Encounter on Ryloth.

[Maple Harte]

[member="Veronika Fleischer"] looked so delicious when she broke faces. Maple had been using a center-axis relock position while shooting at point blank ranges, her eyes calculating the trajectory. Maple might as well have been some sort of sniping turret with how many she killed in this manner, most of them being headshots to boot.

This was the type of battle she had been born for, the kind that had everything coming apart epically and people dying by her hand with precision shots. Was there any other kind of glory?

More importantly, Maple felt fabulous. She envied this carefreeness of her lover, this ability to just see what she wanted and going for it. If only she could be like that every day, but even though Maple, for once, was free of madness, she knew she could not stay this way. Veronika didn't deserve to suffer with that illness. It wouldn't be just. It would be too cruel for words leaving her like that, especially when she knew well the eventual fate that would befall her for remaining so.

One witch got too close to her, not Mandragora, definitely. Maple felt the Force, and for once didn't have to fight past insanity to get her powers to work.

A strange, transparent shroud enveloped her blaster and she pulled the trigger on the witch, and the normally small pistol bolt seemed to exit the barrel larger than normal, slamming into the witch trying to attack Maple and flinging her so hard into the wall it broke her neck, which would have been fatal if not for the fact that the enhanced bolt had already torn open her stomach, killing her instantly.

Another witch charged. Guided by instinct, Maple touched all her cunning...and disappeared from sight just as a blow from an ax came down. The witch had her neck snapped from behind, the Brain Demon moaning in pleasure at Maple's gruesome act from some dark recess of her mind...

And then...Veronika shot up the ceiling and caused it to collapse even faster...exactly how Maple herself would have done it normally...sometimes the best way out of a crazy situation was to do something even crazier.

She jumped with Veronika, seeing a great green glow at the bottom swallow them both while the path behind was destroyed.

(Skyfall by Adele plays)

(Trippy Bond Style Opening Sequence occurs)

Maple awoke in the Loste Citadel, which had been her home as much as the Silent Erika had. She was in her private quarters, the HD screens on her walls making it look like a golden, ancient Coruscant outside.

Maple spotted Ursula Sandraven staring at the screens, wearing her sterile white combat body glove, the purple twi'lek breathing softly.

Maple, still affected by Veronika's personality traits, once more affected a posh accent.

"Ursula? I know you're dead, so what is this? Super-Wise Force Ghost Time?" Maple asked haughtily.

Ursula didn't answer. After a moment, Maple grew unsettled and jumped back.

Ursula had no face.


(Plasmid Acquisition Theme plays)

(New Force Powers discovered!)

Power: ENHANCE BOLT

Spoiler

Enhances the damage of all blaster class weapons Pistol grade blaster bolt becomes rifle grade, etcetera. As skill increases, number of shots that can be fired increases

(Due to gaining insight into Veronika's mind, Maple has gained an increased affinity for all stealth or mind related Force Powers)

Power: FORCE CLOAK

Spoiler

Temporarily hides character from all visual detection by organics for a short period of time, usually thirty seconds. As character advances, number of times power can be called on without tiring out increases.

(OOC: Veronika, feel free to select some skills or powers from my character sheet to add to your own if you want)

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

Planet: Alderaan
Location: Masha Estate Wineries
Time: 10:19 pm

Mariya had been busy in the fields today, learning about the grapes growing in her vineyard from her workers. It had been a while since she bought over the vineyard estate, but there was plenty to learn from the experienced hands. Gordon, her trusty butler, made sure that his mistress was getting the necessary lessons in the field whenever she had the time to spare. He knew she was busy with her learning related to the Je'daii Order and the Silver Jedi, so he was proud to make sure that things ran smoothly whenever she was not around.

For now, the blonde was getting ready to perform her last meditation before going to bed. It helped to clear her mind, to calm her down and to enjoy a good night's sleep. She sat cross legged on a comfortable mat on the floor, her mind focusing on her breathing as she always used to.

"Breathe in and out. One, two, three..."

She counted each breath slowly, letting her mind reach outwards to the fields, feeling the cooling night breeze and the plants' connection to the living Force. Her apprenticeship with Master [member="Matsu Ike"] had taught her how to build up her mental defenses using her memories. It was no surprise that Mariya had chosen her own vineyard to be the foundation of everything. Her spiritual form took form, letting her explore the visual representation of her psychic defenses. As usual, she would take a walk to do a quick inspection of the walls, to see how well she had developed and grown since the first class.

"Strange, is someone there?"

Mariya frowned and walked over to the disturbance that she had sensed. She could feel the presence of a mysterious darkness behind a gloomy fog. The blonde stepped into the mist hesitatingly, drawn by an unexplainable force to find herself standing along a long corridor. The darkness was in front of her, but its attention was drawn by something else. The padawan lowered her Force signature, slowly melting into the shadows as she stalked the unknown. She was reminded of her military days in black ops, taking slow steps forward each time before she stopped in front of a purple glowing pile of goo.

She ignited her lightsaber and cut down the goo, kicking open an unknown door to find herself looking at multiple screens on the walls.

"Who are you?"

Her lightsaber flew to her hand as her senses screamed aloud with danger, cutting at the faceless Ursula who vanished. Emerald eyes studied the other brunette who remained in the room.

"Who are you? Why do I feel like I should know you?"

