Reality is an illusion...

[Nima Tann]

She was having one of that dreams, nightmares, to be exact that the insects eating her flesh slowly, just like the event in Ziost where the dark lady applied to her brain. She woke up in sweat and thanked the Force that it wasn't real, but no matter how she didn't feel her legs, they still hurt anyway. It was the fate saying "Kark you" to her, well she was well in knowledge that luck and fate never weren't on her side. Carrying herself to her wheelchair she placed herself slowly to her prison and sighed. Now would be a great time to get out of her home and go smell the flowers in the Temple Garden, it always helped her ease the pain. Giving her wolf his food she said her goodbyes and closed the door. She knew she ignored her dog in these weeks but she kinda kept him responsible for not saving her. Well, she knew he wasn't to blame.

She continued forward to the Temple, passing the curious eyes one by one and finally she was on the section where the flowers could be seen and smelled perfectly. She closed her eyes and started her meditation, close herself to the outside world and just concentrate on the flowers, no pain, no illusions, just reality. Gardens were the less livelier part of the Temple, whenever she needed some space she would come in here.

Breathe in... Breathe out...

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Tip, tap, tip, tap, Siobhan's arrival was heralded by the sound of her cane upon the ground as she walked across the Temple floors before stepping into the garden. Truth be told, the sea of light that was the Voss Temple made her feel a bit awkward. Somewhat alien. Then again, the Silvers were a nicer and less confused bunch than their cousins on Ossus. Or wherever the Republic Jedi had placed their tents this week. Siobhan did not keep track, though she always seemed to know where [member="Phylis Alince"] was!


But the garden was relaxing and beautiful. The pleasant smell of flowers greeted her when she entered and she savoured it. However, it soon became apparent to her that she was not alone, as her eyes fell upon a Twi'lek. Twi'leks were lovely! Alas, this one seemed like she had been through the ringer. Somehow she seemed familiar to Siobhan and once she began thinking, she remembered Ziost. Right, the fight with the Host Lord, who had not impressed Siobhan.


Far as she could remember, the woman had been tormented by some evil illusions, which were a popular Sith thing these days. As someone who had been possessed once, Siobhan could sympathise. "Garden's beautiful, isn't it? Nice to see you on your feet again. I'd ask whether you're ok...but I guess it's kind of obvious you're not."

 

[Nima Tann]

Her meditation was interrupted by a familiar aura as she continued her breathing exercises. She didn't remember why it was familiar at first since her brain was closed to the outer world by herself to run away from her problems, so she turned the wheelchair towards the voice and as she examined her features she remembered slowly, she was one of her saviours at the invasion, well they saved most of her actually. Taking the smell of the flowers one more time, she smiled and started to talk. "Yeah, it is indeed. Temple's most underrated part, actually. No one wants to appreciate the smell of these beautiful flowers." Then she continued, couldn't conceal the little shake in her voice from the pain she was feeling but still she tried her best to stay strong. But, there was no fooling herself, she was pretty weakened after the events in Ziost.

"And I am not exactly... on my feet, but thanks anyway. If you don't count the pain on my back and several headaches hitting from time to time, I think I'll be okay." It was the truth that was eating her mind, she felt like she lost her freedom, need a machine to move around. Well, the healers said it was not permanent at least, so there was still hope for her. What did the wise man said? "There is hope where there is light.". "You were on Ziost, right? I think I saw you fighting that woman... but I might be mistaken. My brain was not exactly that clear... uhh..." She was lost in thought thinking what was she talking about since her brain blocked the memory of her mental torture, but there was still some nightmares about it she was seeing every night. "I am Nima." She wanted to be clear about that first before she did anything else, since that would be pretty awkward if she continued talking like she knew her when it wasn't true.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"Yeah, I was there. Came across you when the queen was doing her illusion voodoo. Drove her away, but alas didn't get around to killing her," Siobhan responded. So it was the Twi'lek Jedi she had found on Ziost. The battle had been a rout for the Jedi. "Name's Siobhan Kerrigan." Butcher of Roche, former OP Exarch, 2IC of Firemane Industries. Also Dark Jedi, but let's not go on and on counting titles because while that might appeal to Siobhan's ego, it would probably also be rather boring.


