A Strange Favour [Enigma]

[Josh Dragovalor]

And that was exactly what he wanted. To make sure that he could be the paragon of the light side that he dreamt of being. He was so close. On his own merits, he was nigh unbreakable, and Circe was finding this out firsthand right now. But... He knew Circe would break it eventually. Circe was a manipulator, a vixxen, and a poor excuse for a decent human being who gave her own husband up to the Sith just to gain a little title and a little bit of power. She had corrupted his own brother, destroyed the life of and quite possibly killed his best friend, and he would never forgive her. By all means, Circe was evil, and was likely only using even him for her own ends right now, hoping to corrupt him.

And that was exactly why he had picked Circe Savan. Not Enigma. Not Jentara. Not Vanessa. Not Twinkle Twinkle Disguise Schutta. Circe. He needed someone to temporarily allow him to give in to his anger. Because most likely... Nobody else would be able to. The manipulator had become the manipulated, but right now, that wasn't his concern. He felt no pity for not telling Circe why he was trying to do this. Quite frankly, her reward was him not killing her on the spot for destroying his family. She should be thankful, because unlike her former apprentice, despite him being a Jedi, Josh DragonsFlame would be the ultimate hand of irony as he would not hesitate, would show no mercy in cutting down someone who had taken away the only family he had left. He would gladly cut off her head given the circumstances. But she would be spared for now, if she could help him. That was reward enough for Circe.

Still, he couldn't help but laugh when Circe complained that even a shot of Sith Poison wouldn't corrupt him. It was interesting to think that his commitment to his tenants had made him so powerful in ways that no Jedi could possibly imagine. To be immune to Sith Poison without any sort of magic or Sith Alchemy, or any genetic modifications was incredibly rare, he wasn't sure if he had heard of it happening before.

And then she spoke of Daella being an infiltrator, and instead of growling or seeming hurt... He laughed. Why? Because he knew it... He had suspected it, that Daella was a double agent. Merely a spy. One that would turn on the Sith as quickly as she had turned on the Jedi. He couldn't wait until Circe found that out firsthand...

And to make him laugh the hardest? Her attempt at provoking him. Once he had gotten his bearings though, he would stare dead into her eyes.

".... That's the thing. You're not a woman in my eyes" He spoke, a sly smile starting to cross his lips. "You stopped being the definition of a human woman when you gave up your own husband for power. You became a monster. And a monster... I'll happily slap to kingdom come"

It seemed Circe would break into a fit of anger before he did.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

She stayed resolute as he spoke. "I never sent Jak down the path of damnation - that was due to a series of unnecessary circumstances. And well... He's quite the rarity. I don't normally fall for a handsome, charming guy like him. Besides - what's the issue? It's not like your brother is dead as a doornail." A smile crossed her lips - family had to be the one thing that would turn him. "A pity... He failed at harnessing the Dark Side, just like you - just a twisted shell of a man."

She continued her evil smile. "Ooooo, I'll bet that makes you so horrifically angry, doesn't it? Knowing your brother will never be the same again because of what I did for him... Release that anger. Let it flow from your fingertips towards me."

If she could get him to conjure Force Lightning, he would be well on his way.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Ah, she went there.

He was waiting for that. He stared at her for a moment, after she decided to insult his family, insult what she had done to his brother. But... The way she said it, it felt too... Fake. She was being obvious with her lies. She didn't even try. Of course, it hadn't helped that he had fought the younger DragonsFlame before, but... Her fibs were obvious by the overdramatic "ooooo", and how blatant and corny it seemed. He couldn't even get angry over that, it was FUNNY. And he laughed. He laughed over at her. It was as if she was trying to be some kind of villain from a childrens cartoon with the overfaked laugh and the big black mustache.

And the sad part? It'd have totally worked if she'd tried with it.

He was still tempted to slap her off her podium for going there regardless though.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

And while he was laughing, she did the one thing, completely unexpected. Something she figured he would never bet on being something that her mental synapses would order her lithe musculature to do. Whilst he experienced the brief stupor of comedy, She would raise a hand and, with as much force as she could muster, she would slap the ever-loving poodoo out of him.

"Pathetic."

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

That wasn't a very good idea.

His laughter had stopped the moment that Circe had hit him with a hard, forceful slap. Now, it was hard to tell if Josh was angry or not over this, but there was certainly a flare up as the moment he looked over at Circe, he would respond by raising his hand and nailing Circe with an incredibly hard slap of his own, with the force to send the Sith Lord crashing into a wall. It had been a long time since the superhuman strength of Josh DragonsFlame had been shown in full force, not since he had fought Darth Vulcanus during a Republic invasion. The blonde haired Jedi Master would glare down at Circe after slapping the holy bantha turds out of the Sith Lord, seeming to begin to reconsider letting her live after all.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

The end result was Circe flying back, off the platform, through the air, and onto the floor. Gracefully, she rolled backwards to prevent a more strenuous impact, though her face did already begin to appear somewhat bruised on one side. It would take a skin rejuvenator to heal that - assuming it didn't go away in a week or two. As she slowly stood up, she smiled, giving a soft clap as she gritted her teeth with each word. It did hurt to talk, after all.

