Gala - Jedi Praxeum Ruins

[Wookiee Jedi]

As Kirlocca stepped outside of the room, a mix of constant flooding of Force energy came and went rather rapidly. It blurred his mind, making it harder to concentrate of what was going on, or to keep track of Dahar, whom was just a level below him, or so he thought. Emotions, strong ones and very potent in their waves after wave crashed upon the Wookie with all most too much ease. Kirlocca did not think that such a thing was possible to do to him, even in his weakened state. ... It's the Dark Side... The thought hit him rather hard as he realized that he may not be as unready for the aid as he thought, but rather that he was unprepared to encounter Dark Side energy so strong within an old Jedi Praxeum. It was only then that Kirlocca wonder if perhaps maybe he would have been better suited to have gone to Tython of the Enigma, two places that surely would have helped him get focused and prepared for the galaxy at large that he had been away from for so long. No mater, he was here, and the circumstances would have to do.

 

Turning his walk into a sprint, Kirlocca knew of a shortcut to get to Dahar, whom he was sure was in the room that the Wookiee gave him his Jedi Master Trials in. He would simply get in the room above it and slice through the floor to gain access to that floor and reunite with Dahar sooner rather than later. Almost as soon as he enters the room above Dahar, he was greeted by Sayn Ta, Jasyon, Neruu, Kailen Aeli, and Adenna. Kirlocca could only blink a few times before getting his mind around it. The vision room as it was called by so many Jedi was a contained room, but somehow, the presence of whatever Dark Side thing he was now feeling very strongly, must have found a way to amplify the potency of the room. And that was the only explanation, as Jasyon, Neruu, and Sayn Ta had all died about 15 years ago. Feelings and emotion rolled over him as he personally felt the emotion of their death or strong trials that they went through as he looked them in the eye. He could handle it, he let out a very loud growl of disapproval and then pulled out his lightsaber again and began to cut through the floor. The act was to both get away from the visions and to get closer to Dahar...

[Tobias Vos]

The Dark Side called to Vos to lash out in anger and revenge to the new Dahar. The light side told him to purge the darkness. Then he hit the floor. The lightning was a familiar sensation. Dahar said this was a room of visions, but the feeling of the blue light was all too real. Slicer used to shock Vos for fun, failure, success...really whenever the Sith felt like it. But as soon as he hit the floor, all of his previous years of training took over- controlled by his current mindset.

 

He carried his momentum through the fall, his feet flipping him right around into a roll. The lightsaber was still in his hand, activated. The purple light was just a swirl- then it stood still as if hovering parallel to the floor. Vos heard the tone of the saber change. Instead of a hum, it was more of a faint whine. Was it trying to scream at the new Dahar? Or was it almost broken?

 

Holding the blade out in front of him, Vos locked eyes with the Dark Dahar. Standing in a defensive stance, Vos tried to feel this out. It did not feel like a vision- Slicer had tested Vos for that for ages. Was this a clone?

 

Shivers rocked Vos. If it was a clone, how could it be so grown? But he had been cloned into a new body. His memories stayed intact. Did Dahar's spirit split? Was this a spawn of the Dark Side? He corrected himself with asking if this was a trick of the darker side. There was no Light or Dark, just the Force. Each order had it wrong for centuries.

 

But this was a Jedi temple, who would have taught the Dark Talents to this clone? Spawn- whatever. Vos scanned the room for anything else, but it was just the three of them in the room. Then- a shine from one of the corners. Slicer had just tilted his helmet down a touch. He clenched his jaw, analyzing the new situation. Regardless if the Slicer was real or not but Force Ghosts were a real thing. Or this room was starting to read his mind.

 

The green eyes darted back and forth from the Dark Dahar to Slicer.

 

A slow clap came from Slicer- and he walked forward. As he did, the lightsaber whined a higher pitch. "Him" He heard the saber whisper with disdain. Vos wasn't sweating, or showing any sign of nervousness- but inside he was bolstering his mind against any attacks against his mind. His hand was ready to collect the lightning should either lash out. Even if Slicer could harm them. Better safe than sorry. The blade was ready, but Vos kept it pointed at the Dark Dahar.

 

"You are dead, Slicer. You are not real." Vos shot at the figure who had come closer so that his front was covered in purple light.

 

"Is any of this real, BOY?!" The dark figure boomed back, out-stretching his hands to the walls of the room in a gesture implying the room.

 

"You cannot be a ghost. You never gave in to that nonsense...." Vos paused, realizing what he just said. "...But you always seemed paranoid about everything, so you are real.... In a sense..."

 

The figure collected itself. A chuckle came out from behind the mask. "Boy. You have no right to talk to me in such a tone. I am your Master." The voice turned cold.

 

"I am my own master." Vos was cool and collected in his response.

 

"If you think your pathetic skills match mine, you are sorely mistaken." A red blade erupted from Slicer's hand. The red blade hummed with hunger. The tip scolded the floor of the room- it was real. Or at least real enough. Vos raised his guard into a more defensive stance. His form was against two unarmed- potential talent centered attack. Now it was saber combat, and perhaps a talent based attack.

 

"You taught me, Slicer. That is something I will take, but I have grown since you were killed. You don't know me anymore." Vos wanted to strike first, be in charge of the fight with Slicer, but that would leave him open to Dahar's attacks.

 

"Dahar, you can see the Sith named Slicer...?" He whispered to his friend. Vos knew Dahar had gotten to his feet, but Vos was focused on the two signatures in front of them, wary of the room and what was in there. Just the four of them. If these two were real. How Dahar was feeling was another matter. The air was cold, but it did not have that soiled smell that swept through the hallways. The wookiee was close to them now, Vos felt it and Dahar had to feel it as he mentioned it. And if these two were real, they would surely feel him.

[Dahar Raikanda]

The foes in the room were multiplying. Of course Dahar could see the Sith Lord before him. The man was clear as day. The Dark Side was swirling all around them. But still, somewhere deep in the foundation of this place, the energy of Ashla was trying to push through. It called to Dahar, begging him to feel it. The Jedi Master was a veteran of encounters with the Dark Side. It was a quicker and more powerful path. But part of being a true master was being able to see the light in the darkest places.

 

He wasn't alone either. Kirlocca's presence in the Force was unmistakable and brought a sense of calm to the chaos brewing around Dahar.

 

"Yes, I see him" Dahar noted to Tobias.

 

Rising from the ground he motioned for his saber which flew off his belt and into his right hand, quickly being ignited by this thumb. The amethyst blade burst out in a brilliance that created a glow contrasting the white of the room. He charged at the entity that had challenged. Dark Dahar shot out another bolt of Force lightning but Dahar was prepared this time, lifting his saber to shield him and ward off the energy. He was confused at the situation and wanted to respond in kind. It took a deep level of anger to wield the lightning technique. Would he be able to do it without tapping into an energy he shouldn't? For now he decided to focus on his other skills.

 

The Jedi jumped into the air, rolling into a flip, and came crashing down on his foe. Dark Dahar quickly pulled out his own lightsaber, this one red in typical Sith fashion, and deflected the blow. The two began to parry back and forth. They were quite evenly matched.

 

Dark Dahar seemed to be focused on his counterpart, not paying much attention to Vos or Slicer. It also seemed that neither of the entities senses the other Jedi on the way.

 

But Dahar did. Far off in the distance of the room Dahar could sense the floor cracking. Kirlocca would soon break through. It would be interesting to see if he could tip the scale or if an opponent would appear for him too.

[Wookiee Jedi]

Kirlocca could hear the sounds of lightsabers below and feel the Force swirling around, just as it was in the room he was in. His lightsaber was cracking and sending sparks flying everywhere. Almost as soon as he finished, the floor began to break and Sayn Ta, Neruu, and Kailen Aeli lit their lightsabers and rushed after the Wookiee as he fell through the floor. Almost as soon as he landed, Kirlocca had to jump backwards, avoiding the three jumping in after him, and barely taking notice of the other combatants in the room. He fell right into his default opening stance of Wru'torr and lifted his paw to throw a massive force blast at all three. The push hit Sayn Ta backwards towards the wall and slammed her very forcefully upon it. Kailen was knocked over, loosing her balance, but nothing past that. Neruu wasn't affected at all and also dropped into his Wru'torr stance. Neruu was his first student in the form, and was the first to be fully consumed by his own power, resulting in his death above Gala ten years ago.

