Carida

[Reagan McGreggor]

As Faust grabbed the marble, Reagan rested her hand on her side... that really was going to hurt in the morning... she returned the kiss, feeling his warm lips on hers, brought new energy to her...

 

Following Faust into the cell room she views the Jedi on the rack and smiles... she stayed behind him while he spoke to her, and finally stepped forward, waiting till Faust was settled with Jarrett, she leans over Ara...

 

"Hmmmm, well, looks like you and I are going to get to know eachother pretty well huh... I would tell you not to worry about anything, but I would be lieing... and well, this is just going to be so much more fun." She walked around the rack and remembered the pain of losing Faust, the rage and anger that she felt for this woman... the pain he went through in healing... the time they had to give up with Jarrett because of her...

 

As the rage and fury built in her... she looked over at the table and saw the knife and wanted it... sudden the knife sprung forward, and she ducked and it lodged in the wall behind her... hmmm, better be more careful about wanting things till I get more control over this... she thought to herself as she looked over her shoulder at the knife now lodged in the wall behind her... going over she yanked it out and went back to the Jedi...

 

"Ara... let's play a game... and the game is called this is what happens when you try to take something from me... we'll start off slowly okay, and work our way up... " Reagan took a feather that was sitting on the table and started at the Jedi's feet... she tested herself as well, grabbing the feather with the force and tickleing her with it... the Jedi could not help but laugh... after about 10 minutes of it... the Jedi's chest had to be hurting... "You know Ara, you really shouldn't laugh at your friends misfortuen... " Reagan let the feather fall to the floor, and walked over to a bucket... in one motion, she grabbed the bucket and threw the contents of it all over the Jedi... some of leaking into the mask so that she could taste it... Eggnog with rum... While Faust and Reagan enjoyed it... though she was pretty sure that Faust was not going to be allowing her to drink it with alcohol in it at this time... she was fairly sure that Ara would not like it...

 

She could hear the Jedi cough and choke on the drink and walked over... "you know that is good stuff you are choking on... here... have some more... " With that Reagan emptied the last of the bucket directly over the mask... and smiled at the Jedi's discomfort...

 

Reagan finally realized what the Jedi was laying on when she spotted the crank... and decided to see what it did... "hmmm, this should be fun... " Reagan started to turn it, and decided that she would stop only when the Jedi yelled out...

[Vladimir Faust]

Through the whole thing Faust remains silent and impassive, giving no indication on how he feels about the proceedings one way or the other. This was Reagan's test and he wouldn't interfer unless someone was about to die. Inside though, he winces as if he was doused in fire.

 

A fine build up... The slip with the knife is understandable. Good dramatics always help a situation, though they need to work to be effective. But why... why with all those knives, fire arms, sheers, blades, abrassives, poisons, and other trinkets like the nerve disruptor does she use a damn feather? You're supposed to make them scream and...

 

In his lap, Jarrett giggles, amused.

 

Faust's eyes flicker down for a moment at his son before resuming his passive, clinical watch.

 

I can't tell if he's laughing because she's laughing or because Ara's still suffering. If it's the former, I'll have to have a talk with Reagan about being a bad influence on our son...

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

The first thought Ara had when she woke up was how incredibly tired she was getting of being knocked out and waking up somewhere else that she hadn't been. This is what, the third time now?

 

When Faust went on about the Jedi being destroyed and the planets being overrun, Ara had her doubts about Faust's word on the subject, Force or no Force. Firstly, the man was not quite reputable about being truthful, and secondly, if Andon had died, he probably would have come as a Force ghost and start annoying her via the other plane. I have faith in them, even if I really shouldn't. I suppose it's one of my many faults...

 

At Faust's statement of what was to happen to her, and his instructions to his dear Reagan, Ara almost laughed. Pain was something she was quite familiar with, even before she was a Jedi. They might be able to drive her into insanity at some point with it, but to use this to force her to their whims...

 

Hit me with your best shot.

 

It was then that Reagan tried to summon the knife to her, and even Ara winced as the blade nearly hit Reagan inbetween the eyes. She took a deep breath when Reagan retrieved the knife and came over to her, but crossed her eyes in confusion when Reagan grabbed a feather and began tickling her feet.

 

Ara was snorting with laughter in seconds. "Ah--haha--" She clamped down her mouth, keeping the verbal laughter to a minimum, but was still snorting rather loudly until the very end of it. Her chest ached from the laughter, but it was a relatively good ache. Force knows it's not going to last that way very long...

 

She wasn't quite ready when Reagan threw the bucket's contents over her head, dousing her in what Ara knew from her days as the Last Call owner to be eggnog and something else that was definitely alcoholic. She spit out as much as she could--the stuff tasted awful, to be sure, and quite frankly, if she was given much more, there would be very bad consequences for her torturer. When Reagan emptied the last bit of the bucket onto her head, Ara felt it necessary to warn her.

 

"Much more of that, Reagan, and I'm not sure how long I'll be able to hold off vomiting." She looked pointedly at the woman before adding, "Projectile vomit. It's not pretty."

 

The warning was moot, though, for Reagan reached around the rack and began cranking something on the back of it. Ara closed her eyes tight; even without having seen it, she knew what it was. The rack began to stretch out somewhat, and one of Ara's elbows gave a tiny crack as it was pulled a bit. Ara grunted lowly, readying herself for more of the same.

 

And now it begins, I suppose...

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan laughed at Ara's statement about vomiting... "go ahead babe... you're the one wearing that mask, not me... you're going to have to be the one to swallow most of it since it is only going to hit the inside of the mask... "

 

She continued to crank the rack, pulling Ara's limbs more and more... even after hearing her grunt a bit when her elbow popped... finally after many turns, she heard Ara yell out... and she stopped... without giving her any slack, Reagan came around... "You know Ara, you could make this be some easier and pain free is you just say what you know he wants to hear... "

 

Reagan smiled cruely at the Jedi... her skin was pulled tightly over her bones, and her arms reached above her head... taking the knife out of her waste band, she brought the point up to Ara's chest... and lightly ran it over her clothes... she cut the outer layer, and the clothes fell away revealing her undergarments. (and yes they cover every private area..) and her bare skin... she dragged the knife down her rib cage, pressing it in deep enough that she drew blood and the Ara cringed...

 

"you know Ara... you don't need to be strong, I know it hurts... you are free to scream, it is not like anyone will hear you, or rather not like anyone will care. The Jedi are dead or dying... and you are alone here."

 

Having another idea... Reagan let the tension out of the rack, and she could hear Ara taking some deep breathes... she knew that having her chest pulled like that had to have put a strain on her breathing... she picked up to things from the table, and moved back to the Jedi... she touched the blood on her chest with her finger, digging it into the wound as she did, Reagan then showed it to the Jedi... "You know, you bleed like everyone else... see, dieing alone is so sad... but there is not Jedi left to save you... " with that Reagan licked the blood off her finger and moved Ara's arm off to the side... grabbing the elbow that had already snapped from the rack... the girl cried out in pain, and Reagan smiled...

 

"oh, did I do that... here let me fix that for you... " With that, Reagan placed a wood board between Ara's elbow and ribs... and then one on the side of the elbow... almost as a splint would be... but instead of using something to tie it off, Reagan pulled out a large mallot... and slammed the boards with the mallot... shattering the elbow, and breaking a few of her ribs as well...

 

She was not sure what kind of noise it was that came out of Ara's mouth, but she knew it was not one of joy...

 

Reagan turned around and grabbed the nerve disruptor...