It did not escape her attention that Nima was clearly still pained. One did not simply bounce back after an ordeal like that. Some scars took longer to heal than others, and the ones suffered from horrors being inflicted upon your psyche could be the most grievous. Someone who had been possessed by an ancient Sith could sympathise.

 

[Nima Tann]

"I wish you killed her." She spoke like a Sith now, or someone that was holding a grudge on someone who hurt her very much. Well, she hoped that the second one was the truth. "She didn't fight me properly, hid herself in that... Sith tricks. I... I would have done something if she didn't hide. Yet, she played me like a puppet in her own world." Her voice was shaking again, not from the sadness but somehow growing self-anger. Then she took a big breath. Remove yourself from the dangerous emotions... "I am sorry. I got carried away." Took another breath in order to slow down her heartbeat which was increasing. "Nice to meet you Master Kerrigan, I wish we've met in different circumstances but, fate doesn't always let us do what we want to do." She said, then sighed afterwards. But then she realized something, the woman had a cane. The life wasn't fair to her too, she thought. Maybe it happened on Ziost just like her?

"The cane... How did it happen? If you don't mind me asking of course." She asked out of curiousity. Well, if it was a traumatic experience like hers she wouldn't want to talk, but the woman looked hardened enough to talk about it. And also, it would make her feel better if she learned that someone else has walked through the path she walked, that she would feel she wasn't alone in this and had someone to relate to.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"Same here," Siobhan said laconically. She had no time for Jedi moralism. You encountered a foe, you beat them until they die or ran away. "You got nothing to apologise for. I take it this is the first time you faced illusions of that calibre? They're fething nasty...but can be countered. Speaking from personal experience, I was possessed once." The tone was matter-of-fact, though the memory was a painful one for her.


Seeing that the Jedi was struggling to contain her emotions, Siobhan patted her on the shoulder. The gesture was a bit awkward since the Dark Jedi was uncertain whether physical contact might trigger bad memories for Nima. In response to the woman's query she shrugged. "It's fine. It's an old injury, not from Ziost. Building dropped on me on Alderaan ages ago whilst fighting Fire Breathers. When we had this crazy Netherworld thing." She did not mention the part that during said battle on Alderaan she'd also had to chop off her fortunately mechanical arm since a pillar had fallen on it.

 

[Nima Tann]

"You were possessed once? Oh no.." She said with a concerned voice. The neutral expression of her face changed into a concerned one as she talked about possession. What a nasty way to lose your own mind's control. She didn't get possessed luckily, but she knew a person that has been possessed, the person, or the one controlling him, who changed her life forever. "Well, it needs a strong mind and will to get the control back. You are lucky you have both of them." She tried to reassure her with a compliment, since she knew that no matter how she was sounding casual, the process of possesion must've been painful. And then, she answered her question. "I have had a lot of experiences of people trying to get into my head... But had never felt something like this before. There was physical pain... I think I felt pain... I don't understand how imaginary things can hurt you physically." She said, still wasn't able to remember the torture clearly.

And then she talked about the injury she had after patting her on the shoulder, which made her smile awkwardly not knowing what to say since she was a shy one, it wasn't from Ziost as she thought, instead it was from Netherworld, one of the things she wanted to forget too. "Netherworld was crazy." Indeed it was. "I had Sith markings before, which my parents tried to control me from it and for years I lived with it. I lost them there. The loss... was not that pleasant." She wasn't going to talk about her becoming crazy after losing them of course, and it took several months to take control of her sanity. No one knew that, it was a little secret that was coming with her to the grave. But there was something else, that was making this little dialogue intriguing. The fact that she said the illusions can be countered. "How can a person counter an illusion?" She asked, the jumping towards the subject might've been a little off, but curiousity got her once again.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"I didn't get control back," Siobhan said grimly. "The Sith spirit was banished...eventually." She left out the part about how she had murdered two Jedi and stolen a holocron whilst under the Sith Lord's influence. That was not the sort of thing she liked to talk about.


