A man, broken from within (ask for invite)

[Nefertari Sovint]

Nef stood there shocked, unsure what to do. She didn't want Gherron to get hurt, or for him to hurt anyone else..fine, if these two men wanted to knock each other senseless, she would let that happen. Of course, she wouldn't let things get too out of hand.

When [member="Gherron Vael"] threw his weapon, Nefertari telekinetically called it to her.
"I shall take care of this until you recover your sanity."

She looked to Gherron's master
"Do what you must, Master Dragonsflame"

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"], [member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron continued to punch the man under him with all of his might, and a tiny grin showed itself in his madness. The smile was instantly wiped off his face when he received a knee to the jaw, causing him to bite his tongue and spit out blood. He raised a fist to strike again, but was sent back by a strong current of force energy, and winced as he hit the back wall hard. Watching the other side of the room, he saw DragonsFlame yelling at Vulpesen, then socking him in the jaw, which gave Gherron a little leeway, which he used to right himself again and head back towards the master. Balling his fists again, the remark from the Jedi barely registered in his head as he threw his fist in his direction, using it as a conduit to send a powerful force push at the man. Following this, he charged once again, aiming to smack him around some more.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"]

 

[Vulpesen]

This was not a boy. No matter how Dagonsflame saw him, Vulpesen had grown up. In a way, he had even evolved.This was not the young master of the jedi. This was the leader of the Vitae Alliance and master of the Tenevi Order. And this man thought he could simply punch him? As if he were a whelp and new to the battlefield? Joshua wanted to call him a traitor, he didn't care. All he cared about was his duty to protect life, freedom, and unity. He had done what he did and now was not the time to ague his reasons.

As the fist came forward, Vulpesen's upper body lurched to the side, allowing the fist to fly harmlessly by his head. And if Joshua thought it was so easy to shrug off the skill he had practiced for years, then hew as ready to show that his practice by fire was not in vain. The hand that had previously been meant to keep Joshua in place went to try a different method. While his head was in motion, show was his right arm. The hand placed itself right at Joshua's midsection and issued a powerful burst, driving an invisible fist into the man's gut.

Now for [member="Gherron Vael"]. He had not forgotten about him and while he had to take focus off of him for a moment, his strike took just that, a moment. No more. "Stop." His left hand reached back again and Gherron would find that same force exerted, flinging him to the durasteel of the ship. He didn't want to fight both of them, but Gherron was increasingly unstable and if they had a hope of subduing him without death, then he'd toss the other master out the airlock. At least Gherron's mind was breaking. He could be fixed. [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] however, seemed to be morphing to darkness without a break, or realization.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

(KO done at Gherron's request)

It didn't matter what Vulpesen was the leader of now, by his actions, it was clear that he had not changed one bit from the fool who had broken the promise he'd made Josh and left his Padawan to rot, betraying them all for the Sith. He was the same idiot who Josh had lambasted for his idioticy, for the sake of reality checking him onto the right path. There was always a method to Josh's madness after all, and he wouldn't yell like he had without a reason. Actually, it was rare he raised his voice at all, much less without a good reason. He was generally much too laid back and easygoing to do so.

The attack of [member="Vulpesen"] would be countered with a quick Force Wave, sending the other Master back. That gave Josh the opportunity to see the attack of [member="Gherron Vael"] coming, at first flying back when he fired the Force Push at him, but getting his footing back quickly and waiting for him to charge. At the very last moment, he would fire off another hard punch, just like before, hitting his former Padawan square in the temple and knocking Gherron out cold to the floor.

For a moment, he just stared down at Gherron's unconscious form. His fierce gaze softened. This had been twice he'd been forced to do that... Twice he'd tried so hard to bring Gherron back to his senses, only to fail and have no choice but to strike his own pupil. It hurt him. It hurt more then anyone would ever know. His fists started to shake, and a first sight for anyone in the room, tears would start to fall from the Jedi Master's eyes as his head lowered, his hair covering his eyes for the moment.

"Damnit Gherron... This is twice now... I... I wish I could have been able to stop this..." The Jedi Master would choke out, tears rolling down his cheeks as his knuckles turned a ghastly pale white. "I should have been a better teacher, I should have known better... Trained you better, kept you from ever turning to this path... And even when you did, I should have been able to bring you back to your senses... I thought I could, but I couldn't..."