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

Ara felt everything clear as day, every pain, every stab, every broken bone that now sat in her arm and the few that were now in her chest, the bleeding trail around her ribcage. She didn't try to hold back the noises she made--pain was pain, you couldn't avoid it all the time. Ara was used to pain, having once even incurred a minor surgery without any painkillers; she had screamed back then, too.

 

She took a moment to catch her breath when Reagan turned to get something else. "This isn't very far from...what one of your brethren did," Ara managed to get out with a wince. "Ribcage, same thing."

 

Steadying herself as much as she could, she glanced at Faust, holding his child and watching like it was some holovision show. Ara grimaced again, this time, not from the pain. "I still want to know...why do you hate me, Faust? Why--" A sharp stab of pain cut her off for a second. "I understand Reagan's hatred to a point, but you...I never met you until that day, when we fought."

 

Ara looked at Reagan. She supposed this was either pleading or who knew what else, but she really wanted to know. "I never met him before then. Heard of him, yes, but it was the first time I laid eyes on him." Her eyes forced themselves shut. "He threatened to make a rug out of one of my friends and slaughter the rest. It was the only reason I fought. I didn't want to kill him, even before I knew he had a son."

 

Her brain managed to think of something she had forgotten, in the heat of the battle, in the middle of the torture. Ara coughed out, "Even when I was standing there, my eyes ripped out and tossed aside, I wanted to heal him. His ship was still there when I said it." She glanced back at Faust. "He probably has a holo of it. I would have healed him myself, given the chance, and..."

 

Ara's voice gave out as a particularly large pain jolted through her chest. Keep...talking! "I just can't see...why you would want to expose your child to this, to torture and blood and broken bones. He's so young--why teach him to hate, to despise those he's never met? I can't understand it."

 

She looked back at the child on Faust's lap, young and innocent. "Do I remind you of Anna? Innocent, naive...someone who shouldn't exist in a world such as this? Or your parents, too weak to save their daughter?" Ara coughed, another set of spasms racking through her ribs. "I still have faith, I still have hope...is that why you hate me?"

 

Ara knew she probably would never know the answer, but at least now...

 

At least now she had asked.

 

Resigned to her fate, Ara closed her eyes, tears falling. She was angry, she'd admit it--but not at anyone in particular. It was the cruelty of others, not just Faust and Reagan, that angered her. It was anger reserved for herself and what she couldn't accomplish, but not the blind hate that the two in front of her had. People shouldn't suffer...they shouldn't have to, if only...

 

The anger faded into self-loathing, and the self-loathing turned straight into sorrow for what had been lost. Ara couldn't turn, she wouldn't...but she could cry. And she could sing.

 

So that's what she did, quietly, through gritted teeth and sobs. She sang.

[Reagan McGreggor]

Ara went on and on, and Reagan put the disruptor down... she grabbed a rope off the table, and moved back towards the rack... going to the arm that was not hurt, she tied the rope around her wrist tightly... cutting off circulation to the hand, and then tied the other end to the bottom of the table to immobilize it...

 

She leaned over the table and looked into Ara's eyes through the mask... hatred and rage consumed her cold jade eyes... "But you didn't save him did you... you let him die... the barely were able to revive him, and the only thing that saved him was that ship... for weeks I sat there unable to touch him.. but you wanted to save him.. "

 

she grabbed something from table and returned to Ara... "I would leave our son out of this if I were you... if not for you, he would not have been seperated from his parents for months... why should he not see the person that ripped his parents from him..."

 

Without another word, Reagan shoved the needle into Ara's arm, "Just a little something to ensure you don't go passing out on me while I am getting to know you... " Testing the arm with the rope on it, she could see that the blood had drained out of her hand... and then Ara started singing again... Roling her eyes, Reagan sighed, and grabbed something else from the table... and she shoved it inside that mask... she used the knife to make sure the rum soaked rag made it into her mouth... "I dont' like that music... thanks anyway... oh, and I wouldn't vomit with that in your mouth if I were you... you might sophicate yourself."

 

Without waiting another moment, Reagan grabbed Ara's fingers and snapped them one by one...

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

Amidst the snapping of her fingers, Ara managed to maneuver the soaked rag out of her mouth. It was still inbetween her face and the mask, so her cries and her speech came out as somewhat muffled.

 

"I would have saved him--he never gave me the chance!" she shouted. "I barely survived myself, my eyes on the floor, the left half of my body scarred and burnt!" Ara nodded towards her left side, where long pink scars circled up and down her arm and onto her shoulder. "Those are all from his disruptor pistol, Reagan. I would have died healing him to save him rather than myself, if only for your child."

 

During a small pause in the torture, Ara caught her breath, adding quietly, "I told the truth at the funeral. He had so much to live for, and I had nothing to live for. I would have died in his place if only for Jarret to see his father whole again."

 

She coughed on the rag in her mouth, shifting it more out of the way with her tongue before she spoke again. "If you use your abilities...you can see I'm being honest and truthful. I would have saved him, even if others would have seen him killed or disentegrated on the spot. It was..." Ara's eyes closed, and she wasn't sure Reagan even heard what she said next. "It was a mistake."

 

Ara's body felt numb at this point, her pain sensors gone haywire from blood loss, broken bones, and even the bits of alcohol. Her eyes remained closed. "Believe what you will, I suppose..."

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan hesitated a moment, anger and pain screaming from inside her... She focused on the Jedi, and tried to read her... but the more she tried and failed, that angrier she became...

 

the knife was in her hand, and without realizing what she was doing, she lifted the knife, and suddenly, Faust's hand was on her wrist...

[Vladimir Faust]

Faust's hand caught Reagan's just before she would have fatally plunged the knife into the Jedi.

 

"No dear," he repromands calmly, but sternly, "we need her alive." He gives Reagan a look up and down. "Commendable effort," he states in a flat, clinical voice. "A bit unorthadox at first, but it worked. You have amazing potential that not even you know about." Faust gives a small smile. "It appears there really is some Sith in your viens, but we can discuss that later dear. Allow me to have a few words with the Jedi... and this time you may want to cover Jarrett's eyes and ears," he warns grimly.

 

Faust paces back and forth, looking as if he was struggling to say something, and articulate the words he wanted to say earlier before calling a halt. He looks at the Jedi's eyes through the mask, meeting them. "You make me sick," he begins, crisply and clearly, rolling up the sleeve on his mechanical left arm. "You are right, there was nothing personal in this at first," he continues. "You were just another bounty head, and a very lucerative one. I had no more reason to loathe you than all those other silly Jedi hiding under the Temple roof. I called you out as a warrior, one who bested the Dark Lord in combat and outwitted him as well (not that that's hard to do, Faust remembers after his attempt to leash the Dark Lord to Black Sun with a glass of poisoned wine), and to my pleasant surprise, you came and met me in the field of combat, bravely and honorably." At this Faust smiles, wiping some of the blood and spirits off of his captive.

