Private The Mist

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

The mouth of the beast tugged up into an eerie smirk after Kahlil had severed his chain and withdrew what remained. Valery was left on the ground for a moment longer, but already pushing herself back up. She felt weaker, but still more than ready to fight. So why had it let go of her? it didn't make any sense to Valery, who was breathing heavier and drew a blade up to defend herself against the silhouettes.

And all of them turned to face her.

"Claim her," the scratchy voice of the beast said before its snappy, almost robot-like movements had it turn towards Kahlil. Then it froze, and Kahlil would feel as if it was staring straight into his soul. Its chain lowered, and the beast let it fall to the ground before suddenly accelerating towards the Jedi Master with speed incredible even for a trained Force-sensitive.

Sharp claws and teeth revealed itself, and with just one hit-and-run, it tried to carve up as much as it could of the Jedi.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil narrowed his eyes as he balanced his stance. He didn't trust this in the slightest. Claiming her? He clicked his tongue before leveling out his blade. And smirked, even. "I'm the only one that claims her, you know." Then it moved. He would've blinked in surprise if he had the time to, but his body reacted faster than his mind. He moved, twisting away to safety from the creature's claws. He didn't even have the time to counter.

That's not a good sign.

"It's of the Dark. Use the Light."

He again leveled his blade, taking a breath in the process. This wouldn't be easy, huh.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"I'm the only one that claims her, you know."

Why was she blushing right now? This place was creepy, dark, and dangerous, but he still managed to make her feel warm and fuzzy inside with what he said. It also made her smirk and somehow sharpened her focus as the silhouettes approached her. Kahlil, meanwhile, was forced to handle... whatever that thing was, and it moved fast.

Its attack may have missed the Jedi Master, but a tree right next to him had been shredded apart — only a small testament to how dangerous this thing was.

"I think it's after you. I've got these..." She watched silhouettes with their distorted faces getting closer until there was no way she could let them take even one more step. She lashed out with her blade, only to watch it pass right through the silhouette without causing any harm. The hand of the silhouette passed into Valery's side, and she let out a yelp of pain before jumping back and tapping her body.

Nothing - no blood, no injury.

"These seem to be immune to lightsabers too..." she said, her voice a little bit strained, but with her same confidence and strength still.

The beast had meanwhile turned around and tossed its chain towards Kahlil, but even a small sidestep would allow it to miss. Instead, it wrapped itself around a tree behind him with absurd speed, before coming back around in an attempt to wrap around his neck from behind.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"They're spirits. You should know how to handle them, Mrs. Shadow."

He teased openly and willingly, even as he faced down the literal horror before him. It was all part of who he was, his style. And more Dun Moch than he'd normally admit. He did dodge the chain as it came, but the moment it tried to wrap around his neck from behind his blade was there. He'd already learned he could sever it with the light. And now there wasn't anything in his way to stop him. He rushed forward, bringing his blade around for the creature itself.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"They don't look like spirits," Valery huffed with a pout on her face while she stood ready to face down those coming after her. They wanted to claim her, huh? Well, she was about to share a piece of her with all of them, but not in a way that they'd like. Her hand came up, and from deep within, the Light began to pulse out from the palm of her hand, lashing out at the darkness and slowly withering it away.

It was effective, but there were a lot of them, and they were coming at her from all sides.

At the same time, Kahlil deflected and destroyed the chain the beast used to try and ensnare him, but there was more to his plan than this attack. As Kahlil charged forward to lash out, he raised his lantern and it glowed a bright green, as it attempted to pull the Jedi Master into this cage. Once inside, there was no way out, so he could he resist?

It felt as if every fiber of his being was being ripped apart by this artifact.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil narrowed his eyes as he felt the tug against him. Pain. It was certainly unnatural, whatever the pull was as it tried to drag him in. And he let it. Rather than try and fight against the pull he leapt forward towards it. And grinned right at the creature as he did so. No hesitation, no need to be worried. He brought up his blade as if he was ready to strike it down. Instead he reacted with the Force.

A series of runes flashed around him. Stasis, freeze, contain. The rune on his spine similarly lit right up as he simply froze the object in time.