She nodded in sympathy when Nima spoke of an ordeal related to Sith markings. She could imagine that there was a far more painful story to this than the Twi'lek was willing to divulge. So she focused on her immediate question. "There's no blueprint because every illusionist does things differently. The smart ones will use their powers subtly and not like a sledgehammer. But it boils down to strong mental barriers, focus and keen sense of what's real and what not. Some illusionists will do something as simple as summoning doppelgangers of themselves or conjure up illusionary beasts. In most cases those dissipate upon contact, but if you're unlucky any pain they inflict feels real. But that's the crucial point: It's only as real as you believe it is. But there's always some tell-tales signs. It takes experience, calm and focus to pick up on them. A powerful enough mental blast can smash many illusionary constructs. Above all, you must keep your mind shielded," she took a breath, leaning a bit more heavily on her cane.


"The most dangerous illusions aren't beasts or physical pain, but your own fears and doubts...for which your opponent must get inside your head. Your mind is something that must be protected at all costs. Everyone has a different way of doing it, what I use to shield mine is analogous to a telekinetic shield, just transferred to the mental sphere. If your walls are strong enough, you can repulse attacks on your mind and guard your thoughts. Mental blasts to smash their mental claws help as well. Same with finding whoever's messing with your mind and bashing their skull because mind rape takes lots of focus. For the record, I'm no illusionist, I just have a very good friend who is."

 

[Nima Tann]

"Well... I suppose that works too." She said with a sigh, knowing that what she said seconds wasn't comforting at all considering the tone change in the Master's voice, probably she caused her to remember the painful memories. If someone did this to her she would have acted the same. "I am glad that you are here now anyway." She said with a sincere and innocent tone, as if it was a sorry for the times she made her remember. And then, she listened the Master's explanation like a student, about the question she asked. She sounded like she knew a lot, well, probably more than Nima about the protection of the mind, except of she saying that she wasn't an illusionist like that woman on Ziost. So there were ones that knew better about the subject? Well, she was about to find out but for now, she stood on the student mode. The things she said were intriguing, illusions were indeed powerful... Maybe too much.

"I think I get it." She said, like an excited Padawan about to learn new stuff. "But I am a girl that has many fears. I wear masks to conceal them, I build walls to keep them a secret from everyone. But whenever I think I've built strong enough, people opposing me always find a way to find a crack and destroy the walls. I build again, again, again... It never stops. I tried to stay strong on Ziost, I resisted her visions first. But then out of nowhere I was hit by an electric shock. And the walls were destroyed yet again." She sighed, no sign of that excited Padawan anymore, she had emotional issues... Then with a whisper-ish voice she continued "I don't know what to do..." It was a silent scream of a girl who needed help.

"Master Kerrigan?..." She said, this tone of hers was the one where she was about to ask someone to do something. "You said you know how to shield your mind, right?" She asked, well it wasn't a question since she heard her clearly. "I want to know how." Then she added. "I want to learn how to distinguish the real from the illusion like you did on Ziost." Then, here she was at the closing words. "Can you teach me how to do that?" The woman's eyes were full of desperation, since she knew that if the woman rejected her offer, would the cycle continue for her.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


If Nima had not been in the desperate, distraught state she was in, Siobhan would have probably tried to seduce her. After all, she was very pretty, but in the current situation trying to bed her would have been terribly inappropriate for a number of reasons. "There, there," she gave the woman's shoulder a squeeze. "What you suffered and what you're going through right now is horrible...but you'll be the stronger for it." It may sound cruel, but sometimes you had to fall in order to rise up again. "I have a close friend, [member="Coryth Elaris"], who's very good at this sort of thing. She's a Rogue now, but light sided. She's a master illusionist, I'm not, but I can show you some basics. But first you got to relax...and tell me what exactly the witch did to, as painful as that is. I can give you a massage to help you relax a bit, if you like. Oh, and you can drop the 'Master Kerrigan' part. Siobhan's fine, dear."

