivana's form.

 

"Your not her..." Darla smiled.

 

Nivana would never stab her in the back. Of that Darla was certain. Her body began to shut down from the shock of her injury. The wound was possibly mortal an without the force their was nothing that she could do to mend it. Darla's body shut down completely, reserving what little strength she had left to keep her alive.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex bit his lip. Of all the requests, it had to be one that he could not fulfill. He couldn't spread the infestation of these creatures...who knows how violent they'd become one on Coruscant? The planet had been so plagued in the past, that adding another seed for terrorism would surely send it crashing to it's doom forever as a civilized world.

 

His mind raced, thinking of another option. He wasn't going to fight through every single one of these beings to find Nivana. Contrary to the Hive Mother's words, he had not killed a single one so far, and didn't want that to change.

 

"Your highness," he said, "I am duty bound to protect my people, just as you are to protect yours. I can see how this wish stems from that desire."

 

He paused, and an idea hit him, sprung from the Queen's choice of words. "However, I will take this being to the Hub of the Galaxy, in exchange for safe passage through your lands. I promised that I would do what you asked, and I cannot go back on that. Let me retrieve my friends, and I will depart on your mission immediately."

[Bad karma]

Trowa tossed the lightsaber down onto Darla's stomach, letting it land on her wound as he muttered something under his breath. The spiders would ensure that the weapon wasn't lost, rather pinned tightly to the Jedi's body. He moved across the massive room and found where he had left his original set of clothes, changing back into them as his muscles thickened and his shapely form returned to him. It wasn't too much of a change to get from one form to the other. It was mainly the height different and various reproductive organs that had to be switched.

 

He flexed his arms, rolling his shoulders a bit getting used to his body once more. It was always such bliss to be back in his natural form after spending any amount of time in another. He tossed a glace over his shoulder and watched as the Spider's drug Darla's body away from the water and pinned it to one of the stone pillars. All that remained was Darex and if he didn't finish his task quickly, then Darla would end up dead.

 

Returning his attention at the room off to the side of the chamber he was in, he moved towards it. His foot steps echoed loudly on the stone with each step he took, he had no wish to use stealth and it was obvious. He entered the room just as Darex finished speaking to the largest of his pets. He offered her a smile and a quick respectful bow then approached Darex's side. He didn't turn to face him, rather just spoke while looking forward.

 

”œIf anything”¦negative befalls him while he is with you then I will see to it the most fearsome of my pets arrive on Coruscant in mass. Allowing him and a couple of eggs to go there, or allow thousands of tiny spiders that enter a persons skull and fill their body with preserving fluid, while they take it over. Tis a horrible death, plenty of”¦mind numbing pain.”

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex gave Trowa a sideways glance. "You doubt my word? I will deliver him, safely, to the galaxy's center. I will not harm him, or the eggs he carries."

 

He paused. "If I may ask, your greatness," he told the Queen, "why do you wish these eggs to travel? Is this planet not large enough for your race?"

 

He looked again to Barton. "Or is this your wish?"

[Bad karma]

The queen seemed remained quiet for a few moments, considering his question so that she could answer it in terms that he would understand, or at least be able to partially grasp. The quest to become the perfect specimen was surely one he would understand though; after all didn't even species strive for perfection?

 

”œThis planet, this place we call home”¦is quite large enough, but hardly has enough verity. As you can see, there are different lineages here with a great deal of diverse traits, but in order to further our”¦development we require a larger assortment of species to monitor so that we can pick and choose which traits to include you see?

 

Once the eggs hatch and the Spiders inside mature, they will make their selection over time”¦then either return here when they do, or further explore the Galaxy and report their findings back here. Just because this place is big enough now, does not mean it will forever remain that way.”

[Shy-Ree]

Through the caverns she moved. Her inky cloak billowed out behind as she slinked as silently as the shadow that surrounded. Her steps were swift and sure as she surveyed the labrynth before her. She did not need light to see. Her pupils had widened to the point of nearly overtaking her violet irises. This allowed her vision to shift so that the world of darkness before her was seen as if looking at it through an infra red scope.