Mariya trembled, her hand shaky when she felt the presence of family within [member="Maple Harte"]. She always thought that she had no family, but recent holonet news had indicated otherwise. She knew by now that she had a twin sister, but Maple bore no resemble to her.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple had genuinely not known what to do when confronted by the faceless Ursula, a great darkness reeking from the figure. Had that been the Brain Demon? The Amalgam, fething with her again?

Now that Maple's mind was no longer clouded by madness and she could actually think a little better beyond the most immediate tactics all sorts of things about the Amalgam were strange, the familiarity for one. And it had never occured to her, but what were the odds of them both preferring the use of staff weapons, and staff weapons that could split apart at that. That had to be more than just serendipity at play.

She felt like the answer suddenly was right in front of her. That it was on the tip of her tongue. But she couldn't quite see it somehow.

And then this train of thought was broken by [member="Mariya Fleischer"] coming from nowhere and making an already startling moment even more startling.

"Veronika, darling, however did you--wait, you're not Veronika..." Maple paused, still affecting that posh accent. "Aura's all wrong..."

Maple, overtaken by Veronika's personality, struck an elaborate superspy pose out of sheer vanity.

"Sister? So...you have a twin sister, Veronika. (OOC: STAR WARS HOMAGE #8393 ACHIEVED!) And who might you be? My name is Harte. Maple Harte. Bounty Hunter."

(Clip of Bond Theme plays)

"I, uh...wow, meeting the relatives is always awkward...look, I'll explain everything but right now..."

The screen showing ancient Coruscant seemed to melt and dissolve, revealing a stone wall with a small silver lock. Maple remembered the silver key she had taken and put it into the lock, turning it counter clock wise. The Key was ejected and the wall dropped into a hidden recess of the ground beneath, opening up and revealing a large book on the pedestal of a large chamber surrounded by jagged black crescents composed of obsidian...

(Zelda Unlocking Theme plays)

Maple walked deeper into the chamber, examining the book. With all the mind tossy things she'd experienced so far, she didn't trust it being so simple as grabbing it. Getting a better view of the circular chamber, she noticed it was surrounded by paintings of various women in white combat suits, the Amalgam being amonst them, directly ahead. She was sitting on a golden throne in the painting, seemingly looking down in amusement at whoever entered.

"Who are you?" Maple asked under her breath at the painting. "By the gods, why do I feel like I know you?"

Her fighting style...its was so fast and fluid, manuvering too well to really get a hit in...its method now felt so familiar...

Maple glanced around the chamber, eager for some hint of what to do next.

She almost didn't notice one of the women in the portraits was no longer in her seat. She heard faint laughter all around the chamber and spotted a name in brass plating on the bottom of the portrait:

The Harmonized.

A pool of blood started to leak out of a now person-free portrait.

"Fleischer-Twin! Veronika Expy! Darling! We have a problem!" Maple said in alarm as the blood took a feminine, humanoid form, turning into a pale, blond woman with a gray and white segmented bodysuit with cold blue eyes.

She took one look at Maple and Mariya, smiled, and drew in breath. Maple, having been exposed to Force Scream before, immediately recognized the move, and pulled her pistol, shooting The Harmonized in the face. It exploded in blood before immediately clustering back together and reforming her head.

The Harmonized smiled cruelly, the chamber seeming to grow larger.

"Only the worthy may access our sacred texts..." she gloated.

Maple planted several shots into the canvas. The Harmonized screamed in agony as she broke down back into blood before catching fire and burning into ash.

"Heh. Called it." Maple smirked.

She looked around the portraited room.

"Any of you other feths want to stop me? I'll burn your fancy portraits too!"

The women in the portraits did not vanish. They remained in place.

Dammitwereallyneedtoupdatethetraps the Brain Demon hissed in her skull.

Maple plucked the book from its pedestal...it was large and ancient, and she felt a trace of madness from it...

(Zelda Acquisition Theme plays)

Acquiring:

http://starwarsrp.net/topic/133021-book-of-the-five-phases/

Maple looked around for traps to spring. She turned to Mariya.

"So...what do you do? Jedi? Used to be a shadow myself. Now I'm...well I'm fabulous..." Maple trailed, trying to make a good first impression...

[member="Veronika Fleischer"]

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

Everything was unreal. The vineyard was unreal. The sky looked unreal. Her thoughts were unreal.

Thoughts.

Her thoughts were a mess ever since she drank that cup of sith forsaken water from the spring, but yet it was the only option forward. She could see the appeal of staying in a vineyard like this, with enough grapes to make wonderful wines to fill up the pool. Why, she was certain that she could make better wines than her sister. A sister? No, she had no sister.

She was a Jedi, a shadow who hunted the Sith with precision.

Skip.

No. That was Maple's memory. She was the wife of Luke Skywalker, the Emperor's Hand... no, that was a legend.

Skip.

Veronika managed to calm her mind down. She suddenly wondered how [member="Maple Harte"] managed to endure the random thoughts that seemed to appear at the most random of times. Perhaps it was why the brunette always seemed so passionate at times. So reactive. So forceful. Such was the charm that made the blonde like her a lot. The blonde recalled the moments as she walked along the strange vineyard surroundings, remembering that she had declared her love for Maple before drinking from the spring. A hasty declaration, an impulsive decision due to emotions. But at that very moment, Veronika did feel the love for the bounty hunter.

