Shadows of the Past

[Tallia Farn]

Iego, The World of a Thousand Moons

There is a presence here, a shadow of the past. Can you feel it?

She could. It crept slowly into her mind like a poison until she became completely fixated by it. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and focusing on the dirty air flowing into her lungs and back out her nose. She took another breath.

How did it find me?

It is not looking for you.

Destined by the force then.

"There is no destiny." She whispered the words through gritted teeth.

"What was that miss?" The bartender said to her. She raised her head, remembering her surroundings, fighting back the urge to choke from the toxic mix of potent alcohol and dirty workers, smelling of gas from the nearby mine. Her eyes darted to meet the bartender's, shining darkly from beneath her hood until she flipped it back, revealing her pale face and unkempt brown hair.

"A Corellian Brandy." She ordered, speaking softly, finding her old voice again. She slid five credchips across the bar towards him. The bartender had served her before, he knew to get her what she ordered and not ask questions. She downed her drink, then took her leave, the burn of the brandy still in her throat. She couldn't remember why she always ordered it, it tasted disgusting. Night's on Iego were cool. She put her hood back up to keep the wind off her face.

I will have to face this, won't I?

It must be dealt with.

She tightened her grip on the saber hidden in her robes.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Iego, The World Of A Thousand Moons, And A World Where One's May Shatter​

​

http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=2EO6yJAVC3I#My_Hero_Academia_OST_-_You_Say_Run_%2B_V2_(Jet_Set_Run)_HQ_%5BImproved%5D​

0:00 - 0:13 (In Repeat)​

Sent by one of the Jedi Orders he was an operative for, Iego was not a world that the Jedi Master was familiar with. The third incarnation of the Final Dragon would touch down on the planet, with a model that one who had seen the last one would not recognize as the Dragon itself. The former had been a YT-2000, refurbished with new assets that were good for it's time. With time and age came new technology, and other refurbishments of old models came soon after, and the YT model of the Dragon became dated. This ship now, was a Sasori Defender, a spin-off from the Defender Class Light Corvette that was used by Jedi of old. Much bigger, better able to support the training requirements of a Jedi on the move, and better for a man who trained as intensely as it's occupant.

His peace and meditation from within a bacta tank resting in the medical bay of the Dragon was interrupted when the ship would reach the planet's surface. A protocol droid would arrive then, and pressing a few buttons on the nearby control panel would let out the tank's occupant. The bacta would drain from the tank, and a 6'4 form would drop to the tank's floor. Removing his breathing mask, the Jedi Master would open his eyes, a handful of exhales escaping him as the Jedi would grow accustomed to the air within the ship - different from the air he had been breathing throughout his recovery. His training when he had no company on board aside from his team of droids was intense, perhaps even dangerous. But despite cutting down on his mission time and taking more time to be a civilian man when he was off, he was still as dedicated to his cause as he was all those years ago.

His team of droids had grown from a simple R4 unit, to a protocol droid, an HK droid, as well as some maintenance crew aboard the Dragon. The droid that was freeing him from the tank was BL-86... A Saotome P.T.D Droid that generally served as both Josh's protocol and translation droid, personal assistant as well as a training partner when he was alone. Of course, Josh had not trained with the droid's help today... The conditions he needed were far more intense. A dark, very dangerous presence had been detected on the planet of Iego, and Josh had been sent to investigate... If the Jedi Master were to encounter a powerful darksider, then he would need to be ready.

There could be no mistakes here.

Josh would get to his feet, his every scratch, open wound, blemish and bump gone. The advancements in bacta technology over the years had been... Astounding, he thought to himself as he would be freed from the tank. His form was muscular, suiting a man who took his craft so seriously. His build was lean, muscular... Not too bulky, but the work he had put in to keep in shape and keep his strength up was clear just by the looks of his form.

"We have arrived at Iego, Master DragonsFlame."

Once he had stepped out of the tank, the Jedi Master would nod in response as he would slowly turn his head about the room, gazing around, before rolling his shoulders and stretching out. The healing effects of the bacta tank meant he could come back from the brink no matter what sort of intense training he put himself through... But the tank itself was sort of cramped, and the time he had spent in a deep, medically induced sleep meant that his joints were stiff and sore. Far less sore than before, mind you, but being stuck in the same position for so long would do that. How many hours he had been out... He couldn't say.

All that really mattered was that he was here.

The Jedi Master would reach up to scratch his beard, one that had developed, fostered and grown throughout the last handful of years. The young Jedi Knight from years ago had been clean shaven... He'd grown it to the point that he would be difficult to recognize now. His hair too, had grown. From short hair with a set of bangs, to his bangs now combed neatly back... His blonde hair has blossomed and grown just as it's bearer had. Long blonde locks flowed down the back of his head, his shoulders met and kissed on both sides by smooth, seemingly silk-laden golden hair. Or that was how it would normally be. Instead his hair right now was heavy, thick. It would be smooth to the touch, easy for someone to slide their hands through and as silky as real silk once it was dry... But for now, it was thick, heavy, and wet as could be from the liquid-like bacta. The Jedi Master wouldn't speak at first, knowing his throat was too dry to properly get a word out. He had trained for hours beyond hours without break, without reprieve, without eat or drink... And when he had finished, the protocol droid had helped him to the bacta tank in order to recover... Where he had stayed for hours since.