 

Neruu charged, his green blade, which flickered with sparks of red and yellow, shot at the Wookiee like a torpedo, almost instantly forcing Kirlocca to retreat his ground. A second was all it took for the former Jedi Grandmaster to regret teaching Wru'torr to Neruu. With a strong swing of the blade, then his tail, Neruu pushed Kirlocca back almost to the wall. The advantage taken from Neruu very slightly as Kirlocca gave a hard kick to his sternum allowing for the Force to aid him in his push against Neruu. Upon giving himself a small gap, Kirlocca lowered his lightsaber to his side and gave a loud growl, but added the Force to it, creating a Force Bellow, one that shock the entire ground in the room

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Awaken, another voice whispered throughout the Force.

 

A figure that had been trapped in the flux of time and space opened her dark blue eyes as her deep meditation ended at the call.

 

Instantly she was aware of the presence of darker forces at play in what should be a sanctuary of peace and meditation. Her brothers of the Order were, apparently, facing down their demons of the past much like she’d done before Il-Andon, keeper of the Exorcist knowledge had locked her in some sort of stasis that fell outside the bounds of what passed for normal time and space. It wasn’t the first time she’d been drawn in or out of the past.

 

She doubted it’d be the last.

 

Those same forces were at work now as the temple began to rend itself towards cleansing as a mighty Force Bellow split the air and resonated within the Force.

 

There was a bright white appearance of flame as she found herself syncing back with the slightly warped time continuum. She emerged to see three figures converging on a slightly familiar Wookiee.

 

Kirlocca.

 

Her chestnut-colored robes dropped behind her as she threw her hood back to reveal her braided auburn hair, sleeveless, dark brown Jedi tunic and leggings. As she activated her amber and jade lightsabers and dashed towards the out-numbered master, putting herself defensively between the trio and the Wookiee.

 

She could feel the Force flowing freely through her as she readied herself to purge the darkness.

[Tobias Vos]

As the Dahar's did their own skirmish- Vos focused in on Slicer. He knew the helmet gave him tracking and a 360-degree HUD. The room was lit, so there would be no shadows. The floor shook and a wookiee came into the room proceeded by part of the floor. Vos watched out for the corner of his eyes. The wookiee's foe was not far behind... this was turning into a sizable battle.

 

Tobias felt as though he had x-ray vision. He knew what Slicer's hypothetical eyes were tracking. They were looking off center, at the wookiee. Vos let the saber dip a touch, and he knew Slicer was devoted to him now. Neither of them moved, Slicer's first attacks were mental, but Vos had a good amount of mental preparation before hand, his defenses were ready. Then, in the fraction of a second Vos launched his counter-attack. He could feel the Sith Lord's mind, but it was as if it wasn't really there. Regardless, the attack dissipated.

 

Slicer was on the move, his wrist spun the red blade around in the air, in an attempt to knock the purple blade out. The blades connected and shouted. The hissing and the pop's heard around the room were deafening, if you didnt block out all the other noises. Vos blocked the attack- then countered- his blade thrust towards the Sith's belly. The man's cloak burned as the air caught it when he jumped back.

 

Vos felt the hate flow through Slicer. He couldn't help the small smile flicker on his face. Inhaling, and spinning his blade- Vos dropped into a stance that felt comfortable. It was part of the Niman Form. He had never studied this form, just 1, 2, 5, and 7. Giving into the form, he volleyed a fury of strikes from high- Slicer gave inches away. The Dark Lord staggered back, Vos paused- breathing heavily.

 

"Leave this place, you are no more." His tone was firm.

 

"I am everything." Slicer launched another mental attack that fell against Vos's defense.

 

Tobias let another chuckle out. "You fool. Are you so caught up in your own little world that you don't realized you're dead? You are just a stain, one I intend to cleanse."

 

"If I am truly dead, how am I here?" A flick of his wrist shot dust into Vos's eyes.

 

Temporarily blinded- Vos stretched his senses out. He countered Slicer's attacks in that blinded state until tears poured from his eyes. A searing pain shot through his side, the blade came out of Vos's abdomen. Vos staggered, caught off guard.

 

"Give in to your anger." Slicer commanded, stretching his hand out- reaching through the Force.

 

With a deep breath in, Vos hurled the lightsaber toward's Slicer. Taking one last step back from the recoil- he spun to see the blade connect with Slicer's extended hand.

Then- the blade that he held cut the purple lightsaber in half. Vos, wounded slightly but now weaponless, rolled back, putting up his hands to wield the Force.

 

The one-armed Slicer bled a little. A yellowish liquid fell from his wound.

 

The lightsaber he held had skidded across the floor, to where it looked as if a new-comer had just come into the room. Colors commonly with Jedi came from her weapons- so Vos focused back on Slicer.

[Dahar Raikanda]

The action in the room was growing exponentially. What had started out as just Dahar and Tobias was no becoming a Jedi family reunion. But maybe this was the purpose that had drawn Dahar here. The Order had all but vanished. A situation like this, where everybody could be united, was a rare one. There would be no time for catching up however if none of them made it out alive.

 

Dahar breathed heavily as the Force swirled around the room carrying with it mixed charges of energy. His friend all had challenges of their own. Tobias faced off against what seemed to be an old master. Kirlocca was paired against a foe Dahar had never met.

 

The new presence in the room though... She seemed almost immune to the dark charms in the room. No magical foe had conjured out of thin air at her arrival. Dahar could sense the light swirling around this person. He knew what she was. A rarity in the Jedi when the Jedi still existed. For one to have survived of her order was something of a surprise.

 

Dark Dahar attempted again to knock his opponent out of focus with a burst of Force Lightning. But this time Dahar thought to react differently. Kirlocca's presence strengthened Dahar's own ability in the technique of Wru'torr. The Jedi Master began to pull in his foe's energy to prepare it for retaliation. Dahar was well skilled in some of the most advanced Jedi Guardian techniques. He was a master of Retribution, a technique amplified when in the Wru'torr form.

 

Instead of blocking the lightning he threw his hands open. The electricity did not unfoot him but began to course through his body. He focused the current into a single point on his chest until there was so much that it could no longer be held. With a yell and extension of his hand he released the lightning back at enemy in front of him.

 

Dahar knew something was wrong. His opponent vanished liked a specter. There was no great shutter in the Force, just a whisp of smoke.

 

The Jedi Master's foe had gone but the others still continued their fight.

 

 

The real darkness in the room was hiding, gathering strength from the energy being lost by the Jedi in this battle of shadows. The foul stench that had permeated the hallways returned to Dahar's nostrils for the briefest moment. Their true foe lie in waiting.

 

The Jedi Master didn't know the woman's name but he knew what she was, and what she could do.

 

He called out, "Exorcist! Do what you came here to do!"

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Xae-Lin Ardel stretched her right hand forward drawing the lightsaber hilt that had fallen from the now severed arm of the Slicer apparition. It skittered across the broken ground until it hovered a few feet in front of her.

 

She heard the cry from one of the others, naming her for what she was and why she’d been called from her training in whatever time and space pocket Il-Andon existed in.

 

The only way to extinguish a shadow is to increase the light, one of the Ancients called to her through the Force, guiding her to what needed to be done.

 

Using the hilt as the focus, she drew on the Force from the others that were united in this battle against the darkness. As the flow increased, small cracks of light began to form along the hilt of the discarded lightsaber. They gradually began to thicken in size and brightness until the white light of the Force exploded across the room engulfing the shadow specters of the past and trapping their summoner behind a wall of light.