The Jedi would speak the next few words in a near whisper.

"I failed you... And I'm sorry..."

He wiped his eyes, and with his face mostly covered by his hair, his gaze turned toward [member="Nefertari Sovint"] as he would speak again.

"... Take him back to the table. Let me know if he loses control again. If he does, don't let anyone kill him... We'll try again"

And with that, he walked away. He needed a little time to think.

It seemed that, despite all the harsh training, all the harsh lectures he had given Gherron... Deep down, he cared deeply for his former Padawan. To him, Gherron was his star pupil, a success story that he was more then proud of, more then Gherron would ever know. The side he'd shown now was one he tried to keep far away from anyone. A pity, he thought, that he couldn't continue to.

But he'd shown that deep down, he cared. And he wasn't going to give up on his former pupil just yet.

He didn't before, he wouldn't now.

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Nefertari carried her love back. She wished she could help, but what could she do now? The man Nef knew was trapped beneath this layer of putrid darkness.

The lady took the light side artifact around her neck and put it on Gherron. If the smallest light shines in the dark, then this would hopefully lend some support to her friend. Hopefully enough to bring the real [member="Gherron Vael"] out for just enough time to figure out how to further help him.

Nef certainly was no healer, but she would do all she could. For now, all that Nefertari could do was sit with Gherron and wait to see what would happen next.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"], [member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron slept like the dead. Once he had been knocked unconscious for the second time, his breathing would be very low, and his vitals just barely showing through, only just enough to say that he was alive. He was tired, physically, mentally, and spiritually. In the last few days, he'd been so out of control that his body was now racked with pain everywhere, which wasn't immidiately evident, but could be seen by those willing to look; his hands shook constantly, and his face was beaded with sweat. However, the wound on his best seemed to finally be dissapating, as if the last outburst had used up the last of its own energy. Perhaps the artifact that now hung around his neck, as well as the tusk necklace given to him by a friend of his was also helping, siphoning the darkness out of him. Either way, on the inside, Gherron slept peacefully for the first time in months.

He dreamed of Tython, his old place of refuge, over by the waterfall he had meditated by so many times as a padawan. In the dream, he opened his eyes to find himself in the middle of the small lake thay was overlooked by the waterfall. From the tiny island he sat on, he took a deep breath and smiled. Finally, he was at peace. Looking down, he touched the small crystal on his neck, wondering how it got there. Didn't it belong to Nef? Maybe she was helping him outside his body... watching over him. The thought pleased him, until he remembered the look of sadness on Josh's face just before he passed out. A look of complete sadness, hopelessness. To his knowledge, Gherron had never seen such a look on his old master's face. He'd done that, and he'd have to live with that. "Come on, lighten up. It's not like the world's ending."

Gherron turned to look at the source of the voice, and was surprised to see his younger self, garbed in pristine Jedi padawan robes and a braid flowing down over his shoulder. The sparkle of adventure still hung in his eyes, like he was ready to take on the galaxy. This was Gherron before the struggle of pain, before he'd become hardened by battle and trials. The younger Gherron continued to speak. "You've been through a lot, but it's not over man. You've got to keep pushing. You should know that better than anyone." The older Gherron shook his head and looked down at the ground. "But I've screwed up bad this time... I've hurt my friends. I've hurt Nef. I can't face up to that right now." The younger looked over the older a few times then, understanding. "Then you know what to do. You know better than most the quality of a little alone time." With that, the padawan walked away, leaving the knight standing there. And then he woke up.

Looking around him, Gherron found himself on a bed, his hands and feet restrained. For good reason too, he thought. Searching the room with his eyes, he immediately spied the person he was looking for. "Nef..."

[member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Xander Carrick"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

"Nef..." came the sound

Nef perked up and looked into Gherron's eyes. The hellish red was gone, and they were back to his usual steel grey.

Tears of pure joy came to Nefertari's eyes as she noticed the blackness receding.
"Gherron, my darling, are you back to your normal self?"