 

"Then you did something that was unforgivable," he says, his voice dropping cold and flat. His hand flies and there is a metallic smacking sound, sending the face mask turning sharply. "You bested me, and then had the tenacity to pity me." His eyes withdraw further into a paler, chill blue. "You dared... to pity me..." his voice trembles, face drawing back into the pale. His hand curls up into a fist and flies again. "You won that battle, but you did worse... you squandered it, and now you insult me with your lies?!" he half shrieks. "Oh, I'd heal you! I swear!" he mocks Ara in her own voice. "A noble act, but a lie. To what end? So I could stand trial before your so called motions of justice? So the mobs that protested someone seemingly innocent and benign would still cry out for my death and dismemberment? For the sake of the herd? Or for my son who'd you see as infirm and base as you?!" His hand flies again, this time with a wet crunching sound. Faust flicks loose drops of blood off it. "Your pity, your scorn, your justice... your damn mockery is beyond insult!" he roars. The nails on his left hand extend into sharp points. A hidden joint in the wrist begins to spin, turning it into a drill. There is a momentary flicker of fire, envolping the hand, turning the spinning appendage a dark, glowing red. Faust lashes out again, screaming over her screams. "You pathetic weakling! You craven coward! It's people like you that are why my dear sister ended up dead, just like my worthless parents! You make monsters like us possible! Your forgiveness, your compassion, your dripping, bleeding heart leads the sharks to the water! To stop those monsters your weakness invites we must become monsters ourselves, so don't you ever dare mention Anastasia's name again!!!!!"

 

By this time, Faust is totally mad. His left hand flies of its own accord, almost bluring. The screams rising involuntarily from his victim reach a loud, brutal wail, piercing the ears, sending even Jarrett, in Reagan's arms, crying in fear from the man who sired him. Over it all, Faust shouts in beastial, insane fury, lashing out again and again at the effigy of what he believes to be all that is wrong in this miserable, stupid, and dying galaxy. On top of it, his right hand sparks froward, sending blinding, searing hot bolts of lightning out of them- never enough to reach the face or harm the mask, but enough to give off the horrid reak of burning flesh. Between those two attacks, a red steamy mist rises off the prisoner, no longer able to articulate the pain she is suffering. Through it all, Faust still screams in rage, lashing in further and further, professing his undying hatred and wish to destroy.

 

When Faust, regaining his senses is finally able to step away, he stumbles, pouring so much of himself into that attack. It was not mercy or pity that stopped him. Pushing any further would end it all, and he wasn't done yet. The demons of malice and revenge consumed his black heart utterly. His burnished white armor and trench coat are soaked red, splattered over his face and thin blond hair. Out of the red mass, Faust's eyes, so blue that they are almost white, shine, sparkling with Dark energy. Ara cannot see this. Hanging on by a thread, she is barely alive, much less conscious.

 

"Nothing permanent done," he mutters, waving his left hand to try and cool it down a bit more. He picks up a comm sending for a med team. "Our Jedi friend has had a bit of an accident and drawn out my temper. Heal her up to full health so we can begin anew in the morning. I'm not done with her yet..." He felt weak right now, horribly weak. The flame of malice can only burn so bright before consuming the candle, whick and all, emptying one's spirit utterly. "I... I..." he dimisses his thought, feeling nausiated by the horrid burning stench now coming across the room. Forcing a smile on himself, he smooth's back Reagan's hair, and gives a wild eyed Jarrett a kiss on the forehead. For a moment there is something stiring in those blue eyes as he looks at Reagan, something like the gaze he often used while masquerading as Anna. The moment passes and his usual confidence resumes.

 

"We've done all the damage we can here for today," he laughs. "Let's see about some supper. I think we've both worked up an appitite."

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan sat down, slightly dazed and watched silently as faust spoke... she clung to little Jarrett as he became frightened, and once it was all over, even Reagan's face was ashen... the smell nauseated her...

 

Holding Jarrett, she watched as the medics came in and took the Jedi away... she took his arm, and the three walked silently back to their quarters... Reagan took care of Jarrett and fed and bathed him, giving Faust some time to change and get cleaned up, and once their son was soundly sleeping, she got herself and Faust a glass of wine...

 

She waited for him to come out of the room, and handed him the glass as he sat down... after a few moments, she spoke softly to him... "Who am I?" she turned her head to him, and leaned in and kissed him... "I love you Faust, and I know you... you know something... Who am I?"

[Vladimir Faust]

Faust has pulled on a white robe, though looking clinically at his finger nails, he noticed that some of the Jedi's blood had caked in and wouldn't come out. He pulled out a file and began picking at it, sending out a comm. The med staff officer reported the patient's stability, confirming while what Faust did was horrible even by Imperial standards- there would be nothing permanent to mar the Jedi with the care she promptly received, though the bones and bruises would take much time to heal. Motivated by a simple notice that Faust would take "exception" if she died because of his own handiwork, the doctor's worked feverishly to bring her around. Faust gives one last order.

 

"Her pretty eyes... I've removed them once, so take good care of them. When I look at her tomorrow and look into them, I want to be able to see myself looking out of them," he chuckles, another vile plan lurking in the back of his mind.

 

The business settled there, he exits the room and shares a glass of wine with Reagan, relaxing. "Ah," he admires, sipping. "Quality, my love." Whether he refered to Reagan, the wine, or the quiet moment or all of the above, even he wasn't sure. He sets the glass down and speaks. "I've done a bit of homework on your past, prior to your adoption. Would you believe the blood of the Sith runs in your viens?" He smiles. "I knew you were gifted, but you're ancestors had ties back to the Sith. It's not certain that you need follow in their footsteps, but just something to consider," he states, handing over a datapad dossier. "That's everything you might wish to know and then some. Consider it something to aim for in your practice."

 

Faust takes a sip, looking troubled, and saying as much. "I'm feeling troubled," he begins. "Something about today... and that beating I gave the Jedi has been eating at me. I wish I could have done a bit more damage, but..." he shrugs. "I've been thinking about Anna some more, wondering how she would react if she'd seen me back there. I don't think she would have been too happy, but," he shrugs again. "What can one do? We are what we are. I'm a monster in the eyes of many and that will never change. Still, by preying on the strong, I keep fermenting dischord among their own ranks," he continues, "and keep them against each other. The weak will only suffer when drawn into their path." Faust takes another sip, concluding his rationalization. "It still sickens me to hear people talk like that. That naive' fool of a Jedi should suffer a thousand deaths before I'm done with her."

 

For a moment, Faust looks down at his hands, still not quite able it seemed to get the red stain out of them from behind the finger nails. Being of less conscience than Lady MacBeth, this did not bother him much, only giving rise to irritation. "I've concluded that if Anna were alive still and I had been able to rescue her before she died, that for lack of a better word, I played her part well...." Faust now begins stirring his wine. "As odd as this sounds, I think I'll keep the memorial and the charity foundation open... as an experiment." He snorts. "Maybe even Lilly could run it... if she's still alive," he laughs. "You know, I wonder how much longer I could have kept the charrade up... though I still owe Lycus a visit to repay his meddling. It would have been... interesting... to have kept... Anna... around..." Faust falters as he speaks.

 

"It's funny, in some ways by playing the part of her, I brought back her spirit... and yet when I sprung the trap at the funeral... it was gone again..." He did not want to say the fatal words. In my own way, I have killed Anna more completely than that brutal pig of a warlord ever could. Forgive me my sister... His blue eyes drift back up towards Reagan once more.

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan was shocked at his statement, and took the datapad and just held it... she listened to him and rubbed the back of her hand along his cheek... "You know, Anna is and always will be apart of you... I realize that she is not with us physically, but you carry her with you... as does Jarrett, and this new child... " She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips, lingering there for a bit... "Faust... she wuold be proud of the man you have become... physically you are strong, and able... mentally, you are in control, and emotionally... you are there for support of your family... Financially between the two of us... we are very wealthy and neither of our children will want for anything... would she have approved of the means of how you got where you are...??? We will never know that, because someone took her from us... but you are to me and Jarrett and this child"... she said as she pulled his hand to her stomach "everything that your parents should have been to you and Anna... You provide for us, protect us, and support us in everything you do, every action you take... "

 

She turned his face to her and kissed him again... "And I love you just the way you are Vladimir Faust, the good and the bad... and I would die for you... " It was rare that she used his full name, and she only used it when she wanted to get his full attention... she wrapped her arms around him and held him to her, kissing him softly.