The blonde continued her exploration, wishing that she could find help somewhere in this strange land.

"Help. Hahaha. You wish for help?"

A portal appeared out of the blue and a pair of red eyes belonging to a shadowy creature stared down at her. Veronika frowned. She was starting to hate this dreamland.

"Doashim? All the while you have been hiding here? For Sith's sake, Maple has been looking for you!"

"Foolish mortal. I never hide from anyone. Maple cannot see me because there is something that blocks our connection. You, however, will see me just fine. As long as you are cursed with this silly mannerism, you will only see me and not Jart."

"Help me then!!!"

(Veronika acquires cross talent: Doashim Blessing!)

The blonde snarled and received no reply from the beastly spirit. She cursed and yelled for a moment before seeing the vineyard walls collapsing, revealing a door. Whatever Doashim had done was definitely not subtle. Well, Veronika was not subtle either, judging from the door she smashed the door open with a mighty kick and broke the hinges. The blonde stepped in, finding herself entering into a chamber occupied by her lover and someone else who had joined in their little adventure.

"You!"

Veronika felt an unspeakable hatred burning in her chest when she walked over, glancing at her twin who remained rather calm and collected.

Rage was all she needed to light up her purple lightsaber and strike at her sister.

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

"Veronika darling?"

Mariya blinked a little when the stranger mentioned about her sister's name. She was not surprised from the mistaken identity, because Veronika was indeed much more famous than her. In the recent times, she had experienced people stopping her on the streets and asking her to take holophotos or sign autographs because they were Veronika's fans. What was surprising was the second word, darling. It was a hint of affection and judging from the tone Maple had called out, the affection was more than just a passing fan admiring an idol.

"You are right, I am not Veronika," she lowered her lightsaber and wondered why did Maple struck a weird pose out of the blue. Perhaps her sister had a big influence on this... close friend who was known as Maple Harte. "I am Mariya, her twin sister."

The older sister was a little confused by the whole experience so far. At first, she was meditating and doing her routine mental exercises. Next, she found herself stumbling into some sort of dreamland and meeting her sister's lover. Now, this strange brunette was somehow figuring out all the secrets in the dreamland to find a hidden chamber. Mariya took a deep breath and tried to pull herself back into reality, to dissolve her spiritual form. There was no point being tangled in weird stuff like this, not when she had a long day tomorrow.

"No. I am actually not supposed to be here... but seems like I am stuck for the moment..."

Maple was already beyond the earshot by now, having entered into the chamber. With no way to leave, the blonde followed behind gingerly. What happened next was a quick shouting of danger, which made her raise her lightsaber in defense, only to see Maple shooting down the enemy and clearing the traps to pick up an ancient looking tome. Judging from the looks of it, it was pretty ancient.

"What... do I do? I am not exactly a Jedi, no. I am a Je'daii... that's J-E-D-A-I-I. I am from an ancient order that-"

Her words were cut short by her senses picking up a new person who felt really familiar, giving her no chance to explain how cool the Je'daii Order was and how badly she wanted to describe why the Jedi and Sith were both silly in their own ways. No, her attention was focused on a blonde woman who had somehow figured out a shortcut to enter the chamber.

"Veronika! Sister!"

Mariya stood her ground, trying to calm herself down as much as possible. She had never met Veronika face to face before, so this was the first time she was seeing her twin, abeit in the mental realm.

"No! You are making a mistake!"

The elder sibling made a quick dodge backwards, her hand holding onto her lightsaber hilt and refusing to ignite it. She could not fight against her own family member. Not when she had suffered with the loss of family for years.

 

[Maple Harte]

"What the--" Maple thought, when in the midst of this insanity, she saw [member="Veronika Fleischer"] head into the chamber and then a look of rage hit her face as she stared at her twin. Maple, knowing their personality traits had switched, figured it wasn't just whatever anger Veronika had beforehand but Maple's own natural anger towards particularly vile or hated opponents that drove her also to such a reaction.

"Veronika...admittedly, not too clear on the whole thing...but maybe we could wait until after we've escaped this place and switched our personalities back to normal for you to violently attack and maim your sibling...just a thought..." Maple helpfully suggested, though now it was her turn to worry about Veronika. She knew something approaching a sibling rivalry in the form of Laertia Io, and knew how emotionally devastating something like that could get. She'd ran into Io recently, saw the results of a rivalry she hadn't really realized she had been in until that point. Seeing what had happened to Io partly because of her had broken Maple a little. Especially because even at her most frost-like in the old days, she always had a soft spot for Laertia and her rabbits.

Truth was, she didn't want to see Veronika make a horrid mistake she'd regret. There was something particularly bad about spilling the blood of siblings; a particularly dark act. Besides, judging from Mariya's aura and general demeanor in the Force, she didn't seem that bad...but some rivalries ran deep...

Meanwhile...

The Amalgam snapped out of her meditation in a pentacle with candles drawn on the floor of her guest room, panting and sweating. Uri had the book.

"Unholy Spirit. She has succeeded. She is worthy. Her and her little girlfriend..." the Amalgam whispered in the all white room. "Now to increase her pressure..."

The Amalgam picked up her long range link, still in orbit over Ryloth. She sent the message to the other witch hopefulls; "Converge on them..."

