Encounter on Ryloth.

[Maple Harte]

Arrived in: The Silent Erika (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/130646-the-silent-erika-modified-j-type-327-nubian/)

Wearing: Reserve Marksman Suit (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/41261-sasori-explorers-bodysuit/)

Armed with: Maple's Staff (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/125349-maples-staff-custom-conversion/)

Mark One Pistol (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/20759-heklerkok-special-edition-blaster-mark-i/)

VT Tranq Gun (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/104578-vt-sliid-gun/)

Electrum Gaze (Personal Rifle)

After weeks of digging, Maple had finally gotten a lead on an area the Amalgam may have visited once, on Ryloth. Some place way out in the desert. An underground hell hidden like so many others from prying eyes. She had never understood the ancient order's need to turn everything into survival-horror at every opportunity just to preserve secrets. It had never worked. Sometimes she thought all these ancient groups simply had the mother of all complexity addictions. She had stopped at one of the main cities on Ryloth to get more ammo, because she had been running dry and hadn't taken any bounties lately, and had spent a good portion of her reserves for ammunition.

She had taken her trusty, now modified staff with her for the journey. She was some ways from the lone girl with hardly anything but the clothes on her back, and her ship and sticks.

To see Maple Harte now was to see a glimpse of Uri Udinia, The Golden Eye. That precise poise had come back, though the madness as ever, remained, occasionally rewinding her movements, pausing and then fast forwarding all before dumping her back into the middle of it.

She had been doing better...less skips into delusions in her head. But Maple knew it was only temporary. Sooner or later, she'd be back to genuinely questioning reality.

But at least she was better equipped for the danger of seeking that purple eyed fiend, she thought as she walked through the streets, eating a sausage on a stick cooked in batter.

Welcome back, Uri... a foreign thought blared in her mind as she walked. She stopped cold. She knew that cold, feminine rasp in her head.

"Where are you?" Maple asked under her breath.

Far enough that you can't get a fix. Or draw a bead.

"I will find you." Maple swore, an edge of violence entering her tone as she walked through crowds of people, the smells of ryloth, their desert prepped homes, their loose clothes in the summer assaulting her senses as she shuddered from contact with The Amalgam's mind. One more reminder of just how powerful her foe was.

I won't be here long enough. Just long enough to wish you luck.

"You will pay for Kadmus. For Ursula."

There was a stone silence for a few moments

You're actually mad about Ursula? I thought you despised her. the mental sneer from The Amalgam was deep and hideous.

"Whatever problems me and Ursula had, she didn't deserve the death 'you' gave her..." Maple hissed, dropping her food in the trash bin on a street corner.

Your power has grown. I can feel it. The dark is stronger in you. You shall do well, I think. The Brain Demon has prepared a great honor for you. It is an honor I myself once received...

Maple felt the contact cut and her fists clenched. She decided to sit down, some place, somewhere to calm her nerves. Skip. The Brain Demon stalked her through mental tunnels that were ever shifting. Skip. Back to reality.

Maple spotted an open air restuarant and ordered a water, The Amalgam's mind was a reeking hive of dark side corruption. A hive that was violently obsessed with her.

And Maple did not know how to stop her. It wouldn't be as simple as a long range hit. The fiend wasn't stupid...

But, what, exactly, was she walking into?

What had that monster haunting her sleep prepared.

Maple sipped her water, trying to stop shuddering...

[member="Veronika Fleischer"]

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

When was the last time she met Miss Uri Udina? Probably during the ritual where the both of them were formally introduced as members of the Witches of Ryloth. She was kinda wasted by the end of the ceremony, having finished the bottle of cognac together with her close friend. Uri was much closer to her than she wanted to admit sometimes, though her actions spoke louder than words. If not, why would she be back to Ryloth again just to help Uri? Veronika Fleischer, the socialite who ignored most people, only rendered her help to the privileged few. The few whom she liked enough.

She had no idea what had happened since the last meeting, her schedule getting cluttered up with business meetings. The fashion house demanded the presence of the newly appointed creative director to set the new artistic direction. She also needed to... for the lack of a better word... discreetly remove some of the obstacles and opposition who were displeased with her role from the beginning. The dirty work lasted long and was extended by her at times, just to see the twisted expressions of horror on their faces before she snuffed them out.

The planet was filled with dangerous terrain and Uri sounded urgent in her last message, so she knew she better be prepared. Her lightsaber dangled on her belt while she walked, her mind trying to sense the general direction where her friend was. She soon found herself staring at an open restaurant and stepped in, not detecting any other Force User presence except for the duraplast clad woman.

"Hello darling, it has been a while," she smirked and took a seat next to [member="Maple Harte"], her hand gently brushing the brunette's hair as a sign of fondness. She noticed that Uri was drinking the good old plain water. No snacks, no meals, no drinks. "I guess we can drink later when we finished our work here. Mind filling me the details? I sense that you are more distressed than usual. Something must have happened."

 

[Maple Harte]

Veronika. Lovely [member="Veronika Fleischer"].

So much had happened since that night. She had encountered new threats and new allies since then. Maple's confusion about the darkness inside of her as well as The Amalgam stalking her did not help matters.

But Veronika...there was just something about Veronika that was like catnip. It wasn't just that Maple had a thing for blonds. Veronika ignored her own natural inclinations in order to help her. Veronika's life--and she did have a life--was in some ways the sort of life Maple might have chosen if she had never been given to the Jedi. She envied Fleischer sometimes...Veronika had lived far more than Uri Udinia ever had. Uri's life for the last decade had been almost nothing but killing. And for an utimately empty assertion at that.

The touch of Veronika's fingers against her hair stirred the ex-Shadow and she smiled with wet green eyes. How is it she actually looked hotter?.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Veronika. I'm glad you're here..."

Maple turned, staring into the blonds eyes. If only she could find time to smell that hair...

"It has been a while hasn't it? I've been through some...strange stuff. Got my own Arch-Nemesis who's steps I'm retracing so I can figure out how to kill her. Heh." Uri chuckled weakly, though inwardly she was deeply disturbed by her enemy reaching out like this...it wasn't typical Dark Side behavior.

"I've traced some of her past movements to here, on Ryloth. Something about a place known as the Moon Tomb. One of maybe hundreds of individual survival-horror situations buried in these parts. I've been asking around...it belonged to this cult of witches banned from Ryloth by the ancient Mandragora. They were called The Cult of The Brain Demon. Nasty sorts. You can guess what their patron spirit was. And we'll be heading there soon because I have no idea how to stop my nemesis..."

Maple stopped, pulling off the glove on her right hand and showing Veronika the jagged black crescent burned into her palm.

"And I have no idea to remove the Brain Demon's mark..." she confessed. "Its been haunting me in my sleep for years. Chasing me. I thought for a while it was that Non-Existant Sith Lord The Mind Binder...but its just the tip of the iceberg. And...and I'm..."

Maple paused...it was difficult to admit for the former assassin, who had a bodycount in the hundreds...

"I'm...I'm a little bit...scared. Just a little! Not gonna freak out or anything, but...I could use the back up. Its been a while since I Dungeon-Crawled, and you should never do it alone...ever. Trust me on that..."

Maple rose from the bench.

