First Reply Forest Veil

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Image link (commission)
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery's fiery amber eyes softened as she saw the fire swirling around Yuri's arms dissipate. His mangled hand, smoldering and twisted, reached out to meet hers, and for a moment, a flicker of hope ignited in her heart. The oppressive darkness around them seemed to waver, and her steady, glowing presence in the Force reached out to him with all the warmth and love she could muster.

"Yuri, you're stronger than this. You can fight it," she urged, her voice steady yet filled with emotion.

Her hand moved closer to his, trembling slightly as his crimson eyes, marred by pain and grief, met hers. She could feel the turmoil within him — the conflicting emotions that threatened to tear him apart. For a moment, it seemed as though he might grasp her hand, might choose the light over the darkness.

Then his words broke through, grating like metal on stone.

"I can't forgive you."

The world fractured as the howl of his pistol pierced the air. The shot hit Valery squarely in the gut, and she stumbled backward, her expression shifting from shock to an unreadable stillness as the dark world around them shattered.

...

When the scene shifted back to reality, they were no longer in the void but back in the dimly lit room where their journey had begun. The oppressive weight of the dark side still lingered, but the surreal, chaotic realm was gone.

Yuri stood there, tears streaking his cheeks, his pistol still trembling in his grasp. But Valery was on the ground.

She lay motionless, her body sprawled where she had fallen. Her lightsaber was extinguished, her hand still reaching out toward him. Though there was no visible wound where the shot would have struck her, her face was contorted in pain, and her chest rose and fell unevenly. She was unconscious, her connection to the Force dimmed but not severed entirely.

The room was silent save for Yuri's labored breathing and the faint hum of the Force. Whatever had just happened had left its mark, not just on Valery but on Yuri as well.

Yuri Maji ​

 

[Yuri Maji]

The pistol clattered against the rotten planks of the wooden floor, followed shortly by Yuri as he dropped to his knees next to his aunt. Years of his life thrown aside, an arm sacrificed, relationships destroyed and bridges burnt, all for this moment. Yet his heart was torn and tears caked his cheeks. Not even a good death. A gut shot, a slow death meant to make people suffer, and he inflicted that suffering on one of the only people in the galaxy who still cared for him.

He reached out and took her hand as wide eyes stayed locked on her motionless form. "Auntie...?" He whimpered. The whispers returned, this time growing louder around them. Only this time there was something off about it, it sounded more localized than before. No longer in his head or the space around them. The suspicion he had began to feel more legitimate. Was this what their captor wanted? The death of his aunt? A new pupil? Whatever the case was, it didn't help the hurricane in his heart and mind.

"Auntie, I'm... I-I'm... please, no. Manda, no..." He pressed her hand against his head and shut his eyes. The whispering was becoming overbearing around him. Practically deafening from whatever entity... was in this room with them. The hurricane calmed, replaced instead with a burning anger. Yuri let go of his aunt's hand and took hold of his pistol, before spinning around with a snarl to release a volley of bolts behind him.

What met his gaze was a shadowy figure, seemingly made of smoke and darkness. When his bolts collided with the figure, the whispers turned into a raw, piercing screech. It didn't seem to do much apart from make the figure, whatever it was, angry. A mixture of anger and dread gripped his soul as he rose to his feet and shifted back a step, his pistol stuck to the shadow. His first instinct was to meet it head-on as any self-respecting Mandalorian would. But this was outside of his area of expertise. "Auntie..." He muttered. Crouching down, he shoved her lightsaber into her hand and gave a few hard shoves. She was still breathing, which meant that she could still fight.

She could suffer later, they had a job to finish.

"Auntie, get the kark up." He growled with a few more shoves and a few more shots. "Auntie, move your old, karkin' shebs and-" He couldn't finish his emotionally charged order to his unconscious aunt before he was lifted off the ground and slammed into a crumbling wall behind them. He held onto his weapon and tried to fight the force holding him in place, but this figure was simply too strong for him.

He stared at the vague, faceless shape of a head in the shadowy cloak surrounding the figure. "Come on, schutta, fight me. Fight me!" He snarled, refusing to let this entity win him over again.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Image link (commission)
Weapons: Lightsabers

Darkness clung to her like a shroud. Somewhere, far beyond the haze, she could feel something — a presence tethering her to the waking world. A hand pressing against hers. A voice, familiar yet raw with emotion, cutting through the fog.

"Auntie…?"

It pulled at her, dragged her toward the surface. But she was tired. Heavy. Her body ached, her connection to the Force dull, as if something had drained her.

Then — shoves. More pressing. More urgency.

"Auntie, get the kark up."

Her brow twitched, a breath catching in her throat as the world around her sharpened. She could hear blaster fire, the hiss of something unnatural moving in the shadows.

"Move your old, karkin' shebs and—"

A sickening crack.

A grunt of pain.

Her eyes snapped open just in time to see Yuri lifted from the ground, slammed into the crumbling stone with bone-jarring force. He struggled against the unseen grip, fighting like the Mandalorian he was, but the figure looming before him — twisting, shifting, more shadow than substance — wasn't letting go.

Valery didn't think. Didn't hesitate. She pushed off the ground, pain flaring in her ribs as she barely managed to sit up. One hand shot out toward Yuri, but it wasn't enough — she wasn't enough. Not like this. So she reached for the Force. It rushed into her like a river breaking through a dam, light pouring from her center outward, surging bright against the oppressive dark. With a sharp inhale, she gathered the energy in her chest — then released it all at once.

