It's Dangerous to go Alone

[Felicity Mason]

Bright blue eyes snapped open. Felicity Mason lay on a thick mat on the temple floor, a warm wool blanket pulled up to her chest. She stared up at the high elegant ceiling with it's curved arches, panting. The brilliant moonlight streamed in through the high windows, illuminating every detail on the girls face.

Another impossible night. How long had she been asleep this time? Two hours? Three? Not long. Her eyelids felt so heavy. Were these stupid pictures in her head ever going to stop? Grax was trying to help her through it, but nothing he said seemed to fix it. He said it would take time, and she believed him, but it was getting worse. This was the second time in the last day or so that she'd been woken up in the middle of the night by these picture dreams. Again she saw a face, a mans face. And a feeling of dread washed over her.
Sometimes with the pictures, she got a feeling too. When she saw Glyphs face in one such vision, she'd felt anger. It was how she knew he was about to break up with her. And when she'd seen the face of Alek, she'd felt horror. It was how she knew she had to stop him from cracking his skull open. Sometimes her head pictures had a use. Sometimes. Other times, they were too vague to be anything other than an annoyance.

I should go home and see mom and dad soon, she thought to herself, rolling over to watch the white moon, Maybe I'll talk to Grax about it tomorrow.

Truth was, she was homesick. She was really homesick. As beautiful as the temple was, it wasn't like the Palace on Naboo, or even the castle on Imerria. And the other students here weren't quite friend material. The only one she actually knew here was her big brother.

Nearly twenty minutes later, and Felicity still had not yet managed to fall back asleep. The moon was too bright, the stars were too clear. She found herself wishing for some cloud cover, but none came. With a groan, the girl untangled herself from her blanket and rolled off the thin mattress. Maybe a 2 AM walk would help? If she couldn't sleep, then at the very least it was better than just laying down, staring at the ceiling.

She slipped on her flat black shoes, threw on a grey robe, and walked out into the temple gardens as quietly as air itself. She'd gotten very good at sneaking out at night. The Palace on Naboo was heavily guarded. One had to be lightfooted to sneak past them. She'd called her little late night adventures 'security checks'. After all, if a fifteen year old girl could sneak out at night to visit her boyfriend, surely an assassin could sneak in, right?

The Temple on Ession was secluded. There was no real guard to keep watch over her now. Not that it was needed. Nobody came here, nobody really left. Felicity had been taken here for that very reason. So she could learn in safety and in seclusion. Mom was always so very protective...

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

How long had this been going on for…1, maybe 2 months? 2 at the most.

The Empire of the Hand wasn’t worth the time of day to Asterion and he had decided to continue his discovery of other powerful beings with the Force as a gift to use against the Light. While he was no Lord, Asterion would carve his way through the galaxy on a life-long rampage against the Republic and the Jedi Order – and anyone else who stood between him and his thirst for vengeance.

Since visiting Naboo months before his journey, Asterion had learnt that the Queen had an item that fascinated him. A daughter; Force sensitive. But her ancestry was most fascinating and appealing to him with links to the Sith and a family of high esteem and power – the perfect combination to mould a servant of the Dark Side from.

The Hydian Way had been the perfect route for Asterion to track the movement of the flickering Force aura that he knew was the girl. She had left Naboo and arrived on Ession. Thankfully the information kept on the family by the Empire had proved invaluable before parting ways, and now he could decide how to act.


The Sith Knight stood in his black and silver armour, covered by a dark robe that was only worn for warmth. He didn’t care for hiding his identity – the Minotaur was something to be feared, and he didn’t care for theatricals. Ession was an industrial planet, and the Force had led him right to her.

A temple much smaller than the decadent one on Naboo glowed in the light of the moon. His Sith fighter was nestled in a clearing and Asterion was leaning on a large tree a good distance from the temple grounds itself. He assumed there would be a few pathways leading to and from the grounds, and he was waiting at the end of one. Knowing what he had to do, with perfect timing and months of waiting, Asterion folded his arms and focused his reach out into the distance.

The flickering Force aura could be felt strongly. A lifetime of studying the Dark Side had helped Asterion hone his ability for moments such as this. He reached out with his mind to touch the aura, not knowing what to find.

A girl, fuelled with midicholorians; untamed and unknowing.