Or, more accurately, removed it from the current flow. With the pull gone Kahlil brought his blade right for the creature's chest.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Of all the things Kahlil could have done in response to the creature's lantern, it had clearly not expected this. The lantern was still in its hand, but the effect it had was no longer there, nor could it feel the souls of those still trapped inside. It did not understand, and by the time it was forced to act, it was already too late. Kahlil's blade lashed out across its chest, resulting in a deafening screech before the lantern was dropped onto the ground.

Without it, and without the chain, it no longer had any weapons beyond its own body. It became desperate and realized that the man in front of it was far too equipped to deal with this.

So instead, in a final attempt to turn things around, it sped up again with its unnatural speed, but not for Kahlil. It charged at Valery from behind while she was blasting spirits with Force Light, hoping to take her by surprise.

But the Dyad warned her.

With an elegant spin, Valery turned and directed a single blast of Light toward it — not enough to kill it, but it was meant to send it stumbling back toward her husband. "Now!" she called out, but she already knew the outcome.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Too late."

It stumbled back, and Kahlil was already there, blade up and ready. He didn't hesitate, instead bringing the blade down in a flash of Light to outright behead it once and for all. It was time to put an end to this horror.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

The moment Kahlil's blade swept down toward the beast's neck, it knew it was over. The head was separated from the torso, and with the deafening caw of birds, the rest of his body exploded into dead leaves and branches, showering the area with its remains. The scarecrow, or whatever it was called, was no more and with its presence gone, the silhouettes that remained were all sucked back into the lantern.

The only artifact still there, and still tied to this horrific place.

"Good job," Valery said before she plopped down with a heavy sigh. "Do you feel... drained too?" She asked as she took just a moment to rest before her gaze shifted to the lantern.

"What uh, do we do about that thing? I worry what happens if we destroy it."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Absolutely drained."

Kahlil let out a sigh as he just plopped down with his blade extinguished. He was tired. Extremely tired. Being drained of the Force was never a sensation he appreciated, especially out and about in a place like this. There was no fall back point, no real escape. The next time they went and did something like this they needed to make sure they brought their own ship and didn't just step through a doorway.

Or at least learn how to use the doorway themselves.

"We purge it with the Light. Whatever it is, it seems to have absorbed the souls of those lost. They shouldn't be left to suffer."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Valery literally crawled over to him and sat down beside him, just so they could lean against each other for support. The mist was still around them as well, and they were drained, but the true darkness was gone, and their senses weren't as impaired anymore. Just the lantern remained of the evil they fought, and Kahlil wanted to purge it with the light. Valery had done this countless times as a Jedi Shadow and looked up at him with a smirk.

"You sure? There's no guarantee that they'll be set free. But then again... the alternative of leaving them there is a guaranteed hell for them." She sighed, pushed herself up, and walked over to the lantern. Kahlil could more than likely purge it too, but he had been kept busy by the big beast, so she felt it was only fair if she took the reigns now.

Her hand came up once more, and withering blasts of Light began to chip away at the darkness of the lantern. At first, they'd only feel it weaken but there was no visible change at all... until the glass on the sides cracked, and a green mist began to flow out. Valery blinked, took one step back, and looked over her shoulder. "You think I did it-"

With deafening, high-pitched screeches, the distorted faces that represented the souls burst out, and flew around Valery, leaving her with an empty, cold chill in her body. But she wasn't the real target — she wasn't as drained. All of them fought each other on their way to Kahlil, hoping to take his body to finally be living again.

And to make him kill the other.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Oh.

Kahlil blinked slowly as he watched the spirits as they were released. Angry, distressed shades. He should've expected this. They'd been sealed away and now free, who wouldn't want to live again. He raised a hand to bring the Force around him once more to try and halt it, but it was too late, too drained. "Chit." It was all he could get before he felt himself impaled by dozens of grasping hands.

He fell back on the ground, unmoving.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Love?!"

Valery was clearly panicking, as she ran over to her husband, dropped down to her knees, and brought both her hands onto his shoulders. She began to gently shake him but got increasingly more intense when he just stayed there, unmoving. The panic made her heart beat uncontrollably fast, and she just didn't know what to do.

She wasn't thinking straight.

"Please, wake up," she pleaded as a hand shifted over to gently slap against his cheek. "Come on, not like this. We'll get you out of here and it'll be fine. Just... wake up." She leaned in closer to check for a pulse and rested her ear against his chest to try and figure out if he was okay.

