The Darkest Layer

[Maple Harte]

Well, that got a reaction. Maple thought, as one moment she had been looking at the Zeltron hieroglyphics, trying to make sense of the history, and the next, it was just silver eyes staring fiercely, hungrily at her, warning her the Sith would hear them. It probably already knew. About that sandwich she had stolen from the Mandragora office fridge (Wait, the Mandragora had a fridge? Since when?) not about the fact they were there. Though it probably knew that as well. But before being pinned, Maple had spotted a broken old part of the wall, and spotted something glinting inside.

It was an armlet. With a red crystal snake. Sawa must not have seen her grab it, because she seemed so hot and bothered over Maple's previous actions.

Maple felt Silver-Gaze in her head, nearly smothering it, telling her she was wonderful.

She tried to recall Veronika, but the face...did not come. And after a few seconds of trying desperately, the name did not either.

Uri...she...suppressing...get...out...of there... Doashim rumbled deep within before the sheer weight of the Sith's mind held it down. She felt Sawa press against her, filling her brain with just more Sawa. Could feel the caress in her skull, the dark part of her drawing Sawa in ever more against Maple's own efforts.

When Sawa called her sweet, the last of Maple's restraint was used up. No longer able to recall Veronika at the moment, Maple pulled Sawa's lips to hers, and felt the electric rush as a result, knowing how the air felt charged and unnatural. She was being affected, so was Sawa.

She kissed Sawa again, the dark part of Maple very hard to ignore at this point. It held her in Sawa's grasp, and she felt the strength, saw the grin, saw the recessed fangs.

Vampire! thought the part of Maple that still had something of a grip on the situation and now knew she was in a hyper-lethal scenario, where there was very few options for survivability. It was also terrified. Plus, it was remembering what she had said to Matsu on Ando Prime, about how at least she wasn't a vampire. The Force had a messed up sense of humor at times. Plus, it kept stealing her dishes while she slept. Bad Force! Bad! Bad dog!

As Maple brushed Sawa's hair with her fingers, kissing her again and feeling her own darkness react to each kiss, she felt herself drawn...inward.

Maple looked around, saw an elaborate and decadent private chamber with a pool in the center. Fruits, statues from a hundred different worlds in it, and a grand bed in the distance with sheer red drapes. Maple approached the dark pool, only to see the muscled, nude spirit of the Zeltron Sith, her long black locks unsoaked, rise from the center from the waist up.

"Hello...Maple was it?" The lucious looking spirit called out to the bounty hunter, who did not move from her spot. The sulphur eyed woman merely smiled and drew to the edge of the pool for a closer look.

"I am Darth Maranon." the woman said.

"Yeah, kinda figured." Maple muttered.

"Such a fractured little mind. Don't worry. Your vampire can't hear us. I've made sure." she cooed, "Come a little closer...I promise I won't bite."

"I'll take your word for it, thanks."

Maranon raised an eyebrow. This one, despite her mind being fractured, even now, even as the vampire was mentally infiltrating her senses, was still fighting back. The spirit found that it admired that on some level.

"Willful girl, if you would only stop to consider your options a moment, you would realize that without my help...you never leave this tomb alive..." Maranon said slightly. "The Vampire's hunger grows even now, sapped by my influence. Do you honestly believe she won't kill you? You are quite the specimen, but she'll view you as food over anything else. That's all you will ever be to her. That's all you CAN ever be to her. A snack."

Sulpher eyes stared at the bounty hunter in a sultry manner as she rose from the water, completely dry, and completely nude. She strode to Maple, who backed away in complete fear, back against the wall as Maranon got closer.

"But you won't be a snack to me." Maranon promised, reaching out and stroking Maple's face lovingly, chuckling in delight as Maple flinched in terror. This girl was having an effect on her, she delighted in admitting to herself. She had certainly gotten into the Vampire's head with that brilliant little stunt of hers. It had given Maranon the in she needed.

"Darth Maranon cares for all her subjects." the spirit cooed, stepping back, curious at how she felt drawn to the bounty hunter. With a flick of her wrist she brought forth the Jedi spirit that had been enslaved here. She manifested as a young woman with light skin and blonde, short locks that curled, wearing the same type of elaborate robe Sawa had seen Maranon clad in the vision earlier.

Maple only stared as the enslaved spirit stared with golden eyes. "Maranon freed me." she said with a smile that seemed sickeningly genuine. "I was nothing but a slave to the Jedi."

"And you call this...what, exactly? You're still a slave."

"I'm her subject." the Jedi said. "There is a difference."

"I'm not seeing it." Maple said bluntly.

"You will...if you join us." Maranon cooed, striding towards her. Maple pulled back in fear.

"No need to fear." Maranon said gently, even as she clasped Maple's throat lightly. "Such beautiful green eyes. And such a vicious assassin buried underneath all that insanity. Oh, when I walk the earth again, you shall be among my favored. I'll let you wash me in the blood of my enemies, as this Jedi in life did."

"I was...unhappy..." the fallen Jedi added. "I sense that same disillusionment in you."

"Are you the Mind-Binder then?" Maple asked, feeling the artificial lust induced by the spirit, but faintly.

Maranon chuckled, a deep, disturbing chuckle.

"Would you like me to be?"

"Is that a yes or a no?"

Maranon snorted, and the the smile dropped for a split second, giving the bounty hunter a look at what was beneath the beauty. It made her recoil, for it was a vile thing.

"Mind-Binder. A name you heard from a dying man. A seer. Did it even happen the way you remember?" Maranon questioned, that flirting smile returning. "Could I haunt your dreams? Certainly! I haunted the dreams of my subjects in life. As I do even now. As I will in yours." she ended in a lustful snarl.

"Poor girl." She cooed gently, getting very close to Maple. "Do you not see? Anyone in the Sith with my abilities could be it. But you focus all your energy on a name. Not the who. You don't care about the who one bit. Who would go to all the trouble? It could be a thousand different reasons. That is, if it wasn't some fantasy you made up...which is more than likely."

Maranon leaned close to Maple's ear. "But I am not a fantasy. This Vampire thinks she can please you. When you have me in your arms you won't understand pleasure. You will understand ecstacy." Maranon breathed. "Its not llike you were happy, Uri. Any more than Adra Divv here next to me was. She was a loyal little slave, like you were."

Maple flinched as one of Maranon's fingers twitched over her lips.

"So fearful!" Maranon said, though she somewhat enjoyed it. Maple could tell by the way she saw the sadism creep into the smile. "Well, a good queen must be loved and feared in equal measure. But lets skip the fear part for now..."

Maple blinked and she found herself naked in the pool. Darth Maranon lay in the pool across her, arms spread on the edges.

The pink flesh scratched at Maples sanity , the red purple tint trying to infect her thought process. Maranon's hair was draped luxuriously over her chest.

"I didn't join the Sith even after my own Jedi Master betrayed me. What should even make you think I'll join you?"

Maranon smiled. "Besides the fact that you'll have me in your arms? That you'll be tasting me? You are already a murderer. You know it. I know it. Why run away and pretend you're this sweet little bounty hunter who doesn't like to kill unless necessary?" she asked incredulously. "I see your heart. How many Sith's eyes did you stare into as you ended them?"

"Even if I could be sure of the count, which I can't, I never kept track. It was business."

"See? Business." Maranon laughed darkly. "You get it a lot more than you admit. The only problem was that you were improperly compensated. You weren't respected for the type of high stress work you did."

The enslaved Jedi, Adra Divv, rose out of the water next to her, clasping her shoulders.

"Your master did not appreciate you. Maranon will. Maranon always appreciates those who serve her."

"Until they screw up." Maple said.

"Oh, too quick to assume." Maranon mildly protested.

"Too savvy to think otherwise."

"You are curiously rigid for such a broken soul."

She felt Adra blow on her ear. "If you're going to kill for a living you might as well work for someone who appreciates your ability."

"As well as lick your feet when the mood strikes her." Maranon added., gesturing to herself. "You have great power. With the proper training you would be feared! Dreaded. But you must give in to your curiousity."

"Lady, that happened a long time ago." Maple replied in an utterly deadpan fashion.

"About the Dark Side, I mean."

"Oh."

"She's resisting, my Queen." Adra noted dispassionately.

"On the fence. Not resisting." Maranon corrected Adra but secretly she agreed. The Vampire had such a hold on her new subject's mind that it was thwarting her ability to make the ex-Jedi see reason...or her version of it.

"You want out of this box you built for yourself. That's the only reason we're having this conversation."

Maranon mockingly pretended to be offended, her mouth dropping open in fake offense. "So cynical! Oh, my dear you have it all wrong. Yes I want out. But I also want the green eyed brunette who stirred us all awake from our slumber to begin with. The delicious looking brunette who sated the very ground above me with murdering those foul monsters in the dust. That's right Uri." Maranon purred, sulpher eyes glowing as she drew close to Maple. "I wouldn't be awake right now if you had not woke me."

Maranon pressed closer to the still frightened Maple, who drew away from her. Maranon stole a glance at Adra.

Get this vampire away from my new subject. Maranon told Adra's spirit through the Force.

Adra nodded, sniffing Maple's neck vefore vanishing into the water.

"Sweet Uri, I have no wish to destroy you. It would be a terrible waste of a good murderer." Maranon said clasping Maple's chin with two fingers. Sulphur eyes staring seductively into piercing green ones.

"And a beautiful woman." the dead Sith added, kissing her.

Maple admitted it was an excellent kiss. She felt the temptation. But even now she was not stupid.

Maple pulled back from the kiss.

"How were you killed?" Maple asked.

Maranon's smile dropped slightly. "Pardon?"

"How were you killed?" Maple repeated.

Maranon folded her arms. "What does it matter? I cheated death."

"No you didn't." Maple said, watching as the smile, flirtatious, gave way to slight irritation.

"You're a corpse in a stone box. So is your groupie. So are ALL your groupies. You want out of this box. If I'm going to be open to the idea, I want to know how you died.

Maranon's smile was replaced by a plastered on look of patience. "I was betrayed."

"By who?"

"A servant of mine. She used Synox."

Maple whistled. "Ouch. One of your favorites?"

Maranon gave a slight huff. "Yes." she answered with a hint of irritation.

Maple thought a moment. "So what would you have me do?"

"The armlet you found. Latch it on to her. It will drain my essence into her."

"So your servant...why'd she betray you?"

Maranon stared at Maple very pointedly. "I'm a patient woman Maple but I must admit you test me. Pick your next words carefully."

"Innocent curiousity, I swear."

Maranon huffed in irritation. "She grew jealous that Adra was my most precious instead of her. She obtained the Synox from a rival. And perhaps I had also been a tad...short with her."

Maple still tasted Maranon's lips. Or was it Sawa's?

"See? That. That's what confused me. How could a beautiful, all powerful woman be betrayed by one of her supposed favorites? I guess we both know the truth now, don't we?" Maple whispered.

Maranon pulled her close by the waist. Maple smelled exotic spices and the feeling of the Sith Lord's flesh in her hands would have been more than she could bear to resist were it not for the fact she was heavily in another's thrall, both minds wanting her drawing at her, trying to corrupt her. Did she want to be corrupted? She could not decide. Maranon was not without her points.

"And what truth is that my dear?" Maranon asked clasping Maple's face with both hands.

"That you died because someone, for once looked past your pretty face." Maple snarled. "And you are going to stay dead because I've seen past it also."

"Don't be a fool." Maranon snarled back, clutching her throat in earnest. "Think from a practical perspective. Even if you defeat me, and the guardian with the Vampire's help, there is no guarantee you'll survive the Vampire when she needs to feed after. I'm your only way out. Accept me. Become my new subject and you would be as precious to me as Adra is! Maybe more."