"The Moon Tomb is dangerous from what little I managed to dig up. The Mandragora of old were keen to destroy as many references as possible to it. And there's another thing...Doashim hasn't spoken to me since I was marked..."

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

The way that the brunette's green eyes looked at her always seemed to be accompanied by a faint hint of untamed desire. Veronika knew she had people turning their heads often whenever she appeared, but never met anyone with such a unforgettable gaze like [member="Maple Harte"]. She grinned again, realising that the bounty hunter was literally projecting her thoughts to the surface of her mind, as if she had wanted the blonde to read them. Not that Veronika really minded, her ego gladly accepting the praise regarding her looks. The only thing that she could never figure out was the darkness within Maple. It was always there, lurking within her but it seemed to be getting stronger.

"So let me get this straight. You have an arch-nemesis that seemed to be related to a cult? That's all fine, but this... mark certainly looks worrying. I have never heard of the Brain Demon and now you are saying it haunts your dreams?"

The blonde had a grim look on her face when she heard that. Dreams were something that could mean a foreshadowing of the future, a form of warning or a displayed power from the Force. The Mandragora Witches always treated dreams with seriousness and attempted to decipher their meanings. The look from Maple's eyes was a look of apprehension when the topic of dreams was brought up, no doubt realising the significance of such incidents.

"Hold on, let's not be hasty. Take a seat first, darling..." Veronika gently held Maple's right arm and gave a reassuring touch to calm the brunette down and sit back on the chair. She understood her friend's eagerness to get things started, but she wanted to try and find out more before they jumped straight into action. "I know you are afraid, but don't worry. We will figure this out together."

Veronika cast her eyes downwards to the strange black crescent on the brunette's palm, raising a single eyebrow that was almost her trademarked expression. All witches chosen by the Mandragora were given a mark to signify a pact with one of the spiritual beasts. The blonde had bonded with Jart and received a tattoo, while Maple had a mark of Doashim burnt onto her right wrist. Even though Maple claimed that Doashim had no longer spoken to her, the burnt mark remained and she gave a small sigh of relief. It seemed that Doashim had not abandoned her friend completely. She placed the palm onto the table, touching the black crescent with her fingertips and felt a sense of unease. She forced her fingers to ignore the discomfort and lingered for a moment, her senses calling out for her own spiritual guardian.

"Your little friend is in trouble," Jart spoke aloud to both ladies, as if on cue. "I thought the Brain Demon has been destroyed."

"So you know about this stuff? Why am I not surprised. Tell us what you know and where is Doashim." Veronika replied aloud in her mind. The bird spirit sighed, impressed with Veronika's sharp mind and yet sounded unsettled with the knowledge he was about to speak.

"Sharp girl, observant as always. Now Doashim has not abandoned your friend as you might have guessed, merely avoiding a direct confrontation with the Brain Demon. This Brain Demon is an abomination, the remains of a fallen sister who wanted to become part of the spirit world. Doashim, Lylek and myself had to spend much effort to clear up the mess, succeeding to banish the abomination for a period of time. Now it is back and growing its powers again. The good news is that it is still weak, so perhaps your little friend can be saved. Just tread carefully when you explore the tomb."

With that, the voice was gone. Veronika snapped out of her trance and breathed heavily, feeling the sweat forming on her forehead. The reading of the mark was more tiring than expected, but it was worth the effort. Emerald eyes looking at Maple's own brilliant green for a moment, knowing that her friend had managed to pick up the information as well.

"Let's go then. Show me the way to this tomb. It's time to do things our way and stop this haunting."

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple sat back down at the urging of [member="Veronika Fleischer"] and took a deep breath. The Amalgam, who'd claimed she'd be The Mind Binder some day. The Brain Demon, who'd let her think it was The Mind Binder...she had been distracted by some strange escapades but the end goal remained ultimately the same:

Find The Mind Binder. Kill the Mind-Binder. Have a sexy lingerie party afterward. Hopefully with Veronika. And maybe a few others. And then go irretrievably crazy. At least the Mind Binder would be dead. She hoped.

Veronika touching her palm, in spite of the context, sent a sliver of comfort to Maple. She remembered how soft her skin was. How...'precise' her touch could be. Maple relaxed, green eyes watching her finger trace the dark mark of the Brain Demon, the mark that, unlike Doashim's brand, made her eyes want to slide away from it whenever she tried to look directly at it. As of late she could almost feel the magics of the two brands conflicting with each other.

"The Amalgam is a Shi'ido. An assassin...she and I were basically in the same line of work, but on opposite sides. She's far stronger than I am. Only time we tussled I only got away because I was either lucky or she was toying with me...I think its the latter. She telepathically taunted me just now...she's violently obsessed with me, claims she wants to 'perfect' me or some weird arthouse psychological nonsense like that." Maple explained. "But you can feel her darkness...she seethes with it when she speaks to you mentally. As for the Brain Demon, it was haunting my sleep way before I met you, but I didn't know what it was. All I know is that the Brain Demon and The Amalgam are insane, but the Amalgam's insanity feels more...personal where I'm concerned."

Veronika told her it would be alright and Maple wanted to believe that in the moment she said it. But she knew better. Maple's madness would only get worse. Even if she won all the battles, she would lose the war in the end.

The spirit Jart spoke to both of them and Maple's eyes widened at the explanation. That thing in her sleep had been mortal?

What made its explanation scarier was that Doashim was still avoiding it.

Just how powerful was the Brain Demon?

They could figure it out, because when green eyes stared into green eyes, Maple knew it was time to go...

She rose, pointing in the direction of her ship. "I agree..."

Some time later...


The Silent Erika flew over Ryloth's desert, a sleek black chrome beauty that reflected the sands below it as it got closer to the mountains of Ryloth.

Maple flew until she spotted the old ruins, collapsed in on themselves somewhat. She set the ship down going into her room and selecting her weapons from her private arsenal. She had accrued a massive amount of weapons and armor, but as always, picking up only what the mission needed. In this case, two pistols and a lever action carbine along with her staff. The white interior with a red floral pattern across all of it seemed smaller to her, despite its luxury and safety...it hit Maple just how long she had used this old machine.

She loved the Silent Erika. She would be with it until the madness forced her from its flight controls completely.

"Lets go Veronika..." Maple said stepping out of the ship and approaching the ruins built into a tall, jagged mountain itself, approaching the entrance, saw a the same strange jagged black crescent feel on the front door. The mark on her palm burned and she felt a curious urging, placing her mark on the door. The stone door slid open without a sound, and Maple felt the hideous whisper of The Brain Demon, its words running together as always.

WelcomemydearsweetUriOhhowIhavelongedtohaveyouhere

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

"So, we also have this shapechanger stalking you..." Veronika pulled her lips taut while muttering aloud. Things had just gotta slightly harder, because it meant that the Amalgam could make good use of shapeshifting to change looks and bend in. She might be able to sense the presence before too late, but it was a lingering worry that she would have to keep in the back of her mind. For the greater good of the mission. The last thing [member="Maple Harte"] needed was her to say aloud that things looked more grim than she initially thought. Veronika had thought that the Brain Demon was haunting Maple in dreams and stalking her, but it turned out to be two different enemies they were facing. For a moment, the blonde witch wondered if she should ask for backup. She could always ask a few sisters to help out. But Jart did mention that the two of them should be able to sort things out. Jart had no reason to lie to her, despite his sarcasm towards her sometimes. Besides, it was a personal demon that Maple was fighting and she did not ask for anyone else except Veronika. The least she could do was to respect Maple's decision.

