Ask A Whole New World

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra stared at the bridge and he didn’t miss the little holes and indents in the ceilings and walls. He had noticed something similar in an old temple where he had encountered a Sith. The part Sephi pondered for a moment before reaching into his bag and taking out a box of disinfectant wipes he had packed. He hurled it down the bridge and small darts shot from all angles to pepper the box from the tiny holes.

The part Sephi peered over the edge and could see what looked like water far below on both sides of the bridge. Ezra looked at Dash, “What if…what if we go under the bridge?” He asked his partner, “Can you make an ice bridge or platform to get us across? We can then climb up the other side?”

It would be a test of his abilities once more, but so far Jadis had a theme of resorting to ice as her weapon of choice. He had a feeling that water wasn’t there for no reason.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash was bemused but not entirely surprised when Ezra answered him by pulling out some wipes. The Rhinnalian was all for keeping up appearances himself, but his man was often overly pedantic about hygiene in the field.

When Ezra instead threw the box across the bridge, revealing the trap, Dash immediately swallowed his criticism. "Under? I guess that could work". He stepped towards the edge, surveying the distance and considering. It was a steep drop should anything go wrong and the water at the bottom did not look all that deep. He thought he could see the tips of sharp rocks above the waterline.

His eyes went back up to the ceiling and walls. "I don't get it" he mused quietly. If the sentient tree had been out of character for Jadis, the presumably poisoned darts were stranger still. "She protected the Winter Casket with that ice golem, but these tests are so different". They were not born of ice at all. The tree was more earth, this bridge through nowhere was what? Air?

He crouched down at the rim of the chasm, hands extending. There was no point trying to work that all out now. They had to be Jadis's defenses and they had to get through them.

Dash closed his eyes, reaching down with his senses and grasping the Force. His will worked its way down below, stirring the long still pool until it swirled with an unnatural purpose. The water began to harden, rising up the rockface towards them like an inquisitive jelly, before it hardened again, crystallising tendrils reaching up and outward, arching back away from them toward the far side of the pit.

It was not easy, but it was not truly hard either, not anymore. Dash had the skill and the time to fashion what they needed, his brow furrowing as he wove the tendrils into a solid bridge, a good few feet below the original. He opened his eyes and gingerly lowered himself down to test it.

"I think we're ok" he called up, offering to help Ez down. The strange chant on the air seemed to sing louder for a moment, as if urging him on, drowning out a new wind beginning to stir in the many holes and inlets.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra paused when Dash voiced his observations. He was initially going to disagree, but the more he thought about it, the more he agreed, “You’re right,” He remarked at last, “The defenses don’t seem to be of Jadis’ making, but…the way to circumvent them appear to be?” Ezra pondered, pausing for a moment before his next words, “What if it was intended to keep her out?”

He watched as Dash manipulated the water, creating tall towers of ice that were wobbly at first, but soon formed into a bridge. It was an impressive display, and he knew even with his skills with the Force, he couldn’t have manipulated the ice that easily. However, he could tell this was testing his partner, especially as he was having to create ice from scarce water and in a place otherwise hot.

Ezra stepped down to the newly fashioned platform, following Dash’s lead. It was a bit wobbly and slippery, but it was better than getting peppered with darts on the other bridge. It was then that he vaguely became aware of the voices. It was almost too late as the winds began to churn throughout the entire tunnel. It was only then that Ezra realized the ice bridge plan may not work after all.

There was a crack as the bridge gave away and began to crumble under where he stood. His eyes went wide as he started to fall, only managing a glance at Dash before he would suddenly start careening to the bottom. His half of the bridge cracked and fell while Dash’s remained intact for now.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

They only made it a few steps before the wind began to howl, screeching from the inlets above to swirl around the cavern, buffeting the bridge and tearing at the two Jedi. Dash was soon wishing they had taken the stone bridge after all, darts or no darts.

His new creation was not strong enough to take the strain of the air currents. Too late, Dash realised it was going to go and he felt the cracks that suddenly split the ice like cuts to his own skin. A violent fissure drove he and Ezra apart and then Ez was falling, falling away.

"Baby!" Dash reached out for his partner but it was too far and his hand found only thin air. Ezra seemed to drop in slow motion, his own half of the bridge tumbling beneath his feet.