"I'm a lot of things. Subject isn't one of them. Lackey, I dunno, I do a lot of lackey work. But it pays well. Besides, even if I did betray Sawa and put you in her body, there is no guarantee I wouldn't get my blood sucked anyway."

"Oh, I'd deny the urge for you." Maranon hissed, trying to elicit more lust in the bounty hunter telepathically, but the Vampire's hold interfered.

"I have no way of knowing that. If my end is to be drunk dry then it is a fate I can accept."

"But why?" Maranon asked angrily, face showing disbelief and disappointment.

"Because it is a better fate then being a stimulated vegetable at your feet, at your beck and call, forever." Maple answered drawing away. "Send me back to whatever doom you intend. I will face it."

"What, so you can warn the Vampire of my plans? I think not." Maranon snorted. "I drew you here, to this inner recess of your mind that Sawa can't see. I can keep you here. Keep Sawa salivating over you. I can feel her. She wants to tear that black armor off you. Can't honestly blame her. You probably did just figure out what a vampire considers a kiss by pure accident."

"There was NO accident there. Trust me." Maple joked with a grim look. "You don't run from the jungle cat. All it will do is chase you."

Maranon reached out and stroked Maple's face.

"And you are so very worth chasing. I'll think I'll keep you here. Use you as a puppet to distract her. And then once I own Sawa's body...we'll see if we can't shake your stubbornness." she trailed suggestively.

Maple did not know how to escape. It was just her, and Maranon naked in the imaginary pool in her head. She needed to get out. Somehow.

"Look you got about forty seconds before that guardian of mine arrives. Sure you don't want to make out a little?" Maranon asked slyly.

Maple paused a moment to consider...scratching her head. The whole thing was terrifying. Maranon was terrifying and probably going to enslave her. Sawa was just as terrifying and also probably going to enslave her. That's if the Terentatek didn't kill her first. Really, this whole day had been one long fearfest, mingled with randomly kissing a vampire.

Thing is, it wasn't like that 'No-Spirits' thing was a rule set in stone...

Before Maple could decide for or against Maranon's lusting stare, something took the decision out of her hands.

That something was a long, purple claw, that erupted from the pool's center and stabbed Maranon from behind. Maranon screamed in pain. Maple screamed harder, because she recognized that claw. What it belonged to.

Maple was scrambling out of the pool as Maranon continued to thrash about in obvious agony, the light in the mental room flickering in and out, Maple was backed against a wall, unable to stop shrieking in terror as what stabbed Maranon's spirit arose from the surface.

It was gangly. Thin. Lavender skin stretched over an emaciated frame, covered with ritual scars, its togruta montrals flicking on its shoulders. If you stared at the figure outright, it blurred, but became more clear out the corner of your eye. It looked starved. Its hands as it rose wet out of the water had unnaturally long fingers that ended in black, long nails, one of which had gone through the chest of Maranon.

But the most unsettling thing was what wasn't there.

It didn't have a face.

Maple was hysterical with fear, nearly catatonic, curtled into a fetal position as Maranon thrashed about, but weakening. It stabbed her through the stomach again with three more bony sharp fingers.

Thiswillnotkillyou. it spoke with a hissing whisper, running its words together like it always did. Butitwillgetyouawayfromwhatbelongstome.

Maranon hissed in fury as she pulled herself away and off its claws. Backing away from whatever it was in the Force.

"What are you?" Maranon demanded, good looks starting to rot on her. It had injured and weakened the spirit, whatever it was. She had to flee, had to recover.

Iamsimplytheonewhosawherfirst

Maranon snarled in anger as she vanished into the water.

Maple was still shivering in near catatonia as it turned to her stepping out of the water. Her shrieking started again, only to cut off when an emaciated lavender colored foot placed itself on her throat and held it there.

MysweetUriDon'tyousee?Nothingwillkeepusapartintheendnoteventhis Vampire it hissed.

Maple said nothing back. Just staring at the faceless creature and shivering.

Iwouldlovetoplaybutyouhavebiggerproblems...


She screamed as it reached for her. She blinked and she was in a lip lock with Sawa. She saw the Terentatek approach, growling in rage.

Still kissing Sawa, she pulled away, even though Sawa's lips nearly made her forget the horror of running into the Mind-Binder again.

"Grouchy's back!" Maple exclaimed, the fear of the Mind-Binder threatening to make her muscles lock as she activated her staff. The thing roared and approached...

[member="Sawa Ike"]

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

It was strange, as she felt it... the heat those lips, her darkness. It was like a sweet nector on her tongue... the scent there allowing the energy vampire to fall into it as she moved and brought her hand up. Fingers interlacing through her hair as she felt the warmth of her scalp. The other hand going to the girls hips. She was holding her in place and using the proximity, using the connection of flesh to flesh to strengthen her mental reach. Energy vampires ate and bit into the flesh, drained the blood but they also sucked at the force. Drank it down and mental energies as she was feeling something deeper there... Maple had been drawn inwards.

She could practically taste the poison on her blood, on her body and the sweat that was there. Skin glistening under the soft light if you looked close enough, the tremble and thump thump of the pulse that was there. She was feeling it shift throughout her body, throughout her mind weakening her.. it was made to slowly kill prey with a proper dose.. with a proper slash and injection. THe small amount she would have gotten might never kill her but it was going to be great if she was open to it the weakening feeling to lower her mental defenses so that she could get in and drive herself deper into the mind of the woman.

'But you are still here.' She could feel it, this other part of her, this memory and thought of Veronika... this being who empowered her and allowed her to see it. The woman, her hair, her skin and Sawa mentally sneered as she was looking at it. Seeing the memories of what they had done, what they had gone through when she was going for it. Rubbing at the thoughts but also pushing to change them, to replace warmth with lust or love to heat from hatred, to make those butterflies in the stomach from enjoyment become a sickening feeling that might be in the stomach when you were revolted. It was easier to alter and change a feeling or memory then replace and destroy it.

For a time at least, she knew if she wanted to keep the feelings there she would have to reapply to this woman the technique regularly otherwise she would become aware that things were different.... Sawa pushed as many feel good thoughts, emotions and actions into her memories of herself. The vampire that brought fear and lust from her that excited and made her want to run. She didn't replace those she enhanced them, the fear wasn't that she would be killed it was that she wouldn't want to leave that she would only want to feel this... this euphoria from a kiss. THe contact of flesh on flesh that was just tongue massaging each other, lips pressed and the barest hint of saliva.

She was seeing more of the image of herself, more fo the thoughts... deep, dark desires, ideas forming and hidden fears... Oh they were delicious and she pressed upon them, pressed to connect and bond Maple to her for now. She wanted her to not be without, to not be able to stay around without the thought of her lips on hers, her hands grazing and touching her. Sawa mentally felt some parts of it until she was breathing in the energy, breathing in the force connection she had and she understood, she was connection to that kernal of the force, that seed of the darkside that was within everyone and she spoke.

'You are already corrupted, youo have already given into lust, given into anger, you have already been started down this dark path and oh you.' Sawa saw it, a sickly faceless togruta, the being was protecting her mind, protecting her for itself and She stood there while feeling there was another mind, another source of power pressing on the three of them. This togruta was there faitly compared but deeply entrenched, Maple was there and Maranon the sith with her servants mental energies. They were bound to her spirit in this cave and served her in death as they had in life by enticing and fulfilling her whims.

'And who are you?' she said it drifting around the togruta who seemed to be distracted but her long fingers, slender with long nails that were black were wriggling but she heard the voice. 'Iamtakingwhatismine' The woman was something, she could fel it and there was power there but this was a mental bout in a young mind a developing mind. Betwen ageless titan's each seemed to have strength of will and She was listening to the togruta for now. 'Thegirlismine, youshallnothaveher." Sawa grinned while she stopped and stood behind the togruta restraining her with her strength as that being she could sense was preoccupied with something else. She was fighting the sith almost fully.

'Oh but I don't want her as you do my sweet... I don't want her to be my meatsuit. Perhaps a bargain can be struck yes?" She said it slying, getting a moment to tease at the montral while she could see there was visible effort on the body but there was no face, no expressions to read. Just the body language that she was pushing away the sith to talk with maple... leaving it more open for her to move in and slip there. Fill int he cracks as she was seeing a pool, nude figues, blood and heard it. 'Nononosheismine.' Sawa pulled back out fo the thought but she was stronger for the moment then the beings that were invading.. SHe had something they didn't have.

'Oh I think I am going to like you my sweet but you can have the meat suit. You need her to serve, you need her willing to give in to you. Perhaps what you really need is a little help.' Sawa was allowing the force to pull at Maple now as she was aware of the area around herself, the sounds of the creature as it was searching around for them and had found a way to get down near them, to get into the place where they were be. Sawa didn't have a lot of time but she had more then enough mentally to start enticing. 'So this si what I shall do, the girl is yours... you can have her, have her mind and body in time.'

Sawa stood there holding her and the benefits of having a physical body was that she could restrain, she could connect and hold Maple physically as well as mentally in place. 'We are strong pet, we are older then most, we don't view time as some of the others do in years... that is a blink to us... so give her to me.... let her think she has been saved, fawning over her savior for a time. Then when her mind is enthralled to me, when she is more then happy to let anything happen to herself. Return, you can and know how to recede from her thoughts. Otherwise you would be dominating her all of the time and driving her mad so just do that.'

She said it and there seemed to be some contemplation. 'You'llkillher.....breakher....' Sawa frowned, had the benefit to look at a couple of the things. 'Oh you wound me, no killing is so..... base, breaking her body would not serve my desires. You need not fear and if you think I go to far pet... nudge me, her mental defenses, her resistance towards us shall be low. She won't even know you are there anymore, she won't even think of stopping you from taking her body and using it.' Her hands touched the arms and naval before she was looking forward and bringing the images of others that Maple had met.

'She belongs to us, we can fight grandly, we can battle over her but working together we can take her. I don't need the girl forever.. I am not this sith who enslaves others to serve her whims forever. I am merely the darkness she craves.' She got a look finally and could see that faceless being, it seemed to be thinking about it and as a united front the two of them could do a whole lot more harm compared to fighting each other every step of the way. Sawa pressed her age and true power to inform her.. to let her know just truthfuly how much in danger she could be in she wanted to fight and try to break the connection.

'Acceptablebutthesith.' Sawa looked at her, she had it... she had her in and knew what she could do while thinking about the sith and without herself being blocked by the mind-binder.. this creature she could see where she was now. COuld see the chamber, the bath with Maple there curled up while they were both slipping in to defend against her. Maranon was around, licking her wounds as it were as she had been mentally attacked but Sawa could feel her while she was standing in the bath chamber next to the togruta and waved her off, waved her back seeing Maple on the ground. She mentally reached out to stroke her face to hide with her and looked up.

Maranon was standing there now and the togruta was gone, not defeated... tactically retreating to that dark corner of the unconscious mind where she might not be felt easily but would be aware of everything.... While Sawa and her wants would be in the sub-conscious manipulating Maple to do.. the unconscious mind would be keenly aware of everything while the conscious wouldn't be of it. Sawa was looking at the sith herself now and standing toe to toe with her could hear everything. The bathing chamber was shifting around them. Becoming that room again.. she knew it was in her palace now... she knew and could se it as the jedi she had seen was at her masters side.