A blinding pulse of Force Light exploded from her, flooding the room in golden radiance. The shadowed figure shrieked. A horrible, wailing cry that echoed through the chamber as its form flickered, fractured, and was torn apart by the wave of light.

Then — silence.

Valery gasped for breath, her body swaying slightly before she steadied herself. She didn't know if she had destroyed whatever that thing was, or simply driven it back — but for now, they had a moment.

Her fiery gaze locked onto Yuri as she finally found her voice, hoarse but strong.

"Are you okay?"

Yuri Maji ​

 

[Yuri Maji]

A blinding flash of light filled the room. Yuri was gasping for breath, his ribs and back screaming for mercy under the force of the Shadow. He felt the presence of the entity trying to drill into his mind once more, but he did not relent. A futile effort he refused to acknowledge, until a beam of light drove the entity off and allowed him to fall to the old, wooden floor.

Groaning and gasping for breath, he took stock of the situation. They were alone, the Shadow driven off and the voices silenced. But most importantly was the faint beams of light through the old roof. The Mutt finally looked to his aunt and, without hesitation, scurried to pull her into a weak hug. "Auntie... I'm sorry." He whimpered as he held her. He stayed like that for a few moments, a combination of gratitude, guilt and strain required to let go had him holding onto her for longer than was likely needed.

But he was thankful. That she was alive, and that she saved his life once more.

He finally let go of her with a grunt and sat back with a battered smile. "I think you got 'em." He remarked with a hoarse laugh. Just then, a ping came from his commlink. It was Baby asking for an update on his position. Yuri looked down at the little screen on his vambrace, visibly confused for a few seconds before looking up at his aunt. "Apparently we were gone for fifteen minutes." He muttered. He took a moment to catch his breath, then rose and offered a hand to help Valery to her feet as well.

"Baby's got a medkit. I'll tell him to meet us here." He spoke softly, however his face turned darker as he looked up at her again. "He's also got enough firepower to clear the area. I've yet to see something that can survive a Base Delta Zero." He continued with a fiery determination in his golden eyes.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Image link (commission)
Weapons: Lightsabers


The moment Yuri pulled her into a hug, Valery stilled. For just a second, she let herself lean into it, let herself feel the raw, quiet weight behind it. He was holding onto her for more than just support — it was gratitude, it was relief, it was a silent acknowledgment of everything they had just been through.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, her arms lifting just slightly before she squeezed back. Then, just as quickly, he let go, a weak laugh escaping him as he checked his commlink.

"Fifteen minutes?" Valery frowned slightly, her fiery gaze flicking toward the ruined chamber around them. The dark presence was gone — for now — but time had blurred within its grasp, twisting and stretching in ways it shouldn't have. That wasn't normal. Something about this place… something deeper, older, still lingered.

Her jaw tightened as she took his offered hand, pulling herself to her feet with a quiet grunt. She was tired, but she wasn't done yet. Not until this was over. Yuri spoke again, his voice steady despite the weight behind his words. Base Delta Zero. A full-scale orbital strike. Wipe everything off the map. Leave nothing behind.

Valery exhaled slowly, then nodded. "That might be the only way to make sure this place is dealt with properly," she admitted, her voice low but resolute. "I'll arrange for a few Jedi to come afterward. We'll make sure the area is cleansed, that nothing like this can ever happen again."

She turned slightly, looking out over the ruined temple, the crumbling walls, the air still thick with something unseen.

"Nobody should ever be trapped in here."

She meant it. Her gaze flicked back to Yuri, a small but tired smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "But first, let's get the hell out of here."

Yuri Maji ​

 

[Yuri Maji]

Valery was in complete agreement with him, which was a surprise. He thought that she would have objections, but luckily an argument wasn't needed. She suggested they get out first, to which he gave a nod. "Way ahead of ya. Told Baby to come pick us up." He remarked, picking up his items and proceeding to the door. A few moments later, the Howl of Baby's engines broke the silence to announce his presence.

The Basilisk touched down beside the house and lowered to allow for easy boarding for the two tired warriors. The sight of Valery, however, earned an irritated mechanical growl from the beast. Yuri said nothing. He knew what it was about. He simply gave Baby's hull a few taps as he clambered into the cockpit and extended a hand to help Valery in.

Once the two were safely deposited far away with a medkit, Baby got to work on his new task. The once quaint and unnerving forest soon glistened with a fire bright enough to see from orbit. Seismic charges and concussion missiles split the earth open and smoke almost completely blocked out the sun shining overhead. Yuri's armour was in a pile as he tried to apply some bacta and bandages around his tender ribcage. He finally broke his silence as he stared out at the raging inferno ahead of them. The heat was almost as intense as his hesitation.

"I... I can't ever forgive you for what you've done." He started with a glance at his aunt. "But... I... I don't..." He swallowed hard as his expression softened. "I don't wanna lose the little bit of family I got left." He turned with a grunt to look at his aunt as Baby did another pass overhead, missiles and cannons roaring with enough power to destroy half of the province. "Just... tell me... why'd you have to do it?" He asked her. He finally had the chance to ask the question that ate at his heart.

Valery Noble