With any luck, Uri would be forced to use the book...if not, both she and the Brain Demon would be pleased by Uri immersing herself in slaughter.

The Amalgam focused again, projecting herself to the location through magic so she could at least watch. She appeared in front of them, clapping her hands.

"You..." Maple snarled.

"Uri, you succeeded! I'd take a selfie with you to celebrate but you're still in your 'trying to kill me' phase. Also, can't really take a selfie when you're using an evil magic ritual--"

Uri's blaster came out, firing four blaster shots at the Amalgam's painting, which caught fire and burned.

"Awww, I paid forty thousand for that!" The Amalgam exclaimed, though it was clear she didn't care given the sarcasm in her next statement. "Do you know how many artists I had to end up killing before they got my nose right? Fifteen! That was an oil painting!"

"What is this book, witch?!" Maple demanded, getting right in the Amalgam's smirking, purple eyed face.

"That, daughter, is the Book of the Five Phases...its yours now...and those--"

One part of the chamber exploded, flinging Maple to the ground and more white robed witches entering with lightsabers and assault rifles, instantly training the weapons on the three and opening fire.

"Those are the ones who want the book for themselves...keep it from them, if you can..." the Amalgam sneered as the shooting started, though she had full confidence Uri would slaughter them as casually as she had before. To her delight, shown when her smile grew wider, was when Uri grabbed her rifle and started popping off fast, golden blaster shots at impacted hard on witch faces, the bolts passing through the Amalgam's magical projection of herself as the image of the Shi'ido, who was still far too cyberpunkish looking for Maple's sensibilities, walked around the chamber becoming a shooting gallery...smirking at the conflict, feeding off it almost...

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

She took a swipe at her sister's head and missed. Somehow the thought of having another sibling seemed to prick her anger, despite the change in personality. Or perhaps it was precisely due to the change in personality that resulted in the witch feeling her rage taking on a whole new dimension. In her mind, she saw that it was her sister who was the chosen one, not her. Her sister took away everything she had after that, including her company and lover.

Skip.

That was an epic soap opera that she had watched last week. Veronika blinked, trying to focus her muddled mind and yelled.

"I hate this. I hate you!"

She smashed her lightsaber against the wall in a display of anger, cutting deep into the rocks before pulling out her blade, staring daggers at her sister. As the Amalgam appeared again in her trickery, Veronika snarled and took a swipe at her arch enemy, her emotions overwritten with new anger that had constantly rubbed [member="Maple Harte"] the wrong way. Her purple blade cut through the illusion and made no injury, serving only to fuel her anger. She would kill the creature someday.

But first, there were more scum to kill. She would feed Doashim with carnage just like what he wanted her to do. She stole a look at Maple, relieved to see the brunette appeared to be alright from the blast.

"Die. Die. Die!"

She was the fury of her patron, brutally smashing each body into pieces using the Force, feeding the beast with blood.

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

She escaped the deadly swipe that almost ended her life, feeling the lightsaber taking off a chunk of her hair that fluttered in the air. She stared at the golden locks vanishing into the thin air, suddenly remembering that she was actually not physically present. No, her form was nothing but a figment of imagination that she had created for illustration purposes, to show her mind that she could exist in some form when she did her mental exercises. By extension, it meant that the presence of her sister and the biker chick were not real either.

"Calm down! There is something strange going on here..."

Mariya tried to reason with her sister, who seemed to be suffering from some sort of delusion or mental madness. The leather clad woman made some mention about a switch of personalities. Was that the reason why Maple seemed to behave like a diva while her sister was turning into a angry brute? The Je'daii was about to ask when she sensed a fourth presence.

"Come on, who's that now?"

She lit up her lightsaber finally when a fourth presence appeared among the trio, a shimmering blade of blue that belonged to another great warrior of the past. The Amalgam appeared to have a peculiar taste of dressing, making Mariya mistaking the creature as being naked.

"Stop flashing yourself in public... oh..."

She blinked, realising that the Amalgam was actually wearing something. Mariya sighed, deciding that she had enough for the night and wanted to get out of this whole mess. Whoever had summoned her here was using some pretty powerful magic or Force ability, power that was beyond her comprehension. She could never escape without help. While the Amalgam engaged Maple in their own little conversation, Mariya stole a glance at her twin to make sure Veronika was not going to attack her.

"Help me."

The blonde made a desperate silent plea to someone that flashed in her mind. By now, the conversation had ended and enemies had appeared. She swung her lightsaber around, forming a shield of protection to fend off the stray blasters and warding off the endless waves of hooded witches.

"They always lock the door. You’d think they’d have learned by now," the familiar voice of the old man spoke to her telepathically.

"What door?"

"Your mind is listening to me, Mariya. If so, who is doing the listening? If your mind is thinking, then who is observing your mind thinking?"

Mariya widened her eyes, remembering her classes in meditation.

"Good, good. You have much to learn," the old man chuckled, deciding that he had done enough to help out his little friend. The blonde smiled, lowering her lightsaber and letting the enemies cut down her body. As she collapsed onto the floor, she heard someone shouting in anger that sounded suspiciously like the Amalgam and smiled back in victory.

"My mind is observing my mind."

******​

She could hear the sound of her breathing again, her consciousness returning to her body. Mariya opened her eyes immediately, looking around to get used to the brightness around her. She was in her room and the time on her clock had barely scratched ten minutes. She got up from her bed, walking over to her lightsaber and ran her fingers along the metallic grooves.