 

All around various versions of Trowa's pets skittered and scrambled away. They knew not to harass the one that purposefully strode their precious territory. Most stayed out of her path. A few crept closer even though they knew who the woman was. These resolute few were still driven by the powerful instinct to protect their territory, the hive mother. They kept all eyes trained on the small human, ready to defend if the need arose.

 

Shy-Ree felt the eyes upon her. Hundreds of cold glares either fearing or loathing her presence. She simply touched their minds to find which twists and turns in the caverns were needed in order to find that which she sought.

 

After some time of delving ever deeper into the caverns Shy stepped into the Force-less sector. Her steps slowed, became deliberate. A wrong turn could mean she'd end up lost and her mission would be a failure. Time was not to be wasted. She'd taken far too long to respond to begin with and hoped that she wasn't too late.

 

Eventually she came to the cavernous room in which spider silk cocoons lined the walls like morbid holiday decorations. She couldn't see them but knew the creatures were there. "I need the two females." She called out, voice respectful but firm. "You know those I speak of. Hand them over to me. In return you will be fully compensated for your loss. I will return with an offering of prey with much more meat on their bones than the two puny females have to offer."

 

Silence fell. Then came a slight rustling. Shy tensed. Out of the corner of her eye was a flicker of movement. One of the cocoons was cut away from a pillar of rock. It plopped to the ground, it's dull thud reverberated through the cave. Shy-Ree ran to it and ignited a red light dagger. She carefully cut through the webbing and pried it open. The familiar face of Darla was there, unconcious, deathlike. A pang of fear shuddered through her body. Was she too late?

 

"And the other?" she asked, still crouched over Darla's body.

 

"You can not have the other." A voice hissed from behind her.

 

Shy stood and spun to face the creature that had stalked up behind. With a venom of her own drenching her voice she simply asked, "Why?"

 

No answer to that query came. Instead the creature's many half crazed eyes bored into Shy's own angry glare. "The one you have is near death. Worry yourself with that. A wise creature would take and tend that one's wounds with much immediacy. Better to save one than lose both. Agreed?"

 

Shy's face openly betrayed mounting rage. But she knew the thing was right. If Darla wasn't dead already she would be soon. She nodded sullenly. She needed to save Darla. The other, still missing Jedi girl, she didn't know and really didn't really give a damn about to begin with. She seemed to be much more trouble than she was worth.

 

"Compensation... still expected." the monstrosity half inquired.

 

"Of course. Compensation." ShY grunted as she lifted Darla's dead weight. She tried to sling Darla over her shoulder but the woman was far too heavy. With a bit more muscle her job would be so much easier. Shy-Ree gently laid Darla on the cold floor. Her violet eyes closed and she summoned up one of the newer skills she'd been gifted with. Her body suddenly shifted, became a bit taller, more muscular. The transformation was quick and terribly painful but nessesary. With great ease Shy then flung Darla over her now broader shoulder. "I will be back." the morphed woman informed in a deep, deadly tone of voice.

 

She swifly retraced the paths previously taken. In no time she was out of the caverns and handing off Darla to medics standing obediently in waiting. They raced her to the med area. Shy followed. The medical staff swarmed Darla's unconcious body and began the meticulous work of cutting away the webbing. Once done they tended her wounds. Shy paced the room silently watching as they worked on one of the very few people in the galaxy who had ever gave a damn about her. One of the few who had attempted to rescue the abducted little Jedi apprentice that Shy-Ree once was.

 

Once assured that Darla was savable, Shy-Ree left the room, made her way back to the caverns.

 

 

(sorry it's so long)

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex nodded. He did understand what the queen was saying. And he would do what he could for them. His only problem lay in the method of their choosing. If only there was a way for them to evolve beyond the need to assimilate people into their collective...

 

He shook his head. Regardless of that, he knew Trowa was sure to have some remaining sway over his 'pets', and wouldn't allow them to take that step.

 

"I understand," he replied. At Trowa's muttered, impatient remark, Darex gave him a knowing look. "Well, it's good to see that you haven't changed completely."

 

He bowed to the Queen. "Then, if you let me collect my friends, I will be on my way with your messenger."

[Bad karma]

”œFollow me.”