The Rhinnalian was moving before he really knew what he was doing. He only knew he couldn't let Ezra crash to the ground.

Heartache and adrenaline gave him a laser focus despite the maelstrom and he took hold of the large ice fragments falling through the air, warping them as quickly as he could. There was no time to raise anything new, instead he shifted the ice's trajectory so it fell in a U shape, two piles with a curve between them. He did what he could to smooth that curve, already wet and slick from melting.

With any luck, Ezra would slide down one side and his momentum would carry him back up the other. Back towards Dash. He would be propelled into the air of course, and whether enough and in the right direction who knew. Dash watched through gritted teeth, shaking hands on his knees. He was reaching his limits.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra didn’t cry out as he fell, still stunned from what happened. He quickly tried to adapt, calling the Force to himself to at least cushion his fall. That was when he felt ice under his feet again, and he slipped in a curve. He went with the motion, feeling the rush of wind all around them. He could manipulate fire, he could manipulate plants. Couldn’t something similar be applied when there was an active element around them?

The Thorne relied on his Sephi calm to center himself as he skidded up towards Dash, knowing his man was likely strained from the extensive use of cryo. Ezra shot towards Dash, but he channeled the Force behind him, the very air spiraling and churning with propulsive force. He was launched towards the Rhinnalian, and he reached out to wrap his arms around Dash while that force launched them clear across the air.

The wind wrapped around them both, sending them both spinning and hurtling like a missile towards the opposite end of the room. Ezra flipped in the air while still holding Dash, bracing them for impact as they landed on the opposite ledge. The Force cushioned the landing, but Ezra still crashed into the opposite wall, pain shooting through his entire body. He released Dash and weakly slid to the ground, now by the archway that led to the next chamber. Ezra groaned from the entire experience, but they were across.

It took a moment, but he was finally back on his feet, taking a peek into the next chamber. He could already feel the heat from here, and the red glow suggested there was lava or fire involved.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash was watching for Ezra's rise so intently that when his partner reached out for him, he was ready. They embraced, the momentum at Ez's back seeming to propel them both. Dash realised as they arched through the air that it was more than that, it was the air itself. Ezra was using the very hazard in the chamber to help them.

He took in the hard ledge hurtling towards them at the last second, scrunching his face and trying to fight a sudden movement from Ezra that felt like he was trying to take the brunt. They landed hard and sure enough his man took most of the hit. It was only after Dash had fussed over him and made sure he was not seriously hurt that he jokingly told him to stop being a martyr.

Gingerly emerging into the next chamber, they found a wide cavern, this time bisected horizontally by a wide river of flowing lava.

The molten liquid was throwing off heat enough to have them sweating in minutes, its orange glow flickering on the sharp rocks around and the huge stalagtites above. There was no obvious means of crossing and the channel was far too wide to jump, but crossing it seemed was a necessity; Dash could distantly make out a narrow opening in the rock on the far bank.

"Well this feels more like volcano" he coughed, trying to take a deep breath to steady himself but finding a foul odour on the air. "Earth, air and now fire. Maybe you were right". He paused as a sudden spurt of steam and rock issued from the lava, before settling. "But who else would want to keep anyone out of here?".

The Rhinnalian suddenly felt a wave of dizziness from the heat and unzipped his flight suit half way for air. "I don't think my stuff is gonna get us far in here" he said, looking at Ezra "any ideas?".

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was more concerned about his backpack than himself from crashing into the wall. He unzipped it and was lamenting over the interiors, “This is a Vouis Lutton,” He moped, “Our snacks spilled all over it,” He took a moment to do some cleaning, briefly forgetting that they were in the middle of a mission. It was only when Dash prodded him along that he stepped into the next stage. His body was still sore, but he was too proud to complain.

“Perhaps the Jedi or another Force using group?” Ezra suggested, looking at Dash, “But it does mean that Jadis may have been the bad guy here,” He reminded his partner, wondering if this entire endeavor was the right approach. If something had been sealed and closed up, what were they about to unleash by removing it?

The Thorne was sweating profusely and he took his outerwear off, leaving him in a tanktop and gym shorts. He wiped his brow, his hair matted to his head. Ezra didn’t mind the heat too much, but this was suffocating even for him. Ice wouldn’t work here at all, so they had to think of alternative means of getting across.