"Thanks Kyle. Now the rest... is up to her."

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

Her sister was cut down by the enemies. Veronika could not help but break into a smile, but her attention was drawn swiftly by the cry of the Amalgam. She frowned, unsure what had happened as her head started spinning around and she blacked out.

By the time she woke up, she found herself coughing at the edge of the lake, forcing out the water that had gotten into her lungs. [member="Maple Harte"] was not far away. Veronika got up to her feet, scrambling over to check her companion was around.

"Maple? Uri? Thank god you are alright."

She gave the brunette a hug, feeling a sense of relief.

 

[Maple Harte]

The Amalgam smiled, eyes twinkling in fascination as she watched Uri move. And it was a sincere fascination too--Uri was a living turret, her rifle's golden bolts firing as fast as she could pull the trigger, hitting witches and killing them on the spot, rolling frantically out of return fire, and the Amalgam smiled as Uri enhanced the power of one of her bolts with the Force, causing one witch to get her head demolished by the impact of the bolt.

The Amalgam recognized the rifle, an old hunting Carbine Uri had acquired during the first true test of her abilities, defeating and crippling a Sith Lord on Mustafar. She had downgraded it after faking her death but seemed to have once more given it some choice upgrades, but wasn't even aiming down the sight, her eyes alone serving as the method of hitting. The golden bolts bathed the chamber in an amber glow, with [member="Veronika Fleischer"] viciously cutting away at the witches, after an attack on the Amalgam herself proved futile. Uri kept killing, until the chamber was littered with dead. The Amalgam fed off the slaughter, the negative power of death suddenly in the chamber. She took great joy at how Mariya's mental self was trying to stay safe, and had hoped to corrupt her more...but gave a snarl as Mariya figured out the trick. The Amalgam was not one to be suffer slights lightly.

"I'll get you, my pretty...and your twin sister too!" The Amalgam sneered at Mariya as she disappeared. Well that's another one on the list of asses that needed a good kicking. But it was Uri and Veronika who pleased her.

Uri rose up, staring at the Amalgam with naked fury.

"You throw your underlings away too casually." Uri growled at her.

The Amalgam scoffed. "Oh please, as if you gave a chit about them any more than I did."

"I didn't. But I would never throw so many to a fight I knew they could not win."

The Amalgam yawned, stretching out her arms luxuriously. "Oh, I'm sorry, 'fraid I didn't quite catch that. Were you moralizing again?"

"You will pay for every single Marksmen you butchered, Amalgam. Every single one." Maple vowed. "There WILL be a reckoning between us."

"Of course there will. A mother can't let her daughter flounder, now can she?" The Amalgam asked teasingly, smirking as Veronika blacked out, vanishing.

Maple's eyes went wet from exhaustion.

"Who are you?" Maple asked quietly at the smirking, dead eyed beauty.

The Amalgam leaned forward slightly. Just slightly.

"You already know, Uri. Search your feelings...at least, before that wonderful magic wears off..."

Uri started to search, dread starting to spread along with shock as her musings in those scant seconds increasingly narrowed it down...only for everything to go back.

Maple jumped out of the lake water, splashing and coughing as she swam a short way to shore, next to Veronika, who was already coughing, and soon woke up, to the brunette's relief, hugging her.

"Likewise, Veronika. Likewise." Maple breathed, before her eyes fell on the book, resting on its pedestal close to the lake. She approached it, not noticing in the lake behind her, the bodies of all the witches she had slain in the magical hallucination started to float to the top...

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

She was dripping wet after the dive into the lake, the soggy feeling of her feet being the most uncomfortable. At least the embrace felt good. While she held onto the brunette, she found herself admiring the dark locks of hair, her eyes drifting downwards from the neck to the chest of [member="Maple Harte"]. Veronika smiled, feeling the urge to just linger her vision a little more than usual before pulling herself away. Was it lust? Love? A mixture of both, just like how her personality had mixed up with Maple's?

The blonde had no answer. Not that she cared. No, her emerald eyes were in a daze again, her mind filled with thoughts on how she would summon Doashim and share a ride with Maple, galloping together in the meadows towards the sunset.

Skip.

Veronika blinked, remembering where she was. Her boots were filled with water and she eagerly pulled her feet out of them, flipping the feetwear over. As she did so, her eyes caught sight of the floating bodies in the lake, their blood turning the murky waters into a deep shade of red.

"I thought the witches ain't real. But they are..." she gulped, cursing silently under her breath. She tried to recall what had happened so far, but nothing seemed to make sense.

"We drank from the spring. Yes, we did." Skip. Her memory replayed that bit clearly. "We jumped into the lake, got lost and met another me. I am the better one though. I am always the better one..." she rambled on, forcing herself to continue recalling before her mind drifted off to somewhere strange again.

"Killed the witches behind us and ended up here with a book."

She had finished emptying her boots by now and slipped her feet back in, still feeling grossed out by the soggy leather.

Openthebookandbreakthecursehahahahahaha

She paused, hearing the whispers of the Brain Demon that were directed at Maple but ended up being caught on by her ears. Veronika snarled, rubbing her temple with her fingers as she noticed the blood soaked lake bubbling across the surface. Her heart seemed to be soaking up the fear as the bubbling continued.