[Darex Trevelian]

When he followed Trowa, he was relieved when he was lead directly to Nivana. As he dressed her gently in the ragged clothes that were her own, he put his own cloak on over her as well. Her injuries looked bad, but not fatal, and he was sure she would make it.

 

As Trowa covered her in 'shadow', he looked on, somewhat interested, somewhat repulsed. He then glanced up at the former Sith Lord's offer and shrugged. "Why not? I have to wait for Darla anyway." He let his voice hint that he knew Barton knew where his friend was, but that he wouldn't interfere...for now. He was confident that she was safe...she could take care of herself.

 

"So, tell me," he said as he followed Trowa, "how is your family? I haven't seen the twins yet."

[Bad karma]

”œDarla will be fine in time for dinner, I can assure you.”

[SithAcolyte]

The room was dank, the air cloying and toxic. All around were strange organic shapes, growths. The room that Darla found herself in seemed to made of bone and sinew. Ropes of slimy webbing surround the unusual construct. Darla was trapped in that webbing. All around her were hideous arachnid creatures. Some more human, some more beast. They were closing in on her.

 

Sticky hands caressed her bare flesh and she struggled violently. As the hands moved away Darla saw the gifts that they had left her. Tiny spiders burrowed through her skin deep into her body. Darla creamed over and over again as she struggled. She could feel ting leg and claws beneath of skin tearing into her muscle tissue, deeper still into her bones.

 

"Don't fight it. We are giving you a great gift." A raspy ethereal female voice spoke to Darla from somewhere unseen.

 

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and when she opened them she was free of the webbing. Standing upright Darla looked down at her abdomen. it was hideously swollen and distended, stretched beyond human proportions. Her fingers had been replaced by talons. She could feel limbs that she shouldn't have twitching.

 

She was one of them.

 

"You are free." Hissed the unseen woman.

 

Darla's body was inert as she struggled to stay alive. Her fractured mind tortured her with strange dreams. But a dark angel came to Darla's rescue. She was half aware of fallen to the ground, being freed from her sticky prison. Darla didn't have the strength to open her eyes. Didn't have the strength to rise to her feet. A familiar voice echoed distantly in her ears... A voice she hadn't heard in a long time...

 

Shy-Ree??

 

Strong arms lifted Darla's broken body and carried her away. She was only partially aware of the damage she had taken. Everything felt so numb and far away. Darla felt like she was trapped in a thick fog. Reality was just beyond that fog that she couldn't see through. Couldn't reach through.

 

Suddenly the force came back to her and she felt alive again. It filled her body with it's energy and she felt strong again. Her breathing returned to normal and her pulse began to speed up. But she was still to weak to wake up. She needed to sleep needed to heal.

 

She was glad that the nightmare had ended. She was glad that the spiders had gone.

 

Darla awoke to the sound of medical machines around her. Tubes were feeding her nutrients through her arm and she was naked apart from her underwear and several bandages. She sat up awkwardly and pulled the tubes and hear monitoring equipment off herself. Realising that her clothes had been ruined by acid and slime Darla found a medical gown to wear. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

 

She really had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. All she could remember was hearing Shy-Ree's voice and spiders everywhere. Had the whole thing been a dream? She rested her aching head in her hands, her long hair had been untied and it fell over her face. Darla felt like she'd spent to night in a tavern and gotten into a brawl with a group of wookies.

 

What the hell happened?

[Darex Trevelian]

He entered the lift. "I'm glad to hear it. I do hope they decide to join us for dinner," he said. Part of him was surprised at the topic of conversation. They had rarely had this kind of discussion, and it was rather refreshing for a change.

 

"So you have a girl and a boy? Rose...and?" he let the question hang.

[Bad karma]

”œRath. He's a lot more docile then she is so far, I've been monitoring both of them and she has shown signs of growing, in a mental sense, far quicker then any child her age should. I'm actually a bit worried concerning why she is growing at such an alarming rate, but with time I will pinpoint the cause.

 

Rose has shown an aptitude for Bio-mancery; it seems that since the trait is natural for me now I can pass it on to offspring. It makes me curious if Rath will develop an affinity with one of my abilities.”

