Lives. Lived. Will Live.

[The Major]

"Hm."

Queerness abounds, and the sudden plot twist for the evening left a desire for peeling back the unknown. Sybil was the kind of person that usually blamed herself if someone changed their mind like this last minute, as she considered her powers of persuasion both her expertise and profession. Maybe this wasn't going as well as it seemed at first -and maybe she was just in a fatalistic mood that reflected in the cold rain that marred everything tonight. Asking to be of assistance would send the Major into the territory of begging, and such was beneath her. If Tez was so calm, then it stood to reason that these attacks were something she was used to and dealt with often.

It was annoying, because most times this type of goodbye was final. You never see the other person; they flaked out like this and it was too embarrassing to move forward. Regardless of agendas or intentions, Sybil would have to respect the wishes of the strange woman. She whipped out her comlink and proceeded to trade contact information. Seeing that Tez's own napkin was now soiled, Sybil produced a fresh and silken kerchief of gray woven silk that clearly was some kind of trinket of nobility and handed it over. A faint scent of lemons and fresh fabric touched the air about it -sad yet clean.

"I'm. . . not always in Galactic Alliance space, but call me and it shouldn't be much issue to visit."

She breathed awkwardly, clearly reluctant to leave it like this and even looking away while weighing her next words.

"It was nice meeting you. I do hope you feel better. Take care."

With that she turned away before frowning intensely. Marching off into the dusky swirls of chilling humidity, Sybil was at least thankful that her funk from earlier was now replaced with thoughts of mixed content and reflection.

[member="Tez Bola"]​

 

[Tez Bola]

Wait, what? That scene didn't go as Tez had thought. Sure, she felt embarrassed about the situation but didn't expect it to end so abruptly. She opened her mouth- to laugh, to shout, to scream, who knows- but only staccatos of sound came out. She clutched the silken treasure tightly in her shaking hand and did everything in her power to not do something regrettably foolish.

How, just HOW, could she feel this way about someone she had never met before? Was Sybil's departure just like her entrance: unexplained, uncalled for, yet somehow... justified? Right, even? But right was just too relative, especially in this universe full of smugglers, thieves and bounty hunters. Tez was one of billions of life forms on this rock, so why should her opinions or desires count against anything?

Desires? What desires? What could a poor nobody desire, especially on an overpopulated, over inflated planet like this? Hope, for starters (isn't that why she came here in the first place?). Companions. Loyalty. Maybe one day comfortability. A purpose would be swell... And maybe, perhaps...family...

Ha, family. Like she ever had that. Anytime the notion of "family" would cross her mind, her mind would do a funny thing where it stopped functioning properly. Internal physical agony almost always follows suit along with false manifestations of sentimentality, confusing nightmares, and false memories. Which thoughts were dreams, which were real will remain a mystery (albeit not an interesting one).

Tez shook her drenched head to snap out of this spiraling dark reverie. A decision would need to be made, and fast. Will she allow this stranger to walk out of her life then and there, assumingly forever? Will she call her back, confessing to not wanting to be apart from her ever again? Or will she stand in this monument until the rain stops, hoping to die of pneumonia?

Our heroine took a sharp intake of breath.

"Sybil," Tez weakly called out, fighting back the torrent of tears.

[member="The Major"]

 

[The Major]

Only a few breadths of a second had come to pass, and Sybil had only managed to walk but a step or so before freezing in place. Hearing her name uttered in such a way struck as if a bolt aimed true had cut through her very chest. Shocked, she shook now in the rain as an intense bout of morose Déjà vu took hold upon her reality. Fearful, yet too steadfast to see an endeavor abandoned, she turned. Sense shifted as the background of the cold Coruscant night melted away and the lines of perception blurred away as her very eyes began to fail to see what exactly was happening. Storm clouds and vicious, meandering fog took the place of the various skyscrapers. Even the sound of speeders rushing overhead drowned to the wail of distant thunder. The very fabric of time and space cleaved in a nightmarish hodgepodge of conniving whispers and hidden sobs. Was this insanity?

. . .Tez remained, shaking much like Sybil was as this galaxy seemingly fizzled away like a bad dream. . .​

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A lifetime ago. . .​

​

The oppressive rolls of thunder bellowed angrily from beyond -a duel of giants walking along the earth in time and indistinguishable to the roar of nearby containers exploding here to yonder. Wailing mocked in the distance; cries of women, men, and their children fleeing for their very lives from some unseen threat filled the air -joining together in a hopeless chorus that was at once both ghastly yet mesmerizing. Corpses of slain monstrosities laid strewn upon the tallest rooftop of the town for a terrible duo had stood their ground and fought with every ounce at their disposal. The bodies slowly turned to ash as their forms lost what little strength there to maintain coherence, and this too added to the quagmire in the air: for these particles crystallized and floated like ever blackening snow. These glistening bits swirled about the pair as though attracted to the prospect of touching something living for one last time.