"Let's grab the book and get out of here. I have a very bad feeling about this. Very bad feeling."

Veronika stood up and backed away from the lake, her handicapped mental senses screaming louder with each passing moment while she held onto her purple glowing blade.

"Gotta go. Gotta go. Gotta go... gotta go...!"

 

[Maple Harte]

She had been so close! So close to finally figuring out all of it!

And then she had been pulled away. This place was seriously, seriously twisted...she couldn't tell how whatever had gone down had actually gone down...was that chamber real? How had the witches ended up in the lake? Did this armor she wore make her look fat? (GASP! The very idea! )

The memory of [member="Veronika Fleischer"] jogged a bit and she suggested they grabbed the book. The evil evil book The Amalgam did not seem to mind her taking.

No way that was going to end poorly.

The Brain Demon's cold hiss started up in her mind, egging both of them on as the lake started to hiss and boil. Hearing Veronika frightened sent knives into her heart, for she knew that was not just her fear but Maple's also.

For a second she hesitated, uncertain. The book seemed to call to her. She felt a sudden, intense connection to the book. She grabbed it, knowing how horrible an idea this was.

The lake behind them glowed green, sloshing the witch corpses in it around like a parody of a stew pot, until they sank under the surface to...somewhere...

It rose from the bubbling lake, etherial in the dark cavern of reliefs revealed by the light of the glowing lake. The reliefs carved into the walls depicted brutal, hideous torture in nearly all forms.

But she only saw what came out of the lake.

It did not look as emaciated as it did in her dreams. If anything, it looked less decrepit, more muscular. But it was still rail thin, in the shape of a naked Togrutan woman with purple skin, somewhat curvy...

...and lacking any kind of face whatsoever.

Maple backed off, not feeling the presence of Jart at all, the cavern suddenly swirling with the power of black magic invisibly as it gently strode the glowing lake surface, the ground burning with each step its bony feet took. Maple did not know what to do. She had no counters really for a spirit.

OpenitmysweetMapleHarte it whispered darkly in her mind, its not quite tangible presence drifting ever closer.

OpenthetomewrittenbyyournewGod...it commanded in her head, walking past Veronika seemingly too quick for the eye to follow, though it seemed to find the time to flash step in circles around the blond, observing and scrutinizing her inbetween the split seconds it still walked to Maple.

"You're not a God..." Maple replied defiantly.

Openthebook...itstheonlywaytosaveher... it whispered, suddenly by Maple, clasping her by the throat. Maple felt cold everywhere, her very insides paralyzed as it pulled back her arm, touching its own jagged crescent symbol, resizing it from what Jart had shrank it to. It glowed bright purple now.

Jartcannotsaveyou...eitherofyou... it whispered hideously to them, stroking Maple's terrified face lovingly.

Openitopenitopenitopenit...

Maple, completely paralyzed from fear otherwise, had no choice but to comply. She opened it...

The Brain Demon shivered, seemingly in pleasure.

Very good... it hissed, its words now seperating from each other, though its mental voice was still a whisper. I name you an acolyte in my name...obey me and thrive. Thwart me and I shall take from you. You'll not find me such a harsh master, so do not fret, my pretty Maple...

The Brain Demon dropped the now coughing ex shadow, still holding the doorstopper of a book and now focusing entirely on Veronika.

Now...what to do about this one...

"Leave her out of this!" Maple just short of begged the monster, standing up. "I'm the one you want to deal with!"

The Brain Demon faced Veronika again, chuckling a hideous chuckle heard only in their minds.

She always 'was' a hopeless romantic... it joked. But seriously...why should I let you survive the unfathomable honor of seeing me, young Veronika? What do you offer me in exchange for my grace?

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

The faceless creature was creepy. Too creepy to be seen up close. Veronika felt her blood turning cold from the sight of the naked Togrutan woman who had emerged from the lake. The speed of the creature's movement was surreal for a normal living being, indicating the presence of a spirit. The blonde could hear the whispers in her mind clearly as the demon spoke to [member="Maple Harte"], words that had been haunting her ever since she drank from the cursed spring.

Was the spirit talking to her or to Maple? Perhaps the words were meant for both. The book bearer was now getting choked by the spirit, the cursed mark on the arm shining in a bright shade of purple. The blonde coughed, feeling the effects of the choke. Veronika was both herself and Maple at the same time with the switched identities, a curse that was now making her pay. Whatever Maple was feeling physically and emotionally was being fed to her body.

Veronika struggled to breathe, trying to tell Maple not to open the book but was unable to, her powerful psychic abilities too diminished by the curse's effects and the presence of the demon to speak through the Force. She stood there, unable to move as the brunette opened the book, surrendering to the demon's power. Immediately the choke was released, allowing Veronika to breathe again. The witch suddenly felt her mind clearing up, her personality returning to her rapidly. Whatever lingering effects of the personality mix up were gone, no longer needed once Maple surrendered.

"Hmm? Were you talking to me? But you didn't get a queue number for the interview..."

The blonde giggled, a soft girlish laugh that seemed amused by the threats.

"Hehehe... hehehahahaha.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

The girlish giggle morphed into hysterical laughter that overpowered the demon's chuckle. The darkness in the cave was illuminated by a glowing light from her breast pocket, an innocent looking multicoloured feather that slipped out by itself and floated onto Veronika's hand. The witch laughed in a voice that was no longer hers, her eyes rolling upwards to show her whites, her hand stretching out to invade the spiritual realm. She made a firm grasp on the demon's neck easily.

