Episode V: Akala Strikes Back

[Nei Laa]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Jacen, huh? It certainly didn't sound familiar. "Call me Nei." Hey, if he wsn't going to give his last name, why should she?

At his question, the Nautolan tilted her head again. "That be the winning question, Jacen." Letting out a huff of air, she continued, "Frankly? Don't know. Thought it might be the Outlaw's Den, on Tatooine. Ever heard of it? It be similar to this, with bone's 'n all, but..." Her arm lowered slightly, and she risked a glance at the towering statues. "But there not be any of these statues." On her face was a look which conveyed how much the place spooked her. Nei hated it here.

Her attention returned to the man in front, the blaster resuming its former position. "Outside of that? No clue."

From the recesses of her mind, an idea began to form, and Nei narrowed her eyes in scrutiny at the stranger. As much as she disliked working in groups, something about this place made her sense that being alone would not be good. And this fellow had been nice enough to give her water, blasters notwithstanding. Hmm...

The Nautolan held up the canteen in her other hand. "Tell you what," she said. "You be good and not shoot me, I give you your stuff back and I not shoot you. I don't like this place, and something tells me it be a wise idea to travel in groups. What you say?"

 

[Orick T'ane]

(redacted)

 

[Tobias Gaeson]

The Void

[member="Thalia Rist"]

Tobias was beginning to panic, the void seemed infinite and yet he felt it closing in around him. He closed his eves and began to use the meditation techniques he had learned in his time at the temple. He has to focus and keep a clear head. He spend a few minutes getting himself composed and began to walk again, this time he turned a bit to his left as he went. every way was the right way in this place.

He had walked for only a couple of minutes when he stumbled and almost fell, looking back he saw the body of a girl around his age laying on the ground unconscious. He moved closer and knelt down to check for a pulse. Her pulse seemed a bit erratic but she was breathing and didn't appear to be hurt at all. He gave her a quick check to ensure she wasn't bleeding and nothing was broken before lightly shaking her on the shoulder, " Hey, can you hear me, are you OK?"

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Ruined City of Hr'Tal​

Allies: [member="Miles Varden"], [member="Darth Veles"]​

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A Visitor? She turned her head to the west and her red eyes landed on a spectral being, a phantom perhaps, running through the zombie-plants as if they could do it no harm. A closer look at the running apparition revealed he too carried a lightsaber like her; which led her to wonder if he was Jedi, Sith, or like her; a Dark Jedi. But at this pointe, the Vahla did not care what his alignment was in the world of Force users, only that he was here and might be willing to assist them. With the plant creatures, their numbers continue to swell, coming out of every crevice, nook, and cranny , she would not refuse help from anyone or anything. He might know what's going on?

She landed on the second floor and quickly grabbed her hilt from her side as Miles opened fired on their enemy. Enemy? She moved to the door igniting her blade along the way, the humming sound music to her ears. If she couldn't rely on the Force, at least her weapon would not betray her in what was turning out to be a scene in one of those horror vids she watched with her best friend. Tag? The door swung open slowly just as she reached it, forcing her into action. Her yellow blade cut through the air in a downward motion meeting an appendage of one those abominations as it slipped between the small opening, severing it from the main body.

With her left hand she swung the door all the way open and with her right hand, gripping her hilt tightly, drove her blade into the chest of the one armed abomination. The dead creature swayed forward which earned it a kick from her right leg, knocking it backwards and crashing into the hallway wall. The Dark Jedi stepped into the hallway, looking left then right. For the moment it was all clear, but she could hear scraping noises coming from further down the hall on the left side.

"We can't stay here. There is activity coming from the left which leaves us only the right." Where is the other individual?

 

[Zaahir Asad]

Location: The Valley of Lies
Objective: None
Allies: Currently None
Enemies: Himself

P-please.. Isn't anyone there? Won't anyone help me? I d-don't want to be alone.. I'm afraid..

Again and again and again it looped. Zaahir watched, still. Kneeling in the freezing river, hands limp at his sides, head down, watching through his long eyelashes. The wind tore at him. The water froze him. Could he die here? He did not even deserve to die. No. Not after what he'd done.

This was all there was for him.

This and nothing more.

Watching the filth that he was. The disgrace. The shameful blight upon the galaxy. Watching innocence attacked. Defiled. He'd blinded himself. Pretended this wasn't him. But it was, oh it was. This was all that he was. It was all he'd ever been. It was all he would ever be.