 

[Nima Tann]

She nodded as the woman tried to make her feel better. She didn't know why, but she didn't feel so shy around her, accepting touches and that kind of stuff. Normally, Nima would have hated it, especially her being still a stranger to her, but there was something preventing it from happening. "Thank you Master... uhh... Siobhan." Then added, her voice still not shaking which was a surprise in her condition. "And I'll find her, but not right now sadly. The healers want me to stay at Voss for at least a month." She was happy that Master Kerrigan... or Siobhan decided to help her learn this, there was a tiny little hope born from the ashes for Nima at last. But the first task given by her... wasn't much of an easy one, one that managed to make her scared for some reason, even though she didn't remember the torture. "You want me to... remember my torture?" She asked, confusion could be clearly understood in her tone. "Is it neccesary?" Of course it was. Else she wouldn't tell her to remember such a bad thing, right? But she wanted to hear from her...

Confusion got replaced by the courage as she took a deep breath. If it was going to help, then she was ready to do it. Or was she? She clearly was scared of something that she couldn't even remember, her brain's work methods were mysterious indeed. "It's... such a blur... but I think it might work, a massage can help me remember... or make me comfortable enough to re-live the event again. I guess." A big sigh followed the end of her sentence. "Let's do it." She said quickly before she can even change her mind. A massage from a stranger... Her day was going all awkward already. Well, too late to change any of that, so she leaned to her wheelchair and made herself comfortable. A massage... Stay calm... Stay calm... "You... can start." She closed her eyes to remember the event as quick as possible before it gets even more awkward.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"Yeah, I'm afraid it is." Siobhan took no joy in saying or making Nima relive the horrors she had experienced, but it was necessary. "I'd rather you wouldn't have to, but you can't defend yourself against torture like if you don't confront it." Her tone remained calm and gentle throughout, but was equally firm.


"Take your time, dear. Just a massage," and so Siobhan's hand reached for Nima's lekku. It was a bit awkward because her other hand was still leaning on her cane, but she managed. Massaging lekku was a very delicate art that had to be learned. One could not simply handle it the way you would a back or shoulder.


However, as it turned out Siobhan was very experienced in this sort of thing and so her very nimble fingers danced over Nima's beautiful lekku. Where she needed to apply pressure she was rough as she untied the knots, where a gentler hand was needed she was soothing, her touches featherlight and loving. Step by step, she worked out the aches and pains, though she took her time with everything and handled the headtails with great care. After all, they were very sensitive, which was why grabbing them forcefully caused great pain for a Twi'lek, sometimes even incapacitating them. Siobhan's hands were deeply scarred, yet her touch was delicate and caring.

 

[Nima Tann]

She took a deep breath as she heard her answer. Yes, it was what she expected, but it wasn't the one she wanted to hear. "Okay..." Then sighed. The girl was... indeed... horrified at the thought of reliving the torture she has been taken, but there was someone nearby to her that could stop it when she wanted, right? She could feel her fingers wandering through her lekku, which caused her lekku to twitch since the touch was tickling to her... especially since she never let people around her lekku before. But soon as the seconds passed away, she got more comfortable with it, and it was actually working, as the Master's fingers gently touched and danced around her lekku she could feel that the headaches she felt before was slowly fading away. As if it was like she's done it before. Hell... she didn't want to think about the torture at all right now, just let the relaxation continue. But of course, life wasn't fair at all. And... they had a job to continue. Concentrate on the torture... Concentrate on the torture.

She continued to focus on her mind, tiring but the lekku massage she's been getting from Siobhan was helping her at all. Then... as she continued to wander around the memories. There was something strange, like a huge darkness in her mind that the memories were missing. She concentrated on that darkness, maybe if she pushed enough she would get something. She could feel that her breathing were getting quicker as she pushed. The darkness in her memory didn't want to be explored, so it seemed. "I see... darkness. As if there is something preventing me to explore further. It... hurts." She said, in a half-trance position that she was in. Then she continued to push it, and at the darkness she could see a silhouette, the vision was familiar. It was her. "I... I can see... it's me... Everywhere is dark." The breathes continued to get much quicker, the memories were attacking back, trying to prevent her seeing more. But she knew how to meditate, how to decode the mysteries in her brain. So she continued to explore...

