Private Between Two Worlds

[Mia Monroe]

Mia simply rolled her eyes at the mention of Valery Noble and shook her head. She wasn't going to bite, the argument was of no interest to her and was one they would never find a middle ground on. Better to agree to disagree that to unsettle whatever strange peace they had reached.

As he began to stutter, Mia choked back a laugh. Was he blushing?

It took every ounce of Mia's self control not to fall about in laughter as he spoke.

"Okay," she said her voice cracking with amusement "You'll burn worlds for her. But you don't love her." A small laugh escaped her. "Wayii! Malum. We have a saying for people like you. Kaysh mirsh solus. His brain cell is lonely." She laughed hard then shaking her head and laughing she got to her feet moving over to her belongings. Buried beneath her armour was a flask of tihaar that she plucked up and carried it back to the fire, swigging as she sat down.

"What are you so afraid of, in admitting you love her?"

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Malum ground his teeth, "If you wish to mock me, then we can conclude this meeting, after all, we have achieved so much progress haven't we?" He hissed out, his arms gesturing to the ruins they were sitting in, the injuries to himself and her, as he walked some distance away feeling the blood pumping in his ear, as anger coursed through his veins, how dare she ridicule his feelings, that he wrestled with on a near daily basis, when her own relationship was hardly something so clear cut.

Actually.

"His brain cell is lonely, huh?" He feigned a chuckle, as he turned back to face her, "Most would translate that to 'he's an idiot', no?" After being with a Mandalorian, one seemingly picked up some things, "Well tell me, what does that make you? You love the fool that you convinced to destroy your own world, he loves you enough to bring you back from death, but that original action doesn't ever fade, does it? You manipulated him, and now you say you love him..." He scoffed, feigning an inordinate amount of disgust, "What is the plan now? Marriage? Children? After all... if you so love each other, those would be the next steps... but of course, your crimes against Mandalore will stop you from ever achieving true happiness, won't it? Your crimes haunt you even now, your obsession with killing another man, beats out your love for another," His eyes glimmered with grim satisfaction, "Do not lecture me on love, Mia."

His eyes dulled as he heard the rest of her words, "Because if I do... I am admitting that this is no longer some fantasy between us, that this is all too real... that I am actively putting her in danger, that..." His eyes fully met Mia's, as there was a softness to his eyes, a wetness, "...That I will have to risk losing her, that I will break if she is no longer at my side."

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia's smile faltered at his attack on her and Ijaats relationship. He was wildly off base, clutching at straws and lashing out because of her mocking. She heaved a sigh, and shook her head waiting for him to finish, her eyes settling on the flames between them as she let silence wash over them and lay thick and heavy before she spoke again.


"Ijaat and I are not the same people we were when we triggered the disasters that first ransacked Mandalore. And he did not bring me back because he loved me. Love came after and surprised both of us. Will we get married? Maybe. Will we have children?" She paused, feeling Cory at her back again.

"Maybe. Will I seize every opportunity with him to be happy, to set aside the duty we both have for those little moments in-between? Absolutely, with both hands. Ijaat is the Rekindler and I am the Liberator. His duty is to rebuilding and restoration, mine is to ensuring our freedom from oppression, which means killing Kaine."

She looked up at Malum, her eyes reflecting something almost maternal.

"Don't let your fear, get in the way of something that makes you happy, Malum."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

He stilled, his breath paused, his look incredulous at her words. Confusion stirred in him at her explanation, where he had thought their relationship simply something raw and disfigured, something that would always run second to their own obsessions, two souls that had walked the galaxy's surface for far too long, simply clawing onto themselves in desperation for certainty and desire... here he found their relationship was no simple distraction to their goals, no simple happiness for them to keep them going as they rebuild Mandalore, as they battled Kaine.

Their relationship was their goal.

Why could it not be the same for him?

He knew why.

"I... wish you both the happiness then..." He trailed off, again looking away from her, desperate to avoid facing those eyes which seemed so strangely... nurturing, "Yet it is different for I, I have not walked over this galaxy for the decades you have, I have not had those regrets, the mistakes, the accomplishments and the victories, I realise you think me young and naive, I am not faulting such things... yet look at my Order, they say Darth Malgus killed his love for he thought it made him weak, and the pain of that loss only fueled his strength further, they say that the Chosen One fell to darkness due to the fear he felt at losing his love."

