The Bad Touch

[Evelynn]

Oh dear.

Somewhere, out there, probably with a mug of tea in her grasp Karin Dorn looked up from her usual readings and scowled. In terms of useful senses, knowing whenever somebody spoke ill of you generally landed on the chocolate teapot side of things. Oh never mind the mortal danger your only child is in, oh no, somebody in the galaxy called you a queen!

From the moment the guards flooded the foyer fear flooded the girl's senses. Any courage the girl might have had stood on four legs in the form of a snarling Kath Hound.

As he spoke the girl closed her eyes, her heartbeat thudded hard in her ears. She had been a colossal idiot. Had she seen a single person following them on Ithor? No. She took the word of an amulet and followed a man she didn't even know, she followed him off of a planet of relative safety straight to a Sith world.

Her breathing quickened. Chest heaving quickly as the world around her seemed to spin. Hello passengers, we're now pulling into Overwhelmed Station, and that is the END OF THE LINE. She was now in the clutches of somebody who as it turns out, wasn't entirely fond of Karin Dorn oh, oh and let's add to that pile. SHE'S STILL ALIVE! SURPRISE!

The girl looked up to the statue, as if the stone would give her answers. No such luck.

Unconsciousness came.

@[member="Kaine Zambrano"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

~Sometime Later~

Adrenaline would be injected directly into Evelynn's heart by a hooded servant to violently awaken her. No doubt when she awoke she would be completely disoriented by her new surroundings and the sudden burst of energy brought on by the adrenaline. She would find herself in a dimly lit stone chamber that stunk of decay and dried blood, tied to a metal rack surrounded by three hooded servants who watched her intently with eyes of crimson. The one who had injected her with adrenaline moved away from her to allow her to see beyond the wall of robed torturers, and what she was then would most likely frighten her even worse than the hooded men. Situated in the center of the room in clear sight of Evelynn was the blood decapitated head of her own Kath Hound impaled upon a spike that had been rammed into the stone floor of the prison. Beyond that grisly sight was Kaine himself, who watched the response Evelynn would have with sadistic pleasure. "Good morning, Lady Dorn."

@[member="Evelynn Dorn"]

 

[Evelynn]

It is time to dedicate a paragraph to the memory of Chomp, who once upon a time had a life full of opportunity and excitement ahead of him. There were going to be battles, he was going to save her life and together they would be the ultimate team of compassion and ferocity. A girl and her hound.

At least he died a warrior's death.

---

A great shuddering gasp brought the unfortunate Evelynn Dorn back into the realms of consciousness, where hopefully she had been having a terrible nightmare. Being tied to a rack was never a good start for those hopes. She struggled against her restraints. Futile. "W-wh-wh-w....I-I duh-d-d-"

It was only when she took a moment to breathe and take in her surroundings that the true horror dawned upon her. Tied to a rack. That's pretty bad. In what seemed to be a dungeon. That's worse. Her best friend's head being presented to her impaled on a spike.

An agonising shriek ripped through the chamber.

Chomp had been her companion and only real friend in the vast galaxy, when even her mother wasn't there the kath hound was, keeping her safe, keeping her company, like best friends were supposed to. I hope you're thirsty for tears. The girl's head lolled from side-to-side as she howled. I also hope you're not wanting a coherent sentence right now, because I don't think that's going to happen.

You really did start off with three scoops of emotional crippling, you know?

@[member="Kaine Zambrano"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine's smile widened even further, twas the reaction the sadistic bastard had towards Evelynn's emotional suffering. In a few strides he bounded across the room to stand direction before her, cupped her chin with his right hand roughly. "Quit your blubbering, Evelynn. You'll run out of them soon enough, it's better if you save them for your end. We're just beginning..." Kaine extended his left hand towards one of his servants, who brandished a wicked sharp blade and placed the hilt of it gently in Kaine's outstretched hand. He inspected the blade idly, and then he ripped off the front of Evelynn's shirt, exposing her chest to the cold dankness of the dungeon. He then ran a fine line across her chest from her right shoulder to her hip with the blade, a red line appearing where the blade cut through flesh, blood beginning to trickle down from the wound.