He hoped that he had made all preparations possible for the mission ahead. But he had done... All that he possibly could, he knew deep down. And yet he was still, always was, and always will be... His own biggest critic.

Josh would let out another exhale as he would stride toward the fridge nearby, where he kept an assortment of water bottles in the med-bay for this very purpose. His lips were more than dry, his throat was parched, he could not find the tongue nor throat to speak with. He would open the fridge, grab a water bottle and immediately bottom the bottle up as water would spring down his throat. The Jedi drank feverishly, his dehydration fading and his functions returning to him. His tongue wet and spry once again, the Jedi would wet his lips as he would finally speak, the refreshed feeling that washed through him clear in the fact that a rosy color had returned to his cheeks.

"Good. Have the docking coordinates been given?"

"They have, Master DragonsFlame. We have arrived in the space port and are ready to lower the ramp."

"Good, good. Prepare all security protocols in case of an invasion... Prepare the loading ramp as well."

The Jedi Master would stride out of the room, or at least begin to before the droid would stop him.

"Master DragonsFlame, Sir, I would hope you do not intend to traverse out onto the planet's surface in your birthday suit, do you?"

Josh would stop then, slowly looking down at his bare, drenched form. His hair was still everywhere, his beard even dripped with remnants of the liquidic bacta. The ship was cold in this moment, he wasn't sure as to why he hadn't realized he was still in his bare form.

"I will fetch your equipment, Master DragonsFlame. The towels are in the med-bay for this very purpose, you are aware of this I am sure."

"Thank you."

"It is my function, Master DragonsFlame. Thank me when you actually manage to inconvenience me."

A small smile left the Jedi at that. Since coming aboard, the droid had since developed a personality that had slowly begun to reflect it's Master. Fitting, that... Once he was dried off, and properly equipped, he looked every bit of what had been prior described. And with that, with his lightsaber hooked to his belt, he would make his way out, and down the ramp...

Hopefully this wouldn't get too ugly.

------------

The Jedi had found himself in a cantina that stunk of dirt, of gas, and of cheap alcohol. He hadn't known why he had decided to enter... Perhaps he hoped he could find information on what he sought. This was a planet we were talking about after all... It wasn't easy to find one or two people on an entire planet without a lead.

He had ordered a drink, stayed for some time, found nothing of use and left. The drink had been disgusting, watered down and quite frankly, overpriced. If he was a man of vengeance, he would have burned the cantina down for ripping him off and harshening his throat. Water from his canteen washed the feeling down, but he still couldn't get out the taste. He would need something stronger, perhaps carbonic later to get that out, he knew.

The Jedi had stuck around the area, for a little while more. Recollecting himself, scanning his datapad in an attempt to find some sort of clue. The world was not vast in the way of societies, but if he did not find what he sought here... He would have to look in a society elsewhere on the planet.

And yet something kept him here... Something dark... Something that chilled him to the very bone. Something... Foreboding.

 

[Tallia Farn]

She caught a glimpse of him near the spaceport. He seemed slow to leave, like he was searching for something, someone. Perhaps he was looking for her after all. But it was too late for that. Years too late. The girl had hope once, but it had been foolishly placed. If anyone had cared, they would have found her long ago.

All he would find was a corpse now. Tallia Farn was dead.

She clung to the shadows of the quiet street. Not out of fear. She did not intend to hide. There was a certain comfort to the darkness, a feeling she took pleasure in. It concealed her scars, her weaknesses. It left only the gaunt silhouette of her cloaked figure, a ghost in the night. The man would not know her, not as she was now. But she remembered him.

The memories were too much to bare. They threatened her very existence. The dead girl haunted her, made her feel a thousand emotions at once. She could hear her screams, her laughs, as if they were her own. Raising the dead was unnatural, unacceptable.

He looked as if he might leave, so she stepped toward him out of the shadows. If she let him go, their business unfinished, if these thoughts were allowed to linger, insanity would take her. One way or another, it ended here. A final link to the past, standing there, asking to be broken.

"Let the past die..." She whispered to herself.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

This apparent corpse approached him from behind, but he knew. He stopped leaning on the pole he was leaning on and stood up straight to his full 6'4 height. He had grown a good four inches at least since Tallia had seen him last... Late bloomer, he seemed to be. He was far from the same clean-shaven, short-haired, blindly loyal Republic Jedi that she had met years ago. In a way, it was for the better. He had become... Something else. Become more human, and yet at the same time more Jedi. How did that work? How did one become more Human without becoming less Jedi? Or become more Jedi without becoming less Human? This was a question that the man now in his late 20s had asked himself many times. But he seemed to know the answer now. So many questions had been answered... And yet the questions kept popping up. Every answer yielded two more questions. It would never end.