His eyes met back with Mia, softened still, yet fierce, "You say to not surrender happiness for fear, yet how can I do anything else? When I believe Elise could be in harm's way, that she should could be in danger, that I might be the cause of her..." His breath caught, his mouth dried, his mouth simply unwilling to finish the thought, "I stared down Ophidia upon Fiviune, and this... and this... brings me more fear."

He breathed in heavily, "I cannot lose her... and thus... I cannot love her."

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia gave him a sad understanding smile. So much pain and fear in someone so young. She had been just as young when they named her Liberator, when she led her people forward to claim the space between the Republic and the Sith Empire, when they had enemies on every side. She didn't truly know pain until Yaga Minor, until Velok, when everything after that began to crumble in her hands.

That was what he was afriad of.

"These moments in life are fleeting. I would love to tell you that you'd never lose her, but I'd be lying."

She shook her head. "The truth is, yours fears are valid. You could lose her. She is in danger, simply by associating with you. She could die because of you. The galaxy is a cold and cruel place in which everything you fear can come to pass."

It had for her. If she had been brought back without Ijaat? If she didn't have him to centre her? She dreaded to think what would have become of her. Melancholy washed over and she gave a heavy sigh.

"I'm not good at this." She muttered before clearing her throat and carrying on "Whether you admit your feelings to yourself or not, all these things you fear could still happen. All you're doing is trying to pull a blindfold over your eyes so you don't see it. You'll still feel every ounce of pain. Hell, if anything your inability to look that fear and pain dead in the eyes, will make it all the worse."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Whatever had happened in these few moments, he could not entirely be even sure himself, yet he found himself back to his seat, simply listening to the words of a woman older and much wiser than him, perhaps not one of the few people in the galaxy who could understand, for certainly many could understand.

Yet perhaps one of the few who could help him.

Even if the very idea of a Sith being aided by a Moridin- Mandalorian was a laughable concept at the best of times.

Yet, after all, was that not what this partnership between them was, this strange alliance of both circumstance and shared motive?

"Why aren't you telling me to end this?" Malum whispered, barely audible over a cracked voice, as if he himself was uncertain how he had said such awful words, anger simmered underneath just as quickly, as his heart tore itself, a question far more pertinent and evident in his mind.

Why was he betraying himself like this?

"For her." A voice familiar broke away from his own for but a moment, that familiar voice that had been both foe, then friend, then foe, then friend, and then foe, again and again, utterly confusing, yet still somehow comforting and filling him with dread.

"You do not approve of me, that much is certain, and you view her like a surrogate daughter," or a real one, he could not be entirely certain, his voice increasing in temerity and passion, "Why are you so content with allowing this happen? She could die because of me, you said it yourself..." There was wetness in his eyes, that threatened to trail down, yet by this point Malum could not care, "...This would hurt her... but she is young, she could find another..." His heart tore at that thought, how could he even imagine her with someone else? "...It would be better than her death..." The anger, simmered away, to dull eyes, that could barely even meet the former Mand'alor before him.

"...Why do you even care about my happiness?" His voice was back to its quiet, barely an audible whisper wafting across the ruins of the hut where they sat.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mis gave him a sad smile. He didn't want the real answer to that question. If the relationship Elise and Malum had was what she though it was it would go one of two ways. He would drag Elise into the darkness with him, or she would pull him closer to the light. They would find a middle ground eventually, a place in balance, a place from which a future could be built. Not just for them.

They could be the people who would break the cycle of war.

"If I told you to break it off, we would not be talking, and only one of us would be walking away from tonight. It would be a waste of my time and energy and would achieve nothing except to cause Elise pain."

Seeing the emotion in Malum pulled at something within her and she had to remind herself that, despite their current conversation, they were not friends. Not by any means. This was about Elise and that fact was the only reason they were discussing such things. He did not need her comfort.