Kaine said nothing as he cut her, his eyes blazing with infernal sadistic lust. After he was done and took a small taste of the blood that had connected and began to drip from the blade. "This is but the faintest taste of the pain and pleasure you will experience here, for I am the Lord of Carnal Pleasure, and you are in my house of pain."

@[member="Evelynn Dorn"]

 

[Evelynn]

Well.

You know what they say. If you make a girl cry, show her your knife collection. That'll stem the tears. Works like a treat every time, y'know? I mean, sometimes a situation arises in which I make my lady lover cry, and you know, that just doesn't do, so I open my cupboard, bam! The knives gleam and the world spins slick once more. Oh, I'm sorry, this was an elaborate lie.

The girl trembled between great gasping sobs as her blouse was most definitely ruined, not because her top was ruined, no, no, more at the horrific chain of events currently occurring but it's nice to see where your priorities lay.

Then the blade bit. She wasn't a girl made to withstand the horrors of torture, for heaven's sake she stuttered when she spoke to strangers. The hardy people would laugh at the prospect of slight knife-play but she was just a girl, new to the universe never mind the horrors and atrocities that existed within. The girl squealed, writhing as much as her bonds would allow, at this rate the girl was going to be broken by lunchtime.

“Puh-puh-please! D-don't!” she girl managed to spit out before squeezing her eyes shut, the sight of Chomp's head in the background simply overwhelming her completely. “I-I-I'm s-s-sorry!”

What she was apologising for I don't know.

@[member="Kaine Zambrano"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine smiled, "Sorry for what, Evelynn? It's not you that has done a thing, but I can't get at your mother unless I cause some pain to her daughter. That should get her running." Again he ran the blade across her chest, but this time from the left shoulder down to the hip, creating a bloody X across her chest. Satisfied with his current work, he grabbed a mirror from one of the servants and held it up for Evelynn to look at what he had done. "A simple work, my dear, but your body is an unspoiled canvas ready for a master artist like me to set upon it with my tools. It's hard to come by such nubile flesh such as yours, and one who is so innocent in the grand scheme of things. Karin must have sheltered you well enough, which in one way I thank her for, but then again by the end of this you'll never wish you were born."

Kaine suddenly took a hold of her hand, holding it back against the rack Evelynn was strapped down and gently ran the point of his blade across each finger. "Now then, Evelynn... Which finger of yours do you wanna send to mommy?"

@[member="Evelynn Dorn"]

 

[Evelynn]

So apologising wasn't the way forward.

Worth a try though, it wasn't exactly going to do her any good if she started throwing out insults and spitting at him. She didn't have a single bone in her body that was capable of being intentionally rude or vile, no matter how much torture she endured.

Once again the girl wailed as the blade cut through porcelain flesh, the blood that trickled out of the wound made for a macabre contrast against her trembling skin. It was aesthetically pleasing to view if you were of a twisted mind, the poor girl however, was quite the opposite of this, so when she caught glimpse of herself in the mirror the horror dawned upon her face.

By the end of this you'll never wish you were born.

Panic. He grabbed her hand and asked which finger...oh...oh...no. Panic intensifies. Can we get a little brown bag for the oncoming hyperventilation? “Nnn-n-n-n-n...” Oh gosh, she can't get a two letter word to escape from her mouth. I feel like you really need to make a case for those fingers, girl.

“I-I-I'll huh-help ye-y-you!” the girl squealed, squeezing her eyes shut tight once more as the blade lightly kissed her digits, “W-w-we can....we ca-ca-c-c-can find he-her to-to-together!”

“P-P-P-PLEASE!”

@[member="Kaine Zambrano"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Find her together, and how do you propose we do that? I'm sorry my dear, but this is the only way. Hrmmmm, I think I'll take your pinkie finger, Evelynn. You'll hardly miss it anyways." Kaine grabbed the tip of her pinkie, holding it tight against the rack as he drew a little red line across the very base of her pinkie, right where it met the hand. Then with sudden precision, and great power and speed he brought the blade right through her pinkie, severing flesh and bone as easily as cutting through butter. Blood exploded out of the wound as Kaine removed the severed pinkie, and held it up to Evelynn. "That's one body part I'll be taking, let's hope Karin Dorn still loves you enough for me not to continue." He handed the pinkie off to one of the servants, "Preserve it, and prepare it for delivery." Kaine then looked back at Evelynn, and replaced his blade with a cauterizer, and began to seal up the wound where her pinkie used to be.