"I did it.."

He whispered, tears still streaming down his face in a river as unending as the one he knelt in.

Younger, skinnier, he grinned at himself kneeling in the river and nodded, before turning once more to the now once again unseen woman.

"Come with me ma chérie, away from these prying eyes, my love, my heart, never have I seen a woman like you, come away with me. Let me steal just a moment with you to remember and warm my heart forever."

If only he could close his eyes. But she deserved to be remembered. He deserved to suffer. It was his fault. These were his choices. This was his fate.

"Maybe..."

A new voice intruded into his mind. At first his brow only wrinkled slightly.

"This time?"

His head rose, seeking this new source of input. He'd learned to ignore the screaming of the skulls, there was only the river and his shame. This though, this was something new.

A woman, a woman in a white dress. Was it her?

Was it her?

Was she here?

He could apologize, beg her to kill him, anything, anything.

The paralysis of despair was thrown from him and he rose on shaking legs to teeter, in the river, watching the woman with madness in his eyes. She didn't really look like the woman who rose again and again from the rover. Not at all, but in his mind there was only one woman. Only one. A face formed in the rock before her. A demons face.

"No!"

His voice was a raw bark. She wouldn't see it, she couldn't see, didn't know about the danger because of what he'd done. He did it. It was him. It was him, itwashimITWASHIM.

Splashing he lurched forward, running towards her.

"Interesting..."

She disappeared. He hadn't got there in time. He hadn't. It was his fault. His eyes so fixed on the internal did not even take in what was through the demons mouth. He'd failed. Again. He deserved to be punished. He deserved.

Screwing his eyes shut he flung himself into the demons mouth. Let it devour him. Let it rend his flesh from bones, drain his soul, unmake him. Such a fate was right and correct for him.

As he fell he felt himself pulled apart, he cried out in agony and in ecstasy.

"It was me!"

Zaahir​

Valley of Lies -------> Streets of Nar Shadda​

 

[Thalia Rist]

@Tobias Gaeson

"Can you hear me?" The words breached her mind but she remained unmoving. "Can you hear me?" Who was saying that, was it her master, maybe her mother... what is going on. It cant be quietus, she was mute and Thalia had only met her once. "Can you hear me?" Maybe she was dreaming, that was it, the words were figments of her imagination and she was simply not thinking straight. Maybe she had hit her head when she blacked out, maybe she was being grabbed, she didn't know. "Can you hear me?" The words hit her mind again and without thinking her mouth moved to answer it as she slowly came back to consciousness. "Y-yes..." She whispered to the words.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Nei Laa"]

"You know what Nei? That sounds about as good an offer as I'm going to get," he replied as he slowly lowered his hands back down to his sides.

He turned his head to the side, looking up the walls of the canyon to the carved out shadowy figures that looked back down upon him. "But no, this isn't tatooine, I know that place pretty well. I'm not..." he started to say but his gaze was once again sucked into the horizon.

"I'm not certain this is any normal place. I looked out there and I within seconds my head was hollow and I was sitting down. I'm fairly sure that's what happened to all these, " he added, waving one hand to take in all the corpses.

Jacen hoped that the newcomer, as jittery as she seemed, was real. Time had started to slip and sitting down and letting it roll on without him had started to seem like a good idea. Someone to talk to might just keep his sanity together a little longer.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"]

Location: Whisperstorm ---> Heading to the Void

Maria Feanor POV

She sighed and spoke over the storm some how, her words clear enough to be heard. "Walk to my side Nicole, don't walk behind me, and what ever you do don't touch me." The void would be dark and clouded, but atleast the void would be silent enough for her daughter to think and gain her baring. There Maria could learn about her daughter's life without her... How many years had passed, here Nicole was, grown and much more mature than the baby in the home where she had died.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Vulpesen"]

"Well... remember When we went back in time, i have a feeling miss Queen of time travel is behind this... We need to get Daella back to the living world but im not going back until i find [member="Akala"] where ever she is in this world. How did you get here Vulpesen, i didn't sense Daeda until just a small bit ago and i assume that you were not in this place considering that the ashlan bond would have been there the moment i woke up too." She looked around and waved over [member="Matsu Ike"] and @Ophellia who should still be nearby. "Look, we need to get Ophellia and Daella back to the real world. Matsu and Vulpesen, i wont ask you to stay but i need help if this really is Akala. Someone who can control time... and now Space, is as dangerous as it gets."