"I don't care about your happiness. I care about hers. If she believes she can find her happiness with you, then I won't stand in her way. If you keep denying how you feel, it will crush her, and I can't allow you to do that."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

He chuckled.

It was a deep chuckle, ruminating through his emotion-ridden body, emerging out of his belly, to take hold of the rest of his form, dulled eyes filling with mirth, as simply emotional exhaustion bore itself through to its wild end, as being possessed by someone without noticing nor even particularly caring, brought itself to its insouciant end.

His arm moved, wiping away the remnants of weakness that had streaked down to his cheek, as the chuckle died a slow, agonising death, across the hut.

His eyes revealing themselves, brimming again with life.

"I should have known..." He was grinning, doing his utmost to hide the hurt behind his eyes, hide the hurt he felt throughout him, it was foolish, why did the admission cause him pain? She was his foe, she had been his foe since the first time he had been summoned to Zanbar to investigate the death of his agent, she had been his foe when she then proceeded to kill seven more of his men, she had been his foe that day in orbit on Moridinae, and she had been his foe that day on Moridinae itself.

Why was he so surprised, when what was so natural, what was so clearly already the case, played itself out like it was meant to?

Why indeed.

"...Of course, we might be bound together in care for Elise, but there is nothing more between us in common," A sneer appeared on his face as if even that was too much, "Well then, do you have anything else you wished to discuss, or will we call this meeting another success?" Sitting in the dilapidated and destroyed hut, with the surrounding environs scarred, it certainly felt to have achieved the benchmark of their meetings.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Malum did not do well to hide the hurt in the slightest. A pang of guilt struck a chord across her soul, the visgae of Cory moved to sit next to him, tears of anger in the girls face.

You are terrible at this, Buir.​

Mia averted her gaze, staring back into the fire. What could she do? She couldn't take back what she'd said. And anything she said now would be a direct contradiction of the lines she was trying to draw.

"I..." she looked up, sorrow reflected in her gaze, but upon seeing his sneer the words she'd wanted to say fell away from her.

"No." She answered finally. "There is nothing more."

Hut'uun!​

Mia closed her eyes at the insult, when she opened the Cory was on her feet, her face twisted with rage. Mia's gaze slid from her to Malum.

"You should go." The sentence was barely above a whisper. Her hands were trembling again as Cory spat insult after insult at her, the air around her vibrated.

"Before, I lose control." She pushed herself to her feet and turned away as the world around her flickered, the Blood Wastes turning the village a dull red. She started to walk, away, no direction in mind, just that she needed to put distance between her and the ghost screaming at her.

YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF CAUSING ANYTHING BUT PAIN.​

Cory, please...

I HATE YOU​

Mia staggered the violence, of her duaghter verbal assault taking the wind from her.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"As you wis-"

"Before, I lose control." She pushed herself to her feet and turned away as the world around her flickered, the Blood Wastes turning the village a dull red. She started to walk, away, no direction in mind, just that she needed to put distance between her and the ghost screaming at her.

Malum stood and was about to turn, grounding his teeth, willing the Force around him to bend time and space around him and begone from this place.

Until he heard the words which were so strange, very odd and queer to anyone else, yet for Malum, it was a sensation he knew far too well.

Red eyes found the retreating form of the Mandalorian, he considered the weak voice, the trembling hands, and even the fact the woman before had shown her back to him at all, was staggering.

Allies they might be, shown mutual vulnerability for certainty. Yet that was within the confines of control they still held.

What this was, was entirely different, control having been surrendered for something else entirely.

Something deep within her, demanding control, demanding satisfaction and demanding pain.

It was all too familiar.

Yet, why should he care? What held between them was found, and apart from the mutual lov- mutual care they held for a certain Archaisian, nothing bound them together apart from their mutual hatred against Kaine, and though she was certainly haunted by the spectre of Kaine, this ghost that currently had its vice grip around her neck, was certainly not Kaine.

It was her daughter, who for some reason hated her so.

And for some reason, had decided now, was the time to take vengeance, to take control.

And Malum realised rather quickly, why exactly it had chosen this moment, something that had been said in their conversation, something he had said, had set the ghost off, and now, he could watch in grim satisfaction, as she tore herself apart.