[Wookiee Jedi]

The fight seemed...different to Kirlocca. Even as he was strengthened through Dahar and the mutual use of Wru'torr. The showing of Xae, a Jedi of whom Kirlocca held in high regard, and the other who was with Dahar. It was very real and present, yet the threat still seemed elsewhere... elusive. It worried Kirlocca, but less upon hearing Dahar shout at Xae. It was a confirmation to him. Shadows of what he in the Force reminded him of something he had seen within the days of his youth, long before he had Master Mari, and long before Ara was considered a Jedi Council member. It was an ancient evil, stemmed from something they use to use long ago and the Wookiee barely remembered seeing it.

 

Kirlocca withdrew to steps and held his blade before his face as he closed his eyes. He began to pour into the Force through the using of his own Battle Meditation, but on a much different scale. He would flood his own presence to his fellow Jedi and give Xae something more to work with. This fight, the fight with the true enemy that was hidden, would be brought forth. Kirlocca would make sure of it. He only needed to give Xae some more Force energy to work with...

[Tobias Vos]

One moment their eyes were locked, then as if he woke from a dream- Slicer disappeared with a flash. Then, a familiar dark feeling fell upon the room. The same darkness that he had been tracking. The other ghosts had left the room as well. The lightsaber was still broken, but it looked more like it cracked, not sliced. It was a very intrusive vision he had just had. Was he paranoid that Slicer was coming back? Could he? The metal frame called to him from the bag lashed around Vos.

 

Snapping to his senses, the new comer seemed- fresh, but familiar. How had she gotten here? Where did she come from? But something was building - looming in its presence.

 

A reverberation quaked through the Force- through the room. It was the woman, the Force beckoned to the new arrival. Why?

 

Questions were never absent, it helped him to think faster. Prepare faster- the woman looked like she had purpose, meddling with the Force as she was, and now bolstered by the wookiee. Looking around- there was something trapped behind what felt like this wall made of the Force. What an awesome display of power- of harmony with the Force. Tobias summed up his spirits, despite the pain in his side, and tried to bolster the woman with his energy. This wasn't an attack, and hoped it wasn't taken as such. He was an outsider to the Jedi Order for all labeling purposes. The green eyes surveyed the action.

[Dahar Raikanda]

The wall of light spread quickly across the room. The whiteness that had covered everything was vanishing revealing the original cold metal walls of the room. A dingy gray, a structure that had stood for millennia. In ages past the high Force sensitivity of the room was a conduit for the Jedi Masters of the temple to test their students. But now the twisted arts of the Sith had gained control and had been what was manipulating all of the combatants in the room. With the pure power of the Light Side the dark visions vanished leaving only the true inhabitants of the room. The party of four and the enemy behind the wall.

 

It was hard for Dahar to see clearly exactly what was there. It was like trying to stare through a sun to see what was on the other side. But there was a clear outline of what had been toying with them. With the charade dropped the pure Sith energy was apparent. This being was the focal point of all the darkness swarming about the temple. The creature, although vague, was huge. To Dahar it looked like one of the Monolith that had been fabled to roam the ancient Sith world of Ziost thousands of years ago. It was a huge grotesque creature but unlike those ancient beasts there was an obvious consciousness to this being.

 

A decade of suffering under the praxeum, suffering that Dahar knew he had caused, had brought this creature into existence. It was a pure manifestation of Dark Side energy. The will of trapped souls, Sith and tainted Jedi alike, growing in anger and resentment at their predicament.

 

The pain in Dahar's mind returned, the same pain that had alarmed him all those weeks ago on Taris to start this journey. He yelled and fell to his knees holding his head.

 

"We only want one thing," the creature spoke in what sounded like a hundred different voices at once, "we want him."

 

With that the Monolith shot forth a burst of purple force lightning, purple being a taunt at Dahar, directed in his direction. It crashed into the wall of light and dissolved.

 

It was impossible to tell whether the creature had one or a million eyes, it was impossible to see them, but through intuition it was evident that its vision had quickly glanced from Dahar to Xae, and then back to the Jedi Master that the entity craved.

 

Dahar knew deep inside that this had all been a trap. A trap that lured him in, that he had sprung, and that he was responsible for the endangerment of his friends. Pain, anger, and worry swirled inside the Jedi's mind.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Xae-Lin’s eyes flashed a dark blue as she poured her will into maintaining the wall and felt herself bolstered by the others energies. She could feel the vileness of the creature and the malice in its intent as it’s voice reverberated inside her mind. Before she could form a response, the gargantuan being lashed out at the barrier with an enormously powerful force-lightening attack.

 

She did her best to hold the barrier, but the lightsaber that she’d been using as the foci for the manifestation of the wall shattered as the wall fell, fully revealing their foe. The Force rippled back in response, throwing the woman back against the metal wall.

 

Stunned, she shook her head to clear it, sensing the darkness creeping in to Dahar’s mind. “Don’t give in to the beast!” Her voice seemed artificially amplified as she re-activated her lightsabers. “With the light we can cleanse this temple and restore the order that was once here. Do not let his chaos become yours."

 

Taking a moment to regain her focus she launched herself at the creature in a flurry of Vaapad-style attacks before directing a Force Light attack specifically targeting the creature and weakening it’s connection to the dark side powers at play within the temple.

[Wookiee Jedi]

Kirlocca kept his eyes closed, yet he could se everything with the Force. Just falling back into his old ways of using his hybrid Jedi Battle Mediation was something he used to do a lot, and today it was helping him reconnect to the Force in a much stronger way than before. But it could also be the fact that Xae held residue of Jedi of old upon her own Force signature, and Dahar spent much time with the Wookiee Jedi Master learning Wru'torr. It was energizing, despite the fight back from the Sith Monolith.

 

Kirlocca now opened his eyes, breaking the hybrid Jedi Battle Mediation and instead pouring himself into a makeshift Jedi Mind Meld, and at the same time, he fell into his own stance of Wru'torr, his lightsaber humming along as the Former Jedi Grandmaster allowed for himself to stare down the Monolith for a few seconds before Kirlocca had enough of it's mere presence, which seemed to be brooding within the Dark Side. In a wild attempt to break it's free will outpouring of the Dark Side, and give some of his current allies within the room a better attempting at staying strong in their own defense within the Light Side of the Force, the Wookiee threw his lightsaber with speed at the creature while it's attention was't directly upon him. His paw outstretched, guiding the blade, yet ready to pull it back if the attack failed. The Jedi would win this fight. They had to.

[Tobias Vos]

Vos inhaled slowly, watching the events unfold before him. It was now all of them against this spawn of the Dark Side. It was as if it was born of the Dark, which wouldn't surprise the Kiffar. His green eyes darted across the field. Building his power through the Force, he was ready to unleash it. The old Vos, who he used to be, would have lashed out in a full on physical confrontation, but he was older- and wiser. In that mix came a hand out of power.

 

It was hard to hold onto at this point, like you were holding your breath for a few minutes- the sensation that you felt to let go of the breath you've held for so long. Redirecting, he channeled his power to himself, and in turn to the beast before the squad. Kinetic and Physics had become a new obsession. He gripped the creature through the invisable Force. He felt as though his hands were wrapped around the arms of the creature.

 

Breath in- breath out, he felt the creature struggle against the restraint Vos had imposed. Gripping as hard as he could he held the creature back. A silent chant echoed in his head, keeping Vos focused on restraining it- to assist the other three. Green eyes surveyed the unfolding scene.

[Dahar Raikanda]

The Monolith was in a sense weakened by the onslaught of attacks against it. It swung its arms violently, lashing out at Xae as she came close-quartered to it. Its movements were slowed as Tobias was restraining it and Xae had weakened its connection to the Dark Side. The Wookiee's lightsaber cut through a chunk of one the beast's four arms. There was an obvious flesh wound but it seemed like physical attacks weren't hurting it. The monster was pure in the Dark Side and thus thrived off pain and suffering, its own or someone else's.