Perhaps that was part of what continued to give his life meaning.

He could sense her presence but did not sense the presence of Tallia Farn. No, Tallia Farn and her presence were dead. He did not recognize the darksider without his sight, and yet he did not look at her. He could sense in her presence though, that this was indeed the presence he was searching for... And their intentions.

"You have come for me then."

He stared out into the distance, facing away from them. His senses were his eyes right now, but perhaps if he looked back he would see he was dealing with more than a simple powerful darksider. He would know what body it now inhabited.

"You Sith are all the same. You hunt, you kill... You think nothing of the people you hurt. You think only of the kill and what the kill will gain you. That makes you monsters, no?

I've always been disgusted by monsters, so forgive me if I feel I cannot look at you, for fear that I may become a monster myself in what I will do, for what you have done to my brother, and so many I have cared for myself."

He let out a sigh, then, as he continued to speak in a dry matter. His lightsaber had at some point floated from his belt to his hand, in a matter so subtle you couldn't even hear the sound of metal contacting skin.

"I am tired, Sith. Tired of senseless bloodshed, tired of the bodies piling up. I'll give you the chance you never afforded my brother before you killed him. Break your chains, prove you are not the monster I say you are, and run from this life, make one anew... Before there is no life left to live. I have no desire to spill blood if it is unneeded."

But he knew deep down it was fruitless. They would attack, he knew it.

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Words. Meaningless words. There was no starting anew without bloodshed. She could not break her chains without breaking the past. Did he think she was proud of what she had become? That Tallia Farn had reveled in her own devastation? He was a fool.

And she was a monster. It was easy to admit. To rid herself of emotion, of weakness, the girl she had once been had to be destroyed. It was an undeniably monstrous act, certainly irredeemable in the eyes of many. But it was only way forward. She never would have survived otherwise. She would have succumbed to Sith torture, or perished in the pits of Raxus. Leaving a part of herself behind had been a small price to pay. At least that is what she told herself.

"Now, if you've ceased diatribing..." She used her old voice, hoping it would throw him off. Over the years, she'd learned to use Tallia Farn as a mask, a tool for her own devices. Though she was used to this, it seemed to make the memories in her head more burdensome. Tallia Farn had always been rather poor at keeping her emotions in check, but even still, she had not expected the echos of the past to haunt her so. However, it would not deter her. She would not hold back. Her will was strong even if her mind was weak.

A violet blade cracked to life at her side. It sparked and sputtered for a moment before settling into an uneasy hum. Time had not been kind to the lightsaber. It had not been regularly maintained. She shrugged off her cloak, revealing her pale skin to the light of Iego's many moons. Her clothing was plain, but not plain in the way of a Jedi or a Sith. It was just simple, pants, boots, and a loose-fitting tunic. It was the epitome of functionality, though would look perhaps jarring to someone used to facing beings in dark robes or durasteel-plated armors.

She waved her blade, stretching her wrist and getting a feel for its weight, then brought it up into a two-handed grip, a typical opening stance for Ataru.

From this point forward, everything must be unfeeling and methodical. Do not let your thoughts betray you.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw-QVH4E9SI​

The Jedi Master's expression would change to one of a mix of shock, and hurt, and confusion when he heard her voice. Slowly, he would turn around to stare at the face of the woman who had spoken. His features softened as he looked her in the eyes, and then he saw the lightsaber in her hand. And then finally, as he reached out to sense her, sense her emotions, sense the darkness around her... His expression became sad. He was heartbroken, it was written all over his face when he realized she had sought him out in particular, not for being a Jedi but because it was him... To kill him.

"Tallia..."

His voice was a whisper as he would slowly activate the blue blade. His lightsaber was different from the one she'd seen before, the blade was longer, likely to accommodate and compliment his arm's reach. He would hold his lightsaber behind his back then, his hands holding one another as he looked her dead in the eyes, seeming to have an idea of what had happened.

"She's gone, then..." He spoke softly, heartbreak clear in his voice.

"... Then I will avenge her, too."

He watched her carefully, waiting for her to attack, then. His eyes did not leave hers, but despite his stance, every bit of him was on-guard. He didn't look any bit like it, he looked more like a man awaiting his execution... But if Tallia knew him at all, she'd know better.

"Or... Perhaps I am mistaken" He spoke as his eyes almost seemed to pierce through hers. "Perhaps the Tallia I know is still there, deep inside... I want to believe that" He would admit. "The Tallia I searched high and low for in the months after she disappeared... She was strong."

His tone began to take a bite to it.

"She was a very strong willed woman...

... Far stronger than the pretender I see in front of me, wielding a lightsaber as if they know how to use it."

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

She glared back at his piercing gaze, but in her heart she could barely stand to look at him or hear his voice. She knew that the sooner she killed him, the sooner she could be free of the pain, and yet she found it impossible to move. The street was empty save for her and the Jedi, there was nothing between her and her goal, so why did she hesitate?