Yet, there was no satisfaction, grim or not, as he simply watched, grinding his teeth further, curiosity melting way to concern, as the grinding grew further, faster, deeper, frustration, as she was clearly being attacked by something invisible to him, but knowing exactly what it was, after all, despite his words, they did share quite a bit more in common.

And there was an advantage in this, a ghostly whisper called out to him, to simply watch as the one who had humiliated them so, who killed their men, imploded in a rage of their own making, battling demons, dying where none would find them.

Yet there was an advantage further, she whispered, in saving the one that would aid them kill Kaine.

Malum ground his teeth.

Stilling, as its advice passed over him.

He wanted to help her for more than his own needs.

Yet if it aided him, could it not only be called a boon? Or was aid rendered for personal gain not true at all?

That was a question for Jedi, and he was, after all, a Sith.

His teeth stopped grinding, as he pressed ahead, all seriousness, his trademarked smile off his face, as he was not even sure if this would work, yet knowing, he needed to save her from the demon inside her head.

For after all, she still had time, until her ghost could take control.

"Mia I need you to calm yourself, clear your mind, no matter what you're feeling, she is not real," He found himself by her quickly, her motions distracted by the assault, as a hand found itself by her shoulder, "You are not a Marr, so I am uncertain what this will do, but it will help you... like all the times it has helped me," Only a few had touched it, and all of them had been Marrs, all had seen visions of some kind, yet she was no Marr, she was though of the darkness, and that may indeed be enough.

His free hand found her shaking hand, and guiding it towards him, past the resistance he felt, he forced it to grip around the cold amulet around his neck. As red eyes glimmered, with orange embers burning underneath the surface.

It would be up to Mia now, he had done all he could.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

When Malum appeared at her side he was wreathed in trails of red smoke, his voice a million miles away calling to her from a distance so great, she couldn't hear him.

YOU LEFT ME! YOU BRITHED ME AND YOU LEFT ME AND FOR WHAT? TO PROTECT ME?​

"You shouldn't be here." She choked out, pain tore through her body as the concentration set on managing the pain imparted by the blood poison from Kaine's sword slipped.

Her knees hit the ground hard, she felt Malums hand on her shoulder wrestling with her hand as a scream of tore through her lips. She tried to pull away from him as she felt the energy build in her chest, blue eyes giving way to to the dark glowing orange.

ALL I WANTED FROM YOU WAS LOVE, FOR YOU TO BE THERE. INSTEAD I HAD TO WATCH YOU DIE​

"Let go." She pleaded she didn't want to hurt him. She felt the warmth beath her hand, somethibg reached across her mind seeking to seal the cracks, to pull her back.

YOU WILL NEVER KNOW PEACE. ​

It was too late, she'd fallen too far for the amulet to pull her out, but it did give her clarity. Her eyes found Malums as she built the force barrier around him, tears spilling over her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

The force destuction erupted around them, silent but lethal, kicking him back from her. The scorching darkness turned everything it touched to ash, the wind that followed it kicked it up to swirl in the skies above the falling like snow.

Mia tipped to her hands and knee, her breathing ragged, blood trickling from her nose. Cory was gone. So were the ruins around them. Slowly she regained control of her pain, and the blood red associated with the wastes faded. Cory would not be back, same as Ra had left her, she would leave her alone now too.

The realisation brought a fresh wave of agony and Mia brought her head to the scorched earth fingers digging into her hair and screamed, her anguish reverberating through the cold night air.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"Mia! Snap out of it!" He shouted down at her, his eyes blazing, trying to break whatever spell she was under, leaning down to her level, the hand on her should firming, noting the change of eye colour that was all too common with himself, the other hand forcing her grip around his amulet, knowing with the energy expended, the ghost of the great Darth Marr was weakened, perhaps even too weakened to aid, that it would need to be them that broke through to her.

Yet the battle of the mind was one which the forms could not easily intervene in.

He needed to intervene in some other way.

And he considered that very prospect, disregarding her demands to stay out of her mind, he was already disregarding her demands to stay away in general, what was one more denial?