"You think you can HIDE FROM ME? The one who give your YOUR POWERS?"

Veronika smirked. Jart smirked. He was enjoying this moment where he had given the demon the slip, to reveal himself at the right opportunity to intervene. As the demon struggled to free herself out of his grip, Jart made good use of the time to siphon her power as much as possible before she escaped completely.

"Begone!"

The spirit left the witch and took the shape of a giant feathered phoenix, dissolving the darkness from the wall to reveal a flight of stairs that could only presumed to be an exit. The bird pecked at the demon who had escaped and gave chase, with both entities diving back into the lake.

"Wha? What? Maple? Darn it, I am too young to die!!!"

Veronika blinked and grabbed Maple's hand, dragging her lover to run as the cave started collapsing. She was too busy to notice that the Jart tattoo on her forearm had morphed into a soaring bird of prey entangled with a shadow.

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple had been literally out of ideas when the Brain Demon had appeared. She had thought she had been about to watch, helpless as the fowl beast took away [member="Veronika Fleischer"] . But Jart had bailed them out. Bailed them both out hard. But the Brain Demon was not done. Far from it. Maple knew Jart had only bought her a little more time before it would stalk her in her sleep again. Veronika rushing to her broke Maple from her stunned reverie and the ex-Shadow felt the madness painfully reassert, Veronika's wit and confidence leaving her as she rushed out of the collapsing cave with her, grabbing her weapons in the process...

Five minutes later...

The pair had barely cleared the cave system before it had crushed them. Maple broke through, book in hand, spotting fading sunlight over a desert canyon. They had traveled far from where they first started...

Maple fell to her knees as she exited the mouth of the cave, completely spent. She chucked her weapons aside, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I don't know how to stop that thing..." she confessed. "I had nothing...if Jart hadn't been watching over us..."

She pulled herself up, going over to her.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" Maple said worriedly, setting the book down, blinking wet green eyes at her lover. And then she saw Veronika's tattoo.

"Veronika...your mark...its changed...what does it mean?" Maple asked, cursing the fact she was not as skilled a witch as Veronika was. Maple's talants had for a long time lay in mostly the physical. It was only recently that she had begun to increase her arcane specialty. There was so much to catch up on.

But for now, it was enough they were both alive and had this book.

"Lets head back to the Silent Erika. And...about experiencing my mind...I..."

Maple stopped, searching for the words, her eyes betraying her uncertainty as she confessed.

"I'm mad, Veronika. Not barking mad...not yet...but I'm not getting any better...that's what you experienced. You...experienced my schizophrenia..." Maple trailed, fidgeting as she admitted it. "Even if I hadn't faked my death...I would have had to leave the Jedi anyway...and what I have...it cannot be cured. Believe me...I've tried. Desperately. I...I wanted to tell you...I swear...but you're so nice and wonderful and gorgeous and...and...I was afraid...and I'm sorry..." Maple finished sheepishly. "That was always one of my bad points...keeping secrets from people I care about...afraid of dragging them down with me..." she explained, hoping she hadn't ruined things with Fleischer, telling her the truth. She mirrored Veronika in one way...just as Veronika was shy of her own bodily imperfections, Maple had trouble admitting how damaged she was in the head.

She looked at Veronika, hoping for understanding. She didn't want to hurt her. The blond had made her feel things only few other could claim. She should have said all this earlier...but when having fun with a sexy blond, one tends to not want to ruin things. But that was Maple...never quite knowing if she could protect people the right way...

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

By the time they managed to reach the surface, the rest of the cave and tunnels behind them had collapsed. The only reminder that the whole adventure was real was the book that [member="Maple Harte"] had retrieved, the ancient tome which seemed to be a source of trouble and power at the same time. It was a mystery that probably deserved some attention in the future. Veronika had pulled herself out of the earth as well, her face covered with a layer of dirt and dragged herself onto solid ground. She was more than thankful to be alive, feeling rather tired as adrenaline started leaving her body.

"Phew... hah..."

She laid down on the sand, deciding that she was already covered with dirt anyway. Emerald eyes shot a glare at Maple, who had collapsed to her knees and tossing away all her weaponry on the floor. Veronika smiled weakly, pulling herself up from the ground to welcome the embrace of her lover. The sun was setting in the distance, casting a pink glow over the dusty canyon, illuminating her Maple's cheeks to give them a nice rosy glow. The dark brown hair was coloured in a tint of orange under the dusk.

"Hey gorgeous."

Veronika found herself hugging Maple tightly, enjoying the moment and ran her fingers across the thick brown curls flowing in the breeze. Her attention was momentarily drawn towards Maple's comment on her tattoo.

"Sure, we have no idea how to stop that thing... but Jart is still around. Probably fighting against the demon in his own way."

The witch shrugged her shoulders and decided there was no point brooding about the unknown, her attention turning back towards Maple, brushing the stray hair from those memerising green eyes. The blonde was surprisingly patient with the brunette, merely nodding her head and letting Maple vent out her frustrations and feelings. It had indeed been a rather harrowing experience to go through the mental distress that Maple was suffering from, but it allowed Veronika to have some form of empathy to understand how Maple felt.