The two of them soon ended up onboard the Silent Erika, a ship which Veronika was familiar with. She spent her time sitting at the cockpit next to Maple, her eyes glancing outside the window to see the vast mountains looming in front of them. They headed towards a old ruin and landed, a signal that they should get off. Veronika had her lightsaber ready and was decked out with a couple of accessories which she had gotten earlier from her faction. There was a body armour offered for all sisters, but she decided not to wear it in an exploration due to its weight. She followed behind Maple, approaching the ruins and found themselves in front of a strange door. Maple opened it with the symbol on her hand, indicating that the ruins was related to the Brain Demon.

"What was that?"

Veronika felt the tingling sensation brushing past her mental fort. The whispers were for Maple, but she could feel the presence. The witch frowned, muttering a spell to strengthen the willpower of both ladies and stepped into the darkness. She pulled out the resam light ball, letting it float above her head and lighting up the cave. It was the first time she was using it, but the artifact worked brilliantly when the light illuminated the path in front of them. The two of them walked forward, the cave seemingly carved out to form the artificial entrance but merged into the underground. She had no idea how long they walked, but it was a fair distance before the two of them entered a larger caravan.

"I don't like this..." Veronika raised her eyebrow, stating the obvious. Her senses were picking up something. More than one creature. She barely finished her words when a roar came out and a tall two legged insect emerged to block their way. Another came out behind it, followed by the third. The three creatures roared angrily at the intruders, rushing forward to greet them with their sharp pincers and mouths full of teeth. "Damn, you guys stink!" the witch ignited her lightsaber immediately, the purple blade shimmering in her hand when the nearest Gutkurr took a swipe at her without fear. Some creatures would reconsider a fight at the sight of a lightsaber, but the Gutkurrs were too mindless to think.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple assembled her staff ends when [member="Veronika Fleischer"] shined the ball of light down the length of the tunnel.

She stared at her staff for a split second, and it hit her that the Amalgam also used a staff, and like her preferred weapon, its ends heavily modified with tips made of a near-frictionless material, that would give it a pretty good chance of cutting through nearly anything save lightsaber resistant metals, the Amalgam's double bladed lightsaber could be split in two.

They couldn't be more different...and yet their methods and strategy when it came to weapons was similar...

Almost...suspiciously similar...

Maple wanted to think on this more, because this seemed to be a rather important fact she had not caught onto until now. But its significance eluded her.

Still...

The giant insects interrupted her train of thought, and while Maple was fairly certain all this was actually happening, a small sliver of doubt entered.

Still...it wasn't enough to make her not fight. She spun her staff, its setting set to kill, its shiny red, cone shaped tips vibrating, capable of effortlessly slicing open the insect hides nearly as well as any lightsaber. Veronika was right though. These guys stank.

Maple semi-happily cut through one that swiped at her, slicing it in half lengthwise, its insect guts spilling everywhere.

SillyVeronika...thinkingmerespellscankeepyousafefrommyspiritualpower.

The Brain Demon's hiss came from deeper within Maple's mind.

Letthegamesbegin

Two more of the giant insects showed, the walls of the cave-like entry lighting in glowing blue jagged crescents on its walls, and Maple sensed a powerful darkness, the Brain Demon's hissing laughter starting up from...somewhere...

Maple pushed deeper, cutting down more insects, making sure to try and draw attention from the insects as much as possible, not bothering with fancy tactics as she attacked them. Some enemies don't need to be out thought, just outfought.

The Amalgam would require both. And so would The Brain Demon.

Maple pressed forward, the cave like structure starting to give way to more elaborate, curving, brain themed architecture and reliefs, torches lighting with strange purple fire as more insects roared from within to challenge her. They didn't feel like guardians specifically made to protect this place, just an infestation that had been taken advantage of and weaponized by dark powers.

As she fought, her thoughts lingered somewhat on the Amalgam...why was it so personal for the fiend?

And why did she feel as if she already knew the answer...but didn't?

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

She hated the stench, hated the darkness and hated her hair getting messed up. The blonde witch took down the first insect that lunged at her with a neat swipe across its abdomen and spent some time tangling with the second. She lost a few strands of hair from its sharp claws and returned the favour by taking off the every claws that cut her precious golden locks. The limbless Gutkurr roared in anger, its jaws biting the air where Veronika's head was. "Close, but not good enough..." she rewarded its bravery by cutting off the head, spewing goo onto the floor that narrowly missed her precious leather jacket.

The three creatures were dispatched quickly, but the eerie cave remained disturbing to her senses. She could feel the presence of the Brain Demon when it spoke to [member="Maple Harte"], her psychic senses brushed past an invisible wave of slime which made her cringed. The invisible foe was somehow taunting them and using the Gutkurrs as disposable tools. Maple Harte had clearly recognised that as well, taking off immediately to head inside while the enemies closed ranks. She made a threatening swipe in the air using her lightsaber to force the insects back and darted behind the brunette.

The two witches raced deeper into the unknown regions of the cave, finding themselves in a large cavern illuminated by torches of purple flames. Veronika knew that there was magic at work. Or the Force, depending on one's beliefs. The term did not matter, because they found themselves surrounded by the never ending number of creatures. Her temper was flaring up, her vision seeing a sea of red in front of her as the fiery bloodlust grew. She snarled, her lightsaber cleaving the nearest insect into two.

"I'll kill every single insect if I have to!!!" Veronika gave a shrilling shriek that rang through the cave. The nearest Gutkurrs exploded into tiny insect pieces from her Force Scream while the remaining ones ignored the casualties. The witch was about to let loose a second yell that was even higher pitched when she sensed that something seemed off. The insects never seemed to be ending, despite the number that had been killed. She closed her eyes and concentrated intensely, muttering the strange shamanic words that achieved the effect of Cleanse Mind through the Force.

When she opened her eyes, the endless swarm of illusionary insects had disappeared.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple had been busy herself, cutting through the vicious insects. Having been a fan of cheesy action holos much like her Master Ursula had been, she randomly threw out a quote she could actually remember, though, given the situation she actually butchered the quote. Still...close enough.

"I have had it with these motherfething Gutkurrs in this motherfething horribly evil lost tomb!" Maple yelled as she impaled a Gutkurr, turned on by Veronika's vicious display as [member="Veronika Fleischer"] cut through them.

But as they fought deeper and deeper, the insects seemed to get only more numerous. The Brain Demon chuckled a little in the back of her skull.

Veronika's scream seemed to do nothing, even though it looked very impressive to watch insects explode. Ordinarily, Maple didn't like hurting animals, even insects, but the stress of past missions, and the growing darkness within over her obsessive hunt for The Amalgam, who had killed nearly all her friends in the Marksmen, made her revel in Veronika's nature, making her renewed passion for her fellow witch grow more intense despite the situation.

But Veronika then proved she had truly grown in her mental studies when her spell made what had turned out to be a vast and powerful illusion disappear...no insects...

Maple stood silently with Veronika in the chamber.