Karl, finally avenged, smiled in his death. His eyes gazed upwards to the obfuscated firmament and glittered in ill-lit hues before fading away into a moribund wash of pale ash; his final victory, a piercing laugh, still rung harshly upon the duo's ears.

Alone at last they were, this paring fit for the likes of deepest Hell. The Major of a failing empire -wretched example of all humanity was capable of accomplishing; along with her condemned bodyguard, self styled chevalier and white ribboned menace. As though timed by fate itself a red flag of the Major's government, symbol of systemic hatred and humanocentric dogma, fluttered off this rooftop's decorative but now bent flagpole. Lost to the winds, much like everything that was built in this beautiful city. Memories of running up and down the cobbles in the rain now bode an ill reminder. Haunting echoes of jazz and artistry fluttered away much like the black snow rushing to oblivion.

At was at this very moment the Major knew everything, absolutely everything, was lost. Turning to stare at her bodyguard's face racked and reminded her of a beloved lost. It reminded her of every atrocity that was justified over the putrid years. It rehashed the pain of knowing that literally every scheme or plot she had designed ultimately blew up and destroyed any modicum of normalcy or decency. She could stand it no longer. She could not bear to see another second of Tez and the body the operative now occupied as a direct result of her own narcissistic need to experiment and push the envelope further and further beyond any kind of shield of pragmatism. Most of all the Major could no longer stand to be witness or example of such a waste of life.

​

She gave up.​

​

!Clack!​

Released from a stained white gloved hand, her cherished cherrywood musket, the warhammer, trumpet, clattered on the floor. Still smoldering from the battle, some kind of glint the weapon naturally carried when hefted by the markswoman departed as her soul perished.

From a pocket came a handful of round balls given by that contemptible witch, who now the Major knew had won, always won, always would win. These pattered indifferently to the heavy rain and rolled away -already forgotten to the heavy blue eyes that had seen too much and learned too much.

"It's all over. You're free from my service." The woman with the ridiculously long raven hair reached into a suit pocket and produced a credit chit.

"Here's your severance. Enjoy your new life and freedom from your s-s-sister." The Major's voice, usually filled with an icy composure and smooth diction, cracked raw as the rain drops streamed down her cheeks. The card was handed over sloppily and it too dropped to floor.

"G---. Ahem. Good luck. Auf Wiedersehen."

Tez, clearly at odds with these declarations, began to protest in a blunt manner. She even tried to grasp unto her compatriot's jacket to pin her in place. Once her hands slipped through the illusion, however, all bets were lost and the bodyguard's frustrations at being pushed or played about without control manifested. At first Tez looked around in horror and then began grabbing at the air while cursing. Cursing shifted to outright screaming, and all the while she struck up and down the space trying to catch her employer in the midst of her trickery.

But Sybil could see there was no more tricks for this Major. She could see the suit clad woman climb a rampart over the roof's edge to cower at the precipice -struggling to stifle her own weeping by shoving the better part of her hand over her mouth.

What was this terrible, confusing spectacle? Somewhere on the opposite side of the roof stood the real Tez, watching the same phantasmagoria unfold in front of her eyes -watching her alter ego rage and curse her rotten luck. Sybil, now afraid of this horrible vision went to cling to what was familiar in this heinous display that rang a severe bell of dissonance.

***​

The rift was gone as quickly as it waylaid them; now the real world, this world, came back into focus like a cherished friend. Sybil couldn't determine when exactly she decided to be so bold, but once everything was back in order she quickly realized that she walked right back up to this stranger and was currently gripping unto her in a tight hug. Was Tez an anchor? The instigator? Perhaps a key of some sort that unlocked more of this mystery? Right not Sybil couldn't say. All she knew was that she never wanted to feel as abandoned as those two wretches on that rooftop were during their tragedy -for the night was long and cold. A second or so passed and a creeping doubt was snaking up the First Order agent's spine as she began to wonder if this nosebleed addled woman had seen the same scene or if it was all insanity.

[member="Tez Bola"]​

 

[Tez Bola]