But her emotions quickly turned to anger as she listened to him speak.

He LIES. No one came to find me. I was abandoned, alone. He cares nothing for me!

Calm yourself, fool. His words are meaningless. Just as his ashes will scatter to the wind, so too will his memory. Do not trifle yourself with these basal emotions.

But she didn't listen to herself. The anger and the hate she had harbored in her heart would win out over her logic.

"LIAR!!" She screamed, charging forward, abandoning her opening stance and aiming the tip of her lightsaber straight for Joshua DragonsFlame's heart. Tallia thought nothing of how he would counter, or what her second move might be, she only wished to satiate her boiling rage.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

And for that, he was ready.

His right hand released it's grip on the lightsaber and began charging up a ball of energy the moment that she spoke. Her scream was the hint she was about to attack, with the blind rage he suspected she'd attack with being the source of where she intended to attack from. When Tallia would charge, he would hop back away from the stab, landing on one foot with a sense of calmness and ease about him, complete total focus as he did his best to keep his emotions in check in order to keep that focus.

It was before his foot touched the ground that he would unleash the Force Push, a heavy one he'd been charging in the seconds between her scream and when he hopped backwards. It would explain why he had decided to let go of his lightsaber with his right, his dominant hand. He hadn't intended to use his lightsaber at all.

Thus his lightsaber stayed behind his back in his left hand, before being clutched by both again once he landed on one of his feet, watching Tallia intently as he waited for another attack. As he waited, he began to speak again.

"Tallia, Tallia, dear, I am offended. For how many times have I lied to you? Recall one, with what's left of you."

He took a deep breath from there, as what he was about to say brought back memories he did not wish to relive.

"Even as I was no longer Grandmaster, I still remained in the Order at the time it was reported you were captured" He would admit. "I petitioned the Council to allow me several months to scour the galaxy and search for you, and bring you back.

They denied my request. They gave me two weeks, at the most. And that was the last straw."

The Jedi Master shook his head.

"I had considered leaving for some time, but the crueler politics and philosophies, and lack of morals of an Order that needed to die and be replaced by one with a new hierarchy and vision... I saw it all in that moment, and left. I gave them the finger and gave up what I had spent my entire life working for so I could search for you. I spent months and months looking for you, looking for any leads I could, but..."

He sighed then, tilting his head lightly since his usual tick of scratching his head in these situations could not be done.

"I found nothing. No matter how hard I looked, I found nothing. Eventually, from a mix of everything, that final failure caused my mind and body to collapse. With nothing left, I retreated into exile to heal my broken mind.

Even when I returned, everywhere I went... I hoped somewhere I would find you. And now I have."

He frowned, then.

"I just wish I could have found you before you turned into a husk of what you were."

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

The force push sent her flying backwards and to the ground without grace and sent her rolling several times after impact. Her muscles and bones ached as she lay on the ground. Slowly, as the Jedi mocked her, she picked herself up off the hard duracrete. She reached out, pulling her dropped lightsaber back into her hand. She ran her other hand through her grimy, unkempt brown hair, brushing it out of her eyes. Again her lightsaber activated, her lip curled as he explained his self-exile from the Jedi Order of the Republic.

Ignore his speeches, focus only on what must be done. He means nothing to you, let your apathy speak volumes.

She once again came at him, but this time it was slower, and more thoughtful. The hatred was still there, but this time logic helped keep it in check. She was wary of another force push, so she kept this in mind as she prepared to unleash a flurry of strikes that would force him to block with his lightsaber. It was a simple combination, infantile for a Master such as DragonsFlame, but she only wished to make him engage, to force him to realize this was not a fight he could win with words. His game of wits did not amuse her as they once had amused Tallia Farn.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=MK5t5TPERCE#Avenged_Sevenfold_-_Buried_Alive_(Official_Instrumental)​

(4:41 - 6:46)​

​

He had a plan, that was obvious. Unfortunately... It wasn't working the way he had hoped. He really, truly had hoped, and still did hope that Tallia was in there. He couldn't accept that the woman he'd cared about for so long and been so close with was gone... Just when he'd found her again. He'd already lost so many. He'd lost Aleidis, he'd lost his family, he'd lost his brother... He'd lost so many people he worked with, so many people he'd gotten to know over the years. And Tallia had been one of the more noteworthy, one of the people he cared about the most. So to have her get captured and not be able to find her, despite all the months of fruitlessly searching...

And now he had found her, and there was apparently nothing left.

No... He wasn't willing to accept that. He had to will her out, he had to. He had been trying to draw the real Tallia out with no success, but he had to keep trying.

"Tallia" He spoke calmly as he watched her get to her feet. "I know you're in there. I know deep down, you're not dead. You need to wake up" He would speak softly, that calmness beginning to fade the more this went on. Had it been a facade? No, of course not. He'd been calm, despite the emotions running through his mind. As a Jedi he felt he had to be. But the more this went on, and the more clear this was going to be a challenge... One he might not even be able to overcome... The less calm he was capable of being.