 

[Neyana]

Location: Whisperstorm to the void
Objective: Leaving. Sortof.

She would use Maria's pole as an extention, and would slowly start to walk next to her. She would try to speak, again, but she couldn't hear any of her own words comming out. "M-Mommy... Mommy... w-where am I... A-Am I dead? I-I sortof feel dead. . ." When they finally left the Whisperstorm, Nicole would fall down to one knee and blinks. "A-And now I can't see-" Soon, she'd realize that she can hear herself speak, but slightly muffled. The girls gone half-deaf from the storm.

[member="The Ferrymen of the River"]

 

[Daella Feanor]

[member="Vulpesen"]
[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

Daella would slightly struggle in her Fathers grip, and she would move her arms outwards, trying to go closer to Alex, and wanting to be held by her. "Mommy!... Mommy! H-Hold me... I-I'm scared..." She softly stated. Nothing against her father really, the girl was just frightened is all.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"]

Maria Feanor POV

She blinked and kneeled down beside her daughter as Nicole would feel the pole in her lap again. "Hold on my little girl, we are going to get you out of here, hold on and listen to my voice. Ok?" She didn't want her daughter to be so scared, but they had to get through the void and onto the river. From there she could lead Nicole somewhere that wont be hard to stay focused and calm down. "Remember, walk beside me and don't touch me. You should be able to barely see me my daughter."

 

[Darth Veles]

Location: Ruined City​

Lifting his gaze up towards the flying duo, Avreet spotted the two just as they flew through a broken window, entering a spacious building. The Mon Calamari only hoped it wasn’t full of the plants and zombies, but then again, death appeared to have no meaning in this place. Just as his eyes settled on the monsters in his way, blocking the path leading into the building, the Mon Cal’s ears heard the barking sound of a blaster rifle, followed by several shots coming from the same window the duo had flown into. Blaster bolts ripped through the zombie plants, penetrating the monstrosities thoroughly and destroyed the bodies, making the beasts fall down. Dead or simply sleeping, waiting? One could not be sure in this place. As his sprint continued, the Mon Cal Sith Lord reached down to his waist, retrieving both lightsaber hilts that hung in there, igniting those with a loving stroke of his clawed fingers. Two beams of crimson plasma cut through the air, then through flesh as both blades found their target in the nearest plant, the superheated weapons hungrily eating away the matter that made those mindless zombie-like beasts.

Jumping up the steps that led towards the entrance of the building, the amphibian’s lightsabers melted through the metal in his way, cutting through the already damaged door as more enemies arrived. It was quite a shame the Force did not exist in this place, that would have made his work so much easier, but one could not allow their frustration to get the better of them. Remaining calm, the Sith Lord spun around, fully extending both of his hands and cutting through the beasts that charged him. Makashi had a wonderful advantage; its superior reach made it easier for the Sith to keep the zombies at bay. One stab, one incapacitated monster. All it took was to move his hands back and forth, really. Even without the Force, the amphibious assassin had practiced the moves so many times they became automatic. Avreet became a killing machine, using his arts to dispose of the immediate threat before spinning on his heel again and tending to the door, melting his way through as he cut a circle.

One kick later, the way was open. The intestines of the structure appeared to be less filled with zombies, but more fungus-like plants and spores. Dead or alive, Avreet held his breath as he carefully moved between the white-colored mushrooms. Large amber eyes briefly scanned the surroundings, his excellent Mon Calamari eyesight caring little for the overall darkness, spotting a reception desk, some chairs and tables that suggested this used to be a lobby, possibly connected with a lunch room or cafeteria of sorts. Death hung in the area, he could tell even without the Force. Passing through what used to be filled with life, nobody to stop him from venturing deeper into the building, he walked towards a staircase, taking two steps at a time, making his way to the second floor.

The building suddenly came to life. The silence has been broken as rustling started to come from all directions, the dead becoming active. He had to move fast. Arriving to the right floor, facing the hallway, the amphibian glanced to the right, seeing one of the two who have arrived through the window. A red-eyed woman, quite pretty, though the expression on her face showed distress. That did not stop Avreet from being a gentlebeing though, as always. “Well met, my lady,” he addressed the woman politely and calmly, as if they were not surrounded by zombies. He would have made a compliment about her crimson eyes, but there really wasn’t time for that. Introductions had to be short. “I am Avreet Zatarus, Grandmaster of the Phoenix Order. It is also worth noting I am dead in the real world and with no idea of what is going on.” He swiftly paced towards the woman, quickly closing the distance with several elegant steps that carried him to her. “Are you alive or dead, my lady?” A weird question to ask, but one that would give him a better idea of where they were.

