Twisted and Strangled

[Nikolas Faselli]

"What are you doing now?"

She felt pain in her head just as if a really sharp needle had pushed into the deep core of her brain. The man seemed to want to get inside his mind and do something there. She wouldn't let it happen. Not anymore.

"Get out! Get out!"

Her hands covered her legs and she turned into a cocoon. It was a way to protect herself.

"Leave my brain!"

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

The smile broke into a grin - oh it felt GOOD to get inside a mind like this again.

"Roll about all you want, girl, you'll only make me go - "

Krius bit his bottom lip and twisted his hand.

" - deeper."

Dark eyes closed as he burrowed into her mind with the Force to pull on the pain - the fear - the blood that fell from her body as the tubes went into her flesh and the machines blinked beside her broken body writhing on the table.

"Oh...oh my...they hurt you GOOD didn't they!"

[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Emma started to cry. And not just a normal cry, but a hysterical one. She felt all the pain inside her head as if she had put under the machines again -- like she would have been performed these tests on again. She fell down on her right side, into the warm light sand, and started to wiggle there. It was too much for her to handle.

Her heart pumped seemingly more than thrice in a second, his breathing seeming even faster. She was about to throw up and her mouth started to fill up with some bitter white foam.

"Please make it stop!"

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Kneeling up as she rolled, Krius tilted his head back and sighed, twisting his hands and feeling what he could from her pain - penetrations, cuts, operations, stitches....

"No, no, no you don't nasty people to stop treating you like dirt if you say PLEASE."

He suddenly stopped and hopped forward, quickly kneeling beside her, and placed his hand on the side of her head. Krius waited for a second, and slipped the knife of the Force into her mind again.

"You've got to prove you want them to stop - or they will keep doing it again...and again..."

Then he pushed down on her head harder, into the sand.

"...and AGAIN!"


[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Argh...

"Stop!"​

She shouted as loud as she could, tried to stand against the man, do whatever she could. But combined with the panic attack, all of her tries were worthless. Her vision started turning darker and darker, it felt like her body was left without the support of blood or oxygen. Breathing and heart beating seemed to be completely useless at that moment.

"Why?" she managed to muffle.

And then her vision turned completely black, limbs fell aimlessly on the sand, and her eyes closed. She lost her conciousness.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Krius looked around at a passing cruiser over the water, as the resistance under his hand gradually became weaker and weaker...and then stopped. Confused, he looked down at the girl who was lifeless and still.

"Well you proved my point didn't you."

Wiping his hands, he leant on his knee and twisted his head to look at her. In peace, she was pretty, but bore a canvas of small bruises and cuts that was obviously a drawing board for those wanting to know something...but what? Maybe it would be humane of him to snap her brainstem right now so he would never wake up and continue living her nightmare.

Cupping his hand gently on the back of her neck, Krius readied himself to kill the girl.

"Somehow...somehow...I don't think you know just what you could be. Your journey doesn't end here."

Much like he had left the little worm Matsu Xiangu to die when he should have finished the job to prevent her riding the power and glory that was HIS - his fingers dug into the flesh of her neck gently - maybe he could get something back by saving a life.

He pulled his hand away and pulled her jacket around to keep her warm. She would be ok, and come to in time with a head feeling worse than if a Ronto had walked over her - but she would be alive.

With no sign of company on the sands around them, Krius moved back a few yards where the grass and sand started to mix and sat down, exhaling, watching the waves in the distance lap on the sands, the still body of the girl in front of him. It was almost a picturesque sight.

[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Emma opened her eyes after a while. It had not been a simple faint this time like she usually had. It was more -- true unconsciousness, darkness, the feeling of dying. While she couldn't feel much during that time, she did have some kinds of 'dreams', so to speak.

"Why?" she whispered.

Of course she had no idea that the man was still there. She hadn't seen him going a few yards away from her and sitting down there. As soon as she had opened her eyes and didn't see the man anymore, she thought he had left.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

It felt like hours, but was only minutes before the girl stirred and mumbled something from the sand. Krius leaned on his knees and rested his chin on his arm, watching the world go by again.

”Good question. Why anything. Why did I let you live? Why didn’t you fight back? Why why why."

Blowing out his cheeks, he let his eyes fall to the body, stirring on the sand.

"Why are you so weak when you’re evidently strong?"

[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"And who do you think you are? Why do you think you can judge me?"

She was feeling the strength she had inside building up and breaking through the wall of social anxiety. She could almost feel her emotions starting to flow out of her. And she loved the feeling.

"Maybe you had a perfect life. Maybe your childhood wasn't as traumatic as mine, but that doesn't matter my tragedies didn't happen," she spoke while sitting up again. She didn't look at the man, though.

"Sometimes the weakest are those who can't show out the tragedies of their past."

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

”God stop going on holding the strings of the past will you? I'm surprised you've been gifted with the Force because you act like a parasite. All negative and thinking the galaxy owes you a favour because you've had a bit of a hard life."

Krius waited, and relaxed his arms by his side, leaning on the grass.

”Why are you still here then? Why don't you climb to that observation tower and jump. Let yourself go and just end it. Save us all the time because right now you're doing NOTHING to warrant anyone giving you any respect, so well done."

[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"Who the kark told you I want to die? Did I, just for once, mentioned I don't want to live anymore?"