”My child, help me…”

He planted the voice in her mind, already weak with the dark and unfamiliar surroundings she was walking through. He waited, and maintained his clamp over her mind.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

The gardens were pretty at night. Serene. She'd gotten used to seeing the Galaxy at night, so often unable to sleep easy. These midnight walks happened frequently now. She watched the shadows bounce off the midnight blue flowers, the dark leaves shift in the cool night air. She took a deep breath, the sweet floral scent calming her mind. Big brother Graxin taught her this. Meditation. It was supposed to help when she saw the pictures.

”My child, help me…”

The blonde froze where she was, her entire body going stiff. A face had flashed in her mind when she heard that voice. Her own, but... wrong somehow. Older? Something was off.

"Hello?" she asked out loud, not truly realizing that the voice had only been in her head, "Is someone there?"

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Asterion shifted sideways and raised his cowl, half covering his face. He stooped a little lower, leaning against the tree and threw his hand back, twisting the Force to his will that activated the loading ramp of the Sith fighter with a low hum.

”I can’t see you…please hurry…the Queen has been mortally attacked by rebels….I have to save you at her…last request…”

He threw the voice around the woods, his whisper wrapping around each tree and allowing the wind to carry it around the young girl. Disorientation and manipulation of the senses was key, and a trait of the Dark Side.

Asterion groaned, effecting an injury.

”I’m sorry, please hurry, child…”


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

No.
Felicity touched her forehead, swaying on the spot.
No.
Graxin. Graxin would have known. Graxin would have woken her up. And she... She was dangerously close to fainting now. Daddy would have protected mom. Daddy always protected mom. Daddy was always there when she needed it. She'd been counting on him!

"No."
She shook her head, closing her eyes as her hands touched the crystal beneath her nightgown. She had to calm down. If it was true, nothing could be done. But if it was true-
Mom would have sent someone to find her. That was true enough. Maybe daddy was gone too. She would have sent him if he could get to her. But she knew Daddy. If he was there and mom was in danger, he would literally die for her. That was just how he was. He would die for any of them.

"Where are you?" she called, looking around, trying her hardest to find the voice in the darkness, "I can't see you anywhere."

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

An amused grin crossed the Sith’s face – it had been too long since he had enjoyed the ability to twist a mind with his gift. For too long he had wasted time in bowing down to others, trying to fit in; now it was his turn to apply that power to another and have them bow down to him.

He turned once more, waving his hand and firing up the ships fog lights with his mind. The twin beams blared out through the woods, illuminating everything before it in a warm, white glow.

”Come to the light, child, I just need to ensure your safety and to take you… to your family away from danger….”

He could feel the anxiety, the doubt, creeping in her mind and his dark eyes scanned the paths ahead, lit up by the lights even if they weren’t pointing exactly in his direction.

Closer…closer…


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

It was like leading a lamb to the slaughter. Any doubt she had in her mind, any warning the Force was trying to give her was immediately overridden by her grief and fear. Her mind was desperately trying to reason with her emotions, sending picture after warning picture through her pretty head. But it did nothing to slow her steps.
She was in a forest now. When had she gotten here? The light, she followed without question. She felt like she was walking in a dream. Maybe it was all just a bad dream. She would wake up.
In the pocket of her robe, she reached inside, felt something heavy. Her holodiary. When did she put that in her pocket? If only she'd remembered her fathers lightsaber, then maybe she could have protected herself from what was about to happen.

There was a wolf in these woods.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Letting the mind of one torn and confused work for him, Asterion stood slightly and waited…and saw a break in the light from a dark figure slowly moving across, back, side-to-side. She was here.

Closer she came, uncertainty and fear – Asterion gained strength with her weakness, and so was the time to strike.

Wrapping his right hand around the hilt of his lightsaber fixed to his belt, he cast it out to the right and the crimson blade spat into life with a violent snap-hiss, the glow reflecting off the ground it singed below as the tip was held down.

Asterion leant forward slightly, looking directly at the figure.

”It’s dangerous to walk these places alone at night, child.”

He stood and walked slowly forward, blade angled down slightly behind him, spitting up small ambers from the trees it glances by. Asterion let his deep, razor-laced voice speak up for the first time, embracing his standing as a warrior.

”Your life as you knew it is over – you belong to the darkness now.”


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

A figure. Her rescuer. The moment she saw it, she felt tears spring to her eyes and she began to run towards him. And then, a burst of crimson made her stop right in her tracks. She'd seen red lightsabers in use. Fathers favorite lightsabers always were red. She'd been fond of the color. It made her think of home, watching Daddy go through his lightsaber forms in the courtyards on Imerria.
But this time, she knew this was not her Father. Red was a Sith color. Mother would not have hired a Sith to retrieve her.