 

Dahar had slowly risen from his knees. His sense of dismay and weakness was being replaced with determination. It was chaos inside of his soul. The pure light energy of Kirlocca and Xae was feeding the Jedi Master. But his own sense of anger and self-will was bubbling up as well. Dahar felt strong. It was as if both sides had something to offer him. The Light gave him clarity but the Dark made him feel powerful.

 

The Monolith shrieked an ear-piercing scream. It was pure horror. For each combatant in the room it would sound different effecting them in the most damaging way possible. For Dahar it reminded him of a moment from his childhood. A local gang dispute had torn though a village on his home world of Adumar. In the crossfire a woman had witnessed her child, barely old enough to walk, gunned down with blaster fire. Dahar heard that woman's scream. The blood curdling sound made in the mourning of a child. Then he heard it double, tripled, until it sounded like a thousand mothers all screaming at once over witnessing the brutal deaths of their children.

 

The Jedi Master looked around, wide-eyed. Were his friends hearing the same thing? He couldn't have known that each of them was being subjected to whatever the most horrific sound they could imagine would be.

 

"You. You did this to them." The beast taunted Dahar in its original voice, which in itself sounded like dozens of angry guttural Sith. The monster was barely able to move its body. The lightning it shot towards Dahar appeared to come from nowhere. Its eyes? Or maybe its pure being.

 

This time Dahar was ready. Although the psychological attack startled him it lasted only a minute before the effects from Xae and Kirlocca muffled it out. He reached out and caught the stream of lightning in the palm of his hand, gathering it to himself. He pulled it in and let it circulate though his being. As it coursed through his body the Dark energies balanced with the Light. The ability to change and reshape something so rooted in the Dark Side was something taught to him by the fabled Grey Master. Using Force Lightning in any way definitely wasn't a Jedi power but in this sense wasn't exactly a Sith power either.

 

Strengthened by his own determination, Kirlocca and Xae's outpouring of the Light Side, and Tobias's grip on the beast, Dahar let the lightning burst out of his hand.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Xae did her best to deflect the monolith’s sweeping blows, letting the Force flow through her she fell deeper into the Mind Meld with Kirlocca. The Force strengthened her, but it seemed that their attacks were having little affect on the gargantuan sithspawn. Sensing rather than seeing the Wookiee force throw his light saber, she leapt out of the way and onto the monolith’s back.

 

The creature turned, bringing it’s arms to bear as it knocked the woman from it’s shoulders with a roar. The force of the impact was great enough to knock her lightsabers from her grasp as she was catapulted backwards, colliding with Vos. The creature’s aim to disrupt the concentration of those who were binding him from unleashing his full power.

 

Before she could find her feet again, a sound she thought she’d never have to hear again pierced the air. It was a sound that had echoed throughout her childhood - the screams of those her mother and brother had tortured within the clan of Nightsisters all broke through the air as one voice.

 

It shook her focus for the briefest of moments as she reminded herself of Il Andon’s words. I have been fighting against the darkness all my life. Even my own mother could not corrupt me. This is why I was chosen to learn the secrets of the Exorcists.

 

Shaking her head to push back the audial onslaught, she called her lightsabers back to her grasp as she re-evaluated how best to go about combating a creature that her physical attacks had done little damage. She reconnected with the others bolstering them as rifts began opening around around them spewing an eerie purple glow as their tendrils reached out seeking the others.

 

As the rifts formed, the creature unleashed it’s own wave of lightening at Dahar and she sensed the dangerous dance of the Force within the man as he acted as a conduit for the energy, directing it back on the creature. She knew the level of darkness one had to possess in order to produce Force-lightening, while he’d only redirected it, it had to mean the Master was fighting his own battle with the darkness within. Xae-Lin made a mental note to discuss it with him if they all survived this.

 

Clipping her lightsabers back to her belt, she drew upon the her connection with the light side of the Force, harnessing the pure energy that it granted her as she felt the light grow stronger. Extending her hands, the glow grew around her she focused on harnessing the ball of light as a weapon meant to extinguish the darkness from this place.

 

“You have defiled this place long enough beast!” she cried as she unleashed the light upon it just seconds short of Dahar’s attack.

[Wookiee Jedi]

The flash before his eyes made Kirlocca lower his head as if he was being blinded by something. The flash, or rather, flashing was the image of a master of old, Gantrosis. It struck him as odd, that he would see the other Wookiee Jedi before him suddenly. But the image was unclear... Distorted... Shards of the image seemed to be missing as if the whole situation was incomplete. He could feel the monolith's energy spread throughout the room like a wild fire, yet nothing was before him except the dangerous battlefield of Csilla and the ruins of Mon Calamari ships falling from the sky as a battle of old wagged on. The bronze eyes of Gantrosis, burning as Raynuk laid unconscious next to him. Kirlocca's own blade, blue with a silver hue standing off against the other Wookiee. Onderin Starlisk own presence was flooded still within the Force, as if he was still searching for Kirlocca to help him bolster the Jedi Battle Meditation. But again, there were shards missing. Gantrosis' own lightsaber was incomplete, and Starlisk felt next to him, rather then in space above the planet as he should have been during this battle. The shards weren't missing, but rather breaking through...

 

It was Wru'torr standing still through the onslaught of mental attack against the Monolith. It was the Serenity Force power at work, as Kirlocca had already surrendered himself over to the Light side of the Force, and now the attack was being intercepted at some rate. He could feel that Xae and Dahar were not under the same pressure as he was, and the other companion that was with Dahar, Kirlocca could not feel as well through the Force. Why he was being subject to a different attack confused him, but it brought some understanding about what the creature could do under distress as the Jedi had just given the beast. And for now, that was more than enough to go off of.

 

Kirlocca seemed the creature out in the Force, it's exact starting point, a shatterpoint in the Force. Upon finding the monolith, Kirlocca sent an image in the Force to Dahar and Xae on what his plan would be. It was a clear image of Kirlocca casting Malacia at the beast. If the attack could affect the monolith, it would open the other three up to a more direct attack on it. If not, he would waste nothing but his own energy. But with a beast like this monolith, it would take a great deal of Force energy to effect the creature, and he wanted both Xae and Dahar to approve or disapprove of his attack before he did so.

[Tobias Vos]

Vos concentrated until the last possible moment then broke his trance- the female collided with him sending the two tumbling. He watched them fall- as if in slow motion. unconsiously- his hand grasped the back of hers. A moment later his hand cracked against the floor, but her head was still in one peice. Vos bouced twice before collecting himself- then he was back on his feet. his fingers dug into the floor. A slight ringing in his ears- then his vision went. He was caught off guard and staggered. Training took over his mind, creating a sensor array around himself with the Force, he would know who was where and proximity. He felt the topography in his mind- the sand so gritty and tasteless. The scent of the fight lingered.

 

Streatching out, he gave in to the Force- allowing it into his body. Every moment this Monolith is active, the deeper the damage. The more it adapts. Vos felt the figures in the room, seeing them through the Force. He saw the Monolith in a different view- this was his vision- his perspective- and it was enhanced with the Force- or corrupted vision. It showed the spawn trapped behind the barrier, but it showed a second form, stretching the barrier to the limits. He felt the Force flow from the Wookiee, but he felt it go away from him to the other two.

 

Moving on, he knew what he needed to do. Feeling bolstered and confident- He summoned another huge collection of the Force- then he reached out to the cracks he saw on the creature, within the Force. Gripping the creature in the same manner, he watched as two- visions... apparitions? Appeared out of nowhere. He felt his hands grip the beast- the apparition connected with the Monolith's second form- the image of it- it was as if the Force was showing him what it was using- using the Force to try and punch through the barrier. Startled- the beast twitched its neck, he felt it. The real one.

 

Vos's hands were over two of the beast's cracks- fissures- openings- whatever. Breathing deep, calm breaths he let loose the reserve energy into the beast. The beast was aware there was an internal attack- through the Force. The Kiffar sensed it. Tendrils came from Vos's floating hands and snaked their way into the monolith. The two were together, but separate. Vos was in control of the invisible Force tendrils. This Force Vision was the perfect tool he needed.