'Oh the vampire returns... and she has fought this interloper.' Sawa watched her face, looked upon it when the woman was standing close to her, the servant near the master while she looked like a pet, kept and well trained. She was no longer a jedi she was a servant and Sawa could agree that everyone lusted for Maranon.. the zeltron when how to dress, how to use her body, how to manipulate emotions.. She knew how and where to enhance with the force when Sawa was watching her just standing there and other servants were around. Awakened from their... movements and slumber as their writhing bodies around the large bed stopped.

Sawa was looking at her, that hair the eyes, the length of her body but she licked her lips being this close.... Seeing Maranon almost pressing against her as they did what came natural. She felt her lips being pressed against lips, a tongue exploring her mouth and fingers in her hair as she returned the favor. The feeling of heat in her face drifting, the sensation of being kept, of what it would mean to give in and have something like this.. oh the joys.. the pleasures that one would be able to know. THis was a being who had been to the furthest reaches of pleasure and power. Who had ruled her world not with force or might but with love and lust against the zeltrons.

It would be so easy to, it would be so perfect just the two of them locked in some eternal bliss here. She was certain with their age and power, with their knowledge they could make it galaxy shattering but Sawa puled back from the kiss. Remained in her grasp as she was holding the woman and the scene had changed... to the tomb, to the alter where they were both laying. Looking outside of her body, outside of her mind at the bodies of her and Maple against the far wall. Kissing, groping, unconsciously giving into their carnel thoughts and desires but not entirely aware of it as the terentrek was coming and she could almost feel it.

'My pet will be here soon better make your choice.... join me, serve me, fear me and I shall be your slave. Love me, touch me, give me the girl... let me have her body. With a strong enough foothold I can take the mind-binder on, this togruta you seem to have subdued and removed almost.' She couldn't sense her... Sawa internally laughed to herself and she listened to the offer, if she would just give Maple to her, let the zeltron have her body and spirit... crush it, take a new body yes.. she could have her.. she could have one who knew all of the secrets... but then what would that mean of her pet... Maple would be dead and gone... her special taste removed from her.

'No sweetie... no I can't let that happen. You are gone. bringing you back would be a brief lifetime.. a full life of pleasure and lust but it woudln't do much. Maple would be gone, this pet would be gone and I can't have that... I do so enjoy tormenting her and she shall still serve a purpose but perhaps a bargain can be struck here... not one that will risk you, not one that will fail to benefit us both.' Sawa said it with a smile as she opened her eyes from the conversation and was looking at Maple. Drawing her head back and hearing her talk abotu the creature coming at them. The vampire released the girl and stood next to her, head and eyes downcast a little as she leaned against the wall to join her in preparing to fight.

"Then my dear we will face him together yes?" SHe said it and look up, looked over at her with allure and pulled at that string and those seeds she had hoped to plant. To entice Maple to be with the darkness. "It can't fight both of us and there is oh so much we shall be able to do together." Sawa said it while she was looking towards the creature and produced dark sister, the metal blade gleaming in the soft light, folded black metal, dark crimson waves within it and the feeling od despair and power that was radiating off of it. The blade igniting to the black core with silver whisps of energy and power, her grip tightening whiel the other hand searched for Maples fingers.

She was reaching out and looked at Maple out fo the corner of her eyes a small glint was there while she moved with a smirk appearing. less because she was happy and more because she had a plan... a fiendishly clever plan hopefully to appease all parties involved.. maybe... maybe she was crazy but she was old and going to live for a very very long time in any case compared ot many of the others. A little crazy every now and again as she held darksister and dashed forward low and at the creature slashing when it began to limp in its run towards her. The scent of it blood was there, the feeling of it while she moved to the side.

She slashed again and the creature was roaring while Sawa moved up and along using her superior speed to get around the creature and she jumped... then miscalculated as the creature slammed her with a tusk into the wall. Charging over to slash at her. Sawa rolled relearning how to breath after her head slammed into the stone leaving a gash. The snapping of its jaw when she lept up brought her around into a tucked flipp before it came under her with the creatures mouth open. She felt her eyes bulge, felt the rush of fear along her spine but she stayed small, stayed tightly tucked together as she slammed into the creatures tongue.

The feeling of it against her slin as she heard the jaws snap shut, close around her and leave her in darkness with a look on her face. A sneer until she was uncurling and the creatures mouth was massive to go with its head before she slashed with her blade and got a roar from the beast. She was going deeper into it and the seconds that she could feel were stretching on for an eternity... she knew she wouldn't even survive once she got to the stomach but Maple was out there doing whatever she could. Sawa mused to her mind a little before she was there and pressed against the flesh of the throat stabbing at the creature.... rage in her eyes while she slashed.

The belly opened, the fresh rush of air came to her while she was spilling out of the beast and slid across the stone floor. her hands on something she had found, some piece that the creature had been given for safe keeping and she learned about it with the deal... but there was more to it.. a reason why the creature had managed to get so large and strong compared to many, Sawa was covered in gore and she looked around flailing while she knew her saber was somewhere on the floor and she scrambled to find it... searching for it while the sounds al around her were of other things starting to wake up... she could hear them deeper into the caves and the tomb.

"Bah... I am choking on blood and it isn't even mine... or for food." She was looking at parts of it here so that she could move here, she was looking at it and remained there before turning to look at Maple regainign her composure even while she was covered in fluids, gore and then... something cold was at her back. She didn't turn, she didn't move just felt it there and then a lightness and a weight to her chest to her body when she was lifted up and a death gasp.. a gurgle of the beast. A tusk coming out of her gut where she had cleaved it to swing her around before the weakening creature fell into stones and was dying.

The tusk broke off, the feeling of Sawa being able to move and her saber detaching more of the tusk while it was jagged and covered in her own blood. She leaned against the alter still clutching her saber and the small ring but slipped both into her bodysuits pockets while looking towards Maple and reaching out. ALl of her force energies and wanting to drink her in. "Help me Maple." Sawa said it while she was looking at her and shook a little, trembled while it seemed colder and she could hear the sounds of the deeper things. The cave and tomb had been here a long time and not al who came to be enslaved had just died... some were alive and hungry.

 

[Maple Harte]

You don't run from the jungle cat. All it will do is chase you.

Ursula Sandraven had spoken those words to Maple early in her training. Her inner assassin still took those words to heart.

You instead make yourself enticing to the jungle cat. You make it want to stalk you a little more, because you deliberately send off the impression you are not ordinary prey. You walk. At a calm pace. Let it follow. And you wait.

Though this understanding was deep within, an understanding that was there right at the bottom, wherever Doashim had stuck itself, getting a good solid look at the woman who had once been Ursula's successor, it was buried under a layer of nearly incoherent terror and uncertainty of anything happening actually happening. She had already experienced twelve different delusions as the Terentatek got closer, in addition to the horror in her own skull. Only the urge to survive got her to react with anything approaching a plan as she set the staff ends to max stun letting Sawa take the lead, not just because Maple needed to hold back due to near incoherence and being wounded, but because the woman buried deep under her madness was studying Sawa, trying to get an idea of her exact limitations. Through this, Maple was trying desperately to tear away the feelings of disgust at trying to recall Veronika, feelings she knew were not natural, but the stress of the situation made it a doomed effort. She instead focused more on surviving, surviving long enough to savor Sawa's touch again, savor that darkness she sensed, even as she was simultaneously repelled and frightened.

Very agile. Very lithe. Maple harrassed the creature by thrusting a tip covered in arcing red electricity at it, though to her surprise it seemed to draw away from it, though the way Sawa drew its attention, it let Maple know Sawa was confident enough that she thought highly of her chances.

But...first mistake. And it was a repeat of earlier, which resulted in similar injuries. Though Maple's drew a breath in fear of losing the vampire, inwardly, she knew she had found a possible weakness: Let her think she has the upper hand and she tries something fancy. Maple never tried flips over an opponent unless left with no choice.

She felt cold everywhere suddenly, as she heard the Mind-Binder's voice from a place so deep in her only Maple could here as she sprinted towards the creature, hoping to distract it.

ShethinksIwantyourbodysillysillyvampire...

Maple stared in horror as Sawa repeated the same mistake and leapt over it. But the cunning thing was ready, and Sawa could only curl into a ball as she fell in. Maple stabbed at it, and it roared, trying to swat at her. She backed away barely able to focus properly as it slowly approached salivating at her. She stabbed at it and it roared again, the painful electrical energy only infuriating it.

Shetriedtogiveyoutomelikeyouwerecattle.ShethinksIwanttopossessyou.Typicalvampire...

She ducked barely under a vicious right swing, awkwardly rolled to its side as she struck at it only to break off her attack as it quickly slashed at her, her fear and a few delusions costing her precious seconds as it got entirely too close, its claws missing her face by millimeters as she drove her staff into its chest long enough to actually stun it. But then it started to gag, thrashing about in pain as its belly opened up from within, revealing a black bladed lightsaber and Sawa siding out whole, the whole thing strangely reminding her of a beautiful woman popping out of the cake, except she was gagging. Skip. She screamed as the dirt covered her coffin fully.Skip. Back to the tomb. And Zombie Anakin. All hail Zombie Anakin Skywalker! FOR MAPLE IS HIS HERALD!

Sawa stood up, covered in blood, choking but alive.

"That's why I always take my meat fully cooked. Less chance of it trying to escape the stomach." she joked. "Unless it happens to be this mystery meat I once ordered on this one sandwich on Alderaan. That stuff will try and get out of you no matter how long you cook it."

Maple too late saw the claw rise up. Saw it impale Sawa from behind before it died moments later, Sawa cutting tusk away after being hurled toward the alter, still able to stand some how, covered in blood. She saw her weakening, saw more of the Vampire in her features, coming out as she weakened. She probably needed to feed.

Snarls and moans from all around her as Sawa asked for help made Maple turn around. Some of the corpses were approaching, freed by the dark power of Maranon. Maple switched the staff to kill, keeping track of how long it had been on as she attacked them, half frenzied with terror, half cold blooded training taking over as she sliced through risen corpses hungering for flesh, for life. She fought through hoards of mummified zeltron women trying to tear her apart, snarling. Maple twirled her staff drunkenly, swaying like she was intoxicated as she swayed and stumbled to evade their blows, yelping as one hit her wounded arm, causing her to with draw from the sliced open zombies, taking special care to target the brains, slicing through dead flesh almost effortlessly.

Meanwhile, some zombies drew closer to an already weakened Sawa, but Maple dashed towards them, slicing through before they could get close. There were still more though. And Sawa was weakening rapidly. Maple was now terribly frightened of whether or not Sawa would devour her even if they got past these corpses.

But something in her, something that had nothing to do with any trick of the mind Sawa had played, kept compelling her to defend her, even if her injured arm was getting stiffer by the minute. Her good arm was the one she held it with but she was tired.

She remembered Muad Dib's demonstration of it on Ryloth, and how Katrine had panicked at just one use of it. Maple knew it was a bad idea, but she had little else to go on at this point.

Maple cut her palm on something sharp, felt it bleed. She hoped this worked. She forced away everything, harder than she ever had before. Her brain worked, allowing the words to come out.

"Mother Nature, who accepts this drop of blood as a fierce cold gust violently blows forth."

The blast of wind that flung the corpses back was gail force in strength. Maple screamed as she concentrated with all her might through the howl of wind, some corpses being covered in drops of ice as the blood-enhanced Tempest Spell actually ripped some of the more decayed corpses apart.

Maple swooned falling to the ground as her will and concentration finally gave out after the longest seven seconds of her life. She was too weak to stand. The corpses looked out of commission or even slightly frozen. But to Maple's distress, she realized she had another problem.