"You'll get a slight reprieve now, Evelynn. If your mother actually comes, then you have nothing else to fear." He patted her on the shoulder lightly, and gave her a reassuring peck on the cheek.

@[member="Evelynn Dorn"]

 

[Evelynn]

I think you feel bad, Mister Zambrano.

The pinkie tells all you know? I mean, I know, I know. You're still removing a digit and that in itself is monstrous, but you took the most useless digit. Are you going soft? Are you soft? Was that PG-13? Probably not, but I think that only you and I will have read that, so we're safe.

The anticipation was horrible. Knowing that one of her fingers were about to get the chop and just waiting. She didn't look, which only made it worse. It was coming. It was coming. Any tiny amount of mental fortitude that she attempted had built up was instantly shattered when the knife came thundering down. The girl screamed bloody murder as her hand lamented for its missing digit.

The tears flowed freely, she caught glimpse of the lost finger and choked back a wave of nausea.

Oh hey, look at that. I love the smell of burning flesh in the morning. Another wail. This was Evelynn Dorn's first taste of true agony in life. Suffice to say she wasn't enjoying it very much, you know? There was an edge of repulsion as the man kissed her cheek, however it wasn't the greatest worry on her mind. Her great hoarse sobs punctuated the general mood. A thought had come into the back of her pain wracked mind, yes, Karin Dorn her mother would surely come to save her only child, but what of Karin Dorn the Sith?

“...w-w-w-what...if.....shhhh-sh-she duh-duh-doesn't...”

@[member="Kaine Zambrano"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine paused, and then looked back at Evelynn after a moment's consideration. "Should she not come, then I will have to make my point clearer to the witch. Pray that she does, dear Evelynn, for your sake. I would hate in the end to send her your limbless cadaver." He said with a sadistic sneer before turning away again with a flurry of wavering cloak, and exited out of the doorway. The guards remained behind, each one staring at her with their listless, and emotionless eyes. They had obviously grown accustom to such barbaric acts under Kaine's lordship, and not even the sight of a tortured child could rouse their satisfaction.

Eventually a platter of meager food would arrive for Evelynn, as Kaine did not want her to exactly starve, but the food he fed her was hardly better than slop for the swines. Meanwhile; a courier would have gone out to scour any rumored locations for Karin Dorn, even to remote taverns on a distant crime world.

@[member="Evelynn Dorn"]

 

[Louise]

The girl whimpered through her tears, through the pain, the prospect of being abandoned and then no doubt slowly, tortuously being torn apart limb by limb not incredibly appealing. Appealing, I feel like that isn't the right word for it. It wasn't her cup of tea. Not or preference, to her liking. I don't really think there's a term strong enough for how much she did not want to be as it was so succinctly put, a limbless cadaver.

---
As it turned out, the courier was in luck.

Karin Dorn was only a short hop away, living the dream on Telos, and by living the dream I meant lurking. Although lurking wasn't really the word for it,being that she inhabited the body of a tattooed devaronian the woman really didn't blend in very well. Robes? Hoods? No, I'm not feeling cliché today.

The Eye of the Dark Lord pondered mortality.

Namely her own.

Today was a day for mundane activities. For relaxation. For thought. To be human (or near-human at the very least). The malevolent spirit that bound her had been vanquished in what had might have been the world's greatest anti-climax. No longer was she immortal. No more decapitations. What a bother.

The Sith sorcerer sat outside a cafe with a glass of water in her hand, bathed in light she was the picture of contrast. What? We have to be engaged in nefarious activities of every moment of every day? There can't be moments where they have lunch, or go to the toilet? We've got to do everything in a gothic manner? I don't think so, you can't make me.

“A package from Lord Zambrano, milady."

Now that's a sentence to stop the heart. They weren't exactly the best of friends, they weren't engaging in sleepovers and trading tips for long, dark and manageable hair although maybe they should have, the detestable man had some fabulous locks. There was something solid inside it. An ominous curiosity.

Or rather a finger.

Now given that Karin Dorn was not a woman who loved, or who even had friends there was only possible owner of said digit. There was absolutely no need to read the accompanying note. She knew. She knew what he had and she knew where he had her.