"You truly are a witch of the Jart, Fleischer..." Maple said admiringly. It was the same thing she had taken notice of during that time they had gotten captured by the crazy space pirate...her mental powers were considerable.

Interesting... the Brain Demon hissed from the bottom of Maple's soul. Maple waa under no illusions the evil spirit was intimidated by either of them. Harte relied on pure combat skill, having been honed into a killing machine since she was fourteen by Ursula. But she lacked a deep understanding of the Force most days, and even her magic, which she was slightly better at, was still no match for someone like Katrine. Veronika had a better command of the Force, but she had never gone up against something like the Brain Demon's powerful magic before. She wasn't stupid. But she was certainly not at the level of someone like Muad Dib.

Though given her display, Maple would not be surprised if she became as powerful...

"C'mon, Veronika. Lets head further in..." Maple said, pulling a torch off the rack, its purple flame unsettling her as she walked down the halls of this lost ruin, until she came across a faded, colored fresco that went the length of the wall.

It depicted a crowd of hooded men and women, watching a purple skinned Togrutan woman of great beauty fall from the sky, directly underneath a strange green light into a crystal lake. It was a sequence of events, actually...it showed her being recovered, obviously by the ancient Mandragora...who branded her with a Jart tattoo.

With a chill as she held the torch up, Maple realized she was staring at the face of The Brain Demon's mortal self...

"Veronika...she was a chosen of Jart, like you..."

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

"Why, thank you darling," the blonde smiled when her partner offered a praise regarding her ability to recognise the illusions created by the Brain Demon. The very name of the enemy suggested his or her specialisation to be in the same domain as Veronika, but Veronika knew deep down inside that she was uncertain about her own capabilities. She was a confident woman, arrogant at times but definitely not dumb. The way the demon casually summoned a bunch of realistic looking creatures that deceived her initial inspection was nothing to sniff at. The only thankful fact was that Jart was still with her, even though he had been pretty quiet so far. Perhaps the spirit was observing silently, only intervening when necessary.

[member="Maple Harte"] had picked up a nearby torch, seemingly uneasy with the purple flames that were clearly unnatural. Veronika was more wary about picking one up and decided to depend on her resam artifact for light. The duo walked along the corridors of the ancient ruins, the silence only broken by the sounds of an occasional grunt or their breathing. Her mental senses remained somewhat alert, knowing that she had better chances of picking up any danger during the exploration compared to her companion who was more skilful with her staff. It did not help that a headache was forming at her temple, probably the side effects of casting Cleanse Mind hastily from the previous encounter.

The grey and brown cave walls were illuminated by the strange purple flames in front, soon giving way into something more colourful under the flickering torch. As Maple gave a yelp of surprise, Veronika took a step closer to examine the strange drawing. "Hmm... a Togruta falling into a lake with shining green light? None of this makes any sense," she muttered, half expecting the voice of the Brain Demon to appear again. She detected no dark presence though, deciding that it was time to...

"Time to summon me. Yes..." Jart manifested itself into a colourful bird in front of the two of them, wings fluttering in the dark cave before landing on Veronika's outstretched arm. The two ladies gasped in amazement, knowing that Veronika would never have the capacity to summon Jart in such a form with her existing powers. Jart squawked in amusement at his their expression before hopping onto Maple's right arm, his claws tapping against the cursed black mark which moved away from him, clearly uncomfortable to face the spirit.

"She was one of my disciples. But she betrayed us, longed for power. You will find her Grimoire somewhere at the bottom of the lake..."

Veronika sighed, eyes rolling at the mention of getting wet. Why was she not surprised by the clique hiding place?

"Stop interrupting, child. Mind your manners. You will find the cursed book and leave this place. The rest of the work will be done by us. Don't cast any spell from the book or you will regret it. Remember that. Now, I gotta find the rest and work out something," Jart finished his advice and disappeared, leaving behind a feather that radiated unexplainable spirit magic on Maple's forearm. Veronika picked it up, waving it in the air to see if it would do something special. Nothing, except the swaying of motion caused by her hand. She tucked it in her breast pocket, noticing that the cursed mark seemed to have shrunk in size somewhat during the conversation. Even her headache seemed to have stopped.

"I suppose Jart isn't as useless as I thought. Why couldn't he just hang around and help..." Veronika grumbled and shook her head.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple stared in amazement as Jart appeared before her and [member="Veronika Fleischer"]. She'd only seen Doashim, never Jart. He was actually kinda cute. And when he actually landed on her arm and tapped against the black mark on her palm and it shrank from his touch, she felt the Brain Demon hiss in annoyance from the depths of her addled mind. Skip. Veronika was the Bounty Hunter and Maple was the Socialite with a social media profile. Skip. Rabbits! Skip. Back to the horrible evil tomb. And the gorgeous blond.

When Jart finished his explanation, leaving the magic feather, she heard the Brain Demon hiss in her skull again. The fiend seemed uniquely vulnerable to Jart...maybe it was because their powers were similar.

If Jart had a counterpart, did that mean Doashim and Lylek had one too? Maple shuddered at the possibility. But no other evil spirit had visited her besides Darth Maranon, and her evil was more of the hedonistic pleasure-torture combination that seemed to be a popular personality type among the more ancient Sith. Maranon was also very attracted to Maple for some reason. As was Darth Shojo.

Maple felt conflict now that Veronika was back. Veronika was a catch but it had been a while and Maple had felt things for others she had encountered since their last meeting and she wasn't sure what she should do, or even how to start addressing it.

Maple had one overriding weakness when it came to taste in women...femme fatales. The deadlier the better. Nice girls didn't really do it for her. It had gotten her in trouble many times. But just being around her, even in this situation made Maple burn with lust for the Blond---

Allwhotouchyouwilldie... the Brain Demon whispered...

Maple felt bad as she continued to explore. A life of self denial had been too taxing, too frustrating. It had cost her in her ability to properly manage interpersonal relationships. She had to learn on the go, and she still wasn't good at it.

All she knew was, she didn't want to hurt Veronika. And she didn't want Veronika to be hurt because of her or her various enemies. She didn't even know how to talk about the schizophrenia yet, which was degenerative. Before Veronika had come back into her life, Maple had started to darkly question whether the wonderful blond had even been real...

Gods that would have been depressing, her turning out to be just a figment of Maple's imagination. Sometimes she still questioned if the Amalgam was real. If any of this was.

As Maple headed deeper in she felt a familiar, rotting presence in the air, sheer, boiling corruption and darkness, a living taint of the Bogan.

Maple hesitantly went forward into one chamber and spotted her, standing in front of a large set of coils with different colored rings of energy, stacked atop one another.

It was The Amalgam. She was clad as she had been the last time, wearing a skin tight, off white segmented combat suit, almost flesh colored, save for the white gloves and thigh high boots. Her face had that impossibly beautiful symmetry, capped by a moe cut of very black hair and dead, souless purple eyes.

Maple dropped the torch, bringing the staff to bear. She charged. The Amalgam yawned as the staff passed through her harmlessly, for she was nothing but an image. A force illusion.

"Hello Uri. Miss me?" The Amalgam asked.

"Too scared to face me in person?!" Maple demanded angrily, though her eyes betrayed an intense fear, even though who she was staring was just an image.