He eyed the steam that shot up powerfully and followed it up to the ceiling. He could spot a ledge high above they could potentially grab onto. It was an insane idea and it risked falling into the lava, but he didn’t see other options.

Ezra concentrated on the Force, coiling it around a slab of rock that was floating. He drew it towards where he saw the steam spout, gingerly placing it above. He grabbed Dash by the hand and jumped down, landing on the makeshift platform, “When the steam shoots next, it’ll launch us up,” He pointed up, “We have to grab onto that ledge and find a way across,” Ezra said.

After a few seconds, the steam shot up powerfully enough to launch the rigged elevator with both boys on it right through the air.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash chewed for a moment on the thought of other Force users being involved here. It did not seem likely. Jadis had been gone centuries and the place was abandoned. But then what about the skeletons? Perhaps he was missing something; she had told him what she had done with the power here, but not how it had come to be sealed away.

The strange chant came again, an ethereal note on the air that cut through the bubbling and cracking of the molten river. It was stronger now, so strong it drew Dash's focus despite Ezra stripping down right next to him.

"Well she's gone now" the Rhinnalian said. He was fairly certain, having not seen or sensed her since their mental struggle on Mortis. "We're the good guys and we can really use a nexus like the one that's supposed to be here". He was quite wedded to his plan here, more than he would admit.

Dash watched Ezra work the rock slab, an uncertain look on his face. He was even more taken aback when Ez pulled him onto it and rapidly explained his plan. "I can't argue with the physics" Dash spluttered, "but doesn't that leave an awful lot to CHANCE?!".

His last word was a yelp as the steam burst up beneath them, the concentrated pressure hurtling their makeshift platform into the air. Dash gripped Ezra's hand hard, only letting go when he really had to.

At the zenith of their upward journey, he jumped, grabbing hold of the ledge with both hands and holding on like his life depended on it. It rather did, with a river of fire beneath his feet.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Funnily enough, Ezra was always known as the overly cautious member of the scrubs. However, over the years, he had grown more adventurous to adapt to his friends. Hearing his partner yell about leaving things to chance only received a bemused expression in response. The jet tossed them up into the air and Ezra clung to the ledge. He hooked his legs up as well, clinging to the ledge. Fortunately, it was easy to get a grip and shimmy along while hanging on their backs. He tilted his head back to look at Dash.

“I didn’t hear you suggest any better ideas,” He snapped at his man, thoroughly displeased, “I’m all ears, let’s hear it,” He added gruffly. He shimmied along and made a point not to look down, hearing the lava bubbling and whirling beneath them.

“Hurry up!” He called out angrily, his palms getting sweaty. Once they finally made it across, Ezra flipped and dropped from above, landing on another rock platform before leaping up to the landing on the other side.

He felt a pulse of the Force from whatever lurked beyond. It was something powerful and alive, surging with energy. It was also subdued in a way. The whispers grew louder here, as if whatever existed beyond called out for release. It was pleading with them, beckoning for them to undo the binds placed so long ago.

“Do you know what to do?” Ezra asked Dash proactively. This stage was not one where he could even fathom a guess.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash would have snapped back at Ezra if he had not been holding on for his life. He gritted his teeth and shimmed along the ledge, flushing red with fury when Ez chided him to hurry up. His partner was not careless and maybe he shouldn't have implied he was, but all the same. They had enough on and he just needed to chill out.

They made it down to the far side and Dash felt the siren like song as if it were now a whisper in his ear. They were so close.

They emerged into the next chamber - seemingly the final chamber - coming face to face with a huge cavern broadly circular in shape. "Don't worry" Dash said bruskly "I'm sure I'll come up with some ideas".

Above them, the rock ceiling opened up to allow the a glimpse straight upward. They were standing in the very heart of the volcano, at the bottom of deep well in the rock strangely untouched by the lava and flame snaking all around the interior of the mountain. Far, far above them, at the very edge of his vision, Dash even thought he could see what might be the inside of the summit itself.

But it was what was on the cavern floor that soon drew their eyes. A huge circular disc about a foot high covered almost all the ground, only a narrow walkway around its circumference left free. The circular slab was too perfect, too ordered, and Dash knew it was not a natural formation even before he saw the runes and carvings on its face.

