Venris next found his way blocked by a loose arrangement of stone and ice concealing a light source beyond it. He pressed himself against the wall and began to push, groaning with the strain after a few moments as the wall began to rumble. Taking a step back, Venris held his hands up and collected a bubble of concentrated force between his palms, shaping the orb with his mind and hardening it as he had been taught to during his training with the Force Barrier technique.
Exhaling, Venris thrust the orb forward and watched as the wall shattered, pieces flying outwards and revealing a new chamber beyond. He ducked through the new opening and jumped down, dropping ten feet before landing on a snow caked floor. He took in the sight of a vast, round chamber that possessed a series of stone walkways and platforms that stuck out of a mirror like surface of water that somehow was not frozen despite the walls of the chamber being partly composed of ice and the temperature having dropped once again.
He was close now...he could feel it as he had before. The crystal that had been meant for him all those years ago had called out to him from beyond his sight, urging him closer and becoming more clear with every step. He began to cross the nearest pathway, gazing down at the water.
You have faced your anger...you have conquered your guilt...can you surpass your fear now?
"Fear?" Venris whispered. "I fear many things, you may have to be more specific."
Rather than reply with words, the cavern manifested a door way at the end of his path. Venris reached out and pushed the double doors open, stepping through into a familiar scene from a few months ago. It was the tavern where the crew had gotten into a fight with a group of pirates, and it had ended with them taking over the tavern entirely and sending the sorry privateers packing. Now however, things seemed....different.
He saw Vassara close by, drained of her spirit and forced to serve and amuse the cretins who had, in this twisted reflection of his world, succeeded at inducting her as they had tried to do in real life before she had blown their heads off. She looked like she was in a trance, shuffling between ends of the tavern where ever her new masters took her. He could see Stardust there with her before he managed to tear his gaze away from them both.
Tyranus sat in the corner, his armour dented and stained with blood, his light saber resting just out of reach of a nerveless hand as his head rested on the table, passed out and drunk, dreaming of days of glory and honour.
Zavzen was curled up in an alley outside, clutching his head and weeping as his mind slid further and further towards oblivion.
All throughout Tortuga Venris saw members of the Fleet that he had come to see as friends and more were in varying states of decay and misery. The entire time some unknown force drove him, step by step, through the city, forcing him to view them at their lowest before returning to the tavern. As he walked back in and collapsed to his knees like a marionette with its strings severed, he saw them at the far end of the room. Sedita was standing behind Vassara, who seemed entirely unaware of anything around her in her current state. The Sith Knight looped one arm around her waist and curled his mouth up into a grin directed at Venris while reaching beneath his cloak with his free hand.
Venris scrambled to his feet and began to dash across the room, throwing aside tables and patrons with his hands or the Force, he couldn't even be bothered to discern which at this point. He reached out and shouted her name just before a ruby blade sprang from her chest. Vassara gasped and collapsed, dissolving into dust as Venris tried to catch her. He shook his head in denial and slowly looked around as flashed of red light lit the tavern, muffled screams and the crashing of bodies reaching Venris' ears as he watched Sedita seemingly reappear at will. Where ever he did he would be in the perfect position to kill yet another of Venris' friends, cutting them down without mercy and making sure that Venris could see them as their lives were snuffed out.
"This..." Venris fell to his knees again, hands on his head. "This is not real...I'm on Ilum..." He told himself even as he saw Tyranus' helmet roll past him, blood pouring from the opening. "This isn't real! They aren't dead! They're all fine! Get ahold of yourself Venris, you know that this isn't-" Venris squeezed his eyes shut. "This is...my nightmare."
He slowly tilted his head back up and saw his brother, the wraith who had trailed him through every room and corridor ever since he had descended into the crystal caverns, shrouded in black with eyes of gold and wielding a blade of red in each hand.
"You won't be able to protect them from me, not forever," Sedita cooed. "That is not fear, brother...it is fact, it is how our little dance will repeat itself when we finally have our reunion beyond the boundaries of these caves." He leaned down until he was level with the younger Helion, calm yellow eyes to wide and frantic blue orbs. "And I just can't wait for you to introduce me to every...last...one of them."
Venris sucked in a breath and began to force himself to rise. "No...you won't." He shook his head. "You took my master from me, and I was too weak to stop you...but I won't let you take them from me next!"
Sedita grasped Venris' wrist and pushed the sleeve back to show the damaged arm that had been the final injury inflicted during their last engagement. "As though you could stop me," The Sith's hand began to crackle with blue energy, causing Venris to grasp his arm and try to pull free of the durasteel grasp. "You are every bit the Jedi you once were: all intent and no results to show for it. You haven't changed one bit."
Venris clenched his teeth and locked his free hand around the wrist of the hand gripping his arm. "Let me show you...just how wrong you are!"
For a moment Sedita dismissed the exclamation, only to feel a burning sensation run up his arm. He looked at Sedita's hand and saw the red sparks of force lightning...right before his sleeve burst into flames and red energy coursed up towards his shoulder. Just as he had done to Sedita so many years ago, the Sith's arm was now being burnt down to the bone by his counterpart's Force Lightning. He howled and fell to his knees as Venris stared down at the fallen warrior, any fear or anger replaced with pity.
"I'm so very different from the boy you tormented, Sedita." Venris guaranteed. "So feel free to just try and confront me in the real world again, and I will show you just how far I will go to keep my promise."
The former Jedi then force pushed Sedita right into the front wall of the tavern, which exploded in a shower of splinters and sent the Sith Knight flying out into a void as the illusion collapsed around Venris. The young mercenary was left floating in the darkness, deprived of any feeling of direction...and then began to see a light form up ahead. First it was like a dim and distant star in the sky, and began to grow closer as the floor reappeared beneath Venris' feet.
He was back in the tunnel...but now he saw the end of it all. He stopped before a barrier of ice, and saw that beyond it was the blue twinkle of light, now much stronger and clearer. It was almost like it was welcoming his arrival, greeting him like an old friend.
Venris smiled and pulled back his hood, admiring the sight before him.
[member="Tyranus Collik"] [member="Vassara Raxis"]