 

Now as if he felt it physically, he pulled the creature back. Despite being across the room, he felt it as though the monolith was right there. With a deep inhale, Vos narrowed his eyes to move his hands apart from one another- keeping the connection on his invisible attack. Chills shot down his spine, his muscles met with resistance. Which was to be expected- he was ripping the creature's Force connection apart, along with it's body. The beast shuttered.

[Dahar Raikanda]

The monolith was taking obvious damage from the party. It seemed as if they had all figured it out, this wasn't a beast to take down with brute strength. This was an extra challenge for Dahar and Kirlocca, the Jedi Masters being Sentinel and Guardian respectively. Being Jedi Masters however, masters of the Force, allowed them both to address this enemy specifically. Meanwhile Tobias and Xae, both skilled in their own crafts, had seemed to assess and tackle the situation correctly. The monster was losing ground. Xae had weakened it with the pure strength of light. And Tobias...

 

Tobias seemed almost unaffected by the beast's mental attacks. Whereas the Jedi in the room had all been bombarded with horrific sounds and visions the kiffar had gained focus. The monolith was being pulled away from the very thing that gave it strength, the Dark Side. It was still unclear whether someone had made this monstrosity or whether it was a pure manifest of the negative energies in the temple. Was the monolith the product or the creator?

 

Dahar hadn't realized that in his attack he had shared pure energy with the beast. The lightning became a conduit between the two of them. Dahar's mind began to open to the pure energies that were feeding it. Then he saw it. Them. Dozens of Sith spirits all intertwined. They had been strong, once, and killing them in battle only gave them more determination. Dahar couldn't help but feel responsible. Perhaps if they had been taken head on and not wiped out en masse this would have never happened. But it was too late for that now. The Jedi Master knew that regret, fear, and anger were exactly what these Sith wanted him to feel.

 

The monolith began to crack at the core. Kirlocca had discovered a breaking point. Dahar nodded to his Wookiee friend. Xae had set up the energies and Tobias, somehow unaffected by the Sith, was pulling them apart. In the purest form of the Force it looked like the strands were popping off a rubber-band ball. One by one Sith spirits were being pulled off each other and vanishing. What had been hundreds all clinging to a central point was being reduced exponentially.

 

The beast wasn't going to go down without a fight... the entire room started to rumble. Cracks appeared in the floor. The room, being at the bottom of the structure, had only the planet beneath. Fissures appeared that seemed to go on forever. The ceiling shook and slowly cracked and splintered apart. Pieces began to fall everywhere.

 

One in particular, a very large piece was coming down over Xae an Tobias. Dahar knew his role in this fight, he knew the importance the two of them played. He quickly sunk to his knees, and with great strain, held off the boulder of ceiling coming down.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Xae easily sensed what Kirlocca had in mind as he began building the energy he’d need to turn the Monolith’s equilibrium upon itself. She knew the key here was disruption. The cracks were already starting to show, she just needed to coax them along a bit to help the Wookiee’s attack be even more effective against the hulking mass of dark side energy.

 

Through the Force she visualized light flooding into those same cracks, causing them to continue to grow larger as the Kiffar continued his internal attacks from within. Xae struggled to hold her concentration as the behemoth began to call upon the Force to bring the building down on top of them as a last-ditch effort to eliminate them all.

 

Breaking away from the light, Xae decided to return the favor that the Kiffar had shown as she refocused her efforts to helping Dahar shift the boulder’s direction so it fell to the side. Kneeling on the ground she began to wrap the Force around the two of them, forming a shield that would allow Vos protection to continue the feedback that seemed to be effectively doing damage to the creature.

[Wookiee Jedi]

It seemed for more surreal than what Kirlocca had expected. The monolith was now turning towards the Wookiee, it could almost feel the Jedi Masters energy building, or rather, feel the energy directing. Kirlocca knew that his time had reached the peak. It was now or never. With a full blast of his own energy, the once Jedi Grandmaster used Malacia upon the Monolith, striking at the heart of its equilibrium. The attack was precise, direct, and missed nothing. The Monolith had zero time to react or defend. Within seconds, the attack was at it's fullest upon the beast. Kirlocca almost feel to one knee as he had used every ounce of his Force energy into the attack. It had to work, there was no other choice.

[Tobias Vos]

In.

 

 

Out.

 

His breath was steady- concentrating as this was the biggest challenge he had ever been in. He wasn't going to lose. He wasn't going to let the others be engulfed by this beast. The dust from the ceiling fell around him, but the man did not move. Even when the slab of ceiling came falling down, his breathing did not change. He felt the protection from Dahar and the female around him- they understood what he was doing. They saved him from being crushed like a spider. If he moved, he risked breaking the tension he held on the beast. The connection to the beast ran throughout the body of the beast. Vos felt it. Old and new voices whispered through the room- echo's of the past.

 

Feeling the wookiee come at the beast from a different angle, their attacks were nearly coordinated. Tightening his grip with the Force, he pulled and pulled. Muscle's strained fighting the resistance from the physical pane. The beast bellowed- at least in Vos's mind. The defenses he had put up protected him from the attack- the last ditch effort.

 

Uttering the chant silently in a foreign tongue, he felt the beast break. The Force flowed through Vos- this was one of the reasons he was back. Not only was Tobias pulling the beast apart- but the wookiee had unbalanced it. He felt the beast sway- and did nothing to prevent it from falling over. Moving his hands with it to compliment the wookiees attack it felt as though the beast had just a moment before it broke. The shell would break and the Force that it had consumed would be let back into the temple- back to Gala. Gala would start to heal. The planet would never be the same, there would always be a scar in the Force at this place.

 

The Kiffar's jaw clenched.

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

And he pulled the beast down, and apart.

 

Never breaking his breath timing.

 

In.

 

 

Out.

 

Vos never felt more powerful- or connected to the Force than when he did at this moment.

[Dahar Raikanda]

Everything began to swirl around Dahar all at once. The apparent disturbances in time-space that were felt earlier had returned with a vengeance. Dahar had no way of knowing if he was the only one seeing it. The room itself and the participants inside seemed to be phasing and distorting. Like a bad acid trip things were growing and shrinking, the sounds of the room disappearing and then returning at deafening volumes. The pain in Dahar's head, the original reason for leaving Taris and coming here, had reached a peak. If it had happened any sooner he may have perhaps dropped the ceiling right over Vos but with help from Xae it had been tossed to the side. Dahar felt as if his head was literally exploding over and over again.

 

The monolith was coming apart in a fury. The anger of each soul it had been spun with were crying out in a horrifying collective shriek. But one by one they were silenced as they were tossed out of the room and into oblivion. The beast had collapsed to the ground and was the apparent source of the ripples that Dahar was seeing. The creature both existed purely in the Force but also in the physical realm. The visible universe didn't know how to display, at least to Dahar, the deterioration that was happening on the inside.

 

Dahar felt a pulse from the far side of the room. A small crack in the wall was slowly opening. The pain in his mind grew as the opening grew. It was what the monolith had been guarding. The control chamber for the Gala Praxeum. The same room where Dahar had become a Sith slaughterer after setting off the self-destruct. The dying beast still stood, or technically laid, in front of the opening. Dahar pushed forward as though he was swimming against the stream of a mighty river. His senses were so overwhelmed that he couldn't tell if he was walking or crawling.

 

When he finally reached the beast he took a breath and walked right through it. In its near-death state only the bare essence of darkness remained. Dahar felt as cold as space as he passed through the smoke and shadows of the monster. On the other side he was suddenly no longer in the room. He was in the control center. This was a place of the Jedi, a place the beast so desperately wanted to occupy but could only obstruct. The pain had subsided into clarity.