 

Finally pulling back, she lifted the datapad that he had given her... hesitantly, she turned on and skimmed through it... It had a full read out of her parents... both were sith... her father a sith master, it had how they were killed, and the name of the Jedi that killed them... to her amazement, she knew him... Jedi Master Alex Lianahan... running her fingers over the name, she could not believe it... apparently not realizing that her parents had a child, he had fought them and won, only to discover a small child there... He must have taken me home with him, and thought that raising me there, my fate would be different then that of my parents... If he only knew, he would likely roll over in his grave She grew up in a house filled with the force... three Jedi Masters came out of that family... but until just recently... I had no contact with the force... what could have triggered it... then she remembered Faust's disguise... He had anchored his spirit to me... and borrowed my own... It was the only thing she could think of...

 

She would never get venegence for her parents slaughter at the hands of a Jedi... he was dead... and technically she already had it... his own parents slept not 50 yards from her and Faust's quarters... standing by her side no matter what...

 

She shut off the datapad and placed it on the table and sat silently for a while... "Faust... " she had not turned to look at him, she stared at the datapad on the table... "I want you to train me... I want to learn from you. " she looked into his eyes... "I want to be able to protect my children, as you can... I don't want to have to rely on you to protect us... I want to be able to stand at your side and fight for the survival of our children... "

[Vladimir Faust]

The recovery process continues. The Jedi leader is strapped into an operating table and slowly revived. The bacta from her tank is left to soak in, healing her nearly mortal wounds. When she awoke her mask would be there, though her head would feel as if it was split open and jabbed repeatedly from the inside. The dull ache and pain would last, as would the horrible memories of Faust's violent rage on her body and mind.

 

Much to the chagrin of the beast though, nothing could be said if his attacks corrupted her spirit.

 

*****

 

Meanwhile, Faust listens carefully taking in each and everyone of Reagan's words. The kiss was needed, a reaching out and emotional bridge. Not one to ever lower the castle gates and venture out in matters of the heart, the firm ground on the other side meant more to Faust than anything.

 

He reflects more and more on the matter of his parents and how they died. It was so long ago, the Jedi, so very, very foolish. He never saw where his parents were buried, the bodies carted off to be dumped in some pit. Anastasia's bones he laid to rest himself, giving them as fitting of a grave as he could. Ironic how close his parents had to have been with the Lainahans... such a small galaxy.

 

Looking at Reagan, he knew his great strength and weakness- why on one level he could transcend the Sith, even if his use of this knowledge made him more objectively vile in the end.

 

"I hope the news wasn't distressing," he says, smoothing back her hair. "I believe the Lainahans did a good job raising you, though that fire was never something they were able to squelch, ever," he smiles. "Our children will be among the strong. They will have no illusions, no petty and misleading lies to twist them. They will carve a great path ahead of them, be it for peace, or for war, good or ill..." Among his worries about his new daughter being corrupted utterly in the womb, he remained silent.

 

"The art of the Dark is a perfect expression of one's inner power, their inner will. Hatred, domination, and the mental force of change are strong. It is a path to greatness, but it is perilous should one lose sight of one's self. I confess to have scumbed to it before. I will teach you its arts, but I do not do so lightly. Greatness often inspires hatred in the lesser, fear of what they do not understand. It is a vicious cycle."

 

Faust holds up one hand. "There is an experiment I have been investing in and one way I believe I can transcend the ordinary trappings of regular dark siders, and become something even more powerful... there is something often scorned, yet indulged in, the most insidious trap of all, grasping its way into the hearts of all men. Through it, we can unite and shape this galaxy as we wish, protecting our children for all time. I believe that this revolutionary new look at the Dark, which without your held I would have been blind, will lead to the salvation of all.. That power, is love. I do not believe it is impossible to join it with the dark. If we can do that, we are unstopable..." Faust levitates over the wine bottle and begins pouring it fresh into two glasses.

 

"There was an axiom I was introduced to by my old smuggling partner in theorizing why the Empire fell. Rule through fear... it ultimately failed. Palpatine seized more power as Supreme Chancellor, beloved and martyred in his appearance, than in terms of gains as Emperor. Fear does lead to hatred, and by giving that power to those we would oppress we arm them. Yet people are easily manipulated, lulled, duped, and willing to believe what they want to. To get them to love us, to adore us, and convince them of it, and you can get them to die for you..." He hands one to Reagan, "as I would for you. That is power beyond measure."

 

He sips, "As you can see, hatred and love, passions, go against any solid rational basis, making them beyond the calculations of the most wily and cunning. They can overpower and surpass even the best of plans..." The sorrid story of Vader's fall and redemption was not lost on him. He was mighty, feared, and above all, a great fool. "Hatred and love are too similar, more so than most people would wish to believe... Both are powerful, but the control of one is much more valuable, and only the tiniest of degrees seperate them. It was your love of me, and my love of my sister that were channelled into the hatred that marred that stupid girl. It was because of that we were able to conquer, because we could control them."

 

Faust's eyes shine as he speaks. "I would seek to join with you, and turn this power of love to new ends, fueling them for the vast engines of the dark that well with in each person. If we bring out each others power, I believe nothing can stop us, ever. Our love of self and for each other will be enough. Convincing it of others to dominate," he smirks, "is easy enough. Those who do not buy that lie are to be respected or eliminated, those like our Sith friends or our Imperial hosts. Those who do believe in it truly and completely though, are all the more dangerous and to be destroyed with fear and hate, like that Jedi witch. The Jedi are more right than they know, but they fail to use it as a weapon. Should that day come, perhaps then there might be true peace, though their hearts are too weak to wield it." His voice lowers, growing softer.

 

"Reagan, your sword is leveled at me, your fist is around my heart, and mine yours... what can be more equal?" He extends a hand, concluding his preverse thesis on the subject. "Love, even tough love conquers all."

 

His eyes warm, his smile broadens, "What do you think? Will you try mastering this new art with me to its end?"

[Reagan McGreggor]

She listened, and wondered how she could not have known about her past... Faust's words drifted into her mind as she tried to work things out, and finally she gave up on her past, and came back to Faust entirely.

 

"No, not disturbing... just surprising is all... I can not change the past, and anyone that could pay for what they did, is long since dead so it is a mute point..." She laid her head on his chest as he spoke, and held him to her... when he was finished she just looked up into his beautiful eyes and smiled... "You didn't need to ask me you know... I will do anything with you... Of course I will try to master everything you want to teach me... "

[Vladimir Faust]

Faust nods cooly, understanding Reagan's situation.

 

"I believe we've already covered," he begins, half using his "instructor" voice and half using his "suave" voice, "the basics of empathy and force projection, fueled by passion," he notes, drawing closer. "Perhaps tonight there are a few more things we could experiment with along those lines to make the evening a bit more.... interesting..." With a mischievious, serious smile, he gives Reagan a deep kiss, envolping her.