"Yellow eyes... They are looking at me. Following me. I can't move...." Then... she stopped for a bit. "Something is crawling... No no no get off!" Her voice shaking, then the panic hit, she lost the control of her memories. From the outside, she could be seen as she was having a seizure. She screamed in pain, everywhere of her was burning with pain and she couldn't stop it. She lost the control of reality, as if she was there again and taking the torture, this time with more pain. "Gwaah... No no no no no! H.. help!" Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe....

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Ouch! Siobhan's empathy was quite weak, but developed enough for her to feel a fraction of the agonyNima was feeling as her pain, fear and suffering bled over. It was enough to make Siobhan shake and her mind reeled under the onslaught. From the outside it looked like the girl was having a horrible seizure as she lost control over the awful memories and terror overtook her.


The Countess did feel guilty about forcing her to relive this horrible ordeal. Very much so. Did she doubt the necessity? No, but that did not make things better for Nima. "Nima, stay with me. I'm here. You're stronger than this...stronger than the memories. Come back to me," she said, as soothingly as she could, then she took a deep breath. "Nima, I can help you...I will enter your mind, ok?" She was not sure whether Nima would hear her or be able to give her consent, but she had to try.


Concentration etched over her forehead Siobhan gathered her power and then entered the confused mind of the poor Twi'lek. Dimly she could see Nima, a bright light in the darkness on the brink of being swallowed by the daemons conjured up by her memories. Siobhan reeled and suppressed a cry when the daemons began assaulting her as well. Pain surged through her mind and she shook, feeling as if she would be drowning in an ocean of darkness as the shadows tried to tear at her sanity.


It is only an illusion. Gathering her might she unleashed a shattering blast of mental power towards the mental daemons, trying to drive them away and free Nima from their grip. Adding her power to Nima's, she sought to stabilise the woman and pull her out of the abyss. Sweat dripped down her face and back, but she persevered.

 

[Nima Tann]

She continued to wait and scream as the demons slowly sucking her to the ground as the. The worst part of it was she didn't even know if it was real. The events were familiar, but entirely different at the same time. The pain... The pain wasn't the same, it was, infact ten times painful then before. She was feeling like her bones were shattering and she felt every crack. But... there was a ray of hope, she could feel a familiar aura, a gentle, caring voice speaking to her. The pain was decreasing every time she heard her voice. The fact that, she didn't know, the voice was the Master's who was near to her and was the last connection in her mind to the reality. "Who... are you?" Yet again... Her mind was winning the fight. From the pain, there were tears coming out of her eyes in both illusionary and real world. But then... she felt the presence she felt earlier stronger, as if she was very, very near. In fact, it was like she was here with her, suffering the same thing. She could feel that the demon presence were thinning out, strength coming back to her to fight back. Yet, the Mind Twist that the Host Lord applied to her was stronger still than her mental defense. The demons kept coming, and now her saviour was trapped with her also. Not like this... Not like this! NOT. LIKE. THIS! She sent a Force Push to the demons, that flew away from her with the effect of the strong push. She still felt it was very real, but in reality it was her own consciousness fighting the illusions that the dark lady placed in her memories.

As she saw the opening, still in very darkness she started to run away, run away from that nasty demons to the presence she felt. From far away, she could see a light that was surrounded by the shadows just like her. She had to reach her... Save her... WHO was her? She started to run towards the silhouette, but she felt so near that Nima could've extend her hand to touch her. In the sky, yellow eyes were visible, watching them. And she could feel a presence on her back, a shadow, dragging her away from the other woman, her only connection to the reality just as she was about to reach her. "Leave me alone!" She said to the shadow as she was shouting to the woman. "Hold... my... hand!" She extended her hand towards the woman to reach... extended more... and more... No use. The demon was dragging her away from the light silhouette. "I... need... to... reach!" She didn't know why reaching to the woman was so important, actually. It was just a... hunch.