Her hands went to her belt- if she was wearing it. No. She was standing alone in a forest that she did not know, farther from the temple than she had ever been, wearing a nightgown and a robe. And no lightsaber. It was not like her to run from a fight, but she wasn't stupid. She knew when she was outmatched.

Wordlessly, she turned around and ran for it.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Of course she would run, who wouldn't when faced with death?

Standing to his full height, Asterion stared out from under his black cowl and reached out with his left hand, curling it into a fist and gently pulling it back. A series of snapping, groaning and splintering wood rang out ahead, and the horizon waved gently - the trees were being pulled from their roots.

The first fell with a thunderous crash up ahead of the girl, with two more falling with great force beside it. Dirt and soil and rock was tossed up in the air, and the moonlight above shone through the broken fauna.

Asterion moved forward, unsure of if he had stopped the girl or accidentally killed her. Either way it was a good thing.


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Trees. Of all the things to kill her? It had to be trees? It was ridiculous! Felicity screamed with terror and fell straight down, covering her head as a giant oak fell right on top of her crushing her immediately beneath the ancient bark.

...or it would have if not or what the child saw in her head. She knew. She stopped dead in her tracks as the first tree fell right behind her, letting the next trees fall right in front of her. instead of trying to climb hrr way out, she opted to screech left. She hadn't a clue which way home was anymore. It didn't matter now. Only surviving did. She would run all night if she had to, but she refused to die here.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

The thunderous roar of blistering wood crashing down in the distance pleased Asterion, but he felt the flicker of Force aura from the girl still. How curious. He had expected the chaos to wound her at best, but here she was still on the move.

Stubborn thing.

Killing the blade and sliding the blade back onto his brown belt, Asterion looked left and moved quickly, running between the trees and thick foliage. The ships lights were fading as he ran towards the edge of the woods, but light still filtered through enough. However, it was her Force trail he was following more than anything.

He doubted she would have any knowledge on how to mask herself or even use it as a weapon, and so he just pushed on.

With a leap, he vaulted over a large collection of rocks and climbed up a thick tree stump that was at an angle, and it gave him the chance to leap forward out from the woods into a clearing, nearer to the temple.

He heard hurried footsteps from his right, and decided to bear his teeth again as the big, bad wolf he was. What better way to ignite fear from the darkness with the piercing cry of the crimson blade once more in his hand, spitting out from the shadows.

Asterion stood tall as he saw the girl, obviously trying to reach the temple. With his left hand, he pushed outwards and started to spit up the earth in front of him, rolling back like a small shockwave, disrupting the ground as it rolled towards the youngster.


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

The girl wasn;t exactly unhurt. She'd torn the sleeve of her robe all the way to her skin. Her lip was bleeding. She'd injured her ankle somewhere back there too. But all this went unnoticed for now. she couldn;t think about pain. There was no room in her head for pain now. Survival was all she had to cling to now. It was what drove her on.

With a cry, she fell forward onto her hands and knees. Now she felt the pain, because she knew this mistake of falling had cost her. She did not know that her enemy had caused the fall however. She just knew that she had to scramble to her feet again. Quickly. It was probably already too late, but she was not one to simply give up.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

A shrill cry, feebly and exhausted, helped Asterion lock in on his prize. Moving right, towards the impressive carnage he had inflicted, he moved with purpose and with heavy boots crunching the earth below.

The crimson blade hummed – growled – as it lit the area he walked with a bloody tinge. All the way to the poor girl, scrabbling on her knees. Torn clothing, dishevelled, at her lowest.

Perfect.

”You cannot run from me – you cannot run from your destiny.”

Coming to stand over the girl, he let the blade hang to the floor, the searing energy and light from the crystal would catch her attention, inches from death if she made the wrong move.

”You will learn you place, young one. Now we can do this the easy way…or we do it my way. Pick.”


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

That face. She could see it clearly now, illuminated by the crimson saber light. She knew that face. The one from the pictures in her head. She looked up at him, standing high above her while she shivered on her bloodied knees. What would Mother do? Face death with dignity, refuse to give her enemy the satisfaction of seeing her unhappy. The girl wiped her eyes, stared straight back, chin up, defiance sparkling in her blue eyes.

"Do it," she snapped, "if you're going to kill me, then just do it already!"