Sawa was still bleeding. Sawa was still hungry. Sheer will forced Maple up, clutching her staff which had deactivated and using it as a crutch to reach the Vampire. She could see the creature under the beauty. It was weak. Getting weaker since the fight. But Maple knew she could run if she forced herself to. And she knew Sawa likely would not be able to give chase.

The assassin within, the woman that was buried in the snow of her own insanity reminded her of the lesson, the lesson that had made her hold back a bit in combat, not exert herself too much for Sawa.

You don't run from the jungle cat. All it will do is chase you.

Instead, circumstances permitting, you walk. You let the jungle cat walk with you. You pet it if necessary.

Also, leading it into the stronghold of another alpha predator, and letting the pair fight, is also an excellent way of assuring at least one of them will be killed. And the other will be too weak to do much of anything.

That is when you run from the jungle cat. Let its wounds, and its hubris, kill it.

Maple straightened up, forced herself to, through the pain and exhaustion. Her stare, its penetrating gaze could look very different in the darkness, when its greenness was the only thing one could make out.

Maple Harte looked very different with a glint of death in her gaze, the glint that many Sith had seen up close.

"Six years ago, this is the part where I would have either run, or jammed this thing into your eye." She said in a simple, matter of fact tone without being condescending. "Bleeding like so many of your...'meals' no doubt. Running out of time. Not gonna last much longer my dear."

Maple's eyes fluttered, feeling her own lust towards the bleeding vampire. But she fought it off long enough, enough to make certain what happened next was her doing, not Sawa's.

"I'm probably just a meal to you, in the end. No hard feelings from me, mind you. No point. Vampires gotta vampire, and nutcases gotta nutcase. Its all business in the end. You, hiding the terrible thirst that in some ways, perhaps, ways you yourself may not even perceive, coloring everything you do. Every life you take. And me, no longer sure if any of this is real, whether I will blink and it turns out I was on my ship all along, or some horrible delusion will pull me away for what seems like months or even years from my perspective, but less than a second to you. Thirsting for sanity and never finding it. Thirsting for validation is a lot worse though. Its like thirsting for blood. I'm sure you know what I mean."

Maple smiled grimly. It was that assassin smile, and it was not pleasant. But it faded, replaced by a look of introspection.

"In that regard, perhaps I was no different from you. Do not mistake my words. This is not pity. Either for myself...or for you. We're drenched in the blood of our enemies. Its just that you got a fresh coat."

Maple was silent for a few more seconds, struggling with her decision.

"The smart thing to do would be to leave you to die. Or finish you off myself but I can barely stand. Its the most tactically sound decision."

Maple frowned. "But then I keep thinking...and I get this stupid idea..."

Maple stepped closer to the bleeding vampire.

"All I was ever trained to do says I should leave you to die from your wounds. You will experience no reform in letting you live. Your vampire nature will compel you to evil against others. How many others before me faced certain doom from your fangs? Were our positions reversed, I've no doubt you'd agree with me that it was best to flee."

Maple hesitated.

"But all my life, I have made those kinds of horrible, ruthless decisions. I have no excuse to fall back on. You? You are a vampire. Your very nature is ruthless. But mine was not so. Yet I still made those ruthless decisions. And I don't like the person I became for it. And I don't like the person I would become again if I made it again.

Maple opened her palm up further with a rock.

"You will likely sneer at this. Openly mock my foolishness as you devour me. But perhaps...later on, when you have only the darkness to accompany you as you lay awake in your bed at night...you will come to see my act as something I get the feeling you are not all that familiar with: An act of generosity, in spite of knowing the doom that could result from it. It would be terrible, after all, for even a creature such as you, to go through existance without experiencing one act of genuine mercy, in spite of it all."

Maple dripped blood from above the lips. There was no point in running. Not like she could stop Sawa from biting her at this point. Not at this distance.

[member="Sawa Ike"]

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Sawa was watching her and she remained there propped up against the wall with a bigger look on her face. With everything that was going on though she could feel more of it and sense plenty from Maple... violence, eloquence... a sort of grace few could really see until she was moving over onto the alter just enough to draw on parts of it. The energy was something she fed on.. not just blood. It was a very hard thing to see, it was rare people saw energy vampires and they thought of garhoons or anzati when it came to vampires.... An advantage as they were more adaptable and knew how to blend in that Maple finished.

Her violence was a special kind she could enjoy and love the taste of while the woman spoke and bled over her mouth. The sound of zeltron zombies were there but deeper... there were more. not dead beings, they hadn't been the first ones lured into this cave.... they were not the first to be made into servants in a way... well not in the way that they would be thinking.. She didn't serve the sith but there was an advantage it getting a small reprieve while she got the rest of the claw out of her chest. Maple spoke over her and offered her blood when she smiled. "Nodding almost like a child and she moved to the wound licking at it.

The gash that was there, the coppery taste when she pulled at it and almost used her tongue to widen the wound to her. Eyes remaining silver and she pulled now, force energy, emotions, hunger.. the hunger of the undead, the lust of the woman, the force energy of her, the life forces of the ones below and the energies from the blood that were infused with the darkside from the creature. "Maybe." She said it pulling back but returned as her chest was healing and she was out of the torn bodysuit standing there... Her black hair loose but she looked at Maple and turned her hand barely taking that much blood for the moment.

"But there is somethings my sweet Maple... you might still need to learn." She said it and showed osmehting energy vampires could do over most of the others.. they could restore as she pushed the energy to share her power and for a time her healing letting it wash over like scolding water with the heat. Going to a level it could feel like it would melt skin.. but then she was pushing to heal Maple just like she was. Motioning to pull her and bring her onto the alter. "But I can be just as generous to those who I owe tribute my sweet." Sawa was looking at her and sat there on the alter nude with her hair framing and covering her. She held up the crystal charm. "Some treasure if you want it."

 

[Maple Harte]

The pain was at first, overwhelming. Maple dropped to her knees, having forgotten the moment she had watched her take the blood how badly she had wanted to surrender to the gaze.

Apparently not only did she intend Maple's death, she intended it to be agonizing, scalding torture.

That's what you get for being nice. You get to be a snack THEN entertainment. she thought, in too much pain to even scream.

But then...sudden relief. Energy Vampires must heal different. That, or it had been a 'long' time since she even bothered to heal another. Maple could not decide which possibility scared her more.

She stood up right, looked around, saw dozens of different versions of her dead all over the tomb.

A ripple in the force yanked the bounty hunter towards the nude vampire, sitting on the altar. She offered the small trinket.

Oh suuuurrreee, 'take' the mysterious trinket the assassin within muttered. There's no way 'that' could possibly go wrong

I'm here to parrrr-tay! Wheeeee! the snakes that had a space reserved in her brain right next to that assassin hissed enthusiastically as she took the trinket.

Why do I even bother? the assassin within grumbled before the snow buried her deep once more.

Maple looked around, then back at Sawa. "Before I go any further you're sure you don't see me lying dead anywhere in this chamber do you? That sometimes happens. If you do, it means this is probably a dying hallucination. If you don't, well...we're probably gonna die if we don't find a way out soon, so it makes little difference."

Maple paused thoughtfully in front of the vampire looking a way as her brow furrowed.

"Matter of fact it makes so little difference I'm not exactly sure why I bothered. Ah hell, ignore any other corpses of me you see. If you see a few of you lying around, well...I'm just gonna come right out and say it..." Maple added wistfully grasping Sawa by the shoulders and speaking, very quietly, in a whisper:

"You should probably stop eating the cereal. One box of cornflakes can draw the Dark Things with Fifty Eyes!" She hissed with the sincerity of a conspirator before pulling away, gripping her staff, pocketing the strange trinket.

Maple went around the tomb. She could hear the moans from ones in the lower levels. But they seem...delayed. Suspiciously so. All zombies here were destroyed.

"Okay, Maranon, what's your game. There must be some reason you aren't attacking us!" Maple called out.

Nothing but silence in return.

Maple turned to [member="Sawa Ike"]. "Why aren't they attacking?"

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

She was looking at her and Maple took the piercing, the trinket without getting some reward but ohhh fine. Sawa stood up and moved mostly to stand next to her while they were there. Hands on her shoulders while she moved her hands up to touch her fingers and gave a nod of her head. "Don't worry sweet one, if I see myself and you dead on the floor... I'll just guess we're running out of oxygen and hallucinating because of lack of air." She said it when Maple was back to looking around and calling out the sith spirit.... there was no sound and she couldn't hear anything when they were going around the room. The far off sounds were just that... far off while she moved.

"Unfortunately now my outfit is in tatters and it is less seductive when you can't wear anything." The pale energy vampire stood there but adjusted her hair while she stretched out and recovere her belt with her saber on it and her boots with leggings. Something that would work but most of the bodysuit was torn beyond repair as she made a small skirt. Flowing and looking more like a venusian (see pirates of venus cover art) before she finished up salvaging whatever she would be able to. "That should do." She said it and was looking around the tomb, aside from the dead bodies she had not noticed all of it. THere were small side passages that they had come from the creatures.

"There." She said it and the sounds were coming from the passages but nothing was coming out. THe spirit hadn't left she could feel its gaze on them but it seemed occupied with something else with somewhere else as Sawa looked around. There was finally a chance to take in the detail of the cave and the walls were carved stone, inlaid with gemstones and crystals. In the forms of the zeltron she was imaginging and the what she hoped were some exaggerated features... a chest that big would be painful she could imagine but she had seen others in the galaxy with such a bust. Hair was long and could cover her up before Sawa looked at the tombs.

Each one for a slave, someone who had been made to serve and service the sith herself.. bound by their desires more then by their own volition. The carvings were well done in their likenesses and age had not diminished them from the beauty she had collected. Different stone for different species and she was guessing it was the closest to the skin tone or to indicate that they had different skin tones. Each one wearing the same outfit, long cloth cascading from the belt and metal with silk bikini. It was made to be tasteful but still scantily clad for the siths enjoyment when the bodies were around the tomb in various states of smashed.

She could just make out some parts of it, just see what had been happening when her mind saw a vision of the tomb.. no the palace. A lower chamber of it that had been used for ritual and all darksiders needed their sanctuary... her experiments she knew had been far different then others. The sights and sounds coming to her, the faint memory that was caressing her mind as the spirit recalled it and was using it to try and lure them into the vision instead of fidning a way out. Her creature had been killed and torn open... her slaves crushed all that were left were the writhing masses and she knew what they were doing down in the deeper halls of the tomb.

The sounds carried up mingled with the scent as it was what had been happening in her palace, in the walls and secret rooms. A celebration of the flesh that continued for days.. A means to defile the children of her enemies, to bind them to her as she could keep them in a drug and lust induced haze to use as leverage. Breaking the minds of some, binding them to her as loyal servants who wanted to be with her. Sawa seeing the vision... the memory more vivid now compared to what she had seen before. This was a brighter chamber, the full body tattoo she applied to her servants in sith poisoned ink made them hers.. marked them as hers to visiting sith.

And she knew they were forbidden to touch them, it would burn and smear if anyone touched it without her knowledge. Before the woman could turn away she was standing there in a dress... a sheer dress with the tattoo covering her body. She could feel all of it along the length of her skin, covering her from neck to ankle and some threads weaving around her toes. It was more then just what she thought.. it enhanced everything. Every sensation, every sense added to her body.... Sawa could feel it there and this was one way... addiction, powerful forces. She was beginning to understand how the sith had operated.

'Everyone loves Maranon.' It was like her mantra as she stood there applying the tattoo and all around in the nearly see through white gowns that clung to the bodies of her servants they seemed to repeat it. Something she said to herself every night to make herself believe it and that explained another thing... why they could lie. It wasn't that she was not powerful enough to detect deception it was that she was lying to herself to such a degree she couldn't tell the difference. Compared to many others it was information that could come in handy but Sawa was looking to back out fo the vision and find that escape way through.