YOU WILL NEVER KNOW PEACE. ​

The voice was familiar, the voice was loud.

And the voice was foreboding in the curse it placed.

Yet he never had a chance to do more than spectate the battle, for though Mia was closing control, she had not yet, and with her grip forced around the weakened amulet, she retained the driver's seat.

It was too late, she'd fallen too far for the amulet to pull her out, but it did give her clarity. Her eyes found Malums as she built the force barrier around him, tears spilling over her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

Malum's eyes widened, as another part of him smirked inwardly.

His real mouth moved to shout a denial, as time slowed around them, as his hand was forced off her shoulder, his other forced off her hand, as the amulet was ripped out of her grasp, as he was encased in a bubble, something he knew too well, yet in this moment, was the farthest thing from his thoughts.

They felt the explosion whip about them, even with the barrier, they were thrown back, watching wide-eyed as the environs around them were utterly destroyed, the Force billowing forth from the woman he had considered both foe and ally in equal measure.

The Dark Side was made manifest, and its unholy power punished everything in its path, as the one who manifested the power fell to her hands, weakened by all that was released from her, blood trickling from her nose, in a familiar sight.

As the barrier fell, he felt every part of the emotion, the pain, of the scream that erupted out of her, the last of the darkness seemingly leaving her.

Yet Malum knew very well, it would never leave her, not now, not ever.

"You just had to one-up me, didn't you?" Malum offered a jape, one that was not enough to tilt his lips or bring a glimmer to his eye, seriousness having taken dominion of him, gazing about them, the hut where they once stood having been entirely annihilated, the flora around them having been burnt to a crisp, she had done more damage than him, and she had not even tried.

A powerful reminder of the gap that remained between them, this once former Mand'alor.

He continued onto her, kneeling beside her, a hand passing through into his robes to find another handkerchief, at this point he was going to run out, still, a true gentleman carried far more than he could possibly expect to use. Offering it to her, he provided a weak smile, one that barely reached his eyes, there would be no judgement from this, no mocking.

After all, even if she had not intended for this, such vulnerability... it was not one that he wished to be locked out of.

And as another noted, to have her in the palm of his hand would be entirely too useful to resist.

...Where had that come from?

"If you view Elise like a daughter, she may yet view you like a mother, in that case, I'd best make sure her mother does not fall under my watch," That joke was enough to regain some mirth in his eyes, yet it revealed the bantha in the room, they both knew, even if he did not address it, whatever had just occurred, was entirely centred on her daughter.

And that was something which could not be ignored.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

It took a long time for Mia to push herself upright, to even her breathing and regain control of her emotion, when she did exhaustion settled heavily on her shoulders. Her eyes scanned the mess she'd made, this was worse than the last time. In the wastws on Mandalore it had been a simple cone. She closed her eyes breifly swearing under her breath before looking at Malum.

"I could have killed you, Malum." She said softly there was a touch of fear in those words, but whether it was genuine concern for his safety, or because of his connection to Elise, it was unclear.

Accepting the handkerchief, she wiped away the blood and tears. He mentioned Elise again. Mia sighed, he needed to know, now he had seen it, she had to tell him the truth of it all.

"My daughter..." she paused wrestling with the emotion that rose in her chest. "Cory...I left her to be raised by her father. I was dar'manda, and hunted for my crimes. I believed leaving her would keep her safe and it did from those who were hunting me, but not from..." She swallowed the lump in her throat. Cory had had to watch the live broadcastof Mia's death as she was dragged behind Ra Vizsla's basilisk through the streets of Sundari.

"Kaine's Rooks killed her in the purge."

The statement hung heavy between them. Mia looked down at her hands. "She won't be back... not until a fight that demands..." she gestured at the decimation around them "this. She's also not the worst ghost I carry with me. The first, was Ra himself. Which makes sense seeing as he was the closest to my death. He went a few weeks ago. The last one...the last one will be my brother. And when he's gone..."

The final demon of hers to face. Her ori'vod, her brother the only man that stood by her no matter what, the only one who never hated her for what she'd done or the pain she'd caused. Jasper Ordo would be the last of her demons, and he would be the one that would tip her into the darkness forever.