"Congratulations. For the first time in your life, you've given in to your anger. Didn't that feel good?"

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

To be honest? No, it didn't feel good. It felt wrong. But... That was the intention, right? He hadn't even given into the dark side, he'd just responded to an attack by defending himself. Still.. It occurred to him now, that even if just a slight flare... He was capable of getting angry. But how? He didn't know. He would watch as Circe got up, still seething after the slap, but he would take a breath and quickly calmed down. It seemed the Jedi training was still there...

He couldn't help but smirk a bit at the big mark on Circe's face. It was almost an improvement. But he shook his head. "I don't know if that could be considered using the dark side or an outburst of anger, Circe" He would admit. "Seriously. You slapped me, of course I'm going to hit back. I'm not some stupid fool that's going to let a Sith Lord slap me silly, without consequences"

Still, it was a tiny bit of progress. Working out a lifetime of training against anger was going to take quite some time.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

"No no no no no... Don't calm down. Get mad. Keep growing an-" And it was too late. He had already begun to calm down. "Dammit... You and your damned Jedi training. You're supposed to remain mad and continue to let that feeling grow in you, not spray the fire extinguisher all over it..." She facepalmed, and gave a wince, seeing as the palm ended up on the bruised part of her face.

"This is going to take a while to fix..."

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Whoops, habit had taken over and he had calmed down before he could really harness his anger, or even get to that point whatsoever. He had been trained to quickly calm himself if he ever started to falter, it was practically imbedded into his skull by now. He didn't know what Circe was expecting, considering his past with the Jedi. "I don't know why you're surprised" He would admit, letting out a sigh and a shrug. "This is how I've been trained for most of my life. It's difficult to just kill that like nothing"

Looks like his slap had hurt though. Maybe this wasn't entirely for nothing.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

"Not surprised... just frustrated." She sighed, unhappy as it was now that she realized he was going to be very difficult to get him to give up his old ways of handling things. "This is a start, though. That you gave into your anger and slapped me proved that you aren't a total loss." She paused, thinking carefully. "There are a couple of ways for us to accelerate the process here, though."

Ways not involving Sith alchemy, oddly enough.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Well, what did the girl expect? He was a bloody Jedi Master, who'd been a Jedi his entire life. He didn't know anything else. It was to the point where he hardly even know how to get angry. "Right..." He began, running a hand through his hair and sighing. "Riight... If any of it involves Sith Poison, Sith Alchemy, or any other rot like that, I'm just going to stab you" He would remark flatly. Circe was infamous for her use of these sorts of things, and Josh wouldn't hesitate to strike her down if she tried.

"What else you got in mind?"

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

"Well there's a reason Jedi don't normally just fething turn to the Dark Side without some sort of immense personal trauma, or outside intervention, or generally anything at all Dark Side-related drawing them in. You have to stop being so moral and instead let yourself take hold of the Dark Side. I mean, you were in bed with a Sith a long time ago, after all. Why not do that again metaphorically?" She hoped that would be taken the right way.

Then again, who knew in her instance?

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

[member="Enigma"]

The blonde haired Jedi Master couldn't help but start laughing when she suggested he "do that again" "metaphorically". He couldn't. It was so outlandish, but he didn't really get what she meant. "You might need to explain that a little better, Circe, because as far as I know, you're married last we had contact" He would remark with a chuckle, shaking his head.

"Besides, she was pretty much guaranteed to leave the Sith when I did bed her, as much as I joke about it. And left the Sith before I dated her" He would add. "As much as I joke about it, there wasn't really a whole lot wrong with it. Why bring it up?" He would ask her, tilting his head. He really didn't see where Circe was going with this.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

"Just accept the Dark Side..." She sighed. This was the most frustrating endeavour of her entire life, and she was doing everything she could to not simply toss him into the pool of Sith Poison at the Trayus core. "Well, I've tried damn near everything I can think of. I've pried into your mind, slapped you, insulted your dead wife... The only thing I haven't tried is this." Quietly chanting, slowly but surely she wove her fingers in an eloquently intricate pattern. "I really hope this works out."