She could sense that even in her own mind she had frozen.... her body was unable to move while maple was there and she could be in danger as Sawa pulled at that invisible cord she was working. TO make Maple desire her, to make her want to give in and join the dark. To fall for the seduction to the point that the energy vampire might have a blood donor to take back to her palace. The fangs clicked into place at the thought and the sensation was amplified in her body, she could feel it like her entire body was one giant nerve but instead of pain it was a pleasurable experience to her... she wanted more and she knew she shouldn't.

Sawa pulled her mind away from the danger and focused on Maple... or at least her version of Maple who was there next to her... giving her at least an anchor here. She was dressed much the same as the other girls.... with the clinging white dress, the hair in a ponytail... nothing underneath but you could see the tattoo itself all across the body. Sawa was filling in the blanks of it all as she felt a shift in the power around and the sith lord herself was done with what she was doing. The power in the room changed as her servant stood up and bowed her head falling to her knees in front of her master. 'Everyone loves Maranon."

She said it and the room repeated stepping forward to join as Sawa watched. Finding herself in the mass of bodies but she stayed focused on Maple's form... something to cling to lest she be lost in the vision without a lifeline. The feeling all around herself was there and stimulation was threatening to break her when she finally managed to pull herself out of it and stood there in the tomb itself gasping for breath. She could feel her heart pounding when she looked over at the woman and had reached out to take her hand. To hold her close while she looked at her face and knew her fangs were in place. Excitement had caused them to snap into place.

Sawa moved closer towards her looking at the woman's eyes and brought her hands up to touch her face. To know her features as she was still feeling it.. Mentally she knew that it had only been the span of a few heartbeats but the vision felt like it had bene hours. THat she had been within the seat of writhing flesh for hours and she understood the dangers of the sith lord herself. She had taken her peoples abilities and spirit of lust, of pleasure to a level few others might have believed... to raise it so far and learn how to break the minds of others was a dangerou things before Sawa spoke carefully and closely enough to leave a trail of her warm breathe.

"I think I know the way out." She did or had an idea the tomb had been fashioned much like her old palace and being in the mind she knew the layout or at least she knew what had been where once upon a time. Waiting a moment and focusing to stroke at her cheek to bring her face close enough to kiss but she nipped at her lower lip. Pulled it gently and traced her cheek bones under the pads of her thumbs. "All that matters is you, she wants us both. to serve her in ways that.... well my sweet Maple use your imagination." Sawa moved into kiss her and her hands went to run through her hair. To enjoy the moment at least as a means to just breath in her scent.

She tried to kiss her, to taste her to massage her tongue with her own as she plunged it into her mouth and focused on the force between them. On the space, on the balance and the darkness that she was using to entice her. She wanted Maple to give into her and not the sith lord herself... It wouldn't be easy, it wouldn't be as fun if she was a servant kept in the lower reaches, made to live and serve and become what she had suspected. Just a body pale and thin that was repeating the visions.. that was lost in the writhing mass of flesh between the females that had been lured here into the cave. Sawa pulled back and ran her tongue over one of her fangs with a small look.

She pulled back fully and had silver eyes looking into hers, could feel a heat in her cheeks that wasn't a game but she allowed the force to caress and sooth when she oticed she was pressed against her. ONe hand in her hair and the other at the smal of her back to try and hold Maple close to her and she was a little to the side. Just enough she could be pressed against her fully. The train of her skirt hiked up in the front near a hand until she moved back a little with a smile on her face. "I am not going to let her have you my sweet without a fight... but fighting a ghost when she has had thousands of years to work on her abilities within dreams and visions... not fun."

She stood there though and fixed her outfit looking up for a moment and offering a hand. "We're stronger together my sweet, at least in here... She wants to divide us, to have us distrust each other and perhaps we should but I am willing to try and survive with you. I've gotten a small taste of you... and I rather enjoyed the taste. I want more if only for a day... an hour.... another kiss. If only long enough to show why you shoudl come and dance with me in the darkness that is your soul. You've already given into lustful thoughts, into the darkside and tasted it... seen it in the visions. Even if you believe your mind is gone you know the intimate pleasures that can come from it."

Sawa backed away grasping for the hand to be in hers while she was moving and leading the way into the passageway. It was designed to have a secret back entrance that once it had been sealed the builders would use to get out for themselves. A method few others did as it allowed them to make the entrance as safely tucked away as possible. Sawa was crouching lower in the dark and she could see with her lower light vision.. she could see the b odies in alcoves that had been down here some for years surviving simply just enough to be alive. The sounds were confirming what she had thought and smelled... the females who had been lured down here were.... imagination.

Sawa though was sneaking past them... leading maple past them and staying quiet whether her hand was in her or not. The feeling of the sith was all around down here, the lower they went the more servants and slaves were engaged in their acts. Different species from the looks of them not just humans but some of the longer lived species as well. She could see the tattoo's had been applied to them as well and remembered for a brief moment what it was... a single body nerve across your entire body that connected to the pleasure and addiction centers of the brain. Sawa moved through the halls into a larger chamber and she hugged the outer wall.

The arches of the inner wall with torches that showed the bodies around them, the different being and int he center there was a statue of Maranon. Her lightsaber, her clothing that bound her spirit here in the cave. The anchor and why she couldn't escape was a problem that could be fixed later. It was behind a shield that was still functioning and preventing others from getting into it. So around the servants were lost in their own actions. Sawa stopped when one was pressed against the wall and almost looking at them with glazed over eyes but didn't say a thing. She was distracted and Sawa moved slowly towards the stairs that still led further down into the depths of the caverns.

Sawa was leading the way into it, she wanted to see it she wanted to try and fight but there was a lot more going on and fighting these things.. it wouldn't be much of a fight. They were in a frenzy and it would be more they are trying to do other things to them. THis little house of horror that was going to be the problem. She wanted to hurry along as the pathway opened up into a larger chamber, partialy carved and partially cave. The servants hadn't been the only things here for the last thousand plus years. Where the dead were concerned.. where Maranon was concerned this was her kingdom that opened up into an underground palace.

Sawa stood there looking at it and there was more... everything within it heralded the sounds of creatures that had been drawn and captured here, of servants and more within her tomb but this was her palace. Where she had managed to have the people drawn and built for her. To house her spirit should she want it to while luring others away into the tunnels full of dangers. Sawa had seen this in her mind when she was speaking to Maple with a nod of her head. "We should be careful, whatever is in there she has had eight thousand years to build this place.. to trap into her service any number of things."

She could se more of it in the distance, thick white walls of irovy... silver and a lattice work down this far of metal that was encrusted with gemstones. When you viewed it just right you could see carnal images and more... The pathways went through a small city almost, large structures that were more like bathhouses, stairs and an arena with ancient creatures that were massive and pulsated the darkside of the force. Sawa could feel it though as she was moving and looked at maple with the sounds of different creatures who were around far below. Her soldiers, her servants and fighters with lumbering creatures bound to the sith lords will and her spirit.

 

[Maple Harte]

"Are you sure its less seductive when you can't wear anything? Because frankly..." Maple trailed as she watched Sawa make her skirt.

"I'm gonna have to disagree.

The tomb, now that it was silent, she could actually take a moment to admire the various reliefs in this tomb. Maranon had been loaded in life...all the jewels...

Maple looked around closely like Sawa did. She had found that bracelet in a crumbled away compartment on the reliefs so maybe the Sith had hidden other stuff. Skip. She was alone in a bunker. The monster had been stalking the passageways. It looked like Sawa. Skip. Maple peered at an inset ruby on the wall, eye occasionally sliding to the vampire discretely. The tombs and their occupants, now sliced apart, stomped, crushed, stabbed juxtaposed between a quiet elegance and the decay it hid. Maranon had been an evil manipulator, and Maple felt little attraction to it or its offer, but mainly because she could feel the tug of the Vampire in her head amidst a thousand other delusions, which ironically gave her a little bit of distance to think even as its darkness tried to entice her.

Her eye fell on a carving of Maranon. She had always despised this sort. It said something when she would take the option of taking the word of someone like Darth Vader over taking the word of someone like Maranon. At least if Vader decided to write you off he would often do it personally. To Maranon, only her favorite toys were the ones worth remembering. If she decided to betray you, you wouldn't get a decent warriors death. You'd get killed from afar with a roll of the eye or the flick of a hand. Nothing personal. Franchise to maintain and all that.

It also said something when Maple would prefer the vampire even if she wasn't already inside her head. At least Sawa was willing to tackle threats personally...when it suited her.

Death by hot vampire. Not the worst way to go.

You give me so little credit dear Maple.

It was Maranon's voice in her head again. She turned to Sawa only to see the vampire frozen in a kind of trance. Maple turned only to find herself before Maranon's court. Maranon sat on her thrown, leisurely eating an apple. Maple found herself clad like the Sith Lady's servants and glared at her as she reclined on her throne.

"I am not that ungenerous. That's the vampire talking. I could show you so much..."

Maranon was next to her suddenly, slicing Maple's hand open with one of her sharp nails.

"Your blood spell was impressive. I have rarely seen a novice pull off such a strong blood spell on their first try. I wonder..." Maranon trailed as she whispered this into Maple's ear.

Maple watched the blood from her hand trail up her arm.

"This spell was one I learned long ago, when I was just starting out. I ripped it from the mind of a young witch who had strayed too far from Dathomir. Its my gift to you."

Maple looked at the information written on it.

"This is a blood spell."

"And a very old one. It works much like these tattoos you see about my servants." Maranon explained as she passed by one of them, stroking the woman's chin as she did. "It might give you a fighting chance. Its a temp version of a more permanent measure but it gets the job done."

"Why should I trust any of this information to be accurate?" Maple asked in a snide manner.

Maranon looked at Maple, the perfectly formed Zeltron chuckling at the mortal woman.

"You're no use to me dead."

"Did you even learn any meaningful lesson from your death?" Maple asked, arms crossed.

"Yeah. Next time remember to be more patient with your more emotional flings. Just breeds resentment if you let the stress of work make you snappy with them."

"I presume you're distracting Sawa again?"

"I prefer the term 'entertain'."

Maranon slid close to her.

"Like I would you if you let me."

Before Maple could respond she felt herself being pulled out of it, staring into Sawa's eyes, her fangs exposed. Maranon was trying to pull her back but Sawa 's lips touched hers and then Maple pulled closer as she kissed the vampire back. The day had not been 'all' bad in truth. Maple felt herself being pulled in just a little bit more by Sawa, felt herself wanting the vampire, even with the situation. She felt her hand through her hair and almost melted into the vampires grasp. She could still taste her own blood on her, giving her otherwise carefree embrace just that hint of subtle lethality. Enough to keep Maple on edge even the taste of the vampire's tongue made her pull Sawa's head closer. She heard her words suddenly as the Vampire pulled back, reminding her how the spirit was still trying to manipulate them both. Oh of course, NOW she reminds her of the danger. Skip. The ship descended into the black hole with her at the helm of a doomed mission. Skip. She was then openly trying to tempt her. Maple had to give Sawa credit, she could multitask.

Sorta like Matsu in a way. Curious, the bounty hunter thought.

"I've been dancing in the darkness for years Sawa. In case my prior words hadn't made it clear, I used to kill people for the Jedi Order. Dancing with you...what would you call this? If not a dance of sorts?"