 

There were three small pedestals in the center of the room. Two were empty. Many years ago, after setting off the self-destruct, Dahar had taken with him two holocrons. One had been an ancient collection of teachings of the Jedi. The other was full of knowledge so forbidden that it had been kept there to protect it from those who would use it. Still sitting in its original spot, along with this room that had somehow also survived, was one last holocron. The Jedi Master had tried to take it with him all those years ago but it simply would not leave its resting place.

 

Dahar reached out his hand not touching it physically but calling to it with the Force. The entire temple began to shake. The pure Light Side energies that were still swarming about began to rush to the bottom floor of the structure. The very walls and ground began to sweat out the essence that had made this the place of the Jedi. Everything was rushing into the holocron. The Jedi spirits that were still sworn to service, the pure Force energies that allowed the life-like simulations and visions to take place. All of it rushing down.

 

The Jedi Master didn't know why he wasn't able to do this before. Perhaps the temple hadn't approved of his previous actions. Perhaps that was why the Sith had been able to gather there and create the horrific monolith.

 

A flash of light came from the holocron that filled the room. Dahar knew that this device was now full of the energies that would be needed to move the temple, not physically, but in the Force. He grabbed the small device and put it into the small bag attached to his waist that carried the other two holocrons. Turning towards the exit the shifts in reality had stopped. He stepped out of the room which then closed and vanished as if it had never been there.

 

The beast was gone, not even a physical trace of a body. Where it had fell there existed a scar in the Force, a place of darkness that perhaps would never vanish. Such unholiness had existed in that spot. But the threat was gone. All that remained was the four of them...

 

Dahar, the redeemed Jedi Master who now held in his possession untold stores of knowledge.

 

Kirlocca, the mighty Wookiee, the wise and powerful Jedi Master who was the embodiment strength.

 

Xae, the Exorcist who's sudden emergence on the scene brought the pure Light Side needed to take on the concentrated Dark.

 

Tobias, the man who came back to life at Dahar's doorstep, who's unique connection to the Force was the undoing of one of the galaxy's greatest evils.

[Wookiee Jedi]

Kirlocca could only stare. His Force energy coming back much quicker than what he had anticipated, yet still not fully where it should be. He was on one knee, barely, but still managed to keep his lightsaber hilt within a paw of his. He could have sworn that he he put it away. After a few moments passed and he was sure he got all of his energy back, he stood up and looked directly at each one present. First at Vos, a face the Wookiee knew he had seen before, yet could not place. Xae, the girl whom was now a young lady. She was always young in face, and Kirlocca had met her many times in passing through the ages, but never a true face to face until now. And then there was Dahar. The Jedi Master whom Kirlocca invested much in. The one Jedi Kirlocca believed would have been able to do what He would have done in almost every circumstance. But since their last meeting, Dahar looked tired, older, wiser within his eyes. He had seen much, yet there was still something about Gala that threw Dahar off, the same way it threw himself off. After he shared a look with each one, he spoke to no one in particular.

 

<< What the hell happened to my Praxeum?...>>

[Tobias Vos]

After the beast broke Vos had felt a swirl rush around him. It was as it was the Force blessing his, and his potential new friends, actions. It was a better scent than the one of decay, which seemed to have disappeared in the snap of their fingers. There was an immense flood of power that flowed from the room where the beast was in front of.

 

Still, with the new aroma and aura of the Light- it didn’t hide the fact that there were pieces of rubble scattered about the room. Examining the surroundings under better lighting- he felt something pull him towards the wall Dahar ducked behind.

 

Stretching his hand out- something called to him through the Force. It was connected to Vos, but it seemed… broken? Incomplete?

 

He felt the tiny beacon inch towards him. A tiny rock landed on his hand. Examining the dull rock- he brushed his fingers across it, removing the dirt. It was a deep hue of viridian. His reflection shined in the stone- or rather crystal. This crystal would be able to fit into a lightsaber. Removing the rest of the dirt, he admired the prize as no other thing in the universe- save Adenna. A wave of longing came over Vos. He was reading the emotions of the crystal. The green eyes of Vos’s twitched. There was another piece to this puzzle. He would not be able to craft a new saber without another piece.

 

Vos’s being was at peace. There was no rush to do anything-not find the next piece, not chase after Dahar or the wookiee. He was meant to be right here, enjoying this moment. All other steps would be completed. This was a gift, he would not neglect it.

 

Tucking the crystal safely away inside his robes, he heard the wookiee native tongue. His translation was rough, but it sounded as though he was wondering what had happened.

 

Vos was safe for the moment it looked like, they were not going to immediately turn on him, as it happened often before. Regardless of this initial action, Vos’s guard was up still. The Saber he had used just moments ago had vanished. Was that a vision as well? Or did it just find its final resting place?

 

Walking over towards Dahar, the tracker ‘reloaded’ in his mind. Once again Tobias tracked the signatures of people, plus the influence of the Force.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

The death cries of the beast were deafening and Xae could sense the will of the Light Side overpowering the blight on the temple as the others concentrated their efforts to rend the creature apart. So focused was she on maintaining Vos’s shield, she didn’t see where the Jedi Master had disappeared to once the creature was down.

 

As the light-side guardians rushed back towards the holocron, Xae felt the powerful energy she’d been channelling rush away from her and felt the pain rip through her side. Whatever forces had been acting through and bolstering her had left and she was grateful she’d been kneeling, otherwise she probably would have collapsed. 

 

She watched the man she’d been shielding stretch his hand and retrieve something from the debris around them. He seemed slightly familiar to her, but she couldn’t begin to place why that was.

 

Looking around her, it became apparent that she wasn’t sure where she was either, or what had happened. Only that she’d been dispatched by Il-Andon to assist the others. She wasn’t even really sure who she was, other than a Jedi Knight. Then it dawned on her - why were there only two other Jedi and this other figure to defend the temple when there should have been many more?

 

The sound of the Wookiee drew her attention as she began to feel steady enough to slowly rise to her feet, still clutching her side. The Dark Side beast had struck her hard during their fight and she was starting to find it harder to breathe as her adrenaline wore off. Gingerly she checked herself, and felt a few of her ribs give a little. Damn.

 

“Where am I?” she finally managed, just making it to one of the rubble piles to sit before her legs gave way from the pain. “Remind me...again why I thought...going head...to head with...that thing was a good idea..."

[Tobias Vos]

Vos looked over to the woman who had appeared just before hand. Her signature was stressed. Observing her pale appearance, Vos moved to catch her is she fell. Closing the gap quickly, she had made it to a makeshift seat. He owed her, so he would help her if he could. He felt the crystal in his robes beat hard against his chest. Did the crystal approve of Vos's intentions? It was a Jedi crystal, so probably. He glided over towards her, as he did he felt his adrenaline rush subside and all the bumps and scratches from the fight started to announce their presence. Was this what she was feeling? She did have a nasty tumble and took the full force of the monolith's blow.

 

He reached into his bag as he knelt in front of her. She was speaking now, Vos listened with an attentive ear- his gloved hand connected with what it was looking for. A bacta syringe as well as a ration bar. "Here, eat this." Vos unwrapped the first bite for the woman and offered the food to her. With his other hand- he showed her the bacta shot. Implying he was asking if she needed it. "This is a bacta shot, where do you hurt the most?"

 

The girl was in pain- that much he could sense through the Force. Pain and confusion swirled around this figure. He would do his best to alleviate both. "You are on Gala. Specifically the depths of the former Jedi Temple. What is it that you last remember?"

 

His voice was cool, calm, and had the strings of comfort attached to it. In a tone of how old friends spoke to one another.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Still feeling disoriented, she looked down at him as he rummaged. His signature felt clouded to her for some reason, but his willingness to help her was evident. “Hard…to breathe,” she accepted the ration bar from him, but didn’t eat it. “My ribs…not sure…bacta would…help.”

 

She stretched out her hand to touch his forehead. Speaking was taking more effort than she felt, but she still wanted to answer his question.

 

Battle…that is the last thing I remember… She drew him in with the Force, offering what she could of her memory to him. An act of trust.