And yet, here she came.

He would hop back from the first swing, though finally with the second he would decide to bring his lightsaber forward to block. Not to engage, directly, but to defend himself. He blocked the next few blows with a calm grace, matching her aggression with a calm flair, at least until his emotions started to finally bubble to the surface.

"WAKE UP!" He yelled at her, his emotions finally beginning to boil up. "Is this what you are now? Some mangled puppet? I thought you were Tallia bloody Farn! A damned Hapan!"

He would begin to press back then, attacking with a series of strikes that were at all times aimed at her lightsaber to batter her back, and not her body. He wanted to wake her up, if he could...

"I know you're in there, Tallia!" He cried out as he would begin to speed up the rate of his attacks, attacking with a mix of grace and aggression all boiled into one as his attacks never came from the same direction. Every single move was quick, but complicated at the same time. And yet he didn't seem to waste a single movement. Every single movement appeared to be calculated almost just immediately beforehand.

But he wasn't trying to hurt her. He wanted to press her. It was funny that... Deep down, he was still the same man she knew. He could put on the Jedi mask, but at his core, he was still the same. Still the same man that wore his heart on his sleeve. No matter how refined his swordplay became.

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCP9sb4ihcw​

She guarded herself from his strikes, staying disciplined and keeping her defense tight. She wouldn't look at him now, almost as if she was fearful his gaze would turn her to stone. She tried to tune out his pleas, ignore the emotional tremor in his voice. He was no doubt acting, or perhaps insane. She had convinced herself long ago that her friends, her family in the Jedi had betrayed her. She would come up with any excuse to validate her belief that they had left her behind to rot.

She couldn't deny his claims that there was something inside her that had been awakened by this encounter. The memories she'd repressed were there, clawing to the surface of her mind. Perhaps that was why she couldn't look at him, afraid that if she saw innocence in his face, it would be enough to convince her that he spoke the truth.

Outwardly, she showed no signs of this internal struggle, beyond her darting eyes. She went on the offensive again, this time switching her stance to a one handed grip, as she began to channel force lightning in her other hand. Blue sparks of electricity laced up her arm as she swung her blade wildly, hoping to knock Joshua's blade away just enough to make an opening for her force attack. She had never been properly trained to use the dark side power, but she had enough raw strength in the force to conjure it in a wild, uncontrolled form.

Her nerves were numbed from the techniques prior uses, but it would be a potent blow to her opponent if she could contact him. Lightning crackled as she reached in for his chest with her shaking hand, while she did her best to hold his saber in place with her own. She knew she was no match for his strength, but she only needed him to be off-guard for a second.

"Go to hell." She growled, her voice venomous, as the dark side energy coiling around her arm fed her previously cooled emotions.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh had finally engaged, which seemed to have been what Tallia had wanted. And yet he still refused to give up on her. But if even a bit of her memories remained, perhaps she'd one day realize that this had always been him. Sure, the fact he'd left the Order before signaled he'd changed some and shed his "loyal to a fault" habits. But his ambition and refusal to give up on something or someone no matter what was put in front of him, was still there. He was no young man who saw the world with wide eyes anymore. The naivete was gone from his eyes. It had been replaced with wisdom, with experience, and with pain. And yet despite that, parts of him, important ones... Still remained.

And they were what kept him going here and now.

He was perceptive, always a man of detail. He very well may have picked a profession that suited that if he'd not been a Jedi. Bu that perception allowed him to notice the sparks coming from her hands just before, and he kept that in mind as he would back up and patiently watch her strike coming. Him backing out of their engagement meant Tallia would be forced to move forward and take a bit more time in her strike in order to make it connect, and that gave Josh room to get his blade in the way. The blow was hard, and almost knocked the saber out of his hand, but his grip managed to remain.

He had barely enough time thanks to Tallia's strategy to switch to a single handed grip and execute his plan just as Tallia let the Force Lightning spring forth. Had he been a second later, it'd have struck him dead on. His counter of course was to spring his hand forth and allow Electric Judgement to meet it head on. Light met dark as the two forces would meet and try to push the other back.

With Tallia getting the upper hand to start, she certainly started off winning the engagement, though it wasn't long before the Jedi Master was able to find his balance and begin to even things...

"The hell kind of Hapan are you?" He would call toward Tallia with a glare as he would push his own lightning against hers. "I thought you were proud, and strong? Now you're just some dark side puppet. Where's the Tallia I knew?"

Josh was familiar with the Hapan people, and even had a close relationship with Gallinore's Ducha, [member="Relina Zhan"]. He knew much of how they worked, and how prideful they could be. Perhaps that pride would bring the real Tallia back to the surface enough for her to break out of this...

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

His control of the force was more disciplined then hers. While her lightning cracked and sparked out from her outstretched hand wildly, his counter in Electric Judgement was focused, easily overwhelming her and sending pain shooting up her arm. She'd had him off guard for a moment, but now she was clearly the one at a disadvantage. She spun out of the engagement, bringing her lightsaber back into both hands and blocking horizontally to absorb the rest of the emerald lightning.