All of those concerns were brushed aside as she was wordlessly led by the hand through the tomb's hidden passages. Leave it to a Sith to figure out how the tomb of another Sith works. Still the view was nice. But the constant presence of death and corpses hidden in walls ruined a lot of the drive, though that kiss Sawa had given her made her feel a burning passion, something she lacked words to describe. Likely mental manipulation on the vampires part. Then again, Maple was not exactly resisting.

The vampire led her finally into a vast underground network. Maple struggled to control her horror at the state of living death these people endured, Maranon's toys, fixing, expanding, upgrading all throughout until it was a virtual city here. She sensed a thousand hideous dangers as she passed by Maranon's statue, the beauty of the dead Sith clawing at Maple now more than ever. It was evil, this place.

Maple heard snarls and moans as she followed Sawa, keeping silent, going lower into the vast under-palace, past more elaborate walls and bathhouse like structures. But it was all foul with corruption. Even the vampire did not exude corruption the way this place did. Maple hated the place. If cooperating with her fellow jungle cat led to her exit then so be it.

Maple soon spotted a forcefield down one part of the path they were traveling. Elaborate stone chandaliers hung overhead as she approached the red forcefield, which had an offering basin built into the wall next to it. She spotted ancient Sith writing.

"Hey, whats that say?" Maple asked Sawa, stopping her for a moment. "She's herding us, Sawa. If you ask me, its awful convenient we ran into this."

[member="Sawa Ike"]

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

She had to agree to that... they were being herded by the sith through areas of debauchery and so much... she would almost say it was enticing but she had seen some of the parts that they were working on. She could se the statues and the bathhouse... there was another big area like a cathedral everyone could stand around in. Massive glass that had been painted and she had to admit. there was style but Maranon was far to into herself. "I'd say this was impressive but the constant admiration of herself is a little off putting." Not that she was one to judge... she did have several statues of herself but not to this extent.

Sawa was looking at Maple and she raised her eyes towards her... seeing and feling more when she looked at her. Maranon might be hearding them but she was also showing them something between them... it at least allowed them a way to escape from the visions the sith was using. The ability would help them or it would keep them from getting to far drawn in before she stayed going off to the side. THe sounds of the slaves while they worked in the darkness on the rocks and the areas of it. Maintaining it, herding them though. Sawa stood off to the side and she stopped in one of the rooms finding some sort of clothing.

"Well I found some slightly better cloths... maybe." She said it and it looked like something Maranon had been wearing but it was a little more conservative to the eyes in some areas. The metal pasties with chains to connect them around her waist to the sash that covered just enough... down into chain leggings letting her stand barefoot. Her arms were much the same with small shoulder pauldrons with gems and she was covered... pale exposed skin everywhere. Her hair in a small chain that wrapped around her head and kept it out of the way so she would be able to see Maple crossed her arms over her chest.

"So how does it look... pretty intimidating huh." She said it with a dark smile on her face though while walking and hung her lightsabers on the chain belt itself. The twin blades, black lotus and dark sister.... gleaming in the low light with their crimson metal folded into the black itself. So it all looked dangerous. Sawa was walking and stopped looking across the way when she started to read the runes themselves. "She is channeling energy, power from the planet itself into the place.. it is a ritual... one to reconstitute her body itself.... but that requires a great deal of power... more then just the people... you'd need an entire planet."

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple made sure to take a good long look at Sawa. When she asked whether or not it was intimidating, Maple had been too...distracted to answer for about five seconds. Then it registered once she tore her eyes back from it.

"I think you and me have some different ideas on 'intimidating'. Ones we will need to touch base on if we escape," Maple said with gusto. "Because, see, my idea of intimidating seems to involve, you know, the usual stuff. Fires, turbolasers, general horrific screaming, spiked armor plates. Your idea of it...hmmmm... Maple trailed with an intrigued tone in her hum before Sawa explained this place and what it was for.

"She's trying to pull off another karkin' Nathema?" Maple hissed. She knew the legends. So did Maranon, it seemed.

"Sawa, I'm guessing you don't feel much for the people of Katanos. I don't either. But letting a whole planet die...no. I won't have the death of a planet on my conscience. I have to stop her. I have to save them. Even if it gets me killed."

She could not leave this tomb now. Not without stopping this, trapping Maranon somehow. She had woken Maranon up, or so the spirit had claimed. It was her responsibility to keep it from getting out of bed.

She turned to the Force field, looked at the basin.

She squeezed the cut on her palm, let blood drip into it. The field lowered. She suddenly sensed a great darkness from the direction the field led.

Maple looked around, not quite eager to go down that rabbit hole yet. She looked around the vast, chandaliered chamber and spotted what looked like a black, rectangular stasis chamber. Built to preserve things. Or people. She looked and saw other treasures in other sections. Prizes. Weapons disparate enough to make Maple take a guess that she was not the first cave crasher to make it this far, and judging by the lightsabers on display in what Maple was now certain was the treasury room of the actual tomb, neither was Sawa.

She looked back at the force field she had lowered. She could feel the hiss of power, Maranon's lust and cunning thicker than the air almost. Pulsating.

She spotted a weapon. One that kept her attention, for it was like no other in the place. It was long and black, the stock of what looked to be a recreation of a DC Rifle from along with its power mechanisms joined clearly but with precision and expertise to a Nightsister Energy Bow. And next to it a silvery, engraved device of empty but solid looking metal frames, silvery in color. Maple stopped to examine the computer system lock. Two hundred years out of date. Maple pulled her small fusion cutter that she had kept ever since that job with Vainscepter and sliced the control panel open. She looked at the wires, the circuitry, all very out of date, and snorted.

"You'd think with Maranon taking all these slaves she'd have bothered to at least nab a techie to upgrade her software," Maple muttered, though by her own private admission the circuitry and wires were very well thought out and it actually took her longer than she thought it might before she found the right combination of stuff to cut and subvert.

The stasis field lowered and Maple pulled the Arbalest, for she knew not what its original owner had called it, from its rest, along with the other device and a cannister that appeared to be the ammo. She studied it, figured out how the weapon worked, saw what looked like a medium sized windlass on the side and how everything worked. She turned it on and a dark red string of energy joined the bow ends to the modified trigger in the middle. She slung what she realized was an energy shield on the back. Turning back to Sawa, she grinned, a little bit pleased at her find.

"Soooo..." she said coyly, despite the grim situation. "How's this for intimidating? Hot chick, black armor, and crossbows! Maranon won't know what hit her. Well, she will know, because she'll clearly see me doing it...but you know what I mean!" she finished happily with a shrug before starting for the direction that the forcefield led to.

She stopped just before she reached the runes. "I think where this leads is Maranon's actual tomb. Where the real work is conducted. Because if you say these runes speak of a ritual it just would not make sense for it to be conducted anywhere except for where her corpse is the closest. And I'm bettin' its down there, somewhere. And likely guarded fiercely.

She pulled out the trinket Sawa had given her. She smelled Terantatek blood on it.

"Could this be used against her?" Maple asked. "It...feels...like her. She can't be allowed to destroy Katanos Seven. A whole planet for one person...this lady is sick." Maple said fervantly. Skip. Petunias! Skip. Back in the tomb. She felt her toes turn into rats before her stomach turned out to have been a sentient butterfly before she ignored those not-facts and ventured forth.

[member="Sawa Ike"]

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Sawa was looking at her and gave a small gleam to her eyes as she listened. Standing there and waiting until Maple was finished getting set up and ready for anything that might be happening. She laid out what she wanted and she wasn't wrong. Sawa didn't care about the planet it wasn't her beloved home world. It was not her once great empire on the Necropolis... no this was... just another world that held a secret from the past they tried to bury and risked it coming back to make them pay. Sawa moved though looking at Maple and she spoke. "I don't, I can't... caring about thsi world.... these people.... this place.... it is.... it just is."

She said it but was looking at her with a grin apearing on her face though. "Though I care about you and you my sweet Maple are mine. One day you will come to me willingly, you will welcome the darkness within you, you will beg me to release it from you and bring you to th end of pleasure that your flesh will want.... but until that day. I have to protect you... or at least I can't let some other sith seduce you to her purposes. THis zeltron can promise you so many things I am surprised you haven't been twitching on the floor of the cave already. Wanting to give into her advances... Reminds me of someone I once knew a long time ago."

She mused on it but that would be for another time as she was moving to follow Maple and if the woman was going to fight and be around here... then Sawa was going to fight and be around here.. it seemed only right that she stayed to make sure she survived and helped her out. There was a small smile curving her lip though before she was stopping to look over at the city and crouched down low. Seeing the piercing and she spoke. "It could work, though that is more for your." She looked down to indicate without much... just staying around though when her hand came up. "I'll stay and protect you... I'd rather you not be trapped down here with all of these females."

Sawa stayed there though before she was moving into the streets and it looked dangerous but she could feel the force here... drawing all fo the energies towards the central cathedral.... well it was massive and high vaulted arcs with images in the glass they had created. The glow of energy behind the glass, the power radiating from it she could feel when they were going. Winding through the streets and buildings that housed her servants and what appeared to be a type of soldier. From the armor and weapons it was like a collection of the last several thousand years with the earliest towards the center as the weapons got cruder sure but also more numerous.

 

[Maple Harte]

"Well at least you know what you want." Maple conceeded, before Sawa suddenly grinned at her and said she would aid her. Maple grinned back.

"Oh, I know a spin doctor when I meet one. And trust me, it rarely gets more spinny than someone like Darth Maranon. We always put her type at the tip top of the list. Can't let that type get past the early stage of their career, or you get results like this. She's probably more trouble dead than she ever was alive."

Sawa then told her just how...'intimate' Maranon's charm was. Maple blinked, holding the charm before going a little red faced, not being able to stop blushing as she pocketed the charm.

"Well, that was more information than I needed." she said as she walked through the passage, both astounded and flabbergasted that all this had been hiding under the feet of the unfortunate souls above.

"Where is she getting all the materials from?" Maple wondered as she crept through the streets, sticking close to the shadows, Her staff ends slung in a special harness on her armor's back, she aimed through the crossbow scope, looking at the windows of the massive cathedral. The darkness at the center scratched at her fiercely, and only Sawa's own presence in her head kept her somewhat protected, though it only went so far. Especially here. The darkness whispered promises of everything she was already enjoying. She forced herself to ignore it, though it clawed ever patiently at her will as she moved towards the cathedral while hidden in the shadows.

All the while, she began to think.

With all the horrors under here, if Maranon had wanted, she could have made the trip here many times worse. Could have constantly had them on the defensive. She certainly didn't lack for resources which meant...
Maranon wanted them there. That was the only reason it had been relatively easy so far...Maranon had let it be so. Meaning Maranon had possibly one more card to play. But what? This ritual was designed to ressurect her. What did Maranon need them for?

Meanwhile...

Deep within the cathedral, in a black chamber of unholy incantations, watched over by near mindless slaves, the corpse of the real Darth Maranon began to glow. The energies were nearly ready. The spell was a labor of years to simply acquire. And a labor of months just to prepare properly.

The will of Darth Maranon would be done. Soon, the body could be ressurected.

Once Uri and that lovely vampire were here of course...especially Uri, the one who had woken her fully, allowing her to accelerate completion of her ressurection, when before she could only direct them with great effort and simple commands only, trapped in a spiritual slumber.

But no longer...

[member="Sawa Ike"]

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

She could feel it, the darkness around them pressing it the closer they got ... the connection to Maple who seemed to be relying on her to well to basically hold it back. She was using herself to scout around when she could fel the dark presence and ritual in her mind. "Resources could come from somewhere deeper a mine they discovered, from someone that was taken. THey might have had connections enough to serve a purpose and bring the materials here." She said it though while looking and stopped holding Maple in the clear as there were fewer and fewer of the shambling beings. the ones who were int he tunnels and cave above.