___________________________

The battle had been fierce, but Xae was determined to once again stand up in defense of the Jedi temple. She'd managed to draw the Sith Lord and his troopers away from the temple proper by leading them into the surrounding woods where Xae knew she could use her surroundings to her best advantage to draw them into a more one-to-one situation.

 

Darkness clouded her connection to the Force. Try as she might to call upon the white cleansing fire, she found that she couldn't. So she continued to run, engaging the troops one by one until she came into a small clearing with just their Sith leader. The darkness made it hard to concentrate or register that the clearing had been a trap she'd just sprung, as the trooper reinforcements commanded by an acolyte surrounded her.

 

She closed her eyes as things shifted into slow motion, and the dull snap-hiss of her second lightsaber seemed far distant as she called what light she could around her, prepared to go down fighting.

 

Blaster bolts that made it past her swirling lightsabers stung, but hardly slowed her swift-moving figure as she batted back attacks from both the Lord and the acolyte, taking the former's hand and the latter's life as the battle progressed.

 

She was no match for the troop numbers and as they rushed her in defense of their master. She defended herself from their onslaught, killing many, but the distraction fulfilled it's intent. The many sacrificing their lives in the misguided followings of a Sith Overlord.

 

Keeping the petite Jedi Knight busy with his forces allowed the Sith Lord to regain enough of his composure to blast them clear with a barrage of Force lightening.

 

Xae, now fighting not just the troopers at hand, but the darkness that inexplicably surrounded her as well, could do little to deflect or resist the lightening as he blasted through his own forces to get to her.

 

She cried in agony from the fire that was now coursing through her system, as the ground suddenly rumbled beneath the combatant's feet. Is this some new sort of Sith trick? Xae wondered for the briefest of moments as both she and her opponent lost their footing and fell to the ground.

 

Her saber came to the ready and she managed to deflect a few more attacks from him before he'd disarmed her main hand, which left her fighting off-handed. A lucky strike at an opportune moment did the rest.

 

Their blows struck at the same time, his across her abdomen as a broad sweep managed to get within her defenses, and hers meeting with his neck, cleanly severing his corrupted head from his body.

 

They fell as one, and she knew that her wound was grievous, but the fight had overwhelmed her allowing the darkness that had slept and bided it's time for so long to finally take hold.

 

It was not happy that it's host was about to die. Perversely, it swore to keep her alive, but only just for as long as it could until she could be repaired and it could assume control.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

For the next several minutes consciousness came and went, time and memory becoming disjointed and incoherent. Light and darkness, stark and overwhelming darkness were the only things that Xae was aware of as she fought to hold on to life.

 

There is no death, only the Force

 

She opened her eyes, surrounded by darkness within her own mind and body.

 

Xae-lin, a vaguely familiar voice echoed through the ether, You have failed.

 

"Failed?" she called back, defiantly, her hands outstretched and ready for combat with the unknown. "To a overwhelming force? To a trap? Taking my opponent down with me?"

 

You choose to find your victory outwardly, yet know nothing of the war raging within you young one. Darkness has taken hold in you, yet you chose not to see it. This is the failure unbecoming one that desires the path of the Exorcist.

 

Now she was confused. "What darkness? I walk the path of the Jedi! And if this is Il-Andon, this path wasn't even something that I asked for. I-"

 

YOU CHOSE! YOU AGREED! the voice boomed back angrily, cutting her off. You were given the choice and you accepted the risks and dangers. Do not lie to yourself or to me. You had your suspicions of what I'm speaking of for some time now. Search yourself girl…

 

Xae was silent. Her recent blackouts had left her not knowing quite what to think about what was happening to her, but if she looked deep down, she knew that she suspected that it was darkness at work. She'd spoken to no one of this.

 

Look deep, young Xae. This is your best chance to fight it. It's just as weak as you are, for it needs you to survive. You know from your own experiences on Dathomir that nothing is quite so dangerous as a wounded animal.

 

Suddenly the darkness was pierced by an image floating in the distance, yet big enough for Xae to see the familiar, braided figure engaged in mortal combat against a Barabel warrior.

 

"Kyrie," Xae spoke softly, still unsure why she was being shown what was playing out in what she could only imagine was the waking world. Still, Xae knew that she'd been brought here for a reason so she remained silent, eyes transfixed on the floating image.

 

The image continued as the fight played out, Xae watched her young Padawan struggled between choosing death for the Sith, or starting on the path to forgiveness and mercy. Considering the girl's history and fervent desire for Sith blood, Xae was genuinely concerned about her student's constant toeing of the darkness within her own being.

 

As she placed her cloak over her fallen opponent, Xae realized that Kyrie had finally began to ingrain the necessary amount of forgiveness that was crucial to being a Jedi. Revenge was the way of the Sith, and a path that Xae had been concerned that the girl had been hell-bent on traveling as the two of them became more and more acquainted with the Exorcist abilities.

 

The image shifted and showed Xae's near-lifeless body amongst the rest of the Sith and their lackeys. Sharp pain came then and, as she looked down to examine the source, she felt her hand come away wet, only it wasn't with blood, as she'd expected. It was with a sticky, putrid, black substance that seemed to continue to flow from within her.

 

It took on a life of it's own as it crossed the floor until it was between her and the floating image, slowly building and taking shape until, finally, the hulk of her older brother stood before her.

 

"Auros?" she said, her tone both incredulous and disdainful. She got no verbal response, but the grotesque thing's head turned to the side, opening his mouth to show the pitch-black fetid mass that he was. He roared at her and started for the image slowly.

 

Xae whirled around looking for the Force-ghost of the guardian of the Exorcist knowledge. "Il-Andon! Was this what you meant?" She asked in earnest, "My family carries darkness within them? It's inherent?"

 

Silence was her only response as the being sloughed its way closer and closer to the image.

 

Suddenly Xae realized what she had to do and ran forward, knowing that she had to stop the thing from reaching the image, her instincts flaring brightly. She had no lightsabers, and nothing other than her fists to fight the hulking mass of darkness. After several minutes of trying to hit, push and kick the creature she finally cried, "I can't stop him, help me!"

 

Il-Andon's voice became impatient again. This is your fight. You earned the right to be called a Jedi Knight. NOW, EARN THE RIGHT TO CALL YOURSELF EXORCIST!

 

Frustration reigned in the auburn-haired Jedi's mind for a short while, as she fought to push the darkness back, her own hands getting mired in the muck of the semi-solid form. She knew her actions were getting her no where, but she had to keep the vile creature from entering the waking world.

 

That's when it hit her. This battle for light and darkness was being fought within her. The darkness had come from within her and she could only surmise that her brother had had something to do with it. It was all about revenge for destroying his power-hold on both the clan and his daughter. Revenge had consumed him, and now it was trying to consume her on his behalf. She couldn't allow that to happen, no matter what it took to stop it.

 

Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on an image of pure white light. "No matter how small the light," she began quietly, her voice then rising to crescendo, "it's still no match for the darkness!"

 

Flashes of the pure white light came forth from her hands, now buried to the elbow in the darkness. The creature moaned in protest as some of it's abdomen dried quickly as it was cleansed by the brilliant flame, becoming brittle. As Xae took her hands away, the crusted darkness turned to dust and faded away like ash in the wind.

 

The Auros-thing bellowed and lunged for her again, but she dodged, knowing that she now had a weapon to fight him. A white-hilted lightsaber suddenly appeared in her hand at the same time the thought occurred, and she began to hack away at the creature, batting it back from the image of Kyrie's valiant attempts to heal her broken body.

 

The beast bellowed again and shattered into a billion pieces.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Suddenly she was lying in a medlab bed, her abdomen sore and painfully gashed. She felt tired and groggy as she looked around the room looking for answers. Her heart stopped for a beat when she saw who was with her in the room.

 

A familiar figure clad in cyan beskar’gam turned holding a tiny infant in his hands. "Xae, ni cyar’ika, you've done well, our son is beautiful." The smile on Joreel's face couldn't be brighter. Pain, sharp, and deep within her heart caused her words to die in her throat before she spoke them.