Looks like a trip to Thule was on the cards.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

A coded message relayed from the courier back to Kaine was received not long after the package had been delivered, and luckily Karin had decided not to murder him after receiving it. Kaine was pleased, Karin had decided to come after all, but Kaine had never actually planned to stop torturing Evelynn. That would continue after Kaine had finished his business with Karin once she arrived, and then Evelynn would truly know pain. However; he would keep up the charade and returned to the chamber sometime after receiving the message to tell Evelynn the 'good' news. "You're in luck, Evelynn. Your mother is on her way, she should be here in a few hours, maybe a day... Won't that be exciting? You'll get to see your own mother, who I believe will look quite different from how you remember her. Death and reincarnation does that to people..."

@[member="Evelynn Dorn"]

 

[Evelynn]

On the bright side, at least you're getting food, young lady. I know it doesn't very much look or smell edible and that it really is a meagre amount but, it's better than nothing. After all, you're going to need your strength for times to come. Wait, that's ominous. Eh, disregard me and eat your gruel (or what I'm assuming is gruel, because it was a word that I wanted to use).

Hey, look at that, a glimmer of hope.

Initially she had been fearful that her mother wasn't even going to show, but the absolute promptness shown was an incredibly promising factor. I mean, yes it was exciting, there was an end in sight, an end to the torture rainbow. That could be kept in the back of her mind, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Adorable, this assumption that all of her woes would disappear as soon her mother showed up. Mummy dearest to save the day? Yeah? It's not as if anything could go wrong, could it? No, that would just be pure pessimism. Wait, did I say pessimism? I meant realism. However I suppose that was the problem about being under the mental strain of torture, it gave the tendency to cling onto any shred of hope available.

Her response a shivering nod, nothing less, nothing more.

@[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Soon enough Karin's vessel would enter the atmosphere of Thule, and would be absolutely unmolested by the aerial force present, nor would be harassed if she tried to land on the castle landing platform. Nor would she be apprehended or stopped by any guard or servant in the castle grounds, with all doors and hallways sealed off so she would follow a very specific route through the corridors of the castle until she found herself in the throne room. Kaine himself would be sitting upon the throne wearing his best and darkest attire, as befitting the ruler of such a dismal world filled with darkness and gloom. Above the throne was Evelynn dorn, secured at the ankles and wrists by chains of mandalorian iron and suspended roughly ten feet above the throne, and no doubt gravity would be an absolute queen on her wrists.

Kaine chuckled as Karin entered, "Hello Karin, long time no see. Your daughter has been the most pleasurable guest to ever visit my castle, an absolute darling. Too bad about her companion though... He just couldn't stay! Besides, I never liked dogs anyways." Chomp's decapitated head was nowhere to be seen, perhaps it was still in the torture chamber, or more likely it had been disposed of once it's shock and awe factor wore off.

@Karin Dorn

 

[Louise]

Her journey for Thule had been silent.

Darth Asmodea had still been contemplating mortality. Some of the visions that the Dark Lord had granted her had been troubling, horrors that she would even find indescribable, incomprehensible. A strange sense of displacement had rolled upon her in the past few weeks, this feeling hinted that the woman no longer belonged, that in this short second run at things that she had never belonged.

She was beginning to feel strange, unnatural.

Everything about the woman was calm, her vessel landed without issue and she strode down the ramp with a face of stone. A flurry of robes. Each step echoed throughout the path he had set for her to follow. She absolutely refused to get flustered and panicky, not for Kaine bloody Zambrano, not for anybody.

Upon entering the throne room the very first sight that greeted her vision was her poor daughter. It was awful. Karin could taste the fear emanating from her daughter in the air, it hung thick, polluting. The woman's heart cried out for her child, for her suffering, ultimately it was the Sith's fault that she was so sheltered, so feeble. Evelynn was never supposed to leave Dantooine. However, as much it pained her to see her daughter hung up like some macabre decoration her face remained still.

“Zambrano,” she said stiffly, “your quarrel is with me. I am here, let her go. When you have done what I have asked, then we shall finish this.”