In reality, her unconscious body was really trying to reach the Master's hand as she continued to shake out of a seizure. At the back of her brain she knew that all of that was an illusion, yet her mind made this little world of hers so realistic that the rest of her brain didn't understand the difference. If only she could reach it...

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Both were now on the brink of being trapped inside the illusionary prison that was inside Nima's mind. Being that Siobhan had entered it, it stood to reason that she would feel at least part of the pain Nima had experienced and see what she had seen. She grit her teeth as a tidal wave of agony washed over her like a flood. It felt like hammerblow after hammerblow was smashing into her mind, trying to beat her sanity to paste. She heard a crack...then another. Here within the depths of Nima's mind the painful sensations were the strongest. A hundred voices seemed to rise up into a crescendo and scream in painful agony, trying to drown out her sanity with their cries and drag her down to the bottom of the ocean where only oblivion awaited.


"It is not real. None of this is," Siobhan spoke, at first more to herself, but with each word spoken her voice became more powerful, as if trying to match the screams and overpower them. She winced in pain when what seemed like bugs began biting across her skin, trying to strip her down to bone. Venomous teeth and claws viciously tore at her flesh and she pressed on. Blood seeped out of her wounds and pain surged through her body, but she soldiered on.


"Pain is just weakness leaving the body...," The malevolent demons were dragging Nima away...Siobhan felt her desperation and tried to reach for her...just a bit closer, but then she was pulled away."Nima, hold on, I'm coming." A massive invisible hammer was manifested by her mind and brutally unleashed upon the shadow that was cruelly trying to drag Nima away. Again and again Siobhan viciously beat at it, even as more shadows appeared on the spot, assaulting both of them. For everyone that was slain, it seemed that another manifested.


Visions of horrors manifested as the shadows sought to gain purchase on their minds. Within the confines of Nima's mind, where the daemons were the most real, Siobhan was more vulnerable than on Ziost. Terrible images were played out before her mind, where all those she cared about were suffering, [member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"] dead, the elves a slave race...in the real world Siobhan was shaking badly, her heartbeat was thumping so hard in her chest that it felt like it she might burst. Invisible tendrils tried to wrap around her with crushing force, seeking to weigh her down so that she would be trapped.


For a moment she was frozen, then she breathed in deeply, her eyes turned obsidian. For this was the sort of thing Siobhan really, really did not want to see. It made her angry, but with her cold fury came focus. She had been here before and faced her fears, she could do so again. "Piss off," she hissed and let loose a shattering blast of energy against the horrors that assaulted her, seeking to blow them to oblivion. Through power, her chains were broken. In the real and illusionary world she tried to stretch out and reach for Nima's hand, seeking to grab it and hold her tightly. With her power she tried to grip her and pull her closer.

 

[Nima Tann]

She saw the woman was indeed helping her fight with the shadows as she was dragged by a mean one. She could feel that the presence of the pain was weakened as the shadows got destroyed by her huge hammer, which was pretty impressive, but they came as quick as possible as the shadows returned. This whole scene was starting not to make sense, she didn't even remember where she was before all this. Then, before she could even react there was two hands reaching to her. One... was that friendly lady, and the other... not friendly at all. Before she could reach the lady's hand, she felt immense pain on her throat. She could sense the hands on her throat squeezing it hardly as her breathing got cut off from this sudden act. The yellow eyes were directly looking at her, speaking some kind of language. No... they were praising her. What? Why? Wait a minute, this all was familiar. She could almost remember it, but couldn't put a finger on it. She could feel that her strength was fading away as the shadow continued squeezing it, making her gag to find more oxygen but it wasn't as strong as before. "I've... had.. ENOUGH!" She shouted with a weak voice, and sent a big, almost like a tornado Force Push, she could hear the screams of the shadows almost making her deaf, the whole scene has shaken up... If her mind didn't believe in this was the reality, she would have torn this alternative reality apart, and just for a second she thought she saw a vision, of her being in the wheelchair but this quickly stopped as she "came to her senses." WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THIS KARKING PLACE?!?