 

"I appreciate your sprit, but I told you I didn't want you near the battle. It was too late to get you to proper facilites, we had to cut the child from you or we would have lost you both, and that was something that I just couldn't have." He bent low and kissed her brow lovingly.

 

Xae looked at him in confusion. Something wasn't right. Joreel had left her to fulfill his role as Mand’alor to his people. They weren't together, and she most certainly didn't remember being pregnant.

 

But a strong part of her told her it was real, and more of her than that deeply wanted it to be. It was one of her most secret and deepest regrets.

 

"Joreel, I don't think that this is right," she found that the more she thought about it, the more her head swam. It was giving her a headache. "We haven't ever been pregnant. It's been a lot longer than nine months since we last saw each other."

 

"Xae'ika, that blast must have caused you to loose your memory," He chided, genuinely hurt. Still he pressed on, as though respecting that she'd been through some horrible ordeal and had truly lost her memory. "Here, you hold our son and I'll go get the doctor so he can check you out."

 

Before she could object, the squirming infant was placed in her arms, and, for a moment, she secretly wished that things had turned out like this with Joreel. However, she couldn't ignore her instincts screaming at her that none of this was right.

 

She looked down at the baby in her arms, his head crested with a tuft of Joreels dark hair, and wondered for a minute if it could be true; wanting to ignore her instincts and believe the fantasy before her.

 

His tiny hand wrapped around her finger and drew it to his mouth, and for the shortest of moments Xae was content to ignore the cry of her instincts.

 

Then the child's eyelids fluttered, and his eyes were pure black, bringing Xae snapping back into reality as the Joreel-impersonator reached for the door.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"STOP!" she cried, the force of her mind and will causing the elaborate deception to dissolve away into nothingness.

 

With her cry white fire poured from her hands, as she was determined to put down the darkness once and for all, no matter how many forms it took or how many memories, dreams and desires it dredged up from her consciousness. She refused to let up. It was the only way to save Kyrie and anyone else the possessed version of herself might come across.

 

Pain tore at her as she fought, because the darkness had taken root and was hiding within her for so long, she was fighting herself as much as she was it. She had to be willing to make the sacrifice. This was the path of the Exorcist, the sacrifice that had to be made.

 

The white flame engulfed both her assailant and herself, their cries of pain echoing in the darkness. She would not give up, not when there was so much more at stake.

 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the last of the creature had solidified and turned to ash as the fire cleansed her being. As soon as there was no longer any darkness for it to consume, the fire extinguished itself and Xae collapsed on the now white floor.

 

"Well done, young Knight," a pair of booted feet were all that Xae could see from her vantage point on the floor that accompanied the voice. She was tired, groggy, and thoroughly spent. As the strong arms picked her up she gave little protest. "It's time for your to return now. There is much work for you to do...”

_____________________________

 

Her hand came away from his forehead and her blue eyes met his emerald ones, before she looked back at Dahar and Kirlocca curious as to what their next move was.

 

So the Praxeum fell to the Sith? She addressed them all via the Force.

[Tobias Vos]

The woman was speaking, and trying to get a feel for him. The Kiffar expected as much. Last time someone had accepted help- they died. It was he who was the victim. His green eyes watched the woman speak in a broken breath. She was in far greater pain than she was letting on. Did she have a lower threshold? He hoped not, they were down in the depths of the Temple. It would take time for them to venture top side. His eyes followed her hand, a tad fearful of where it lay- she meant to answer him via a type of mind link. Should he trust her? Should he let her connect with his mind? If he could have- the beast of a man would have shivered. But he knelt- transfixed on her hand. There were energies about this woman he recognized and felt comfortable with.

 

His lungs filled with air- he prepared for what felt like several minutes to bolster his mental defenses. What Qaela did would never happen again. The next time might break him completely. Her hand pressed against the man's brow. The soft skin felt cool to the touch, it was a welcome chill after the arduous fight they had just gone through. A thought played in the back of his head - the woman was very ill, the cool touch was not a good sign.

 

A spark shot through Vos. In an instant he saw a lightsaber snap to life in his hand. Wait. This wasn't his body, he realized. With his breath held tight in his chest watched the events unfold before him. She was showing him the last thing she remembered. And there he stood. In all of his toxic glory.The dark figure stood out against the green. Droids swarmed around him as he felt a hesitation. These actions weren't his own, nor was this memory, or body. The woman was showing him her last memory! It would be hard to speak, and he had understood in her current state. But this was a whole new level of experience. He had done it via inanimate objects, but now this woman knew how to project her memories to another! He was seeing things through the girl's eyes. The scenery was definatly Gala- he recoginized most of it on the way in. This was the final battle!

 

He realized that's how he knew the figure. Slicer. The memory flew by his eyes- blow to blow, the girl was a decent warrior. A warrior of his own caliber but- there it was. Her primary hand went down. Vos felt it odd to see an injury, but not feel it. He knew what was about to happen, he had seen it prior to entering into the temple. Trying to sigh he saw the final moments of Slicer. His eyes hid behind the woman's, he felt the battle and the fatal blow- Slicer's head spun to the side leaving a yellow liquid that Vos knew was the color of Slicer's blood. The apprentice had always wondered what species the master was, never seeing the hypothetical skin beneath the robes and armor.

 

The memory drew attention to the ground. Well, not the ground but down to her abdomen.

 

Then- he shot off to another memory of hers. He did not know what to make of it. There was an argument, between who he could not quite make it out. He fluttered in and out of the memory- the woman's strength was failing. But he knew she would hold out longer.

 

What was this place? Who were these figures? Nothing looked familiar to him, he just silently observed. Listening and watching. Vos tried to make sense of the mess before him. Then another memory- who was this figure? Another fight. There was some passion put into this, he made no mistake. He learned she was one of the fabled exorcists. A demon fighter. They shook the very core of the force. She was a very skilled warrior of the light, there was no mistaking. The kiffar had spent years observing, picking up things that a normal person would overlook. It made him quite resourceful.

 

As he saw her gain control over the latest memory it looked as though she was learning how to become an Exorcist. Was this her first moments being one? And he saw it end just moments ago. Had they went back in time in her memories? Why had she shown him these memories?

 

And just as soon as he fell into the memory they were out of it. It took a second to realize it had come so suddenly.

 

He met her gaze, then heard her voice in his mind. She was too weak to speak, she was hurt more than either of them realized first. She saved his life with her shield and taken a beating. He would repay that debt. Calling to the Force, he felt the mysterious energy flow through him. He projected a wave through the air to help her with the pain she was in. It would help a little, but fall short of doing any real healing. Those were skills he did not posses.

 

Guilt flowed through him with her question. He knew his part in this destruction once again. He had led the Sith here, but he left here changed. The whole galaxy fractured here.... Vos did not hide his guilt, but did not broadcast it or speak of it. He regretted his former role, in it's entirety.

 

He called over to the wookiee for help. The woman would need it here shortly. The wookiee jedi's name slipped his mind at that instant and all that came out of his exhausted mind. "Hey! Wookiee- er... Jedi..." He rolled his eyes inside, he was blabbering like an idiot. "Ah..." trying to regain his thoughts he got to the point- "We're going to need some help! Dahar?" Vos called out to crew leader.

 

It snapped in his head- "Kirlocca! That's it..." He shouted at first, and hushed himself towards the end. He wanted to help the woman.

[Wookiee Jedi]

Kirlocca didn't hesitate, he ran over to Xae, a woman of whom he had met in passing just about three times, but it was enough for him to know of her character based upon whom she always traveled with. Vos was a man of whom the Wookiee was sure that he had seen before, yet could not place. He needed to be present to help, yet he wasn't sure what exactly was going on to Xae and what he could do to help. He kneeled down and reached out with the Force. He could feel something deep within her. He looked at Vos with a face that suggested he was lost.

 

<< She seems to be in some sort of trance... I can feel her, yet... she's not reachable...>>