She pushed the thought from her mind, looking back at Malum. "They are the last of my connections to the Netherworld."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"Eh, it would not have been the first time you had desired such an outcome, no doubt it will not be the last," Malum continued on with his japes and jokes, to lighten the mood was his objective, though considering the circumstances, it may have been even more of an uphill battle, than just duelling her.

Still, he was a man who had embarked on many a difficult or impossible task, this would be no different.

"And well, considering our shared charge of a certain red-eyed and golden-locked Vizsla, I doubt it would have truly come to that... still, trust that I would have survived whatever you... threw at me," That statement was said with much more confidence than he felt, his eyes betrayed that easily enough, as they once again surveyed the surroundings, truly, such power, was not one that he would ever ask to face, nor could truly counter.

It was rarely the role of the assassin or sorcerer to take the enemy head-on, after all.

He would have had to break out of the blast radius, yet considering how close he was to the epicentre, who knew if he could even manage that.

Thankfully they moved on from that awkward moment, as both Malum and the other were quick to begin taking notes of the words that spilled out of her mouth, names and figures that he knew to some degree, that she knew to a greater degree, those events which history spoke of, yet now in front of him, the very source of those events reported them with a personalised twinge.

A vaunt of knowledge which the history books, could never truly cover.

Cory... a daughter abandoned by her mother was on the run, who knew what pain she had gone through?

Ra Vizsla, Mand'alor the Wrathful and Mand'alor the Undying, though the second time, he had not truly been in control had he? Who knew what little of him remained when his corpse had been puppeteered by Kaine...

...If any at all.

Yet strangely enough, he was the one whom Malum wished to meet the most, the ally of Kaine, the relative of Elise, the one who had led the Mandalorians on the side of the Sith Empire, a marvel of a man, and one which Malum who just as he had met the Liberator, met the Rekindler, he had wished to meet the Wrathful.

For he might have been the only man who understood.

Understood the end of Mandalorian-Sith conflicts, understood the need for unity between their peoples, for the only threat that mattered in the galaxy.

Perhaps he could bring it out of her, a betrayal it would be.

Yet did his purpose not matter so much more than that?

He winced, breathing out hollowly, he was not sure what to do, yet he knew for now, he needed to remain in alignment still.

Her brother was the last, a figure he did not know, he recalled a name, Jasper Ordo? Loyal to his sister, yet overshadowed by the one who became Mand'alor, when he had not.

Had that brought up jealousy? Had that brought up anger? Who knew?

After all, he was dead.

And the dead should remain memories, they should remain gone.

"You have faced much loss in your long life, Lady Monroe... my condolences will not aid you, nor my sympathy, but please if there is anything within my power that I can do, I will, yet you should know, the very advice you gave me," His eyes firmly met back with hers, glimmering with orange hue on a red background, "The dead should remain buried."

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia let out a short hollow laugh.

"Quite a statement to make, to someone who's been dead twice."

He was right though. These ghosts, if thats what they truly were, should be buried. Though she was more inclined to believe they were simply manifestations of something deeper. A mechanism her mind had built to help cope with her return to life. She had not, after all chosen this, and the strain of returning, even under toir own will was enough to shatter any mind.

"There is nothing you can do, this battle is my own. Just..." she paused "Don't tell Elise. I cannot have her close to this, you and I know full well she would try to help... I can't protect her from this, so you must."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

A smirk easily found itself on his face, "A true statement regardless, and after all, considering what I said mere moments ago, you should be more than aware of my feelings for the dead who haunt far past their life," his red glimmer with orange highlights still stood, seemingly a visible mocking of that statement, one which if Malum could even recognise for the irony it was, was hard to say.

It was odd, he knew what she was doing.

Yet he did not resist, for she was not attempting to make him do anything untoward at all.

Again, he was forced to consider if she was a true foe after all.

After all, again and again, despite the headaches and pain, she had assisted him, aided him, defended him.

Was she the foe anymore?

The memory of the Korriban Masquerade, one he could feel her suppressing suddenly came over his vision, and his teeth grounded, his hand gripping tightly around itself, his breath growing heavy.