What would Daddy do in this situation? He would criticize his enemy. Catch them off guard... and then attack.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Asterion felt a surge of power coursing through his body, for the first time he felt like a true servant of the Dark Side. Child or not, a Force user was now seeing the extent of what true power could achieve.

He glared down at her and nodded his head. She had a fierce determination. And part of him saw a younger Asterion in her. And what happened to a strong minded Asterion all those years ago on Korriban? He was abducted by the Sith to become a monster – the galactic Minotaur.

”My way then.”

Killing the crimson blade, he fixed his hilt to his armoured belt and stepped forward. He grabbed the girls thin arm and span her around, and before she could scream, he had her under his right arm. He started to carry her through the destroyed section of the woods and to his fighter.

She may kick, she may struggle, she may scream. He wanted her to. It was all part of the process for him to enjoy.


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Before she could blink, she was stuffed under the arm of this... red bladed monster! The shame and indignity of it! She was a daughter of the Queen of Naboo! She was descended from nobility! She was a Mason! She had her family pride at stake here. How dare he? Mother would not bear this indignity! Father would kill if he saw this. She screamed and struggled, seeing the faint light of the temple in the distance. She'd been close. So close.

"[member="Graxin"]!" she screamed as loud as she could, kicking her feet and slamming her fist into any bit of him she could reach, "Graxin!"

Maybe he would hear her. Maybe he wouldn't. Either way, it was too late and she knew it. She had no weapon. She was in a nightgown. All she had on her was her holodiary. She'd delt with kidnappers before. She knew what she had to do. But she wasn;t going to make it easy on him. She kicked one of her shoes off, leaving a trail, then the other when she saw the ship in the distance. It didn;t leave many clues, but the imprint left by a ship in the soil below was a valuable clue. Graxin was smart. He would follow. He would find her. Someday.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Placeholder 0123]

Were it anyone else, Graxin would not have noticed the girl's calls. He did not hear them in the traditional sense, he was too far away at the top of the Grand Temple. He did sense them however--Felicity was his blood and pupil. Not only that, but the presence of some malicious this close the the Grand Temple was a beacon. Odds are the Sith Hunters would have closed in on it by now, but perhaps not.

He pushed up from his chair and sent it tumbling over. Missing all of his armor save his helmet, as it was a tradition for the ruler of Ession to be masked in public, the Archlord shot down toward the disturbance. He took the elevator down the many levels of the temple, and broke into a dead sprint once it touched the ground, drawing curious glances from the Jedi and their associated walking the halls.

The forest was not far from the temple at all. Graxin alone went toward the struggle, though he had no idea what kind of trouble Felicity was in. Perhaps she'd said the wrong thing to one of the local thugs, or worse. The thought spurred him on. He would arrive soon enough.

[member="Felicity Mason"] [member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

"Scream all you want - it's too late for you now, kid."

She was a slippery little one! Asterion leant over to the left as he pulled the girl tight to the right side of his body, arm looped over as his boots crunched the dry earth below. Bark and dirt exploded under his feet as he headed towards the glaring beams of light from the fighter.

Coming into the clearing, Asterion headed to the loading ramp of the small ship. The ramp would lead directly into the holding bay with a narrow passage to the cockpit. It'd be tricky to contain such a live-wire as the Queen's daughter, but that was all the more fun.

Then he felt it - a desperate urgency; a Force tremor heading towards them.

Grunting to hold the girl, Asterion turned and dropped her to the floor at the same time. Holding out his left hand, he applied a wall of energy to surround the girl and pin her to the ground.

"Stay."

Eyes narrowed. Fingers curled around the hilt of the lightsaber. He stood and waited, almost sniffing the air for the one coming through towards them.


[member="Graxin Rade"] [member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

She hated him. She hated this. She hated herself too, for being so stupid. Why did she buy into it? Why did she trust that voice? Why didn't she listen to the pictures in her head?

Then she felt it, like a warmth in her heart.

"Grax-!" She dropped to the ground with a small, very undignified 'Oomph'. She landed on her stomach, watching in horror as her kidnapper curled his fingers around his lightsaber.

"No! Don't!" She knew what would happen now. Graxin would come after her. Graxin would fight for her.
Graxin could get hurt. Graxin might die here and it would be her fault. She would never forgive herself if that happened.
"I...I'll go with you. I'll do whatever you want. Just leave now."

What was she saying!? Was she insane? No. She was thinking clearer than ever before. She loved her brother. He was everything to her. He'd protected her. Now she wanted to protect him. No matter what that meant.

[member="Asterion"] [member="Graxin Rade"]