 

The next morning, Faust's mood is definitely better than it has been in a ages. At the moment, he doesn't even care about tormenting his prisoner. His only comments to Reagan in the morning, were simply, "You've learned very well my dear. Soon we'll have to see about trying those skills in combat." The last is given with a wink. He continues his explaination, chosing his armor again, and the white trench coat he wore yesterday. The fact that it still had quite a few of the previous blood stains soaked in suited him well. "The important thing there, and something you must have sensed last night, at least I'd assume you did in the way you move," he says, "is presense." At will a small remote hovers out of his coat, circling Reagan. Without another word, he tosses her his lightsaber. "That is the key to using this fine weapon. I had to train myself how to use it without the benefit of being schooled in the force... which thanks to a few cybernetic implants was doable, but..." The training droid the Hermitage Master gave him left more than its fair share of bruises and scorch marks on the Hunter's body. Still, Faust's will to learn at the time overrid any worries of bodily pain. "The trick is the lightsaber is weightless, unless it comes into contact with another object, where in the blade will slice through it, based on the material properties and densities there in. This rapid change makes it almost impossible for those without the force to use effectively. Presense, or future sight comes in handy- commanding the force to tell you what will happen next and acting on it."

 

Faust reaches over for a blindfold, conveniently left on a corner bed stand from the night before, and puts it around Reagan's eyes. He leads her to a small training room- and the remote follows.

 

"Now," he begins, "the most important thing is to not to twist the handle just yay, along hte hilt." In doing that his own addition- the sonic gun, would activate. Faust did not particularly feel like having to revive Reagan if she knocked herself out that way. "Activate the blade with constant pressure, and sense! Know where those blasts will strike. They will be moderately painful, but you can learn only by doing."

 

With that, the remote begins to circle around her, firing off laser shots at random intervals, testing her skills with this new weapon.

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

A headache unlike any other and the scent of bacta and bandages greeted Ara when she awoke in the interrogation room once more, laying on a mat on the floor but otherwise free to move about if she chose to. At the moment, all Ara wanted to do was sit up at the least, as resting her head on the floor was making the pounding inside her head even worse.

 

She pulled herself up, propping her back against a wall and staring blankly forward. Quite suddenly remembering what Faust had done with a very violent twitch, Ara craned her neck to look down at her body. Incredibly, there were no actual scars save for the ones she had recieved from the disruptor pistol previously, and her bones were back in place, though bruises were scattered quite liberally over her entire body wherever she looked. She lifted her head back up and stared across the room, eyes still twitching somewhat as the memories of Faust's wrath floated back into her head.

 

Complete and utter horror. Still hurts... Ara lifted a hand to her head, running it down the mask and past her neck and shoulders, down her waist and hips before her hand fell limply back on the floor. Still smells. Why? No one ever believes. Save him...to raise his son, not to punish.

 

Her mind was having trouble making complete sentences at this point, and somewhere along the way, a synapse in her brain fired and went to her vocal chords, starting her singing again, though this time with a somewhat rougher voice.

 

"The itsy-bitsy spider went up the water spout"

 

She began doing the crawling hand-motions alond with the song, when a few feet in front of her, a fuzzy image of a water pipe and an equally fuzzy (though somewhat more solid-looking) spider appeared, the arachnid tottering unevenly up the pipe. Ara tilted her head to one side, watching and continuing to follow along with the gestures.

 

"Down came the rain and washed the spider out"

 

As Ara threw her hands to her sides, a smattering of water drenched the pipe and the spider, leaving the spider in a small puddle on the floor.

 

"Out came the sun and dried out all the rain"

 

Ara spread her hands just above her shoulders, and a small ray of light shone on the puddle, evaporating it and leaving the spider sitting idly on the dank ground.

 

"And the itsy-bitsy spider went up the spout again"

 

And so it did. Ara continued to watch it skitter up the spout, humming the tune absent-mindedly as the process repeated itself. She frowned.

 

"You know, kumo-san, that's not a very smart thing to do," she said, sounding like a child. Ara hummed some more, wherein the spider stopped and hobbled over to Ara, resting on her toes, it's head looking at her with slightly cross blue eyes.

 

She stopped humming for a moment. "Well, naturally, it's just going to happen again, if you climb back up." Her eyes drifted halfway closed, the melody emanating softly from her throat once more. The spider seemed to be taken aback somewhat, and crawled farther up her body, coming to rest on one of her hands.

 

Ara lifted her hand to look at the spider eye-to-eye. "Then why do I keep doing what I do?" She blinked a few times before smiling innocently at the spider. "Because I care. No one should be mistreated, kumo-san, you know that." Ara sang, playing with the spider, it crawling from one of her palms to the other and back again. "I know, I get hurt a lot, too," she sighed sadly. "But when I don't get hurt, and it helps, it makes it all the more worth it."

 

The spider seemed rather exasperated and hopped swiftly to one of Ara's shoulders, seeming to almost whisper in her ear. Ara rolled her eyes. "I don't like being mistreated, either, but it doesn't mean I should hurt someone else 'cause of it." The arachnid poked her ear through the mask, looking annoyed as a spider could. Ara twisted her neck to pout at the spider. "S'not a good reason. There's never a good reason to hurt someone."

 

Sighing, the spider crawled back down to Ara's hands, jumping between her palms once more. Ara hummed again, tossing the spider back and forth with a child-like smile. It jumped back to her shoulder with a sudden squeak. "M'not gonna change my mind. I'll get hurt, I know, but I don't care. It's the way I am." The spider looked at her in almost disbelief, before seeming to smile and pat her kindly on her covered cheek. Ara smiled back.

 

"From the day I was born 'til the day I die, kumo-san." The spider faded away as Ara closed her eyes and hummed random notes. From the day I was born 'til the day I die.

[Reagan McGreggor]

As he kissed her, she could feel his passion through the kiss, and she seemed to almost melt in his arms as he carried her to bed...

 

The next morning, she showered and dressed before he awoke and smiled at him when she turned around to kiss him as he kissed her... "mmm, I love learning new things... and I had a great teacher who doesn't mind doing things over and over till you get it just right... " giving him a wink of her own...

 

She watched as the remote hovered just a few feet infront of her and looked at Faust with a bit apprension... yesterdays marbles flashed through her mind...

 

she caught the saber with ease, and looked at it... It was not the first saber she had held... her and Airleas used to steal her brothers saber all the time and play with it... much to his distress. As he blind folded and lead her to a training room, she could hear the hum of the remote...

 

She stood there alone, she could feel Faust in the room with her, but he had backed away from her and suddenly she could hear the shots being fired... She felt awkward with the Saber, and she preferred a blaster... the first few shots missed her by chance, and then the remote started getting a bit more accurate and she missed more then she hit... and Faust was right, they were painful...

 

She tried to stay calm and focus, to know where the next shot was going to come from, but the harder she tried, the less she could see... she swung the saber hap hazardly, and only luck had her hit a few of the shots...

 

After what seemed like hours to Reagan, the pain of the shots continuiously hitting her... she knew her skin must be red and swollen, and her one leg was going numb from the repeat hits... finally, the leg gave out, and she went down to her hands and knees... she screamed from frustration and exhaustion... Why can't I do this... what am I doing wrong? She screamed at herself in her mind... not even realizing that faust had to have heard her scream it too...

[Vladimir Faust]

Faust watches calmly, occasionally stepping aside to avoid one of the rare and few deflected blasts.

 

When all is said and done, he calls the remote back to his hand and sets it aside. "It was a beginning," he observes cooly, showing no emotion, though when he examines Reagan's injuries there is some sign of care. The silence and lack of any real aubile noise speaks volumes in and of it self.

 

"You need to gain better focus, to channel what you feel," he says finally. "I'm dissapointed, but I know you'll do better next time."