As she pushed harder to free herself from her mind's games, her mind was showing more defense. She could feel a grip, just when she was about to snap again. She tried to get out of the grip out of fear as her whole body shaking. "Let... me... go! LET ME GO! ENOUGH!" She sobbed, tears coming down from her purple cheeks, she started to cry, she just wanted to get away from it. Get away from everything. As she was getting moved from her position very quickly, she thought that it was one of the shadows doing that. As she continued to struggle in desperation to let herself free from the grip, she could feel that the presence of this place was increasing. The whole place was feeding itself with her deepest fears. There was laughing that can be heard from the background, she held her head with her free hand in desperation to stop it. The sobs turned into a full crying as she continued to see her deepest fears happening in front of her eyes, her whole Sanctum members, dead, blood, gore. And there was she standing with a red lightsaber, blood on her skin. And there was a grip still pulling her somewhere, she wasn't able to do anything about it. "makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopMAKEITSTOP!" She said, or repeated, crying. The yellow eyes... This little trip in her mind wasn't that good of a plan, since her masks were slowly unmasking themselves.

In reality, both of the Masters hands reached each other, only Master Kerrigan holding Nima's hand but Nima trying to let herself free from her grip. She hoped that she wouldn't let go, else they would be stuck in her mind for a long time... It was only getting worse, the phase was going to the "Deepest Fears." When you got lost in the deepest fears, there was no coming back from that. Reality... illusion... Was her reality, an illusion too?

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

A hundred fears, horrors and daemons. All arrayed to assault them and plunge them into the depths of madness so that only lifeless husks could be left behind. The whole place was a construct of fear and agony. Much like a leech or a vampire, it fed on the deepest fears. Once they became potent enough, they manifested in physical shapes, thus creating a vicious cycle.


Siobhan could deal...for now at least. Her eyes were wells of blackness as she stared into the abyss. Coming here was a mistake, an ethereal, sinister voice spoke into her mind. Your mind is an open book to me. I will tear you apart, slice by slice. You will bend to us. Cruelty and malice dripped from the shadow with every word. All your fears, secrets and doubts are laid bare before me.


Concentration and strain was etched over Siobhan's features. Indeed, cracks seemed to have appeared in her flesh, such was her concentration. Her eardrums felt like they were about to burst due to the thundering crescendo the voices had become, but she pushed on.


You want to enter my mind? Go ahead and try...it's not a nice place to be. I am Siobhan fething Kerrigan and you are...nothing except a voice in my head. I have slain gods, Amidst the storm, she tightened her grip around Nima's hand, using all her might to pull the Twi'lek closer towards her. Before her eyes the landscape was shifting as they entered the phase called 'Deepest Fears'. Siobhan reeled as she felt the shadows touch her mind and shuddered as they sought to drain her of her will and energy like leeches would. One could compare her mind to a fortress under siege and the illusions to siege artillery.


The mental fortress shook and shuddered as the illusionary cannons roared. Explosions resounded across the premise as cracks were blown into the building. Here and there walls caved and soldiers were blown apart, but the fortress was not without its defenders, who quickly moved into the breach and replied in turn with artillery salvoes of their own. Under the destructive bombardment, enemy forces were smashed as the defenders unleashed a powerful counterfire. "Nima, snap out of it. All of this is only in your mind. These are your fears...they are as real as you make them. You can let them drag you down, or you can banish me. You hear me? You have the power to banish them. You have to will it. Shield your mind, banish them."

 

[Nima Tann]

She was getting moved around, shouted around, screamed around... Yet she couldn't do anything to prevent it, she was like a doll in her own mind, played, but not able to move herself. Breathe in... Breathe out... The pressure in her mind was almost not bearable, it was like her brain was about to explode. She could hear laughs, especially her loved ones laughing at her, mocking her, even beating her. She could see them in front of her eyes, like a movie, and not exactly the kind of a movie that she would want to watch at all. Breathe... Breathe... She was frozen like a rabbit that saw a light, she could feel a presence, a voice, talking to her, telling her that she has to do something. She didn't know who she was, what was going on, or who was still holding her. Everything was so blurry, except of the visions that was shown to her. And what a show it was. The only thing she could do was to look at her with blank eyes with tears dropping to the ground out of fear, as if her mind locked herself from this... torture she was in. She could hear another voice coming from the background, from where the eyes were placed, this one was more clear then the woman's voice. And the tone... the voice was so familiar... so dark... She could remember this, she heard the same tone somewhere before. The Host Lord... But it wasn't her style, it couldn't be her. All of them mixed in her own mind, she was just a puppet in all this.