"No. But I face you when I want...not the other way around...welcome to this sacred sanctum of the Brain Demon...Daughter..." the Amalgam added that last part slowly, as if she was testing out the word openly for the first time.

"I am not your fething daughter! What are you talking--"

Maple stopped, remembering the duel at the bottom of Loste Citadel when she was barely an adult. The strange, misshapen monster with no face...

"It was you..." Maple whispered, getting a terrible, sinking feeling she could not explain as she stared at the slightly smiling face of the Amalgam.

"Who are you? I...I know you...from...somewhere...who are you?"

The Amalgam simply continued smiling, not answering except to point to the contraption behind her and the door that contraption controlled.

"Welcome to your first test, my child...open this door to find what you seek beyond..."

"How are you here?! I thought you'd left."

"The Unholy Spirit binds us, Uri. It allows me to manifest in any place its magic holds sway...I'll be watching...daughter." The Amalgam answered, grinning as she vanished.

"WAIT!" Maple screamed into nothing. "TELL ME WHO YOU ARE! HELP ME UNDERSTAND!" Maple shouted desperately in thin air, badly shaken at just seeing her but no longer certain it was a pure fear reaction as she leaned against the wall, shaking as she stared at the energy mechanism...

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

The mood of the cave reverted back to its eerie state when Jart disappeared, leaving the duo with no other option but to press on. Veronika's mind was filled with questions during the silence. There was the mysterious mural on the wall which remained partially unexplained. Next, there was an explainable connection between [member="Maple Harte"] and the Brain Demon, probably the source of all the psychological trauma. Lastly, the vagueness of Jart himself was unsettling as usual. Veronika could only trust that her patron spirit knew what he was doing.

She felt the creeping presence of the Brain Demon again coming behind them. Maple's mind was also getting loud with her self chatter, thoughts that fed into her mind as though someone was having a loud conversation. The blonde did not like the situation at all. "Uri, come back to me..." she whispered into her lover's mind, trying to see if she could get the brunette to calm down.

Maple suddenly darted into a nearby chamber that was empty. The blonde followed behind, eyes scanning the area but found nothing. Her partner thought otherwise, raising her staff to strike at the emptiness in front of her. No, it was not empty. An illusion was there, a dark figure that made Maple Harte angry.

"Uri, it's not real. Uri?"

Veronika raised her mental vocals, but whatever was haunting the brunette was taking grip of the reality. The Amalgam had finally showed herself, taunting the brunette with words that shocked Veronika as well. Was Maple really the Amalgam's daughter? The blonde found herself rooted on the spot as the strange scene unfolded in her view, with the Amalgam telling Maple to solve the puzzle involving strange rings of energy before disappearing. The blonde took a few steps forward hastily towards the bounty hunter who was shaking badly. She saw the fear in the dark brown eyes and gripped Maple's shoulders, channeling a burst of soothing warmth through the touch.

"Uri, come back to me. Listen to my voice and come back to me."

The blonde's mental capabilities were usually reserved to inflict wounds on her opponents, but she was equally capable to heal the mental sufferings if she chose to. She might still be arrogant, but Veronika was changing more than she was willing to admit. The dark pupils staring back at her slowly lost their dilation with her help, regaining a calmer composure that indicated the mental intervention had worked.

"Good. You are fine now. You had scared me for a moment."

 

[Maple Harte]

I know her.

There was still so much she didn't know about her arch enemy, so much that was a mystery. Even how she infiltrated Light Side groups was a mystery to her--it seemed impossible she could remain undetected for so long...

And yet she had somehow done just that. And the Amalgam knew her. Was obsessed with her.

The vile creature calling her daughter sent shivers of disgust crawling up her flesh. She had fought it before, but her madness had caused her to forget.

She knew she wasn't Shi'ido...that was for certain. Whatever her delusions, she knew in the end she was a human being.

Why would this creature consider her on such personal terms?

In her panic, [member="Veronika Fleischer"] came to the rescue, using her mental abilities to steady Maple's racing, confused thoughts, part of her wanting desperately to believe the previous part had just been some fethed up lie in her brain. But it wasn't.

It called me her fething daughter.

Shuddering at the notion still, Maple at last calmed herself, slowing her breathing. She looked, her wet green eyes still haunted by the Amalgam's words, but better able to focus.

"She's fething with me. She has to be..." Maple tried to convince herself out loud, but it was obvious she was uncertain.

"She has to be...she has to be..."

Maple's breathing went back to normal and she looked at Veronika, noting how the woman had changed slightly. She could tell she was not used to using her power to help others. But she had, here...

Maple wasn't going to encourage Veronika to be a do gooder. They each had to walk their own path of morality and accept the consequences. But Veronika showing this sliver of potential to help others even if at the moment it was to help someone who had basically been putty in her hands from the moment they first kissed, gave Maple some idea that maybe, just maybe, Veronika had a potential to be a great force for good...deep down...someday...whether she remained a celebrity or not.

But still...idle speculation...Veronika was simply being a sweetheart for a woman that had missed her presence. She was greatful for that. But she would not try to read into it. Any change Veronika chose to make would have to come from a sincere conviction from within. It was what had made her stop being Uri Udinia and turned her into Maple Harte. Uri still existed, but buried under a snow of insanity. And regret.

She scoffed at herself mentally as she thanked Veronika. She hated it when she got philosophical. Veronika had helped. It was enough. She cared about Veronika because Veronika was Veronika and chose to care about her, and because Fleischer was master of her own fate and made no apologies for what she did or who she was. Maple loved that about her, wished she could emulate it. Wished she could stop carrying the guilt of all those pointless thousands of deaths she had caused. Some philosophers called that the will to power. Damn, there she went again with the philosophy...

"Lets figure out what this energy...thing...does..." Maple mentioned, going to the strange machine and looking at it. She was an expert with ancient computer systems. In minutes she had figured it out. She fiddled with a switch and the walls on both sides of the chamber parted, revealing two coil towers.

"I've seen this kind of system before..." Maple spoke. "There is supposedly something similar to this in the tomb of the Sith Lord Naga Sadow...we have to arrange the rings...or rearrange them on this central spike, by using these two towers in front of us. But for every ring we transfer from the center tower takes the ring above it, and we have to be very careful in the order we arrange the rings or we'll be locked out..." Maple said grimly. "See if you can find some hint as to the order the rings are supposed to go on the other rings.

Just then, spikes started to protrude from the ceiling...and the ceiling started to lower, slowly, almost imperceptible, but it was definitely moving...

(Indiana Jones theme plays)

"Oh dear. I was afraid of that..." Maple muttered. "Haste would be an excellent habit to develop..."

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

The brunette seemed to be mostly recovered after Veronika's assistance. Well, mostly. The Amalgam had claimed that [member="Maple Harte"] was her daughter, a twisted claim that would be shocking if it was true. As Maple muttered repeatedly under her breath in disbelief. Veronika frowned as well and chipped in. "Perhaps it's the creature's way of messing with your mind. Just like what the Brain Demon has been doing." She could sense the confused thoughts radiating from Maple and leaned over to offer a comforting hug. The brunette felt warm in her arms, making Veronika remember the last adventure where they spent some time together.