This was easier, even with the pain lingering in her shoulder. The flow of combat was nicely compartmentalized, a good distraction that kept her mind focused and distanced from the memories of who she had been.

But every time he opened his mouth, it brought those thoughts reeling back. The doubts of the past fueled her anger even more. How could she allow herself to be this weak?

"I am not who you knew!" She shouted over the sizzles of lightning against her lightsaber. "Nor am I Sith, or their puppet! Don't pretend like you know me!"

She backed up slowly, putting distance between her and the lightning. He wouldn't be able to keep the attack up indefinitely, especially at longer range.

"The girl you knew was foolish, naive, emotional. She never would have survived this long. I had to adapt to survive." She didn't know why she was saying this, it seemed foolish to even converse with him. He wouldn't understand, so why did she feel like she needed to explain herself?

"And your presence compromises that. It brings up memories it thought I had destroyed. That is why you are my enemy."

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

It wasn't long before he gained the advantage, and Tallia was forced to block using her lightsaber. Josh wasn't intending to keep the Electric Judgement going much longer past that, he only attempted to use it as a counter. By the time Tallia had stepped back, he had already stopped using it, instead getting into defensive stance and waiting for her to attack. But it seemed that despite her bravado and claims she was above this sort of thing, she began to converse.

"So, you're basically every generic Sith ever. Naddy-Naddy-Naddy, I'm in control! I'm not a puppet, I'm dark and powerful and edgy, oh look how powerful I am! Blah blah blah!" He mocked, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. He'd heard this so many times from Sith, from darksiders, from their whole lot so many times, it was actually kind of tiring. And he knew that his words were getting to her, so he kept going.

"Come off it. I've heard this trife before. I know the real Tallia is in there, you can't fool me. You're lying to yourself, and you're lying to me. You can pretend all that you want, but deep down... You know what I do. And that's just how wrong you are. Tallia is still in there... And Tallia was a hell of a lot smarter than you're acting right now."

He would deactivate his lightsaber, letting it fly back down to his belt before he opened his palms, orbs of fire beginning to fly from them...

"You claim Tallia wouldn't survive what you can survive... I don't believe you. I think it's going to take Tallia to survive this."

The fireballs would begin to pulsate and grow, before he would toss them her way full speed. Within a second or so, another set was growing in both hands, and he would begin to toss them in succession... They would explode into a blast of flames no matter what they came in contact with. He wanted to pressure her, force her to dig down deep. Something he knew Tallia could do... And this puppet could not. Of course he intended to let up if she was in any real danger...

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

He doesn't understand... of course he doesn't.

She cursed herself for saying anything. She'd shown her weakness and vulnerability, she'd allowed herself to care. How foolish of her.

She sprung back into action as he began to channel fireballs with force pyrokinesis. She weaved and danced between them as he hurled them toward her one after another. Unable to avoid all of them, she blocked one with her lightsaber, causing it to explode and singe the tips of her hair. She rolled, putting out the sparks on her clothes, and continued to close the distance between her and the Jedi Master. She would not allow herself to be deterred by this attack, nor by the way he berated her for who she had become. He didn't believe that she had become stronger. She would have to remedy that.

She bounded into the air with a force-enhanced leap, twisting gracefully and landing behind him. She sprung at him with her lightsaber at the ready, prepared to either have to block another fireball if he'd managed to spin around quick enough, or clash with his saber. She couldn't allow him space again to conjure these force attacks and wear her down. She would keep applying pressure to his defense, and hopefully catch him off guard with her speed.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Tallia was certainly faster than he had anticipated. Her powers had grown dramatically, that was true, that was not something he was overlooking. He had tried to make her think he meant otherwise in an attempt to get the real Tallia to come out, but the more he fought, the more hopeless this endeavour seemed to become. But he still couldn't give up on Tallia. She was in there still, she had to be! He refused to believe that the Tallia he knew was truly gone.

He would stop firing when she leapt, deciding instead to bring out his lightsaber once again. It hovered quickly into his hand and activated in time to block her blow.

"Wake up, Tallia" He spoke against the clash. "You were proud, you were strong of will. Now all I see is a dark side puppet who thinks the grass is greener. You think you're stronger... You think you're stronger-willed, you think you have all this power... And yet, here you are, trying to erase anything that has any memory to you. Why is that? Are you not as strong of will with the dark side as you think you are, if mere memories break you to where you have to kill anyone that has to do with them?

Think about that. Would the old Tallia have that handicap?"

He made a move to break the clash by slamming his saber down on hers with a great deal of power. With that, he backed up, letting out a sigh though kept at guard. He couldn't hold in anymore what was on his mind... He'd tried, and he'd tried, but his expression showed he was weary. He couldn't lie. He couldn't speak with that same harsh tone anymore, not with Tallia. His facade was broken through in that moment.