"Kill her."​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

​

He was in a daze. Unconscious, being torn apart from the inside out by how it felt. Gnashing teeth, clawing hands. They wanted to take him over. He could feel that much as they assaulted him. They clawed at his consciousness, trying to take over his sight, his motor control, all of it. Kahlil wasn't responsive in the slightest to what Valery was doing.

"Kill her."​

"No."

Kahlil sat up after a moment, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. Frowned just a little in the process. He felt.. Pain. A lot of pain. The spirits within him were desperately vying for control. Perhaps it would've been different if they hadn't demanded her death of all people. Perhaps if she wasn't so close. The Force flexed under his direction as he instead dragged it into himself, and let the Light do the rest.

Once the spirits were gone, he turned to her, blinking slow.

".. Did you slap me?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Valery sat right on top of him by the time he suddenly sat up, and blinked now that she was in his lap. The darkness of the spirits assaulting him faded very rapidly, and she could feel him through their bond. He was almost as confused as she was, but not because of what happened.

".. Did you slap me?"

"...There was a bug on your cheek."

She smiled stupidly and pressed her lips shut for a moment, before shoving him back down against the ground. She remained right on top and just pulled him into a hug like this. It took a lot less effort than standing up, and she could just wrap herself entirely around him.

"I thought they got to you," she whispered with a sigh of relief. "But I'm glad you could resist."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Doubt was clear on his face but he didn't make a point of it. Instead, though, he blinked as he was suddenly pushed back though. And hugged. That brought a chuckle and a smile to his face. He wrapped his arms around her in turn, gently squeezing as he brushed his hand over the back of her head.

"Eh, I'm not sure if I'm really that capable of resisting that. It's.. Not something I thought about. I figured it'd be more like my whole mind thing. .. It's alarming, to say the least. If these spirits were stronger I don't think I could resist it."

For all his experience and desperate learning over how to control a soul, he was laughably susceptible to possession. Or perhaps that was just a scar from the mark Darth Carnifex had once put on him. His smile softened for a moment before the grin came back in force.

"Well, whatever. That's another creature down! We should celebrate!"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

When his arms settled around her, Valery really didn't want to get back up anymore. The hand that gently ruffled through her hair made her feel warm and safe, and the beating of his heart against her own chest was just as soothing. "How did you push them out, then?" she asked, but just by tapping into their bond, she found her answer and blushed a little. "Well, maybe we should work on it. I've been taught how to resist it as a Shadow and... I don't want to end up losing you to an attempt like this."

Luckily, most Sith and dark siders tried to take someone over through mind control, which he was practically immune to. But the idea of a soul or entity possessing her husband was... disturbing.

Valery then looked up in time to catch his grin and laughed a little when he talked about celebrating. That did sound like a very nice idea, and she had a few things in mind.

"Celebrate, hm?" she pushed herself up but made no move to get off of him, and straddled him instead. "got anything in mind for it?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"They told me to kill you and I said no."

He shrugged nonchalantly. There was more to it of course, but that was the basis of it all. Instead, he just smirked and flipped them over. "Let's not think about that and instead think about what we're going to do when we're done celebrating to get home, mm? Well, we can think after the celebration."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Mist

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"You did? I'm very glad," she teased with a grin but it didn't last very long, as he suddenly flipped her onto her back and towered over her. Valery bit down on her lower lip and placed her hands against his chest while she looked him in the eyes. "I thought you were drained - you sure you can handle this?"

Her turn to tease.

"I agree, let's first... celebrate." Valery leaned in and pulled him into a kiss...

...
"You were not drained," Valery said as they stepped back into the Sanctuary. Her hair was a mess and she looked even more weary, but she also had a grin from ear to ear. Now that they were back, though, she turned to the statue and their earlier questions came back to mind.

"Should we uh, try to learn a little more about all of this now we have the chance? Or itching to go home?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Mm. Maybe you should've taught that last one how to properly suck the life out of someone."

He spoke with a straight face as they returned back. He glanced to the statue, giving it a brief nod of his head before he laughed. Questions now? No. Nope. He just wanted to get home at this point. He was pretty exhausted after that kind of battle. After the fight.

"Let's get home, Val."

Valery Noble