Emma felt her face turning bright red, but she just couldn't hold anything in anymore. She wanted to burst out all of the energy, ever little fraction of emotion inside. And then she would see how things go.

Anxiety levels had turned down to a complete zero.

"Your ignorance of emotions just proves what kind of a person you are. You don't even have the slighest of sympathy for anybody and all you can think of are your selfish thoughts!"

She stood up.

"I may be annoying with my sad life, but I would have never even started talking about it had you not asked. It's your own problem. You're the root of the issue here, not me."

Feth, she only hoped the man would understand.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Krius looked up at the girl with a curious gaze in his eyes pertaining to that of a baby Ewok than a grown man.

”You didn't tell me you wanted to die. Your soul did that when I peered into it. Your body language; your defeatist words...everything about you just screams you don't want to be you anymore."

Ironic that he had felt the same hours ago. Little to live for, nothing left to give. It had taken a jolt to get his spark going, and she was helping keep it burning, little did she know.

”And me, selfish? Well I'm sorry you think that."

Pushing up from the grass, he shook off the sand and smiled at her broken little body.

”Well, then, I guess you're ok to look after yourself now. I'll remove the problem and see how long you last. Good luck out there, with yourself."

He snorted a little laugh, and turned to walk back up the beach from where he came, using the Force as he swept his hand to kick up a wave of sand before him. Just because he could, and it felt good.

[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"You don't have to leave, you know."

She sighed. Her emotions started to stabilise and get back to normal, just the way she preferred. And even though her inside strength had made her able to stand against yet another bully, she kind of regretted letting it happen. She didn't want to get into trouble again, it seemed like the man's leaving only happened out of pure luck.

"We can change the subject if you want to. Just to get away from the issue and have a pleasant conversation," she shouted to the stranger. Huh, she hadn't even learned his name.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

He was only a few steps away before she called him, and Krius smiled, still facing away.

”And the little fly comes back tooooo the web," he muttered under his breath as he turned.

With a shrug, he ambled back along to the girl.

”I’m not good at pleasant conversation, to be honest."

Getting closer to the girl, he did what he always had done to earn a sliver of trust.

”Krius, at your service."

His hand came out for hers.

[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

The girl stood up, took the man's hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Krius! I'm Emma."

Then she let go of the hand which had been so difficult to hold. She had not had much of pleasant physical contact with other people in her childhood, so it was a new experience.

"You talked about how those not sensitive to the Force don't see Force users as equals or something along these lines. What makes you think that way?"

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Krius shivered slightly, the bane of his existence brought up for conversation – those parasites without the Force.

”Emma. Walk with me."

Turning to go back up the beach with her beside him, Krius had to watch how he worded his vision so not to suffocate her too quickly.

”When you’re brought up in a world where non Force users shoot down those with the Force to make a point, say, your Mother, those things tend to stay with you. And then, each day after that, you see them building war machines, thieving, trying to buy freedom and take the gift that we are born with and label us as freaks."

He looked at her.

”I bet those who hurt you were acting without the Force, wanting to pull you open like a doll and see what was happening on the inside, just because society deems us different."

Kirus gave a heavy sigh and shook his head.

”Different. We’re not different. We can just help others if they’d let us. I just want to help those like me to live a strong and confident life."

[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Emma nodded while walking along Krius and listening to his tale. He had a reason to hate those who couldn't use the Force like these two could. And she quite felt something inside because of that. No, not empathy. She couldn't feel that. But more like sympathy. A lesser version of it, but still.

"I don't understand you, I must say. None of my other family members are Force-sensitive. And I just learned that I am... from you."

She sighed.

"But I know how people -- who are, well, not the mainstream citizens -- are treated sometimes. It doesn't feel very good."

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

He frowned a little at her response.

”You mean you didn’t know?"

A flick of the eyes showed his irritation and displeasure at someone ignorant of their ability.

”Well it’s good you’ve found your gift, and it’s now more than ever you need to learn how to use it, to protect yourself and become someone great. Do you want to make a difference for others like you who have been treated badly?"

[member="Emma Norewood"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"Umm, yes, I think so..."

Her eyes couldn't stay looking at one place, even though she tried to keep them on the man.

"At least I want to bring balance and peace to the galaxy, if that's what you mean."

It was no surprise Emma had no idea of what to do with the abilities. She didn't know how one could use them or what could be done using just these powers. Neither did she know much of different philosophies.

[member="Krius Syonis"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

She was coming down on this the wrong way – she was too placid, and for someone having such a painful past, she was far too hopeful for his liking.

”No, right – “ he moved in front of her and held up his hand,”- listen, there is no balance, there IS no peace, there never has been and that’s the problem with all those idiots who think they can achieve it.”

He turned her sideways to look out at the ocean and he stood behind her, pointing to the purple sky.

”The Jedi and Sith have destroyed worlds, enslaved people like us to fight their eternal war which will never, ever end. New slaves will rise and take the place of those who fall and it is one, long boring cycle. WE need to show that we are Masters of our own destiny, and we are the ones who can bring balance against those who try to use us to make their own vision of peace."

He rested a hand on her shoulder.

”If you look beyond the path you THINK you should take, you will see the one you WANT to take.”

[member="Emma Norewood"]