"I guess it's about time I was just plain out honest with you" He would remark, looking what was once Tallia dead in the eyes. "Yeah, what I've said, I meant. I think the Tallia I knew was one of the strongest women I ever knew, very much unlike what I see now. But the truth is... Everything I've said...

I just want you to come back."

The emotion in his eyes that he'd tried to hide was there in that instant. Everything he'd said was to try to coax her out. Bring out the proud Hapan that he'd known, bring out his friend, bring out the woman who he cared so deeply about.

"How do you think I feel, Tallia? I searched for you, for so long. I made sacrifices to have the time to scour the galaxy for you, but... I found nothing. And now you're here, I should be happy, but... Well, I don't know what I'm looking at anymore. I said what I did because I thought it'd resonate. I thought I'd see the Tallia I knew... But... Maybe that wasn't the way to go about it.

The Tallia I knew was smart, beautiful, ambitious. Always looking toward what was next. You were always someone that I trusted, someone I could talk to, someone I could confide in. Being a Jedi? Sometimes it sucked. Being under the Republic? It sucked even more. Yet with you... I could be myself, for a little while. There weren't many who I trusted that much to be able to do that.

Fact is... I've said what I have because I miss what you were... And still can't believe what you've become. You've become so deluded, you don't even believe that I scoured for you. After everything we've been through, still you don't believe for a second that I'd do that for you."

The fact was, he hadn't been looking down on her in his biting remarks from before. He was scared of what she had become. Scared he'd never see Tallia again. Josh had always been a bad liar, his emotions always betrayed him before long. This was just another one of those times. He couldn't lie well... Especially not with Tallia.

"It hurts to see what you've become" He admitted softly, his expression drenched in sorrow. "I remember you talking about your wish to be free to choose what you were to become. And I hoped that wish would come true.

I wanted you to be happy. Now, not only are you not happy... Now you have more chains on you than ever before."

He took a deep breath, keeping his saber to his side in prep for her to attack.

"I can't pretend to know what they did to you, to make you like this... But I want to know. I want to help, Tallia. You have to believe me."

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9e5JcKxHaA​

She stumbled backward as he pressured against her blade with a powerful blow. Her lack of brute strength was made up for by her agility, but it meant that she was bound to lose in instances such as this. Once again, He'd managed to separate them,and disengage. Why did he keep hesitating? He'd been sent to put an end to her hadn't he? To snuff out the darkness she harbored?

She was about to run at him again but then he spoke, and she froze in place, disarmed by his words for the first time. Her lightsaber hung limply at her side, her anger replaced with shame. Tallia Farn reached out into the Force then, abandoning her guard and revealing her true self to the galaxy. She felt Josh's presence for the first time in full clarity. She sensed only the sincerest of pain, loss, grief. More memories flooded back, memories of her friend. He would no doubt feel her presence as well. Her loneliness, shame, and above all her overwhelming fear.

How pathetic you are. Weakness truly is your defining characteristic. Why couldn't you've stayed dead?

A single tear streaked down her face. Earlier she had been afraid to see truth in his words, but now she hated herself for not believing him from the beginning.

"It's too late." She spoke softly. "There's nothing you can do for me. I made my choice." Her voice quivered.

"If I could take it back, I would, but I can't." Tallia paused. Everything in her being told her to stop what she was saying, to charge him, to finish this. But she couldn't. Josh was her friend. As long as this small part of her was in control, she wouldn't dare strike at him.

"Yes, the Sith tortured me, mutilated my body, left me to rot after they'd taken all they could from me..." Her lip trembled, more tears welled in her eyes. "But I was so afraid of dying, losing myself in the Force's current, that I gave up who I was. I made the choice. I wish it could have been different.. Now I just want to forget it all. To let the past die with the rest."

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

It seemed for the moment, that he may have gotten through to her. He watched as she would freeze, as she listened... As she began to speak. For once, this was Tallia. This was the woman who he'd cared about for so long, and searched for even when the Order he had spent all his life serving did not permit it. He'd given up so much to look for her, and none of it had gotten through. At least until now. When she finished though... He shook his head.

"Tallia..." He began, taking a breath. "I wish I'd been there. I'm sorry" He spoke softly. He hadn't wanted to hear that she'd been tortured, mutilated... But deep down he knew that was what had happened from the moment he saw her. "But... I don't think it's too late. It's never too late for anybody" He would admit.

"Especially you."

He bit his lip then, as he slowly walked toward her, before reaching out a hand. His expression was beginning to waiver, beginning to show the sorrow and desperation that was clear just by looking at him.

"I believe in you, I really do. I think if there's anyone that can come back from all of this... It's you, Tallia. Whatever path you're walking... Let me walk it with you. We'll get through this together.

We've been a team for how long now?"

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia shook her head and took a step back from his outstretched hand.

"No. Josh.. I can't be who you want me to be." She wiped the tears dripping down her cheek with her forearm. Her eyes stared back at him red and puffy. Her brown hair shifted and her light tunic billowed against her skin as a gentle breeze blew down the street.