Was she turning into a softie? Veronika did not think so. She cared for her partner, her friend, her lover. Perhaps deeper than others whom she had met, but she had chosen to do it willingly. There was something about Uri Udinia or Maple Harte that drew her attention from the first time they met. The leather clad bounty hunter contrasted sharply against the more outgoing socialite not just in appearance, but also in behaviour. Perhaps it was the contrast that drew the blonde. Or perhaps it was the inner tussle that Maple always had which reminded Veronika of her own darkness.

The two broke the embrace, with Maple turning her attention to the strange circular rings of light. With a little fiddling, the brunette concluded that the device was some sort of puzzle. A puzzle that Maple mentioned to be similar to one found in Naga Sadow's tomb.

"Naga Sadow... that's an ancient Sith Lord," Veronika said, her curosity raised from Maple's observation. She knew that Maple was no ordinary bounty hunter and had a past that was unknown to her. But to have the ability to lay claim that Naga Sadow's tomb contained a similar device? The blonde concluded that Maple had either visited the tomb before or had access to knowledge about the tomb. Either option only served to cast more mystery to Maple's background. The blonde kept her cool, knowing that there was always a better time to satisfy her curiosity later.

Escaping from the deadly trap that had sprung out of the ceiling would be a bigger priority. Veronika stepped forward to the glowing device and shot a look at Maple, "Surely you must know the solution since you have encountered it before?" The response from Maple asking her to look for hints suggested otherwise, which made the blonde's heart racing when there was none to be found. The socialite had the blessing of wealthy grandparents to send her to the best academies in the galaxy. Despite her lack of interest in most mathematical modules, she did come across a particular Tower of Hana puzzle.

"I got this... I think," she stared at the ancient console filled with coloured rings, tapping her hand on the screen to drag the rings around. She cursed, remembering the solution after several attempts while the ceiling was halfway from rewarding them with bloody holes. She moved the smallest ring around to the next pillar before adjusting the ring below and moving the smallest ring again. "Come on... come on..." it took a few more presses before the rings were rotated successfully. Veronika gave a yell of delight as the sealed door slowly opened, pushing Maple through the gap before squeezing through, feeling the cold brush of metal scraping past her sleeve to remove a few buttons.

"That was too close," Veronika admitted, her face pale from the puzzle encounter while she sat on the floor. The door closed behind them and a strange set of lights illuminated the pathway ahead. A series of Galactic Basic letters decorated the floor tiles on the pathway, while the voice of the Brain Demon crackled with laughter. Veronika heard the voice for the first time and cringed at its eerie tone, wondering what else was in store for them. The demon was obviously not present, merely a Force conjuration lurking around to give them the next puzzle.

"I have many sisters in the Mandragora, as many sisters as I have brothers, but each of my brothers has twice as many sisters as brothers. So answer me, little witches. How many sisters and brothers in total form our wonderful Coven?

The floor tiles began to glow brightly after the riddle was announced.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple watched, impressed as [member="Veronika Fleischer"] solved the problem. She must have come across something similar to this puzzle. And not a moment too soon either because those spikes where getting lower. Plus, Veronika solving it was soooo hot, in spite of the situation. Skip. Maple was chained to the center of a star, burning forever for some punishment she had long since forgotten. Skip. Back to the evil murder-temple and the gorgeous, clever blond, pushing her through first when the spikes were nearly close to skewering them both. Maple's heart was pounding and she let out an exhale of relief before she heard a hideous laugh of the Brain Demon...all the more frightening and terror inducing to her, for she had never really heard it laugh. And then came the riddle, the tiles lighting. Maple sensed magic in them.

Maple stood still and thought a moment.

"Add the five...carry the one...I got it! Four sisters and three brothers!" Maple answered happily. "Errr...I think..."

The tiles on the path that had lit up, floated and parted ways to reveal a staircase, that led deeper floating away from their positions to let the two through. Maple descended the stair case, keeping her staff out, looking for danger, and came across another Frescoe, that depicted the same, purple skinned Togrutan woman, training to become a great witch under Jart's guidance, fighting in a hundred lost conflicts she had never heard of. And t on the witch's chest a black flame at the center was depicted. She had no idea what it meant.

And then the art depicted the witch throwing herself into a lake of black fire...and what emerged was the figure that haunted her dreams for years now. Maple tried not to hyperventilate at the sight: an emaciated naked figure with no face, still Togrutan in shape, and still retaining that purple skin, but with overly long, spindly fingers.

She didn't understand why it tortured her in her sleep. It was obsessed with driving her to further insanity.

Onlytocompleteyoumydearsweetmapleonlytocompleteyou.

Its hated whisper drove shivers up her body as she approached the fresco, noticing a latch. She undid it. The wall on her left hissed, gasses escaping, revealing...something worse...

Maple cautiously stepped forward. A vast, gigantic chamber the size of a racing stadium greeted her, carved from the very rock of the earth, in the walls in rows of fifty were stacks of rotting books

She saw signs of death and decay everywhere, there where corpses everywhere, mummified or nothing but piles of bones and tattered cloth, and damaged or destroyed lightsabers scattered about.

At the center lay a sphere of durasteel with glowing symbol of jagged crescents at the center. Alchemized.

The Image of The Amalgam appeared ahead, smirking that little smirk of hers.

"Well...seems your little girlfriend is actually good for something..." the Amalgam joked, dead purple eyes focusing on Veronika for a second.

"Ah, Veronika Fleischer! You know, I actually tried to track you for a few months once I started seeing you around with her but inbetween being buried in a literal feth-ton of assignments from the Sith Empire and you somehow managing to drop off the radar despite being such a public figure, I'm almost embarrassed to confess it but I lost track of you."

"You go anywhere NEAR her--!" Maple snarled at the illusion.

The Amalgam yawned, and made a big show of doing so, stretching her arms.

"Yes, yes, you'll kill me, blah blah blah, from two miles out, blah blah blah. Really, daughter, I've heard it all, really. If anything, Veronika is wasting her talant not going full Bogan. The Brain Demon always takes in Jart followers if you ever get interested in going top tier." The Amalgam said, grinning, pacing about silently, observing her surroundings.

"So tell me, Veronika just how much do you know about Uri Udinia? I know all about her, myself."

"Why are you stalking me and why do you think I'm your daughter?" Maple asked quietly, clenching her staff so tightly her knuckles were white.

"Uri Udinia The Golden Eye, most accurate of The Marksmen, a clandestine assassination unit of Jedi Shadows. Several hundred confirmed kills, over four thousand unconfirmed. First noted attack on a Sith of any note was when she was fourteen, having infiltrated the hidden, floating fortress of Darth Mezmerra, who had taken hostages for an unholy ritual to gain access to an ancient Force Based super weapon, where she racked up her intial count of a hundred and fifty dead within three hours, using nothing but her staff and a Rifle--she saved all the hostages by the way. This gets her noticed by Ursula Sandraven, then-Leader of the Marksmen. Recruited right out of choosing the path of a Jedi Sentinel. Serves until she is twenty four, after which she fakes her death on Mimban after being forced to kill old friends who had gotten wise and embraced the Bogan, telling her of her glorious destiny..." the Amalgam trailed. "Did I leave anything out, daughter? Oh! I know..." the purple eyed woman smirked at Maple, who had gone pale.

"Did you tell her why you left?"

"I got tired of killing people without understanding why..." Maple growled.