The terrified face of Sophia looked back at him in horror at what he was about to do, what she forced him to do.

She was no friend, no ally, it was just as Darth Strosius had said...

There would be no gain in accepting a power that was not his.

Yes, yes, they stood opposed to Darth Ophidia, they were no slave to her will.

They still held command over his soul and form, there was no doubt of that.

None at all.

His smirk was mirrored within.

He blinked, realising that his actions, coming just after what she requested of him, could only come off looking one way, and he needed to lean into that.

For, after all, there was little reason to allow her to know of his weakened position.

"You wish to lie to the woman you believe I love? I did not think your disapproval ran to full sabotage, Lady Monroe," He threw the accusation out without any real feeling, yet the feigned feeling would do aptly, distract her from anything else that was running behind the scenes, "Such would be rather irresponsible for me... after all..." The orange embers grew even brighter, as all the parts of manipulation and charisma made themselves felt, "...You are right, you cannot protect her, indeed... if you had a repeat performance of this sort of incident... you would harm her." There was a breathy this to that, one he did not intend, yet revealed a very key fact.

It was a real concern even behind the smoke and mirrors.

"How can I trust that she will be safe under your protection... unless of course..." He trailed off, a hand on his chin, gazing away as if deep in thought, he would let her imagine a solution, it would be better if she did.

One she could accept, without realising they had led her straight to it.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia frowned looking at him, processing his word slowly realisation dawning on her that he was trying to manipulate her. Hurt flashed across her eyes, swiftly followed by anger.

"How deeply disappointing you are, Malum." She said coldly. Pushing herself to her feet and walking away from him. She wanted to wrap her hands around his throat to choke the life from him.

His relationship to Elise was the only thing stopping her. She wouldn't suffer her that pain because of Mia's fury.

She moved to the ash pile that was the hut, brushing it aside, pleased to see her armour had survived. She began to put it on. Peice by peice, the practive settling her from a rage that threatened to take control, to something far more cold and deadly.

"While we are bound by her, she is not a tool for you to use as leverage. After all we've achieved in finding common ground, that you would try to manipulate me?" She looked back at him, scooping up her helmet, the last peice to put on. She hooked it onto her belt.

Whatever emotion had been there, whatever opportunity he had had at becoming her friend was gone. Sealed behind cold iron gates of hatred as she looked at him. How for one second, could she think that he was different?

The sith were all the same.

"Get out of my sight. Before I change my mind about letting you live."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"Darth Malum," He hissed out, mixed almost with a growl, and the grinding of teeth, as he took a step forward, the disrespect, along with the rest of the words, the condescension, the accusation, the threats. Too many emotions had flown so easily through today, first the rage, then the madness, then the hurt, the concern, the fear, all the way back to the rage. How could he have ever thought the woman before him had any value to him, when had her opinion and words mattered at all to him? She was a tool, nothing more, one to control the Moridinizids, one to use against Kaine, nothing el-

His heart stopped, as he took another step, his hand gripping down on his chest, as his breathing grew heavy, stopped in his tracks, as the hairs across his body stood up at attention.

Shaky eyes dulled yet still red, brightened only with the orange hue that signified something far greater, gazed up toward the hate-filled eyes of the woman that he deeply respected, even admired, despite their chequered relationship.

"I'm... sorry... Mia." A barely audible whisper broke through the clearing.

And that, was when the all too familiar, sensation broke through his skull, it was as if a bullet went off, and an unholy dark scream released out of his lips, one pointed towards the heavens, but the sonic boom was sent across them across the clearing where they stood.

He ground his teeth to rubble, as he hissed out in utter anguish, feeling his knees collapse as his body fell forward, revealing, to a keen-eyed Mia, Malum's eyes.

Engulfed in red flames.

She had never done this without making demands, she had never tortured him for no purpose, why now, in the face of their enemy, did she act against him? They held a shared purpose, a shared desire, together, they could defeat her, so why now weaken him, why now break him for her to see?

Not even in the early days, when the fragment was lost and confused, vengeful and rageful, seeming to strike out in all directions simply to hurt him, had it made such a move with no logic.