She wasn't certain about them but stopped looking up and lead the ay for the two of them while she perched looking down to see some of them moving. "There haven't been any males or children, even in death she is more predictable it seems. Surrounding herself with females, ensures she is the only one being looked at and fawned over but also means she can be endangered. I don't know what visions you saw but I saw how she was betrayed out of jealously among her servants." Sawa saw saying it and in some ways she was like her, preferring servants over those who might serve her out of something more but she at least had fear to keep them in line.

"THis one is dangerous because of what she can impose, her skills at attracting others and binding them to serve her." She sneered though as she waited there and looked at Maple stopping just enough to stand near her seeing the crossbow and her other weapons. "Whatever she is planning though she needs you more then me. I imagine a vampire's age and power could go a long way but rituals like this usually require someone closer. Your blood may need to be used or draining the force energies from you and me might be able to help complete the ritual." That was usually the stickler of it the final push to bind the ritual in place.

 

[Maple Harte]

"Yeah...but why me though, Sawa? Me specifically? What is it about me that woke her? I'm nobody. I was one more killer in a galaxy full of them..." Maple admitted. "I ain't descended from anybody famous. I was a runt they pulled from some home and gave a lightsaber to.

Maple proceeded towards the horrid center of it and very low in her head, so low, Sawa could not hear it, Maple heard the Mind-Binder.

MaranontasteswhatItasteinyoumysweetheart. Myapplemytoymyslavemyweaponmineminemine..."

Maple shivered at its hiss, as she had for years in her sleep. Ironically Sawa made the Dark Side more attractive than it ever had.
Maple had never figured out its purpose. Why it was obsessed with her. Why? She would have cut her own hands off for the answer. Or someone elses. Maple made her way to the center of the great underground city-palace, entering the cathedral entrance ipenly and without opposition most living slaves too distracted or mentally drained to notice them.

Welcome said the seductive voice in their head. Maranon's voice. I'm 'so' glad you could arrive. I've been preparing the festivities for my ressurection. Be near me, Maple...please... it echoed yearningly.

"You sick fiend!" Maple shouted angrily at the spirit. "You'd kill everyone above us! Every one! All so you could breathe for another few miserable decades!"

You know that tired saying about broken eggs, sweetheart. Maple Harte. Go to me. I want to feel you...want to hold you in my arms as I kill all those pathetic little worms above and below us. We'll let the death infuse, lash itself to you. Make you stronger. Make you glorious. Accept me, Maple. Embrace me.

Maple shook away the influence of the sith spirit, pushing forward, even as the whispers from the dark tugged at her soul. She went where she felt the most hopeless. The most pointlessly lust filled. She saw two ancient doors and with a snarl kicked them open and scattered the servants on the other side, preparing Maranon's carefully preserved mummy, a great halo of black flim hovering over them.

"MARANON! FACE ME! I WAS ONCE URI UDINIA, MOST BELOVED OF URSULA'S MARKSMAN! YOU HAVE BEEN MARKED ONCE AGAIN FOR DEATH! I BRING THE COLLAPSE OF YOUR PALACE!" the bounty hunter shouted at the top of her lungs.

The black halo of flame overhead gathered and rammed itself into the mummified corpse. It twitched than stiffly floated up in its decayed finery. Opening eyes consumed by black fire. The corpse gave a twisted parody of a smile in its state of rictus.

"Challenge accepted, sweetheart."

It gripped one of its own priests and flung the screaming man with the force so fast Maple almost could not dodge. She felt her own throat tightenting and she fired the crossbow bolt.

The corpse screached as the heavy bolt blasted part of its side away. It flung bolts of lightning at her, and she only avoided with a burst of force speed before she could fire it off.

Maple dropped the bow and shield. Too heavy. Impractical. She grabbed her staff ends and switched them on as other priests attacked her and [member="Sawa Ike"], with Maranon laughing all the while.

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Sawa looked at Maple as the woman was speaking with a look on her. Where she might be able to moved around and fight. The outfit was strange moving around in it, she could see some of the parts here though as they entered the citadel. She was checking out as she was about to speak and Maple shouted out loud. The force was rippling around here, drawning in the darkside from her though she was watching the servants but they wanting to touch them was strong... No she had to resist. Even with the outfits that they were wearing, what she and maple were wearing it served only to attract her interest.

THen she could her a voice responding and she looked at the situation of it all, the dark master though was looking at it and a sinister grin appeared on her face when they entered the room. SHe coudl see more of the priestesses and servants, slaves who were around but did less to become a danger. The inky film going into the body as it seemed to resurrect and bring Maranon back to fight them... Hmm she might have to remember this should the time ever come when she needs to have her body resurrected. Maple seemed prepared to fight her and Sawa was moving seeing the attackers.

Sawa was moving with the force in her hand as she grabbed one of the attackers her fangs snapping into place and she came to bare on them when she smacked her into another priestess when mAple was engaging Maranon or as much as she could. The sith lord herself was dangerous she could sen se and this far in Sawa could feel it. Pheromones that were in overdrive and she was projecting emotions towards everyone. Lust induced emotions that they might all feel... it was like drowning in a sea of contentment. "Careful." Her sneer appeared before she smacked the limp body into a wall pillar.

She was allowing Maple to fight her but worked to reinforce her mind... whatever Maranon was projecting would be intoxicating if she wasn't burning with a rage itself. Where she could look, where she could go before snapping their neck. It was a feeling in her mind when the sith was trying to seduce them still, she didn't want them to resist or fight back she wanted them to submit and her pride was far stronger in many cases then her wanting for something exciting. Sawa spoke as she looked at the sith who was standing there and her form returning. Skin plumping up, face becoming fuller with lips and eyes that were black with tiny white specs almost like stars.

"You are mistaken, see you can assault our minds, drive us mad with lust, even maybe make us want to submit... but you have forgotten soemthing very important in all of this. Darksiders like me, sith.... have something you can never take away." She said it standing there and her hair blew in the swirling force energy around herself. Her muscles were tighter, thin vains looking like corded metal underneath, her skin paler but with her fangs barred her mouth seemed to elongate when her tongue glided across the teeth. her eyes silver and almost glowing in the darker light when she spoke. "YOU'LL NEVER OVERCOME...... OUR PRIDE!!!." She said it and smashed at Maranon.

 

[Maple Harte]

"Die for Lady Maranon!"

Maple swiftly twisted under a hammer blow, her staff ends gouging through his flesh like paper, spilling blood and viscera all over. Maranon was distracted for the moment by Sawa, but the Sith was projecting that odd lust field that made it so difficult to focus, even with the billion other things going on in Maple's mind, Maranon was still trying to get a grip on Maple's soul. Sawa's..."protection"...was interfering with Maranon's control attempt. But Maranon had admittedly been rather cute once. But Maple liked dangerous women. She drew the line at this, however. Sawa was hot. Maranon was a hot mess. Skip. She was Maranon's head priestess, about to cut out Sawa's heart. Skip. Sawa was Maranon's head priestess, about to cut out Maple's heart. Skip. Everyone was a pony! Ponies! Skip. One of the priests was squeezing the air from her. A red tip burst from the top of his skull.

"Awww I just corrupted him!" Maranon complained in genuine anger as she engaged Sawa, who seemed to have gone the vampire equivalent of trigger happy.

Sawa, had, strangely, come much closer than the Mind-Binder ever had to turning her. Maybe it was because Sawa didn't look like an emaciated faceless freak (As well as aformentioned hotness). But it was weird.

It was almost like...if you peered through the haze, you saw some trace of whatever she had been before this. Maple was curious about that "trace".

What had she been before the fangs? Had she asked for this? Who asks to drink blood from other people to live waaaaayyy after everyone else dies? How would you deal with so much time on your hands?

About the same way she learned to deal with how her delusions could sometimes last centuries in her head, leading to some ancient doom at the end of the universe, and thousand false and lonely voyages.

Maple held out her hand after cutting through three more of the priests with quick twirls and jabs of enhanced staff ends to split them open. She embraced her insanity to connect with the spell, give a better opening for Sawa to strike, do something.

"Mother Nature, a flock of arrows flies towards my foes.

A burst of purple light from her hands and arrow shaped wisps of glowing purple smoke flew through the air, one hitting a priest through his eye, three hitting the left leg of Darth Maranon, shearing the rotting leg off. The Sith Lord gave a scream and began choking Maple with the Force.

Maple fell to her knee, gasping, even as she ducked out of instinct for an axe swing. She impaled her attacker, even as she started to black out from the Force choke. Her vision started to go red.

Maple hurled one of her staff ends at a priest who tried to pick up the Arbalest, as her gagging started to get worse.

"Little...ack...help...!" she choked out at [member="Sawa Ike"].

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Sawa might have disliked the outfit but she could move in it and move quickly as she dodged and weaved against a strike. Hand on one of the throats with a sneer on her face. Silver eyes glowing when she moved around and could see Maranon with Maple. Feel her presence stronger and there was more going on in her head then she was expecting here. Sawa moved as she crouched down to look at Mranon with her leg gone now. A hand going over to her when she grabbed her arm feeling the shrunken muscles when she pulled. The sound of tearing the smell of it as her lipless mouth screamed out. It had Sawa snarling as she couldn't see blood in her veins.

But she could feel Maple there and moved to stand next to her before seeing the others around them. "Stay close." Sawa reached down deep, feeling the heat and energy around her. Hands swirling when she snapped and small ignition points wihtin her palms brought flames, then the flames stayed in the air and she was making rings around them that were flames she sent out. White hot and making the servants scream when they were attacking them. Sawa snarled watching some of it when she looked at Maranon who had lept behind the alter to protect herself. Sawa watched her though before she was motioning with her hand for Maple.

Sawa crouched lower though as she held her saber in her hand. The feeling of darksister in her hand, the blade activating with a snap-hiss the dark blade itself on display when she moved quickly looking at some of the writhing bodies around them. Burned and on fire where they had fallen, others with the smell of scorched flesh she stabbed with the blade seeing the mummified corpse that was trying to fill out. Trying to become living again but she was missing parts of herself now as Sawa stood over her. Eyes locked on and was just waiting. THe pink flesh filling in, the hair going from straw like and rough to soft, her eyes filling in and she was struggling.

"Oh now look at you." She said it and there was the gore, the splattering on the floor as her body continued to revitalize itself. The blood was flowing from her now and the sith lord was trying to move with her leftover limbs. She moved around getting a small smirk on her face. All menace and power when she spoke crouching down. "See your body coming back means you are vulnerable... you wanted us here to feed you, make you stronger yes? You wanted her to willing be your consort but she is already someones and...." Sawa looked at her licking her lips with the fangs appearing. "WHen you became flesh and blood again... want to know what word is the mistake there?"

She said it as the sith seemed to be looking at her when she lunged forward, her mouth widening as the jaw almost unhinged to go to the woman's throat. The force was being pulled from her, blood everything that she had brought back within herself before she moved. She could feel Maple but her eyes were rolled into the back of her skull, her mouth sucking and pulling at the warmth of the zeltron to the point she stopped. There was no blood so she pulled... force energy, heat, power warmth, knowledge. She was taking it all and pulled away from the husk with a snicker. "You had power but I've survived by eting those with power."

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple had been dangerously close to blacking out. The world had a black and red tinge, and it felt like a boot was squeezing on her windpipe.

One guy got close, but she used her last ounce of strength to jam the other end of her staff through the cultists' chest. Then she went limp...but just before the world could go completely black, Maranon was forced to break her hold on Harte.