"I meant what I said before. I'm emotional. I'm weak. I let my fears control me. I hate what I've become.. but all I see in my past is weakness. I don't know what you saw in me, but it was a lie. I was never strong. I never will be. I'm sorry." She wished he would understand her. She couldn't just flip a switch and be the girl he remembered, not after everything she'd been through. That's not what she wanted either.

"The Dark Side will always prevail, I don't have the strength to stop it."

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DzI1nB-REw​

The Jedi Master let out a sigh and shook his head, before giving up on outstretching his hand. He would disengage his lightsaber and place it back on his belt, stepping forward. Of course, he knew the dark side was taking hold of her, so it wasn't like he wasn't on guard. He had planned for an attack before he'd even disengaged.

"You think I want you to be the Tallia I knew?" He asked as he stopped in front of her, shaking his head. "You don't get it" He said as he looked her dead in the eyes. "I want you to be better. But this isn't about what I want for you. Who cares about what I want for you? This is about what I believe you can do. This isn't about some... Expectation. This is about what I know you can do. You never needed my help to pull it off, but I'm here if you need me."

He gingerly held out his hands, taking hers in his own. His hands were inordinarily warm, a side effect of his prolonged use of pyrokinesis over the years. His body had adjusted itself to account for the amount of heat it regularly had to handle, and had become naturally hot itself. With two fingers, he slid her lightsaber out of her grip and let it drop, before he would bring his right hand - and her left - up to wipe her tears away. And with that, he smiled.

"Just relax. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm not here to put any expectations on you. But... I just want you to know that I believe in you. Don't be what the dark side wants you to be... Be what Tallia wants to be."

He took a breath and gingerly pulled her into a tight hug. He hadn't hugged her before, if either of them recalled. But it just... Seemed like the right thing to do. He just wanted to hold her, promise her he was there for her, and would always be there if she wanted it.

"I've heard this dark side will prevail thing so many times" He admitted, chuckling a bit as he would nestle his head against her shoulder. While he remained calm, he was still on his guard and prepared to defend if need be. "But... This isn't a new struggle. A struggle against the dark side. It's one I've had to fight myself" He would finally speak softly. With his hands still on her shoulders, he leaned up again to look her in the eyes, his expression now dead serious. "My... My brother. They took him away."

His eyes softened as he bit his lip again. This wasn't something he wanted to recount. But this was Tallia. He needed to do this.

"They took my baby brother away, Tallia. He fell. And I did everything I could to get him back. To show him that there was never a too late. He wanted to get away from it, Tallia... He wanted to be free. He wanted to be better than he was. He didn't want to be a puppet. But he thought as you did... That it was too strong. That the dark side would always prevail."

He released one of her shoulders then, and held up a hand. A ball of pyrokinesis would erupt from it and he stared into it for a moment.

"I... I did things I didn't want to do. Went to my worst enemies to unlock things in me I wanted to keep locked away. Learned things that make me sick."

The fire, a bright crimson, would change to a darker, far blacker hue. She would be able to sense the dark side energy radiating from it. As he stared at it, it was clear that he was visibly ill at what he was doing. The fire would soon disappear and he had to look away a moment. He took a deep breath. He had been near about to hurl and he didn't want to be looking at Tallia if he did. Doing... That, that made him sick. It literally pained him to. Finally, he would regain himself and look back at her.

"All he needed was someone to show him that no matter what... You could always come back. You just had to have the courage to do it. And... He did. All he needed to know was that he could, and he did.

You want to know how the dark side prevailed, Tallia?"

He frowned from there.

"They shot him in the back, like a couple of damn cowards" He spoke in a near-hiss. "They didn't come down and face him like warriors... They stayed on a ship and fired ions at him from behind. They were cowardly... Nothing more. Is that how something prevails, Tallia? Did they really prevail? He got away from them. All they did was kill him while hiding behind those ions. Nothing more. The dark side was gone from him when he died. They failed. He beat them. And so can you.

But... That sent me down a path I wish sometimes I could forget" He would admit, taking a deep breath. "I spent months trying to learn how to erase my memories. I wanted to erase that from my mind, I wanted to forget. My mind was gone, Tallia, and I felt like at any moment I could snap and hurt the ones I cared about... I wanted to erase my memories of what I'd learned of the dark side... Erase my memories of my brother, and his death... I wanted to be rid of it, all of it.

But... The day I felt like I'd been able to do it safely, I... I couldn't do it. I realized then, that I'd be disrespecting his memory if I did it. I realized... I'd be better off to learn from what had happened. And become better from it."

He placed the hand back on her shoulder.

"I'm not saying I want you to do that, Tallia... I'm saying I know you can. This is not about me, or what I want... Damn what I want. This is about you. This is about you being able to take your destiny and do with it as you wish. They shouldn't be able to decide for you.

I just want you to know that you can. You deserve to know you can. And if you choose to take that road... I'll stay by your side all the way through... If you'll have me."

[member="Tallia Farn"]