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan didn't look at him... she stayed on the ground... more for the fact that she could not stand up on the one leg at the moment, her pride not letting her ask for help. She was angry with herself, and ashamed that she had fail Faust... A beginning... there was an understatement... if felt more like a total failing... but he was right about one thing... it would not happen again... if she had to do this in her sleep, she would not fail this test again...

 

It was like a hand around her heart to hear him say he was disappointed... after a few minutes, she slowly got up... it was a more painful experience then she thought... and her one leg was swollen and red from the laser shots... she finally lifted her eyes to meet Faust's... "You're right, it won't happen again... "

[Vladimir Faust]

Faust readjusts the blindfold on her. "Then prove it to me my love..." he challanges fiercely. "Make me proud." Faust steps back and once more the remote begins its assault. Looking full on Reagan's face, he knew she would do better. She might not achieve perfection, but in her heart of hearts, stinging, she would not dissapoint.

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan stood there until she heard the hum of the remote again... she calmed herself and turned her body so that her right side was facing away from the remote... at least for the moment... she didn't think that leg could take many more hits...

 

She heard the first shot, and closed her eyes under the blindfold... she thought about nothing except focusing on that remote... she moved without knowing where she was going, and swung the saber with a bit more precision then earlier... she was still getting hit, but at least was protecting her right side... she was effectively keeping that remote always on her left...

 

After what seemed like forever, and quite a few more injuries, the remote shut down... she was breathing hard, but she was still standing up... she shut the saber down and started to pull off the blindfold... she was still favoring the right side and she was more then a little worried about looking over at Faust... she didn't want to see his disappointment in her again...

[Vladimir Faust]

"Good," Faust's comes up from behind Reagan as he removes the blindfold, spinning her around to kiss her. He picks her up and carries her away, smiling. "You may have taken more hits, but you controlled the situation at least. You made the remote your own for a few times. In the future perfection will be needed- your life will depend on it." He pockets his saber back, tucking the blindfold into his pocket as well. "And yes, dear," he continues, holding her in his arms. "I am proud of you for what you did. I'll expected better still from you yet though," he nudges.

 

Faust smirks, knowing what's waiting down there, leading Reagan to the medical bay to have her wounds treated. The doctors patch her up, working double shift under the Hunter's eyes. A doctor walks up to Faust to inform him of the Jedi's condition, but he already knows.

 

"Yes, yes," he begins, his attention still on Reagan. "Hallucinations and the like... I'm well aware of it... I only wish I could see what they were," he chortles. "I'm sure we can give her worse." He offers a hand to Reagan, as if offering to take her on a date. "Shall we?"

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan let him carry her at that point since she was not actually sure how she was standing but she knew that if she had tried to walk, the ground would have come up to say hello to her rather quickly... The medics worked quickly, and Reagan felt much better... at least the swelling was going down...

 

She sat up on the bed, and accepted Faust's hand... "I would be honored... " she replied, as if she was accepting an offer for a date... Her leg was still tender, but they had told her it would be perfect in a few hours... she had a bacta patch on her right thigh where she had taken repeated hits...

 

she walked with Faust out of the medical wing, and followed him down the corridor.

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

During the hours she was left to her own devices, Ara spent most of the time sleeping, until her body was fully rested, though her mind was still a little frazzled, to say the least. Faust and Reagan still hadn't come to see her again, so she did what she could to pass the time until they came for a "visit."

 

Currently, she was using her newfound talent to create a small "puppet" show for herself, which she so simply had named, Jedi and Sith. So far, she had gotten herself through her own lifeline as a Jedi to where she had met Faust atop the roof of the Coruscant academy.

 

"The hunter came to kill his prey:

A Jedi girl with eyes of gray

He called her out to meet her doom

Else all her friends he would entomb!"

 

The mini-Faust puppet danced gracefully across the floor, which was now the roof of the academy for Ara's purposes. Ara floated her version of herself onto the roof with a very clumsy stumble to her feet, tripping over her own robe.

 

"The leader nobly met his call

Despite the feeling she would fall

The two, they cast their cloaks aside

Beginning the fight to turn the tide."

 

As proclaimed in song, mini-Faust tossed his elegant white cloak across the room, letting it fall where it may. Mini-Ara did much the same, and the two cloaks disappeared as Ara continued her melody.

 

"Grandly they fought a battle so great

Everyone saw as they dueled to their fate

The young Jedi girl lost her eyes so kind

While the Hunter continued attacking her mind."

 

Ara winced with a shudder as mini-Faust tore mini-Ara's eyes out and threw them somewhere across the room, mini-Faust laughing hideously as he did. His miniscule voice rang out in the tones of Ara's lost padawans as he threw himself at her Force shield. Ara took a deep breath and continued her entertainment.

 

"The Jedi would not give up just yet

She yelled out and screamed, not willing to bet

Two hair adornments would finish the duel

Exploding inside the hunter so cruel."

 

Again, Ara grimaced largely as the final scene of the battle played itself out: mini-Faust pulled out a disruptor pistol, and mini-Ara shouted the command for the hair sticks to fire off. Mini-Faust's insides came out, and mini-Ara's left side was burnt to a near crisp. A miniature version of the Bhelliom swiped Faust away, leaving the mini-Ara to sink to her knees, watching with her mind's eye as the ship took away the broken Hunter.

 

"Her side left burnt, the hunter dead

The young Jedi girl cried out in dread,

'I'd have saved you myself if given the chance

I never thought that I'd live through this dance..."

 

Ara had mini-Ara fall over to the ground, the small eyes rolling to the puppet's hand. Ara sighed and changed the scene to after she had been healed and the funeral had began, reconstructing the cathedral's insides on the floor in front of her to as much detail as she could recall.

 

"The hunter had left a wife and a son

As well as a sister all thought was gone

The Jedi girl came, as well as her friends

She wanted to ask for some sort of amends."

 

Mini-Reagan, standing next to mini-Anna at the front of the cathedral, smacked mini-Ara across the face. Mini-Anna held her back, seeming to apologize for the woman's misgivings, but mini-Ara bowed as solemnly as a puppet could. Mini-Andon, standing next to mini-Ara, looked on, brooding as much as a small mannequin could. Another deep breath.

 

"But in truth the Hunter hadn't died

His 'sister' and his wife had simply lied

To capture the Jedi and to make her pay

For what had happened that fateful day."

 

Mini-Ara was quickly knocked out as mini-Anna revealed herself to be mini-Faust in a brilliant disguise, leaving the cathedral to attack the small inhabitants. Mini-Reagan and mini-Faust quickly disappeared through a "hole" in the floor, dragging mini-Ara along with them. Ara's eyes closed as the scene changed to the most recent scene of torture, mini-Reagan standing by the rack as mini-Faust and an even smaller mini-Jarret looked on.

 

"They had her trapped, tied down to see

What kinds of pain they could give her--with glee

They poked her and cut her, threw rum on her head

Whatever they could do without making her dead."

 

And so, as had happened before, mini-Reagan tossed a bucket on mini-Ara's head before breaking a few random joints and stabbing the puppet with a knife, all while laughing gleefully. It was at this point that Ara stopped the show for a moment, and all the puppets looked at her expectantly. Ara looked back at them, blinking slowly, before she sighed, exasperated. "This is harder than you think!"

 

The Reagan puppet threw a knife in the real Ara's direction, but Ara made it disappear with a few select notes and another sigh. "Fine, fine. Gimme a second." Mini-Reagan nodded, and Ara took another long, deep breath, steadying herself for what was coming.

 

"The Jedi girl lived, despite all the pain

In the path of the Light, she still remained

A question she asked, just wanting to know

What had made the great hunter hate her so.