KARIN DORN, SWOOPIN' IN, MAKING THE DEMANDS.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine laughed harshly, "You are hardly in a place to make demands, Dorn." As he said that, the chains restraining Evelynn began to pull back, pulling her body to the point of agonizing pain, but not going any farther than to just cause a constant pain in her arms and legs. "We will finish it here and now, Evelynn will stay where she is, and if you do anything to try and free her. The chains will retract completely and she will be torn limb from limb..." The chains then went slack and Evelynn dropped a few feet as the pull on her limbs disappeared. Kaine then stood from his throne, and threw off his cloak to the floor as he un-clipped a single lightsaber from his belt, and activated it's crimson blade. "This feels strangely familiar, Karin. Years ago our roles were reversed, and it was you on the throne, and me who came to overthrow you. You lost then... and even now, nothing will change."

@Karin Dorn

 

[Louise]

Inwardly the woman winced as her daughter was given a lovely wee stretch. Of course Evelynn shrieked in response, and that, that caused a small twitch of Karin's features, a twist of the lip, a slight scrunch where eyebrows should have been (devaronian, bro). Now, a brief pause, for a moment of telepathy:

I'm so sorry.

The woman tilted her head back, a moment. Closing her eyes, Karin Dorn soaked in the dramatics. A long inhale through her nose, and out again. She was frustratingly calm for such a dramatic setting. If she lost here and now who was to say what fate there was left for Evelynn and yet...

The woman reached down, grabbing her own scarcely used lightsaber. It was no secret that her lightsaber combat skills were lacking. Oh, the amount of spells she knew, the absolute font of knowledge that sat behind those eyes was mind-blowing but using the blade felt apt.

Snap-hiss. The green blade sprung to life, held in a two handed grip the woman held her ground, she would make him come to her.

“Let us end it then. I don't have all day.”

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine assumed the opening stance of the aggressive form of Djem So, his lightsaber raised over his head at a forty-five degree angle, and without much warning he lunged forward to bring that saber down. The Falling Avalanche was a very powerful technique, allowing one to funnel all of their physical strength into a vicious vertical downward slash that could even knock away the defender's blade if their grip on their saber was less than firm. Now, Kaine himself was not some scrawny runt. Oh no, he was a fully grown man, six foot five inches tall, and 225 pounds of pure muscle that was barely contained by the linen shirt he wore over his chest and biceps. His hair swung wildly as he attacked, and his mouth was split open in a ferocious battle roar that made him quite a terrifying image to behold. He had changed much since their first fight, Kaine had refined his fighting style to near perfection, and had only grown more powerful in the Force as well.

This truly was to be a magnificent battle for the both of them.

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]

 

[Louise]

Wow, that was aggressive.

Asmodea wasn't exactly the pillar of rippling muscle that Zambrano was, sorcerers really had no need to get buff. Had she not been a woman rich in the powers of the force there would have been good a chance that she would have gotten crushed in that single attack.

That was not the case.

Karin Dorn stood her ground, saber held diagonally across her chest in a two-handed grip mind and body imbued by the force that flowed through her. It was perfect really, having Evelynn up there on display, there was no lack of grief, of anger and hatred to be taken from the fact that her only child was strung up before her like a decoration.

The sabers clashed, his strength pushed her back somewhat but you know, he didn't cleave her in two, so that was a plus. Given her lack of care of knowledge in lightsaber forms the woman was going to be engaging in the classic making it up as she went along style of combat but one thing was for certain:

Welcome to the defensive game.

“You've always been a little shavit!" the woman spat, once in her life leaving all manners at the door. Swearing? How uncouth!

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine's grin was damnable as the crimson and emerald sabers clashed in a fantastic spark of plasma, lightning up the area around them like Sithmas. "Didn't know you had such a venomous tongue Karin! I'll be sure to rip it out before this is all over!" Kaine broke the saber lock and lunged upon Karin with a flurry of slashes and jabs, the blade of his saber a total blur of red as it clattered and smashed against Karin's. Djem So was all about a constant offensive, bearing down on your opponent with powerful strikes that could easily be connected together by well-time combinations of moves. Djem So's polar opposite was Soresu, which was a total master of your saber's defensive work, and when those two clashed the battle could wage for hours, and was truly dependent on one's stamina and endurance. This fight however; would definitely no escalate into a stalemate.

@[member="Darth Asmodea"]