It was a seal.

Something tugged at the Rhinnalian and he found himself looking at a raised dais to one side, overlooking the circle. There was a chiseled pedestal with a slot that looked distinctly empty. Dash had the strangest feeling that he knew exactly what went there.

"Can you make sense of any of this?" he asked Ezra, motioning to the various runes on the seal. The Rhinnalian could make out what looked like words, and maybe even illustrations, but his partner had a wide knowledge cultivated by his parents. Dash was pretty sure he needed to crack this thing right open, but they could still learn something at the same time.

The force that had been calling to him suddenly pulsed beneath their feet. Dash found himself moving over to the dais, unslinging his pack and beginning to the withdraw the Winter Casket. He was unsurprised to see the holocron flash and flicker excitedly with its usual wintery light. Dash was excited too. He had once feared his powers were too much, and now often he worried they were not enough. But this would change everything. Jadis had said. All he had to do was unleash the energy here and he could finally do something really spectacular.

He lined the Casket up with the pedestal, totally immersed in the sense of destiny descending on his shoulders. It looked like it was meant to go here, but then of course it was. They had faced down Jadis's challenges and now arrived at her treasure. Her Casket surely had to be the key?

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was much more meticulous when it came to processing and analyzing things. When they stepped into the room, the part Sephi was studying every angle and shape, his gaze flicking over to the dais. His ears slanted a bit as he realized Dash intended to break whatever seal was here. Based on everything they had passed thus far, his conclusion was that the seal was meant to stay in place.

He ignored the question about making sense of the writing, his gaze already on Dash as he unpacked his bag. His man moved as if possessed, methodical steps taking him to the dais. Did Dash even realize how eerie he suddenly looked? Ezra was unsettled as he took steps towards him, “Baby I don’t think..” He didn’t get the sentence out before the holocron was placed in the slot.

For a moment, nothing happened. However, a rumble resounded throughout the space. Ezra feared everything would collapse and take them down with it. The massive seal had a fissure suddenly streak through it, and it cracked open. The lava began to rapidly cool, hardening into black muck. In a place that should have been far too impossible for ice to manifest, streaks of it began to line up the inside of the mountain chamber.

The seal cracked from all sides, collapsing within itself to reveal a massive block of ice that rose through the debris. Within that ice, Ezra could see movement, and he knew without asking what it was. Who it was. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was wrong - this was all horribly wrong. Within the ice, he could see the spiritual manifestation of an entity he had wanted to avoid this whole time. He could see her victorious smile as she gazed at Dash, her champion, and reached for him. Slowly, cracks began to appear along her icy prison.

@Alhon​

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash felt strange as he set the holocron in place. He felt pulled, drawn, pushed to do exactly as he was doing. His arms felt supported as they lifted the Casket, as if on invisible strings, and a shuddering energy seemed to manifest around him, buffeting him on all sides. Ezra was saying something, but Dash could barely hear. The whispering chant had expanded into a single shrill tone that filled his ears, blocking everything out.

When the Casket slotted in perfectly, the Rhinnalian felt a deep shift, like he had just moved a hinge of the world. The seal cracked and fell away, cooling lava giving way to an otherworldly ice that raced from the breaches to begin to transform their surroundings.

Dash saw it all, but he felt even more. His hands were still clasped to the Casket and power unlike anything he had ever felt seemed to flood him, welling up from deep below. There was a nexus here alright and its energy poured into the Rhinnalian through the holocron. It would have been more than he could bear, if it were not so closely woven to the ice and frost he knew so well. It felt incredible.

The rising block of ice began to clear, but Dash already sensed what was coming, for he was suddenly immersed in his surroundings, as if he were now a part of the mountain.

"You have done so well". Jadis' voice was crystal clear, her blue eyes just as piercing as he remembered.

"But, I destroyed you?" Dash did not understand. He had seen his ancestor shatter into pieces after their mental struggle on Mortis. He had fought through her challenges to reach a treasure, not a tomb. This made no sense.

"No dear" she answered, her lips curling into a smile. "You merely destroyed the shadow of myself I imparted in the Casket" her eyes flicked down to the holocron briefly "no small feat. But here is where I truly reside, where I have rested all these long years. Here, is where I can be reborn". She seemed to press against the surface of the ice.