 

The hunter responded in a way so cruel

That the reason he hated her was because of the duel

Her pity, her sorrow, her selfless heart

Her naivete, her love, they had all played a part.

 

So he cut her and beat her, shocked her as well

He left her half dead, in a new sort of Hell

He'd continue to do so, he threatened again

Until she turned to his will, or died by his hand."

 

Ara couldn't watch as her puppets re-enacted this scene on their own, spattering blood everywhere, the puppet-Ara's screams filling the small room. Ara quickly shifted the scene to her own current state, the puppet now sitting next to her in the room, leaning against the same wall. The two looked at each other with a sad smile and a small sigh. All the puppets and props faded into nothing as Ara stared at the ceiling, not looking at anything in particular.

 

"And now she sits, waiting on them

To come and to torture her yet again

The Jedi can only hope that they'll see

That she means what she says, despite what it seems..."

 

She laid herself down on the floor, closing her eyes, the small show having entertained her to a point, but making her exhausted again. Soon enough, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, snoring softly on the hard floor.

[Vladimir Faust]

As Faust walks an Imperial technician runs along side him, giving Faust something in a syringe. Faust examines the nearly luminous black liquid and smiles, going so far as to actually inject himself with a sample of the foul fluid.

 

"Authentic enough," he congratulates the technician. "Not up to ancient potencies since most of those arts were lost to the sands of time, but a start./Perhaps in the future we can make it more powerful. Give my thanks to the Dark Lord and his minions the next time they are around for their help on this." The technician merely balks and scurries away, not exactly pleased with being forced into interaction with such fearsome beings. Faust resists injecting himself further, feeling the hate course through his viens. He had taken one trip down that road before and it nearly ruined him. He committed his most infamous acts yet... Still, he did not want to lose himself.

 

"A small drug," he explains to Reagan, "Sith Poison- pure dark side. It has minor degenerative qualities, but infuses a person with anger and the power of hatred. Used in ancient times to turn Jedi to the proper path." Faust gives Reagan a serious look. "Despite any temptations you may have about using it in your training, it will not help you grow more powerful. It will give you focus perhaps, but it is a drug and a self-destructive one. That is why," he grins, "it's best used on others." Faust pats Reagan gently on the shoulder. "I have one last test I believe that will drive our dear Jedi over the edge... and it will give you a chance to practice your telekenetic powers as well." He holds out the small needle. "This show will be... amusing."

 

*****

 

When Ara wakes up next she feels something poking into her, as if she had fallen asleep in a bed of needles. With each pin prick of pain, there is a sharp surge of anger in her. To her horror she finds herself buried knee deep in a vat of syringes full of the inky black venom Faust used on himself. The sides of the pit are lined with what looks like tiny key holes, above each of them a monitor. If she looked straight up, she would see, glaring down at them through a thick, glasteel barrier, Faust and Reagan themselves, the former smiling madly.

 

"Hello!" Faust calls, "look on up here Ara. It's time for another game. I wouldn't want to remove those eyes of your a third time now!" Faust chuckles. "I'm offering you a final test of sorts. Those needles are filled with Sith poison. You may have heard of it before. It will make you very angry, probably at me no doubt. It causes nearly uncontrollable urges towards the Dark side. Unfortunately because of your mask, that anger and hatred will just build up with no release, so you're in a bit of a double bind... I'm afraid if I removed it after you were done, you'd fry yourself alive with your own Sith lightning..."

 

At that he whispers into Reagan's ear, "Feel free to throw her around and levitate a few of those needles into her. Remember my love, have fun and keep up the good work."

 

He looks down and continues. "You'll have two minutes to find 20 keys hidden at the bottom of that pit- like finding hay in a needlestack. You will get stabbed if you do and you'll probably get very angry, but I think you'll find it preferable to the alternative." The monitors blink on and another horrible sight manifests- Slaves with collars around their necks in groups of five. "You have six seconds per key, and each key must be put into the correct slot, deactivating the explosives in the collars of those five slaves. Doing so will keep those collars from exploding in two minutes time, killing those with still active collars. You have one hundred lives at stake here and you have 20 chances to save them... I doubt you'll find all of them, and you'll probably come out looking like a porcupine in the end, but if you can do it... I might even let you go free."

 

He glances back and forth between Ara and Reagan, then as a timer projects itself in red LED on the glasteel, he makes an announcement to both ladies. "You may begin."

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan looked down at Ara's predicament and smiled... She looked very uncomfortable... Reagan listened to Faust as he spoke to her and nodded her understanding of his directions to her...

 

She watched Ara's plight, and focus'd her mind into the pit... she closed her eyes, and saw all the needles... in her mind she grabbed one of the needles, and threw it at Ara... hitting her in the leg... she opened her eyes, and looked and heard the Jedi yelp a second then look up at Reagan angrily... hmmm, that wasn't to hard...

 

She watched the Jedi for a few second searching for the keys... she was doing a fine job of stabbing herself with the needles... Reagan's chore was just for the fun of it...

 

She focused her mind on the needles again, this time keeping her eyes open, and grabbed on and threw it into the Jedi's back...

 

As the time ticked by, Reagan threw a few more needles at the Jedi... watching the effects of the poison... As she got more and more keys, Reagan focused on Ara, and tried to do what she did with the knife, and thought about Ara falling backwards... and suddenly, she was pushed backwards onto her rump... lots of needles sticking her...

 

The look that Ara shot up at her... Reagan had to laugh... and looked over at Faust... "Well, I think she is going to hate me at the moment... "

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

Ara had moments to level her mind as the poison began to work through her arteries and veins, anger rising in her as she began her task. She wasn't sure how to go about it except to start digging and to try and ignore the fury in her brain. She tossed needles aside, tunneling through the pokes and pricks to try and find the first key. Ara half-sang to herself as she dug through the needles, and managed to find the first one, but couldn't guess which keyhole to put it in.

 

During her frantic half-singing, her puppet representation floated up through the pile of needles, grabbed the key, and stuck it in the keyhole to Ara's direct left. The collars on the slaves seemed to click off, leaving them with a sigh of relief. Ara glanced at her small double, her eyelids twitching angrily as she tried to tamp down her madness. The two caught each others' eyes as the puppet Andon and the blue-eyed spider rose up next to her as well.

 

The four nodded and went to quick work to find the rest of the keys, the three puppets floating through the needles like vapors as Ara jabbed herself repeatedly on the needles, her notes slowly getting louder with every jolt. When she was thrown on her backside, her singing commands squeaking as she glared at Reagan's smiling face. She went back to her work, her mind boiling, her veins throbbing.

 

Can't get--got to keep--not right--

 

Six keys had been found, the spider outdoing the others by grabbing and using two keys at a time. Ara had tears flowing freely from her gray eyes, struggling simply to focus on saving the prisoners, not caring much for her own welfare.

 

Why should I--they never did anything for me--or TO me!

 

Thirteen keys, Ara's voice rose, sounding like a dirge of the fiercest kind, chanting a mantra of finding keys, saving slaves, and random grunts and noises aimed at her tormentors and those who had wronged her in the past.

 

Fiends! Selfish! Horrid! Cruel! But still--

 

Nineteen keys, and at this point, Ara was screaming through gritted teeth just to drown out her own thoughts. Her face and whole entire body was flushed a rosy pink, betraying the absolutely furious chaos within her body and mind. The four were digging through the needles, searching for the last key, mere seconds left of the clock, the red digits taunting her, the last of the pitiful slaves screaming just loud enough to be heard over Ara's own ranting and raving.