And lo, she had used Summon Fear on him. Hopefully this would turn him to the Dark Side. If not, well... Maybe he'd go insane.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Circe so casually using such a dangerous power out of frustration could be considered deplorable. But so could all of her other acts. Still, it spoke a lot of how the Sith Lady needed to be kept in check. Nobody likes a Beerus wannabe, after all. But as Circe would cast the spell, Josh could feel it... And after a moment, he realized just what she was trying to do. Oddly enough... A few seconds after the spell was cast, it would dissipate. No fears turned to life, no illusions... Circe's failure to remember her lack of success earlier had worked against her. Summon Fear failed to work for the same reason that it never worked against Darth Bane... There were no fears to speak of. Josh had conquered them long ago...

This was a temporary thing, of course. Many would say that this was enough to say that Josh would never have to fear corruption.. But even he knew it was temporary. An effect of locking himself away from the galaxy, cutting off contact with all that he knew and emptying his mind of all that he was before. He had gone into exile a broken man, full of fears stemming from his compassion. Now... That was gone. But this wouldn't last forever. Josh knew that he would meet people again, reconnect with people... And then, compassion would turn into fears. That was why he'd come here... He needed to train himself, a reverse psychology method that would ensure that he never had to fear corruption again.

He opened his eyes. Circe's trick had failed, but it had done one thing. Made him remember his hatred for Circe, and all that she had done to him, his friends and his family... The corruption of his own brother, [member="Nicholas DragonsFlame"]. Her betrayal of [member="Jak Sandrow"]. What she had tried to do to [member="Coryth Elaris"]. His eyes were wide as he realized what she had just tried to do... Just casually using Summon Fear, a dangerous dark side power that could potentially have killed him, or driven him insane, just to see if it'd get the results she wanted... She cared nothing for him, just results. She had attacked him, and had no care on what happened to him.

He lashed out, both in a need to defend himself from whatever Circe might do next, an instinct... And out of rage for all that she had done. Lightning flickered from his fingers as he would raise his hands and point them toward Circe, directing the Force Judgement that would attack her from nowhere. The electricity would not harm her, though it would wittle away at her energy in an attempt to incapacitate her peacefully. That was Judgement for you... A Jedi trick. Their equivalent to Force Lightning, peaceful as the Jedi were. But something changed. The Lightning changed.. It's blue hue took on darker properties as it turned from its lighter blue aura to a darker hue of blue. The wearing feeling was suddenly replaced by an incredible series of jolts of pains as the lightning did what it was meant to do, electrocute Circe. His rage at all she had done had finally kicked in, and the Electric Judgment had manifested into full on Force Lightning, mercilessly tearing into Circe with degrees of pain that were way too high even for Force Lightning standards. It was obvious the Jedi Master wasn't himself, wasn't in the right mind. He was quite obviously angry, mixed with a desire to defend himself before Circe could make an attempt on his life again. The Jedi Master let out an earpiercing scream as the lightning would kick up in power, zapping Circe even more painfully by the minute... When suddenly, something let out a crash as it shattered within Josh's robes. Two wrist bands, split in two each, fell out of his robes and hit the floor in pieces. They were... Inhibitor bands! It was true, Josh had been wearing bands for inhibiting his Force energy, and in turn, his powers, ever since he was a child, ever since he had been taught the basics of the dark sides Force Bolt by his old Master, the turncoat Icaf... Ever since he had used it in a duel with another student, not knowing the pain it would cause combined with the force energy that resided within him due to his heritage. He had nearly killed that Padawan, and the bands had been put on, as he had been told, to protect him and people around him, due to him being unable to control that power.

Just like that, the pain increased tenfold, as Josh let out a scream of rage, zapping Circe with everything he had with the Force Lightning, unable to control himself for the moment. It would quite possibly be the worst pain that Circe had ever experienced, especially coming from a Jedi who most times wouldn't hurt a fly if he could help it. This lasted another minute or so before the lightning finally stopped... But the rage didn't end there.

Josh would stop the lightning, yes, but Circe would find herself floating in the air the moment that the pain had stopped. The enraged and paranoid Jedi Master had lifted Circe with the Force... Seeming to be having a hard time controlling himself, or perhaps... This was the result of something bigger. So much anger and pent up aggression just held in, suppressed.. For so long, for so many years... All let out in one burst. Anger he didn't know he had anymore from how much he'd just pushed it down, pushed it away and relaxed. But here, it was out, it was evident, and Circe was experiencing it firsthand as the ascension of Circe would end when Josh would swing his arm to the right, sending Circe flying quickly, landing splat on the wall as a loud clang would emit from it from where Circe had collided with it. Before she could recover, she would find herself being slammed downwards with the Force, hitting the floor with enormous force, no pun intended.