"Oh...that is only part of it, dear Uri." The Amalgam chuckled maliciously. "Tell her about your diagnosis. Tell her about the Shrodinger's Syndrome...if you have the guts."

"What is this place?!" Maple snapped at her, wanting to throttle the vile creature.

"This was our inner sanctum...before the foolish Mandragora decided to slaughter most of us, when all we wanted was the same thing the spirits lorded over us--power...real power...have fun trying to figure out how to open the sphere!" The Amalgam gloated, before vanishing.

Maple glowered at the spot where she vanished before heading to the sphere to study it.

"How is that someone who dresses like they're from an unpopular cyberpunk adaptation be that insufferably smug?" Maple grumbled to herself as she reached the sphere...

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

The blonde was still catching her breath from the previous ordeal when the riddle was given. It was a tricky one, requiring a combination of comprehension and mathematics. Veronika was about to ask for the riddle to be repeated when [member="Maple Harte"] shouted the answer aloud without much effort. How did the brunette manage to solve the evil tongue twister puzzle within a minute? She had no idea, but Veronika was certainly glad to be proceeding to the next section without any more trickery. The staircase look unassuming, with Maple had already stepped in with her trusty staff and triggered no traps.

More drawings on the wall depicting the Brain Demon greeted the two of them. The purple Togruta was painted as a creature with no face, making Veronika shudder slightly at the thought. Some evil magic must be at work to create such monstrosity. As usual, Maple was confidently pulling down the latch without worrying if it would spring any traps. Perhaps it was just the bounty hunter's instincts, or perhaps Veronika was getting nervous after the previous spiky ceiling encounter.

"I shouldn't be this anxious. It's just a latch," she muttered softly under her breath, her senses immediately screaming alert when she stepped through. The Amalgam was there again, wearing the same weird skin coloured armour that looked surprisingly fetish. Veronika wondered if the creature had a liking for such weird stuff, but decided that it sounded too ludicrous to be true. The armour was just that, armour.

"Your paparazzi skills ain't as good as the stalkers from Good Morning Galaxy or Hello Hotties. Next time you should learn a couple of tricks before trying to track me down. Who knows, you might just catch this delicious body of mine," the blonde giggled in a mocking tone, obviously smug from her capability to keep her privacy. There was a certain truth in her comments though, with the paparazzi from those tabloids being the most dedicated photographers ever. One of them even climbed up the trees next to her apartment to try and catch a glimpse of the socialite. Maple was not so amused though, her anger lashing out at the creature who claimed to her mom. A dubious claim that could not be verified. Veronika was more pleased about her partner's concern towards her, smiling broadly at the brunette and to the Amalgam.

"If gaining the Brain Demon's blessing means to look like a robot zombie, I'll pass." Veronika giggled again, her tone flirtatious and yet dripping with sarcasm. "I also don't really care if you know much about my dear Uri. So what if she is some Jedi Shadow who killed lots of people. I kill lots of people when I am upset..." she laughed aloud, suddenly remembering the last time she plunged her lightsaber into one of those lousy men who could not appreciate her love. That look on his face was exquisite.

"That's right. You can go away while we finish tearing this place apart after our little adventure," the blonde replied haughty to the vanishing illusion and turned her attention back to Maple. "You alright, darling? No worries, we will get her someday. And I know about Schrodinger... something cat theory. Quantum mechanics from college. I might hate maths and physics, but I still remember it referring to some cat..."

She paused for a moment, studying Maple intently with her emerald eyes and walked over.

"That's what you are, isn't it. My dearest Uri Udinia. Maple Harte. Two sides of the same coin. The cat is dead and alive at the same time."

Another pause, this time her eyes admiring the facial features staring back. The dark locks of hair that felt soft whenever she touched them. The dark brooding eyes that always seem to be full of depth. Those lips looked inviting, so she leaned over and planted her lips against the other woman's for a brief moment.

"Should have done that a long time ago. Like, at the beginning of this little adventure," Veronika winked and took a moment to observe the strange sphere in Maple's hand. The round object was covered with strange runes. Sith Alchemy? Witch runes? She had no idea but the sphere projected a spectrum of rainbow colours when viewed from different angles. The witch instinctively pulled out the rainbow coloured feather dropped by Jart and brushed against the metallic sphere.

Darkness descended, swallowing the two ladies.

 

[Maple Harte]

[member="Veronika Fleischer"] was so understanding, so willing to aid her. So...Veronika. She told her not to worry, that she understood the theory about cats in boxes. She wasn't exactly correct...and ironically, given the subject, she wasn't that far off either.

Maple's illness was pure hell. At any moment she could be wisked away to some delusion, one that could last only a half second, but in her mind days and weeks could pass inside the delusion. Even millenia. And such delusions were rarely pleasant. She could only recall one delusion she had been genuinely upset about leaving, and it was the one where she was a billionaire (still as herself, oddly enough) who had spent her days shooting Sith Lords tied to fence posts or chasing around hot women in Lingerie. It had only lasted three hours in her head. But DAMN if wasn't a great three hours.

(Epic cutaway to Maple in a sailor outfit chasing beautiful women in lingerie then getting chased by them on a sandy beach while Yackety Sax plays)

Veronika then kissed her, and everything became solidly real to her. At least in that one instant as their lips touched. Maple pulled closer to those lips, even as the Brain Demon whispered its ugly warning again, she didn't care. Veronika was kissing her. And it was a damn good kiss.

Maple felt the kiss linger as Veronika pulled back. Wow. It was such a pity they were in a murder-tomb, because if it had been almost anywhere else when she got 'that' kind of kiss...but alas, business before pleasure. Hopefully lots of it.

Maple had retrieved the sphere, and its rainbow hues were hypnotic as the magic feather came out, brushing against the sphere. Everything went dark.

Maple looked around in panic. She still had the sphere, but it hadn't opened. She wheeled around, spotting what looked to be a large pool of bubbling black liquid. The chamber it was in depicted stone reliefs of the Brain Demon, performing various tortures on willing supplicants.

The runes of the sphere she held started to glow and the Brain Demon spoke in both their minds.

WelcometotheInversionWellspring...

(Zelda Fairy Fountain theme plays)

"What the hell is that?" Maple asked, slowly, steadily approaching it...shuddering at the monsters whisper.

Meanwhile...


The Amalgam snapped from her meditation within the black pentagram she had painted on the floor of her all white, circular guest room. She was sweating from the effort to maintain the connection from the X-70B Phantom Class Yacht that was her primary mode of transportation.

"I do not look like a robot zombie. Why, I'm positively gorgeous..." the Shi'ido grumbled to herself, Veronika's words having unexpectedly found their mark.

Regardless, the two were near the spring. Now the second test could begin...

The Amalgam transmitted the orders to the small cult she had alerted to the temple's whereabouts...within minutes after transmission was received, this small group of dathomiri type female cultists breached the sanctum with explosives, via the underground tunnels they had dug...their target, the same deep underground chamber Maple and Veronika had magically been transported to...

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

The darkness was a spell, no doubt about it. Even a common folk would have been able to point that out. But Veronika knew it was more than just a mere spell, but a reaction to Jart's magical presence. The bird spirit definitely knew his connection with the Brain Demon and the feather had to be more than just a simple tool to open a metallic sphere. As for its true purpose, neither Veronika nor [member="Maple Harte"] was able to figure out. All the darn feather did was to break off the illusion cover of the dirty looking spring.