[SIZE=10.5pt]The intense vision was unlike anything Tez had ever experienced. Her jade colored eyes refocused as the taste of smoke and soot slowly left her mouth. Tez clearly saw herself, and Sybil, surrounded by a grotesque scene she wished she would never relive. Could that hellish nightmare even be labeled as a vision, or had she been momentarily transported into an alternate universe? She wasn't in a coma, nor was she hallucinating, and there weren't many other options left to explain what that was. It couldn't have been a holo-projected memory around them either, made evident by the sensory overload: Tez could make out the stench of singed hair that lingered in the air, see the chunks of mangled gray flesh littering the cobblestones, feel the warm ashen snow upon her face, and hear the low moaning of the creatures that were still moving.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Somehow, in this immersion, Tez had felt her doppelganger’s rage upon the charred rooftop. That bitter hot feeling was unrecognizable, as were the words that poured from her mouth. She [/SIZE]couldn't[SIZE=10.5pt] make out much of anything in between the expletives. Two things in particular disturbed her more than anything else- the sight of Sybil completely disappearing and the mention of a sister.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]How had Sybil immaterialized like that? Was she a Force ghost (something she had read about, but had no knowledge of) or simply a trick she constantly held up her ruffled sleeve? It would appear that her other self also [/SIZE]didn't[SIZE=10.5pt] know what this trick and/or power was, and became grievously agitated. Furthermore, where was this sister that was alluded to? Why was she not here at such a crucial moment in their history? If this was a parallel universe, did she also have a sister surviving elsewhere? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]After these momentary musings, Tez pulled away from Sybil. As said in many cliche narratives, she had many questions but [/SIZE]didn't[SIZE=10.5pt] know where to begin. How could she describe all that they had seen without becoming ensnared in hypotheticals?[/SIZE]

"That was us,” Tez murmured. Droplets of water continued to drip down her face, unnoticed. “But… but they weren't us. And… it wasn't a dream. They were filled with such anger and remorse. I could actually feel their pain, their emptiness, and their confusion. It all just went away when we… when you…”

[SIZE=10.5pt]She paused, knowing exactly when she felt complete again. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]But, please, don't tell me this is our future.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"Sybil… What are we[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt][member="The Major"][/SIZE]

 

[The Major]

An impossible question for an impossible situation escaped the woman with the tangled mess of curly, dark hair -now matted into a semblance of flatness thanks to the ever intensifying rain. What a sad sight they both made: confused, mouths parted, and throats dry despite the deluge of wetness surrounding the pair. A theme was emerging during this chance encounter, one that verged upon the edge of annoyance. Another heavy silence permeated between the pair. Sybil searched for the meaning of this but instead found an enticing new purpose. Encouraged, she smiled softly.

"I don't know; let's find out together."

First instinct had Sybil wanting to grab or otherwise touch the stranger standing cold in the murk -but protocol overtook the more debase inclination and she managed to maintain of dignity. At least, she assumed as much. A sort of faraway glint took residence in the space behind the agent's eyes.

"You said you don't want to go anywhere special, but there are plenty of lowkey places we can go to. In fact, there's a quiet restaurant not too far from here that I've eaten at a few times while staying cityside. I won't take no for an answer: come have a sit down and bite with me."

Now came a sweep of activity. Like a blur, Tez would have been swept down the plaza, into a cab that conveniently was waiting for them both, and way down from the upper levels of the city to the bustling undergrowth found below the massive skyscrapers dotting the landscape. Every bit of space here was ripe with activity. Somehow, the cab meandered ever lower to a set of platforms that were much quiet. Storefronts and dirty pop up shops were awash in neon advertising, and despite all the covering from overhead levels somehow the floor was still wet and reeking of rainwater. Once they disembarked Sybil lead the pair past a few improvised streets with moderately sized apartments squashed closely together. Hands always in pockets, the Fallanassi strode through these alleyways with inexpiable confidence -as though she were some kind of native to this struggling, grimy neighborhood.

Eventually they reached the aforementioned eatery: a place with a sign so old and dilapidated the hololit letters failed to register a name. A single fixture of uncomfortably bright light was fastened just above the door in makeshift fashion. The taller of the pair took a few extra long strides to reach the door open first for her new friend and waved Tez across the threshold in an unnecessarily exorbitant fashion. . .

Inside was a large room with lighting and ventilation set like a basement. Various pillars adorned with remarkable busts split up the surprisingly large space, and antique chairs of crimson suede surrounded brass lined circular tables. Red curtains were hung in various spots and gave the room a more sensual feel, but in reality these were more or less sheets stapled on to walls in order to cover cracks and watermarks from leaking. On one corner of the room was a counter, and beyond that a kitchen spewing greasy and sweet smelling air about the joint. On the other corner was a small stage with enough space for a small band, and once one recognized that fact it was easy to realize that all the seats more or less faced this stage. Most spots by the stage itself were already taken, and the counter was chock full of tired looking business people smoking and slurping down drinks in rapid fire. Still, the atmosphere was mostly hush besides the occasional murmur or clatter of silverware.

"Ah. That spot looks good. Follow me, please." Pointed the Major yonder.

She led Tez to the furthest corner from both the counter and stage, assuming that her company would probably want to be as far away from anyone else as possible. A ratty coat rack of ancient wood stood astride of their table, and Sybil now hung hers quietly before turning to her companion.

"Take your coat?" She stretched out an arm offer assistance.

[member="Tez Bola"]​