Before the woman answered, the door in the hallway behind her started to open, releasing the residents. One more step transported him behind the woman, crimson blades illuminating the hallway in the color of the woman’s eyes. “Please, stay behind me.”

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"] [member="Miles Varden"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen nodded and handed Daella off to her mother. "Good Idea, but I'm not leaving without you." He looked around and heaved a small sigh. This was not a good place for his family to be. "As for Akala, I think you might be right. Daella, stay close." Looking over, he smiled when he saw Ophelia. So his apprentice was here too. "Good to see you again [member="Ophelia"], though I'd prefer somewhere else."

[member="Daella Feanor"]
[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Daella Feanor"] [member="Vulpesen"]

Alexandra moved to keep Daella tight in her arms, happy to have her daughter here infront of her. "Vulpesen, what about Nokomis and Vallen, are they ok?" She looked up from the face of her daughter and at the face of Vulpesen. She was worried about them too, hoping that they hadn't been brought to this place like Alexandra had been. "Please tell me they are ok and safe at home, i cant stand to think they are lost here somewhere."

 

[Neyana]

She slowly nodded, and went to get up. She goes to hold onto her pole, and then turns her head to where she believes her mother is at. "O-Okay mommy.. ...Everything is... just so confusing... t-this might be the worest experience I had... in... in forever." She would stay within arms reach, and held onto her pole.

[member="The Ferrymen of the River"]

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

"Glad we be on the same page." Nei shot Jacen the closest thing to a half-smile she could muster and tossed the canteen next to his weapons. In the same motion, she holstered her own blaster. Now that they were something akin to allies, there was no need for her own blaster to be out. Well, not really.

At he made a comment about the corpses, Nei found herself looking at them as well. Funny, but until he said something she'd never noticed how they all seemed to all be facing the same direction -- behind Jacen. In fact, the more she thought about it, the creepier it was. Her tresses coiling in distress, she frowned. "It make your head hollow? What be so special about the horizon?"

In what could legitimately be considered a stupid move, the Nautolan took her eyes off of the human and stepped forward so that she had a clear view of the horizon.

And oh, what a horizon it was. It shouldn't have been there, but it was. And it was calling to her, it seemed. Nei felt as if she could stand there and stare at the horizon for forever. Why shouldn't she? It would be so much easier to simply stay there and not worry about anything.

She felt everything leave her mind. There was no Nei Laa, only another body to add to the population of bones. Enraptured by the strange, hypnotic lull of the horizon, the Nautolan slowly sank to her knees and sat back, docile as a lamb as she simply stared ahead, blank-faced.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"]

"Its ok, we will get you out of here soon enough, just dont trip on anything or anyone that thought they could get away through this place alone." She sighed as she knew around them there would be numerous people who probably collapside in fear or death after thinking they could escape into this place. The poor souls Maria could not save before they had spent too much time in the land of the dead. "Tell me about yourself Nicole, i haven't seen you in... forever."

 

[Tobias Gaeson]

[member="Thalia Rist"]

He heard her and relaxed a bit. She was awake, and that was a start. " My name is Tobias, I'm here to help. Do you remember your name? Why were you unconscious?" He didn't want to ask her too many questions, in her state she didn't need to be any more confused.

He sighed and looked around, the emptiness that filled him was oppressive. He felt the enormity of his situation with each breath. He once again reached out for the force and found nothing. That worried him more than anything, He didn't know of a place where the force wasn't everywhere., it was the living essence of everything, hoe can this place be devoid of the force. He looked down at the woman again, noticing that she wasn't any older than he was and he focused on the moment, questions wouldn't be answered when they were answered.

 

[Neyana]

[member="The Ferrymen of the River"]

She blinked and just listened to the sound of her Mothers voice. It slowly started to calm her down, but she was still slightly afriad. She thought she might be dead now. "W-Well... I-I was kidnapped... by the man who killed you." She sniffs at that point, and would slowly start to cry abit. This might be the only time she could talk or see her mother ever again. "So... I... I was raised on Korriban, with the Sith. . .Alex got revenge. . .I-I think, or something. ....if it wasn't for Alex, I'd probably still be in those ruins..."