Correction. A spring spewing black foul liquid with a design that failed aesthetically. The chamber's depictions of the faceless purple looking Brain Demon only helped to give the overall scene a big negative score.

"I wish she would just stop eating the words up with her short breath," Veronika was getting annoyed by the presence of the creature, but helpless to chase it away while they remained in her domain. Meanwhile, Maple's curiosity with the spring drew her to step closer for a better look, with the blonde tagging behind. "It's a spring..." Veronika glanced down at the blackish waters, surprised to see her own reflection back at her. "I know it sounds silly, but I think we should drink it."

The blonde paused for a moment, letting her silly response sink in. She was suggesting to drink the water of this inversion well, where she could probably die from some random poisonous effect.

"No. Probably not a good idea."

Bits of rock fragments fell onto her head and tremors started to shake the ground. Veronika gasped, wondering if they were in the midst of the cave collapsing. More shaking, but accompanied by distant sounds that could only be heard as explosions.

"No idea who's behind us, but we need to move."

The blonde stared at Maple and then back at the spring again. She took the glowing sphere from her partner's soft hand and dipped it into the water which mysteriously lit up the black surface, showing a chalice which she pulled out. Veronika scooped a mug of water and looked at Maple again, hesitating for a moment and then gave her lover another kiss, longer this time.

"If I am dead, Maple... remember me. I love you."

With that, she poured the water down her throat, forcing herself to finish the gross drink. She gave a cough and handed the chalice to Maple.

Did Maple suddenly look much hotter? Such pretty eyes, Veronika thought. Such a perfect mouth. Focus. They were supposed to escape from this hellhole before the cave collapsed upon them. She found herself imagining a wonderful vision, where she spent her days wearing the sexiest lingerie playing catch with Maple who wore a similar set. Tangling in the sheets every night.

Skip.

Wasn't it the Dark Lord who killed her father? She swore that she was holding onto the dark blade and plunging it inch by inch into Darth Vader's chestpiece.

Skip.

Veronika blinked. Maple was still standing there, the wonderful Uri who needed to drink from the glass.

"Guess I am not dead. Your turn. But something doesn't feel right."

(Chrono Cross music plays)

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple had been examining the spring when [member="Veronika Fleischer"] spoke about the Brain Demon's tendancy to run words together.

"I've always hated that about that fethin' thing..." Maple agreed, almost hypnotized by the bubbling spring. Veronika suggested they drink it and Maple looked at Fleischer in astonishment as rumbles she knew instinctively came from breaching charges played out around them. Maple was crazy, but that suggestion was crazy even to her, which was saying something.

Still, there was something so irresistible about her suggestion for some reason, even while the place was starting to come apart. Veronika appeared to have a flash of insight because she took the sphere and dipped it in the water, revealing a chalice as the sphere lit the water up.

But the next thing Veronika said (which was immediately preceeded by a kiss that made Maple actually close her eyes and lift one leg behind her slightly) made Maple stop before she drank from the chalice.

I love you.

Those words bit into her, because since first encountering Veronika Maple had been drawn in different directions. One had been an old friend, who she knew loved her, the other a vampire. She had felt so confused, despite her feelings towards them.

But suddenly hearing those words from Veronika, who had been catnip to Maple whenever they were together, who had brought out something in her at first sight...it made Maple come to a realization...

They were opposites, from the same planet, but...the feeling she suddenly had was so intense, more intense than Siva. More intense than Darth Shojo. Maple took the chalice.

"I...I love you too, Veronika..." Maple trailed as Veronika started to cough, finally realizing she was in love. "And if death be your fate...you won't go alone..."

Maple dipped the chalice in the liquid and drank it, coughing.

"Oh gods it tastes like Sidious's wet socks filled with Chewbacca's droppings!" she gagged. But she did not die. Instead suddenly she felt...

Fabulous.

Perfect.

Maple stretched, feeling divine, the madness leaving her skull and replaced by...diva-ness.

"I say, you have an absolutely fantastic outlook, darling Veronika." Maple said, affecting a posh accent, her state of mind being what could best be described as 'Suave-as-feth Superspy'

"Follow me Veronika..." Maple spoke, removing her staff ends and cutting a square into the relief, closest to her, which revealed an exit, grabbing the sphere...which shattered and revealed a small silver Key with jagged crescent motifs.

"Time to go!"

Just then white robed witches burst through a relief closer to Veronika. A sense of maliciousness came to her as she drew her pistol and shot two of them in the head, then stylishly flicked her hair back as she backed flipped out of their energy bow shots...

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

The blonde looked at her lover who had just perfectly executed two enemies in the head using her blaster pistol with a suave that took her breath away. [member="Maple Harte"] moved with style and sex appeal, the brown locks of hair seemed to defy gravity as they flowed beautifully in the air. Not even the enemies' return fire seemed to bother her. Maple was so cool. So chic. So fabulous. The blonde sighed at the enemies that seemed to keep pouring out from the cracks, annoyed by their presence and ignited her purple lightsaber. The energy bolts were too deadly to be deflected by her blade, but she could avoid them using the Force to hasten her reactions.

"Don't disturb our peace!" She growled, blade cutting through flesh and bow alike. Two died, but three emerged to take up positions. More earth started to fall, debris dropping onto her golden locks and shoulders. It was time to escape before everything caved in. The exit was nearby and Maple had opened it with her cunningness, asking the blonde to follow. Veronika slammed her elbow into the face of another enemy, hopped into the exit and turned around to grab her own pistol from her belt.

"See you at the Void," she squeezed the trigger and fired off multiple rounds at the cave ceiling behind to hasten the collapse. "Go. Go!" She grabbed Maple's hand and ran, knowing that her friend was more than capable to catch up with her pace. As they raced to escape the deadly cave in, she remembered the time where she was onboard the Millennium Falcon being chased by the Empire's fighter planes. Han Solo was there too, piloting the ship.

Skip.

I am Veronika Fleischer. I am a celebrity and a fashion designer.

She recalled that she was indeed a successful designer, having sent down countless dresses in her recent shows, including several biker jackets and leather pants. Maple was the beautiful biker chick who had inspired her, with the sexy toned legs and attitude.

Skip.

Veronika found herself back to reality, her mind finally stopped wandering while the cave in before them started to slow. But the path in front of them was ending, revealing nothing but a big giant lake at the bottom. A crystal lake. Strange green lights.

Timetojumpmyfriend...

She lashed out angrily at the Brain Demon, telling the creature to shut up. She was not an idiot, knowing that there was no way out.

"Jump!"

Veronika held onto Maple's hand tightly and leapt. The two ladies found themselves diving into the depths of the eerie green lake with the rest of the path behind them was swallowed by earth.

********​

The blonde saw a strange light in front of her. It was strangely attractive, drawing her to walk over towards the bright beam of light. Her eyes were blinded by the brilliance, her hands raised to shield her face as she was swallowed by the glow. By the time she opened her eyes, Veronika found herself standing in the middle of a beautiful vineyard.

"What... what is this? Maple, are you there? Uri?"

There was no Maple, no cave and no Brain Demon.