Maple could not move well for the next few seconds, too busy heaving air into her lungs. Skip.

Ursula Sandraven slammed Uri Udinia to the training mat. Uri couldn't breath. She struggled to heave in air.

"Quick. What do you do? Air's knocked out of you."

Uri was barely coherent. Ursula sighed. She was clad in her form fitting combat suit with a programmable color surface, this time colored bright pink. Uri managed to regain the ability to think after a second, before staring up at the face.

It was Doashim's. The red-eyed, horned demon's head in place of Ursula's.

I cannot talk long, child. Maranon has sufficiently distracted this vampire enough that we might speak.

Uri rose up, dusted herself off.

"This...vampire...is very...'very' powerful."

She is old. The stink of ancient taints and unholy rites brand her essence even now. Surely you would become as wicked as she, were you to embrace her.

"Is there anything in her 'not' wicked?" Uri asked, panting heavy, the pain in the memory, her shoulder almost dislocated, was very intense.

If there is, I don't think she is inclined to listen to it often. Energy Vampires tend towards...callousness...probably a necessity, given what she eats.

"So why the hell is she helping me then?"

Uri, I could not honestly say. Perhaps she wishes to make her new pet like her

"She's risking her life right now."

Of course she is. What other choice does she have? She was caught off guard by all this almost as much as you were. The only way to escape is through the Lich that fixated on you the horn headed spirit moved around with the memory-body of Ursula, hands folded behind its back in contemplation.

Uri, clad in a white training outfit in the memory, sighed. "What do you think my options are?"

Why did you spare her? You have the perfect opportunity to kill, yet it was not her that made you restore her to full strength. That was all you.

Uri sighed.

"I don't know. She's dangerous, and I like that, its just...I guess..."

This mercy of yours may cost you. the spirit cautioned.

Uri looked at the training floor.

"I've spent so very long resisting. Resisting the Mind-Binder. And yet...in all that time...I never understood what the Dark Side was. Maybe...maybe Maranon wasn't without her points. Maybe I need to Re-Understand. Otherwise, whats the point of resisting the Mind-Binder if I'm not even sure I want to resist this one?"

Careful your need to find meaning does not make you a slave to Sawa as much as it would make you a slave to Maranon the spirit warned.

"Sawa Ike is not my first Sith Lord...in an unprofessional capacity, I mean..." Uri said with a grin.

The spirit sighed Ha ha. I saw 'that' joke coming a whole parsec away.

Skip. Maple was barely standing when Sawa worked some sort of fire manipulation ability. Great. The Energy Vampire was a walking flamethrower, because just being an energy vampire wasn't deadly enough these days. Now they had to be able to drink AND broil you. She saw the feral excitement, the joy in the face of [member="Sawa Ike"]. It both fascinated, terrified, and repulsed her all at once. She watched as they burned. As they all burned, as the lich, desperately trying to restore itself the ritual barely starting to work. They stopped this now or Katanos Seven died. Maple could feel the whole place awash in the darkness trying to seduce her even now. She forced herself to remember Katanos was at stake, even as she staggered, barely coherent, slumping against the wall. She was spent, but not so spent that she didn't see Sawa's whole karkin' jaw detach to feed on the Lich. Sawa must have a cast iron stomach, because Maple knew that drinking the blood of a lich in the process of regenerating sounded like some sort of messed up reality holo-vision show. Maybe it tasted like chocolate to her. Maranon snarled, struggled to free herself, but Sawa's tough grip made the corpse wither rapidly, the spell collapsed completely.

"Maaaaaple...help me..."

Maple stared at her, disgusted by it, but, she figured, if she could cut Sawa a break, who was a killer as herself...

...why not cut Maranon one?

Maple held out Maranon's trinket.

"Oh c'mon..." the lich begged.

"You either rot in your own jewelry, or her stomach. C'mon, y'know you gotta.

The Lich snarled in rage, another few seconds and none of it would escape.

"KAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKK!" the Lich screamed, a black wisp of flame, not strong enough to possess Maple but just small enough to inhabit the jewel infused itself inside, coiling in rage and weakness. No longer strong enough to influence anything. Or anyone.

Maple slid against the wall, dropping the trinket as it grew hot.

The lich looked completely drained. Rotted. Dead.

Maple sighed.

"Ironyyyyyyyyyy..." she joked at the vampire.

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Sawa could feel something along the back of her neck as she finished up and felt the last vestiges of the force leaking away from the sith lord herself. She turned to see Maple and raised an eyebrow as she was returning to normal. She felt her features return to normal before walking over and looking towards Maple. "It is done?" She asked it... maple despite being well enraptured with the idea of a naked atrisian vampire.... was also the more human. She could tell the world itself. If they had saved it wthen it would be good for them before she was looking at a few other things. "We should have saved the planet as you wanted sweetie."

Sawa stood there and she could feel excited... like every tiny hair on her body was dancing practically with energy. Sawa turned to look at the woman though while she walked around the room looking at the bodies. THe small areas of flame she was dousing with water from around them. SMall basins she could use with a larger look on her face that she wanted to ensure nothing would prove a problem. "The best way to get rid of the problems here is going to be to... burn it all. We'll burn the caves, the remains of everything and anything that could get in the way. THese people are not much more then shambling corpses at this point."

She did offer a small smile though towards Maple as she spoke. "Then we can go someplace to rest up, you my dear have had a trying day... more so then many. Let me take you to a sanctuary where no one fights per the rules." She had Pandamonia and it was well established the rules of non violence... inside. If you wanted to fight each other and kill each other well blood on the sand was your choice. Inside though it was follow the rules of the eldest thing within the bar. "I have a place we'll be safe restoring our energies." She could get them to their ships though heading over to her before her face changed. "We did it."

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple pulled herself up, she looked around the dead chamber full of dead things.

"That is literally the best suggestion I've heard since...last week...ow...I'm too tired to joke." Maple muttered, pulling herself up and picking the cooled off trinket Sawa had given her. Maranon's spirit was silent within. But Maple knew its pride was not yet broken.

Maple looked around the dark chamber, the taint of the Darkness seeping into her. She resisted, retreated inward, inward to her madness. Skip. She had never left the Jedi Order, and Sawa wasn't a vampire. Skip. The Mind-Binder had turned out to be Sawa all along. Skip. Maple was back in the chamber. Katanos would not die.

And...

...and Maple had met Sawa...

And better yet, Sawa had a bar to relax at. Maple could certainly use a drink, as Sawa could, no doubt. Wait, Sawa was a vampire: They could ALWAYS use a drink.

"I swear, this business just keeps finding new ways to become insanely violent." The bounty hunter said exhaustedly, picking up her weapons, her sharp green eyes weary and sullen from the violence. She would rather have not killed anyone today, in truth. But the Sith and their damn murder-tombs. Couldn't go two months without hearing some long, drawn out horror story of some poor sonavablaster accidentally coming across one. Tombs were like ant infestations on some worlds. Especially murder-tombs like this.

She felt the surge of the Dark Side as the control Maranon had over the other creatures in this tomb faded. They needed to leave soon. And not just because all the abominations they had not run into were going to be out of control soon with no Maranon to guide them, but also because this vampire intrigued her.

And that trace of whatever she had been before lingered. And Maple wanted to get at that trace, for it called to her, strangely.

She liked Sawa. Even with all the terrifying stuff today. She liked her enough she was even willing to overlook the earlier mind control attempts/successes. That was just how business happened in the jungle sometimes. Someone tries to show messed up illusions and stuff to one, and that one ends up lightsabering some completely unrelated individual, than goes back and tries to use emerald fire or Force Light. It just went on and on.

Plus Super Hot almost naked Energy Vampire!

"C'mon, lets pilfer anything we can from this place...I get the feeling we won't be coming back here. I hate these murder-tombs. Always monsters and zombies and zombified monsters and Cyborg Count Dooku, who is the most awesome form of Count Dooku..." she trailed into one of her tangents. She stopped herself before she could start talking any further without lucidity.

Maple set to work on looking at points to start a fire and have it spread from this tainted cathedral...

Later On...

They had started the fires carefully, methodically, collapsed once they were sure it spread. Maple had of course genuinely made a go of trying to free Maranon's slaves, but they had been under her power so long, their minds were unusable mush without her. Mercy killing them was the only way to free them. Some had just lain where they had fallen, having not the free will to move any longer without motivation. Maranon's final cruelty. Maple had second thoughts about sparing the spirit, but really had no room to do so after giving her blood to help Sawa. Besides, if Maranon had been simply destroyed, she would have no cause to reflect on what had led her to being entrapped in her own jewel.

Katanos was still a dust covered hell hole above. Everyone totally ignorant of what she and Sawa had barely prevented. She was glad of that. She had pilfered some select treasures from the tomb and after walking through the dust fields to her ship after collecting on the original job she was pleased to find that the Silent Erika intact, its black chromium gleaming even under the layer of dust. Maple, carrying a good deal of loot in a sack made of dead priest clothes, had practically sprinted to it.

"Home again...hello my lovely bird, did you miss me?" she asked her ship as if it were an actual pet with wet eyes. The Silent Erika was the only place she felt truly safe. She was up the hatch, throwing weapons and loot aside as she reached the cockpit, doing engine checks and powering everything on. She ran back to the entrance to wait up for [member="Sawa Ike"]. The Silent Erika hummed with life, and she felt the mental filth of the tomb slide from her spirit, though the spirit clung tightly to its newly formed connection with the vampire.

"Lets blow this place! I hate Katanos!" she called out playfully. "You see one cloud of dust in this place, you see 'em all! Lets party! I hope you're good at darts! I'm GREAT at darts! I was a Marksmen!"

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Maple Harte"]

Sawa looked around as they had been setting the fires with a small look. Most of the riches were well just that riches and she could do a great deal with them if she wanted to.... but taking all of them would prove difficult. INstead she went with a small sack cloth full of coins, jewels and a couple other things. A dagger with a golden sheath, a pearl comb but what drew her interest was a necklace and some bracelets along with anklets. "Perfect." All of them seemed to look like they went together. Her cloth in one hand as she continued forward and drew a blade from one of the women who was there writhing and crying on the floor.

She was atrisian, bearing the sigil of a clan thought lost. Hunters of vampires, ghosts and any number of strange or supernatural creatures that the galaxy had. THey defended Atrisia but she wanted the blade. It looked promising before she was following Maple out and setting some more fire. THe SIlent Erica was her destination when she approached standing to her full height with a grin. Setting the loot aside and moving up to the woma in the ship. "Come my sweet." She flashed back to something... there had been another like this... standing at the top of a ramp waiting for her once and she mirrored this. She had felt like this before.

Her stomach clenched, her heart skipped a beat for a moment, wrapping her arms around her. She was having two visions, one of Maple standing there slender and strong.. the other... she was gliding a hand across both of them, thumb tracing the cheekbone and jawline before she moved in for a kiss. Catching her own breath but pressing close to mold into her arms. "Come on my sweet. There is time now for us and..." She trailed off remember all of it, just letting herself pull away and set the course for Pandamonia. The bar was secured and out fo the way. A safe place, an area where the miners came though could feed them.

"We'll go and have a drink to celebrate." Sawa sat down and looked at the outfit with a raised eyebrow. Dark SIster and Black lotus were on her hips but she ran a finger down her stomach to her naval with a small kaiburr crystals shard gleaming. "Oh my sweet, your ship is very nice. What do you call it and perhaps you want me to keep this outfit for you. TO remember all fo the fun times we almost were turned into slaves of an ancient sith lord or skewered on her pets claws." A smile was on her face though when she stretched herself out ready for anything that might be coming to them or where they might go for their next adventure.