"I wanted a mind, and I got two... How lucky I am."

"You can't save her. She's mine now. Let her go and escape. Or don't... two minds are better than one."

"[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], destroyer of the Gods, now stuck on my web, like a little butterfly. It's all your fault, Nima."

The sentences were not targeted towards her, instead to a woman named Siobhan.... Siobhan... The name was indeed familiar to her. Wait a minute? Siobhan Kerrigan... She got a flashback about this morning. She woke up. Wheelchair.... Ziost... She was there, wasn't she?... And then a presence on her mind, this one was almost ripping her consciousness from her, she screamed in agony and pain, looking fixed to the woman's eyes, now the person holding her had the appearance of the Host Lord, and had a lightsaber at her hand. "Welcome to my domain." She said in a very cold tone, she was pretty sure that both of them could hear the dark lady's voice. She was, in fact, started to struggle again for the woman to let go of her, not knowing that the woman that was holding her was Siobhan herself trying to help Nima all along. The lightsaber was coming directly towards her stomach. She only could cry, and mumble a few things as her fears froze her up again, she started to wait her end. She didn't know where was the other woman, but she needed her help right now. Very much. She was strong against anything but her mind, normally she wouldn't just stand there doing nothing when there was a lightsaber coming towards her, but for some reason her body stopped moving.

Master Kerrigan had the privilege of seeing what was happening in the poor Twi'lek's mind all along. Nima had warned her about this, but she didn't know that her mind could go to a place that even she can't control herself. In the reality, her unconscious body as they held each others hands, was trying to send Master Kerrigan's mind the true events that happened in Ziost that day. She didn't know how she would use that, but at the back of her brain said that it would make a good use if the Master understood the "reality" of the situation. No matter how her unconscious body tried to help their cause, the Nima in the mind wasn't helping at all, poor girl's brain was full of fear and years of self-hate, that when all the bad memories came towards the mind it would create a black hole to clear everything. She didn't know what she caused to the woman that was trying to help her, and she was very sorry for it.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] , wanted to tag you since this thread is about the Mind Twist actually

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"Oh, it's you. What's your fancy title again...right, 'Host Lord'! Last I checked, you ran away from me into the citadel because your magic didn't work. Then I dropped a roof on you," Siobhan declared when she beheld the malevolent daemon who had tortured poor Nima so cruelly. "I hear your insane cultists worship Cthulhu. How original. I punched Cthulhu in the face...twice! Sorry, but you ain't as good a mentalist as Shadow or [member="Coryth Elaris"]."


Darkness radiated from the daemon in waves. It had become cold, so very cold inside the illusionary prison. As if it were an icestorm on Hoth, and by now Siobhan was clattering and shivering as she stared into the abyss that was threatening to swallow both their minds. Her own mental fortress was under siege, holes had been blown into the defences and the outer walls threatened to cave in, yet she was still fighting. Her mind reeled as she was flooded with a tidal wave of images, sensations and feelings that were not her own, for it seemed the dark forces wanted to drag her down and make her feel what Nima had. Bad memories from the poor Twi'lek's pasts were resurfacing, all her fears and doubts given form so that they might envelope both of them like invisible chains so that they could be held down and trapped.


Breathe in, breathe out...focus...use the Force, act. With an Eldarai curse upon her lips she lashed out, sending a Force push in an attempt to blow the lightsabre away from them. Then she raised her hand to give Nima a good, hard slap across the cheek. Like it or not, Siobhan could not drag Nima out of this nightmare on her own, as much as she would have liked to. She could help her, but in the end this was a battle the Twi'lek would have to face and prevail in.