Nef wanted to set her love free and hold him, but couldn't bring herself to put everything at risk. First Gherron would have to truthfully answer her. Nobody wanted him going completely berserk again; especially Nef.

[member="Gherron Vael"], [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"], [member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron tried for a smile upon hearing his love's voice, for her sake. It was so good to be back in control of his own body... but he didn't know if he could trust himself enough to stay that way for long. "I'm fine... but let's wait for Josh to get back, I trust him more than myself right now to handle things." A flashback from the fight some time earlier came to him then; the chaos he had caused. He winced then, and forced himself to look away from Nef's gaze. "I... I hurt you..." Above everything else, that one fact solidified it in Gherron's head what he had to do. It would hurt, but it was the only way. Keeping his thoughts to himself, he sighed softly and reached his shackled hand upward, trying to take Nef's in it. He needed to be close to her one last time.

[member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Nefertari took Gherron's hand in her own.

"I do not blame you for what happened, Gherron. My body will recover from it. So long as the Force is with us, I desire to be with you."

Nef leaned in to kiss her lover. As she did so, the sound of an astromech echoed through the corridor. A second later, a black R7 sped into the room and went right up to Gherron.

"Aw, what a cute droid." Nef remarked "Gherron, haven't I seen this little astromech around with you?"

Nefertari wanted to be close to the man she loved for as long as possible. What was coming around the bend, she couldn't guess at.

[member="Gherron Vael"], [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"], [member="Vulpesen"]​

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

"Sparks!" Gherron was greeted by a series of jubilous beeps and whirrs. The astromech spun around a few times, clearly happy to see his master. "He must have stowed away on your ship, clever little guy. This is R7-242, I call him Sparky, for reasons I'm sure he will be happy to show you." He watched the droid as it made a sound eerily close to that of a snicker, as it unleashed a small arm with a taser at the end. The edge of its dome lot up with electricity as well as the end of the arm once it was activated. Gherron laughed as R7 put his toy away. "I'm glad to see you,you little coal mine." The comment seemed random and corny, but it was obvious Gherron and the droid had been through a lot together, and that he honestly cared for it.

[member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"You're well then, Gherron?"

The Jedi Master had finally made his way back, walking over to the two. He noted the presence of Gherron's droid, and nodded a bit, a small smile crossing his lips. He had an R-series unit himself that he was close with, though the droid had some... Kinks in it, though that could also just be it's way of teasing him. He threatened a memory wipe once in awhile, but he couldn't do that, the droid was just too fun to have around, and they were too close to do that. So he wasn't surprised that Gherron's droid had stowed away. Josh's would have done the same thing.

His gaze returned to the couple. "I see you've regained your senses, Gherron. Do you remember the events of the last day?" Josh would inquire.

[member="Gherron Vael"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron put on a more somber tone when Josh walked into the room, and averted his gaze from the man. When asked about the day before, he stumbled. "I... yes. Some of it. It's all in bits and pieces. I wasn't in control of myself... But I am now. It's up to you whether I should be released or not." He stayed quiet for a moment then, not sure if he wanted to know the answer to what he was about to ask. Building up the courage, he fired off the question like one would rip off a bandage. "How many did I hurt?" He finally managed to meet Josh's gaze, and his eyes were those of a pleading man. "Is anyone dead because of me? Don't lie, because i'll know." He wasn't even sure if the threat was necessary; Josh wouldn't lie to him, he was sure. But he had to know.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh listened to Gherron's report, and nodded in response. "Suppose that's a better report then I expected" He joked with a light smile. "Welcome back to the world of the sane, even if somewhat, Gherron" Josh would crack. To his question, he shook his head. As rash and headstrong as Gherron could be, there were many times that Josh saw himself - and his own teachings - in Gherron. This was one of those times. "Nobody died" The Jedi Master would promise. He would loosen his robes some to reveal a deep gash on his left arm, from a lightsaber. It wasn't bleeding anymore, and it looked as though he'd gone and tended to it at some point after Gherron had passed out.

"You got me good though" The Jedi Master would crack with a cheeky grin crossing his face, and a laugh escaping him.

He'd inform Gherron of his release situation soon, after his response, most likely.

[member="Gherron Vael"]