 

I can't--it's not--I won't--I'd just as soon kill myself--I WILL kill--

 

The four all laid their hands on the last key at the exact same moment, four sets of eyes locking as they lifted it up, the clicking of the key turning in the slot just as the last second ticked down louder than even Ara's guttural screams. The task done, her job finished, Ara wailed as loud as she could, her voice giving out just as she finished her sentence:

 

"I won't!"

 

Her chest heaved, and her eyes bulged, whereupon she vomited, the black-brown substance pouring out from every orafice in the mask. Ara continued to heave, her body purging itself as best as it could of the Sith's poison, yet every movement bringing more of the poison into her system. Her mask reaked of the vomit, her mind and body hurt from the needles and the anger, but through it all, her soul prevailed, just as it always was.

 

In between heaves, Ara glared defiantly up at her captors, the black vomit dripping from her mask as she mouthed, From the day I was born 'til the day I die! The pure, almost holy fire of her soul was still in her eyes as her body threw itself forward, almost killing itself in its effort to get the rest of the poison out of her body as she pulled the leftover needles from her limbs.

 

LET IT LEAVE!

[Vladimir Faust]

Faust admires Reagan's amused, detached progress towards hindering Ara, taking a small savage pleasure equalled by the Jedi's frantic diving into the black pit. "I certainly hope she does," Faust chuckles after Reagan's comment.

 

After three keys, Faust was amused, thinking nothing of them other than lucky finds. After six he was feeling concerned. By the eleventh key he was visible pissed, his face blackening to a thundercloud by the time she reached sixteen keys and saved 80 of the prisoners from a grisly demise.

 

At that point, he could see her struggles, trying without the force to reach out, purge the poison in her system and find those keys. Though she could still not focus it, he could see her aura turning a shifting swirl of pure black and white, each threatening to eclipse the other completely in a great battle, far more epic than the two minutes would seem to allow. The pent up energies would have simply killed a lesser person by this point, giving Faust a grudging admiration.

 

That only made his personal hatred burn brighter.

 

At nineteen, Faust was in disbelief... then as it turned, Faust, for the second time in dealing with the Jedi Master after his near fatal accident, was surprised.

 

She had done it.

 

Faust's face paled, his plans going awry... Once more he was forced to ask how could this be?

 

LET IT LEAVE!

 

"Yes," he whispered, "let it."

 

Perhaps if only twenty-five or so of those prisoners died, Faust would have carried through on his statement they would live. But upset, foiled, and hating to the last, he vowed to do something.

 

This time though, unlike on the Jedi Temple's roof, he was in power. His hand snaked out to a small device on his belt. With cruel, malicious intent, he pressed a small, rounded red button.

 

At once, all 100 collars activated, and then exploded at once. Faust was a sore loser.

 

The men, women, and children, ranging from toddlers to the elderly but firm all gave what sounded like a single scream as their heads erupted into red fountains. Faust felt their pain, confusion, anger, and fear and he laughed.

 

Though scattered and unable to focus her powers, Ara was forced to feel it as well. Less than half a second after she cried out in rage in pain, the one thing Faust knew was anathema to her- the suffering of others because of her actions, assailed her.

 

The screams were intense. With a furious yell of his own, he drew out his saber and, violently pushing Reagan back off the glasteel floor, flung it down at his nemesis below at the height of her agony of body, mind, and soul.

 

The glasteel cracked and guided by Faust's hateful will, it streaked down and severed the mask in two. The hunter leapt back, summoning his weapon to him as down below, the world came to an end.

 

As Faust predicted, the anger, hatred, and rage built up below was too much for any body to contain. Even if her spirit willed it with great adamant battlements, her mind and body snapped, broken assunder under the dark tidal wave that took on a malignant will of its own. Below, a veritable force storm errupted in a blazing inferno of dark energy. Ara's involuntary scream rose to a pitch that was almost beyond human levels. At the brink of the pit, Faust covered Reagan, shielding his eyes from the blinding levels of light coming out of that pit.

 

When it ended, he looked down. Ara was lying face up, beyond consciousness in a pool of melted metal, glass, and the bubbling Sith Poison which now flowed easily in and out of her beyond broken body. Her eyes were vaccant in a way that startled Faust- it was as if her body and mind, corrupted beyond recall, forced her spirit into exile. This absolute negation frightened even him, being beyond all realms of evil even he had dealt with.

 

Needless to say he was pleased. Very pleased.

 

*****

 

The Imperial response was swift, seeing the results of Faust's actions. The hunter was a bit burned by the storm he let loose, but Reagan was safe and that was all that mattered. Ara was quickly remasked and her body was dumped into a bacta tank a day and a half before she was conscious again.

 

Faust, with Reagan by his side, hovered over an Imperial technician who studied the Jedi's wounded body. His conclusion was delightful in a way that pleased Faust in a very unexpected way.

 

"Her mind is totally gone... her body is stuck at the brink, though it will slowly heal on its own. The pressures in there had to have destroyed any trace of sanity she had left. She will be comatose for some time as her mind tries to purge the emotional scaring you left. If the mental damage was physical, you'd have skinned her clean to the bone and worn that away even, so I can't even begin to express how bad this looks. When she can finally awake, there's no telling how deep the madness will express itself... though you've pithed the essence of her sanity. Judging by her earlier regression, we can expect child like symptoms for an unknown period. Walking may be out of the question, and speaking is a big unknown as well..." The psychologist shakes his head. "I've dealt with mental patients from even the worst of the Empire's experiments on sentient beings, stuff that might even turn you pale," he states bluntly, "but after thirty years I've never seen any after effects or damage like this before, ever."

 

Faust stares at the strapped in and almost lifeless looking Jedi's body, looking into those hauntingly vacant eyes, bits of vomit and drool dribbling down her wide open, almost permantently gaping mouth.

 

"Splendid." Faust whispers, feeling the force ebb away as a ysalmari on a nutrient frame is wheeled in as an extra precaution. He turns to Reagan, giving a low smile. "Shall we toast to our friend's health?" he asks. "I think she's of no more use here. A pity really since I had all sorts of fun things planned yet." He puts his arm around her and leads her out of the medical bay. "We should discuss how to return her to her friends... if they're still alive. I can't wait to show them what lies in store for them... Then perhaps we can discuss for Jarrett and the daughter, and how does the name Camilla suit you, the possibility of..."

[Reagan McGreggor]

Reagan smiled at Faust... "I would love to have a drink with you... so are we leaving? "

 

She was tired... but exilerated at the same time... she looked over at the Jedi and wondered how that sith poison felt... she had see Faust take it as well... while she trusted him totally and would not try it herself... she wondered if it really could help her focus more...

 

She looked down at the floor a moment, remembering the disappointment in his eyes at the failure she made of the remote test... she would not have that again... she was angry at herself for that failure... and it was one she would never make again...

 

She looked up at him when he started talking about their daugther... touching his face she smiled up at him... "You can name her anything you want... Camillia is a beautiful name... I named Jarrett, and it is only fair you name your daughter... as long as you are with me this time... I am happy." She stopped for a moment and squeezed his hand... "I think we should honor your sister as well... Camillia Anastasia... she will always be apart of our family then... and never forgotten... "

 

She wondered if suggesting that would hurt him to much...

[Capt. Phillep]

A strange alert erupts in the Imperial Academy Compound. A call for Commissioned Officers comes in. Officer-ranks and above. The Naval Commanders and Fighter Pilots are all boarded into several Troop Transports and the ship enters hyperspace.

 

12 Squad Leaders and 10 Ship Captains... along with support staff.