Even targeting Sophia had a purpose.

To hurt him.

To break him.

But why now, why when the direct threat to their self-preservation stood directly across from them?

"Mia... please..." He moaned out, tears streaming down his face, as what felt like lightning struck his brain, electricity coursing through his synapses, as multiple knives stabbed through his skull as if they were passing through butter, tearing out chunks of greymatter and other pink flesh.

"I can't... I need... I need Elise..." His vision was growing dizzy, his mind growing foggy, there was nothing left to defend against the attack, the amulet around his neck having gone icy cold.

Momentum failed him, his body betraying him, as he felt himself fall onto the ground, losing control of his body as it spasmed, as it tried to figure out what the brain was possibly doing, as two souls fought for control over a form that was built only for one.

Yet where one was confused, the other held purpose.

"Mia..." The death whisper went, even quieter, even more sombre, the last of his strength leaving him, as his will retreated from the mortal form, towards the battle in the mind.

Still even now, for some reason, trusting the former Mand'alor.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

It was the hiss in his voice coupled with the fact that she had never addressed him as 'Darth' that brough Mia to the realisation that this was not entirely Malum. The lines between him and Ophidia has become so blurred...

She didn't get a chance to comment, his apology caught her off gaurd, uncertain of whether it was genuine until the scream erupted from him, the sonic boom striking her chest as she steppd forward into closing the distance between them to catch him as he fell.

"Feth, Malum." His eyes were aflame. Ophidia was doing this and she was completely out of her ability to touch. She sank to the ground with him as he spasmed, crying out in pain...crying out for Elise.

She sat turning him so his back was against her chest. His head tipped onto her shoulder and she brought his arms across his chest and held him fast.

"Fight her, Malum. Put the hut'uun back in her cage. You are stronger than she is, do not let her convince you otherwise. You don't need an amulet to win. She is only a piece of what she was, you can do this."

She prayed to manda he could do this, because there was nothing she could do to help him but this.

"You're safe, Malum. I've got you. Focus on defeating her."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

His body had gone unnaturally still, his form growing paranormally cold, all apart from the head, where one might have thought he had a fever, his brain reaching a boiling point, as a battle unseen yet entirely too cumbersome was being fought between two Sith Lords, the student and master locked into an existential struggle, the Banite Creed having failed long ago, playing out right before them, the betrayer and the betrayed in a battle for mutual annihilation.

Yet, it was not that.

There was a purpose to the madness.

Even as Malum cried out in confusion, pain, and anguish.

She smirked in victory.

Malum's body was shifted by a force that was not his or hers, feeling his body being rested against something warm, feeling his head being held up by bone, and feeling warmth spreading through his chest, as he felt himself be held tight by another presence.

A presence unknown to him, yet a presence that was comforting, that was warm, that was simply... there, when nothing and no one else was.

He let out a sharp groan, as what little vision he had left snapped shut, a spear stabbing through his brain, threatening to have his teeth tear off his tongue, as his jaw snapped shut.

"Mother..."

The tears were growing in frequency, as he reached out to one he could not see, did not know, yet reminded him so much of the woman that though had been distant in his life, still had always been there for him.

Who did not hate him like Caecia, who was not so distracted like sister Elise, who was not so distantly fearful like Julia, who was not beginning to flap her wings to leave him and the nest like Sophia.

Who was here in this moment, unlike Elise, who was safe off in Moridinae or Archais.

She was the only one here now, the only one who cradled him, who soothed, and consoled him.

"Mother... please... make it... stop..." The words were slurred, difficult to even pronounce as he felt his brain both boiling, on fire, and cut through, as she pressed like a demon-possessed, breaking him, inflicting him with more pain than he had ever felt from her hand in even life.

It was the end, and now he would die, not in battle as he had always imagined, not in victory as the Force was finally overthrown, but on this desiccated world, with none to witness him die.

Apart from one.

"Please... Mother... end this..." He begged, pleaded, wanting only for this suffering to end.

Or else, knowing he would be tortured for eternity.

The fate of a traitorous betrayer.

Mia Monroe