[Darex Trevelian]

He rushed to Darla's side. "Darla! What happened to you?" His voice was full of concern. He hadn't expected to see her here...as far as he knew, she was waiting on the ship, or had been already escorted to the standard living quarters. "I couldn't sense your presence, so I assumed you had a run-in with a ysalamiri. Are you alright?"

 

He mentally chided himself. They shouldn't have allowed themselves to be separated. "I have good news," he added. "I found her. Actually, Trowa lead me to her. She was wounded, but she'll be alright."

[SithAcolyte]

Darla threw her arms around Darex, filled with joy to see him. Her body ached, but she ignored it overcome with the joy of the moment.

 

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" There weren't words to tell Darex how grateful she was. Grateful for all of his help. Grateful that he had found Nivana and that he was alive and well. "It's so good to see you. I thought that I'd lost you for good.Trowa told me that you were dead, he put images in my head...It felt so real.

 

Shuddering Darla began to remember fragments of what had happened to her.

 

"I'm not sure exactly what happened to me." Darla said closing her eyes and wincing with pain for a second.

 

Behind her eyes she saw violence. More than that, she felt it. Burns, slashes, cuts, blood oozing, screaming and a horrible pain in her ears. Darkness, monsters, a lightsaber pressing right through her back and coming out of her stomach.

 

"I was with you...and then I was alone with him. We battled and I managed to escape." Darla remember a scream, remembered how she had let the darkside come to her. "I went in search of Nivana....I found her, but it wasn't really her, it was him again. He skewered me with her lightsaber and left me for dead." Her voice became venomous as she remembered. "But I was saved...I think... I remember hearing Shy-Ree's voice and being cut free from the wall where I was hanging. Then I woke up here..."

[Bad karma]

Trowa scooted back on the table he was sitting on, pressing himself against the wall as he listened to them exchange words. It was nice being back up here where the air was fresh, or at least what he was used to breathing in. He was sure that Shy would end up mad at him for what he did, the evidence of her making it a point to travel deep into the heart of the Caverns just to save Darla pointed in that direction, though he hoped she'd at least wait until their guests were gone.

 

He stepped up beside the two of them, looking between them as he interrupted their little scene. He didn't offer up a smile, or any other sort of facial expression as he spoke but his voice remained the same as it always had, at least he wasn't completely faking a lack of emotion when anyone would know that a person such as himself always had such large pools of it pent up inside.

 

”œOnce they fix you up here and let you out, then you will be lead to a room where each of you can find something to dress in to your liking. The twins, and hopefully Shy, will be present at Dinner”¦It will be ready after a while, I'll alert them to plan something that will take long enough to prepare so that you may each freshen up a bit.”

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex nodded at Trowa as he left the room, then turned back to Darla. "So...she saved you?" He did not try to hide the pride in his voice. But it quickly evaporated. "I should never have brought you here with me. I know him, and his weaknesses, as well as his strengths. I've battled him many times, although I can tell he's grown in power since our last meeting. To think that I couldn't even sense your distress..."

 

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, my friend. But at least it turned out all right in the end, thanks to Shy, or at least, her influence." He didn't say it, but inside, his longtime belief that she wasn't completely gone was reaffirmed. He knew the woman he had trained couldn't be gone forever, and the way these little things added up proved that point to him.

 

"So," he said, coming out of his thoughts and changing the subject. "How do you feel?"

[SithAcolyte]

"Like I've just had a head-on collision with an asteroid." Darla grinned a little, showing that although she felt terrible she was still happy with the way everything had turned out.

 

She thought about how she's used the darkside. She didn't want to tell Darex about it. At least not yet.

 

"I better go get cleaned up and find something to wear, my flightsuit was ruined from acid burns. Those creatures had acid blood..." There it was another reminder of her darkness.

 

She had killed the creature without even trying for a peaceful escape. It seemed that she and Darex were very different Jedi. That was if Darla could even be considered a Jedi at all.

 

Darla felt like she had let Nivana down. How could she keep teacher her after this? Not wanting to think about it Darla excued herself and went to the nearest fresher.

 

"See you at dinner. Thank you Darex, I would've never gotten through this without you."