"Really... I am nice and gorgeous? Muhahaha," Veronika flashed a huge smile upon hearing the words which stroked her ego. "You don't have to apologise at all. I already know what you are suffering from when I first met you..." she giggled, closing her eyes for a moment to recall the fateful day that the two of them first met, letting her memory float across Maple's mind.

"That poetic reply? The gaze that seemed to stare in the distance for one moment, then getting distracted by my lips? Only you can come up with such an interesting response. And I adored it."

Veronika laughed, dismissing her memory from Maple and her own to let the both of them return to reality. By now, the sun had disappeared completely and stars began to emerge in the sky.

"You know what? The Silent Erika is more comfortable than here. Let's go."

She broke the embrace and stood up, waving her hand at the weapons littered on the floor which levitated and flew into her palms. The blonde dumped the equipment into Maple's arms as the two of them made a slow long walk back towards the ship. It took them some effort to trek back, but finally Veronika found herself climbing up the ship's ramp and planting her ass on the couch in the living area. She helped to dump their equipment onto the table and stretched her hands.

"Ahhhh.... really won't mind some hot food. A hot bath too..." she casually unzipped her leather jacket and let it slide off her right shoulder, showing off the faint battle scar that she had gotten from a stray blaster shot. She had received it during their first adventure on Ryloth onboard the same ship and knew Maple would remember the whole incident clearly. Veronika got up from the seat and headed towards the bathroom, turning her head back to give Maple a seductive stare.

"... and a back massage."

A wink, and she was gone.

 

[Maple Harte]

Thank. The. Force.

[member="Veronika Fleischer"] was taking it all in stride. And it seemed she had known all along that Maple was afflicted. Skip. Veronika flipped out and buried her alive that very instant. It took her hours to die. Now she had a flaming skull and could control flames. Skip. No. Not real. Even though it had happened for eighty years not six seconds ago. Back to Ryloth. Back to Veronika and her blond locks and arms as they caressed Maple's hair and made her forget whatever she had been on the verge of realizing about the evil witch who obviously had watched too many cyberpunk films, Veronika complimenting her on the strange musings that often came out of her mind during telepathy attempts. Mad oracle stuff. But Veronika liked it, and that made it special. "Interesting replies are my specialty..." Maple quipped, hugging the blond tightly as her thoughts drifted to The Amalgam for a bit.

Why is she calling me her daughter now? Is she that obsessed with me? Whatever I can do for her or her brain demon? What changed? she wondered as she let Veronika hug her.

She had only ten percent of the facts. She still didn't know how it was the Amalgam infiltrated beyond her force stealth and shapeshifting. She could very well be watching the both of them right now. And Maple, for all her skill at dispatching the common henchperson, she was rusty when it came to actually taking on an enemy like the purple eyed monster with a pretty face stalking her.

Who was she? Maple felt like the answer was close. So close.

You could make this so much easier if you would just accept the Bogan, daughter. But we're due for another run in, sooner or later. Until then...sweet dreams... The Amalgam whispered in her head.

I'll never join you... came the faint, but defiant whisper back.

You already did...so long for now, Daughter... the dark voice sounded almost apologetic, which creeped Maple out...no voice so malevolent should sound so reconciliatory at the same time. It made her sick to contemplate it.

Why did they both use staff weapons? The old Maul special wasn't as uncommon as it used to be but still...the chick stalking her also happened to use a staff--?

She had no chance to consider it further, as Veronika put all their weapons in her hands, in addition to lugging around what was slowly becoming and insanely heavy book as they trekked back to The Silent Erika. The familiarity of her one true home sent her mind at ease, though The Amalgam's obsession having taken on a creepy new parameter made her less certain, made her actually frightened of the witch more...one bullet, one well aimed bullet was all she would need to end this whole thing...if only the fiend would stay still!

But as Veronika began to relax, the familiarity of the white and red interior beganning to relax Maple in turn, helping dump all their stuff on the table, Maple was drawn to the scar on Veronika, the one she had gotten saving Maple. It made her beauty all the more intense to her, to the assassin buried inside her.

And as she suggestively slinked off and suggested a massage, Maple could only grin, and start casually cracking her knuckles in anticipation. It'd been fun finding out what made her tickle the first time. Now itd be even more fun locating all those tension points. She hoped The Amalgam burned in hell though when she finally ate a lightsaber or something. Until then...Veronika needed some of that sweet backrubbin'...

Maple considered a place for both of them to go next as she followed Veronika. Naboo was nice this time of year...posh enough certainly...

Meanwhile...

The Amalgam meditated, snapping out of it as she broke mental contact with Uri, seething that Jart had interrupted everything. The Brain Demon was far from defeated however. Merely weakened. Temporarily. Jart had to focus on something else at some point, and he'd tried this once before...it hadn't taken the last time either.

She rose in her guest room, heading to the cockpit to pilot her ship out of Ryloth's orbit. She placed one of the surveillance photos she had of Uri on the dashboard, next to a more recent one of her other, less acknowledged source of obsession since interrupting her duel with Darth Shojo...Laertia Io, who was shown sitting in a public park, petting one of her rabbit, trying to dress normal by wearing a pink dress and looking very uncertain and frightened in the picture, even as the rabbit snuggled against her.

She would make them strong. She would make them both strong.

Uri first though...