Circe wouldn't even have a chance to recover before she found herself on the receiving end of a Force Pull, sending her flying like a ragdoll toward DragonsFlame. He wasn't even thinking anymore, just fighting, whether it was anger, paranoia, an urge to defend himself, or all three. The moment she came close, a hard fist from the Jedi Master would send Circe flying into the nearest wall, faster then his slap had earlier. Josh had hit the witch as hard as he possibly could, which would likely leave some serious bruising behind from the part of her face that his fist had collided with. Josh had held nothing back, pulled no punches, also no pun intended. Circe's torture would be over though, it seemed... As Josh would finally seem to get his bearings and stop cold, sinking to his knees as he calmed down. The anger dissipated from his body. He had let it all out... Used it all in a brutal beating that could have very much been worse if he had been a Sith.

With a calmed, yet troubled mind, Josh would look around, wide eyed, at the carnage he had caused. His breath was heavy as his mind began to process just what he had done. Circe deserved every bit of what she had gotten, but Josh looked to her with an inch of concern for a moment, trying to sense if she was still alive. Afterword, he looked down at his hands, his robe sleeves having moved downward during the beating.

"What have I done..." He whispered, gritting his teeth. He noticed the shattered remains of his inhibitor bands on the floor and his fists shook as he realized just what had happened... He had lost all control. The Jedi Master would take a deep breath, closing his eyes, calming down...

He had used the dark side for the first time in a very long time... It felt dirty. It felt wrong. It had tortured him to use it and he hated every bleeding second of it.

All according to plan.

The Jedi Master would rise to his feet. Circe, as witch as she was, had gotten out of him what nobody else could. Hopefully, it would be easier from here.

Something told him, of course... That this wouldn't be the case. For now, he was calm.. Stressed, but calm. He was still a little bewildered by what had happened, and disgusted in himself for using the dark side... But there was purpose.

He had to undo the damage that had been done... He reminded himself of who he was doing this for as he would get up, dusting himself off as he looked to Circe, casually picking up the split pieces of the inhibitor bands that he had worn since he was six years of age, and pocketing them.

He wouldn't need them anymore. But they would make a proper memento.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

"Good..."

Circe winced, a bit of the remaining electricity rushing over her body as she slowly got back up on her feet, heavily bruised. She was in so much pain that she thought it would be a better idea to stay down. It wasn't so much the Force Lightning that had gotten her - she had taken worse from Ashin Varanin, after all - but more his blows and telekinetic manipulation of her body. Slowly standing to her feet, she focused, letting an illusion overcome her and restore her appearance to normal, though in reality she was still heavily bruised from his blows - a rib or two was probably busted too.

"You finally let go. It only took you so long..."

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The blonde would crack his neck, watching her get up and try to use illusions to hide her true looks. Just like she hid everything else. She was as fake as could be. That was her shtick. She was a fake friend and a fake wife. Alas, he needed her help right now. They had done the first steps... But more needed to be done.

More needed to be done if he was going to undo what had been done.

He would stretch his shoulders, taking a moment to listen to her speak, then nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Shall we get down to business with the teachings, or are we done here?" He asked. If he was going to let her live was still up in the air, but if she was able to help him... Well, he might let her go this time.

Of course... The whole reason he was here... Was her fault in the first place.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

"Let's."

She stood up, grimacing as she returned to her own two feet, looking somewhat worse for wear. "Let's try something a bit different." She stood resolute, choosing to ignore the pain as best she could. "I'm going to teach you a power that should still fit your Jedi mindset, despite being a Dark Side power. It's known as Force Slow. Seeing as I'm in... questionable condition, I will bring in someone for you to spar with."

That someone in question was a Vinithi, male, wearing a suit of Sith Stealth Field Armor. In his hands was a Massassi Ink Rifle, which he aimed at Josh - but didn't fire.

"Now... I want you to focus the power of the Dark Side on your target here. Focus it directly on his reserves of energy and begin exhausting him."

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He smirked a bit. Questionable? Girl, you looked like you got hit by a speeder bus. In a way, he wished she DID get hit with a speeder bus.Regardless... He would nod as she would bring in.... A sparring partner? "Is this some kind of illusion or do you actually keep people in here to spar with?" He would ask Circe, raising an eyebrow as he would take his lightsaber from his belt, examining the figure that was aiming a rifle at him.

"Why's it called Force Slow if I'm supposed to drain him?"

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

She sighed. "This is one of the many Vinithi I've kept stored here in my laboratory. He's... enjoying the wakeup call, to say the least." The Vinithi simply stared, continuing to aim the exotic weapon. "It's called Force Slow because the enemy slows down the more you sap their reserves. They exhaust faster. But this power only works if you use the Dark Side, like you did to me. Now go ahead and try it... But stop when he can no longer lift up his weapon."

This would be interesting to watch.