"Reborn?" Dash tried to understand, even as he felt instinctively that she spoke the truth. Somehow, she was in that ice, and she wanted out. "No, I came here for the nexus. To make this a safe place for the Jedi, like you said".

"and we will" Jadis said confidently "the nexus is here, right below us. Even now you feel its power coursing through you." She reached out and her pale arm broke through the ice to extend within his reach. "Take my hand, use your strength to break my binds and I will help you channel our power to refashion this world for your Jedi".

Dash glanced at the hand before him. All he wanted was to make a difference and protect his friends. Jadis had led him here and offered him the chance to do all of that. Maybe she could be helpful after all. With the power radiating through him right now, it was hard to think or to fear.

Unnoticed, the energies of the chamber circled protectively around he and Jadis, stirred and ready to react aggresively to any attempt to intervene.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra’s eyes widened as he saw Jadis manifest in near corporeal form. She was moving just under the surface of the ice, pushing against the texture that protruded out like goo when she pressed against it. It was malleable until the perfect pressure was applied, and Ezra knew Dash was going to be that tipping point. His partner was transfixed - as he had been since the beginning - and reaching towards Jadis. Was Dash always going to choose her? Was he always going to have tunnel vision for this clearly malevolent entity?

“DASH!” Ezra called out, a mixture of concern and rage bleeding into his voice. It was rage at himself for not speaking up sooner, for being his usual passive self, for letting so many things get out of hand before he put his foot down. There was also rage at Dash for his selfish obsession with Jadis and for his inability to see how she had been alienating him from everyone else for so long. How his ice caused rifts between him and those closest to him, "DON'T DO IT!"

For Dash, he would suddenly not see Ezra. The part Sephi couldn’t step any closer - an unnatural Force throwing him bodily back across the chamber. Dash’s reality was skewed. Suddenly he would see that Sith on Berchest in place of Ezra, the one that almost killed him and Ferrin, the one that singled Ezra out to take him away. He would see that Sith calling out to him and telling him to stop. It would sound like a command.

The ground began to rumble beneath Dash’s feet, the nexus churning to life and begging for release. He had only to touch her hand - the one that swirled just beneath the surface of the ever thinning ice.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash could not look away. Jadis hung there in front of him in the ice, her image rippling beneath the surface. The light played on her features and for a moment she had the look of his mother again, as she had on Rhinnal. They were blood after all she had said. Family.

He blinked and tried to clear his head, but he felt drunk on the power churning through him. His hands felt almost glued to the Casket and the ebb and flow of the nexus made Dash feel like he might come apart at the seams.

Jadis never wavered, her extended hand as real as his own. Distantly, he remembered concerns and misgivings, worries about motive and malice unchecked. But memories of her tutoring on Ithor and Rhinnal shone brighter, crystal clear images of a grandmother sent to help. He knew she could help. He could feel it. Her power was enough to do everything she said.

With her, he could protect the Jedi, protect his friends, protect Ezra. The sudden thought of his partner was strong enough to turn his head, but he flinched when he saw only the malevolent Sith from Berchest. The dark figure who put a crimson saber to Ezra's throat and inflicted so much pain and misery on them all.

"YOU?! NO!". Dash had not been strong enough to stop the Sith then, but he was more than strong enough now. His shout was enough to channel just a fraction of the nexus' power, sending a razor sharp column of ice racing to smite the Sith where he stood.

"Dash!" Jadis' tone was so insistent it made him turn back before he saw his attack strike home. "Let me help you. Together, we can save everyone. Only you can make it happen. This is the destiny of your gift".

Dash slowly prized a hand from the Casket. His gift was one of two things that mattered most to him in the world; the other was Ezra. He had to have this power on his side. All of it, every bit. It was the only way they could truly be safe.

He took Jadis' hand and opened himself to the Force.

The nexus flared and exploded. A blizzard burst from the earth and roared upwards to fill the moutain, a snaking torrent of ice and rock and howling wind that surged upward to change the world. Jadis' prison shattered and she began to step victoriously from among the shards, unmoved by the maelstrom at her back.

Dash heaved, another wave of energy rippling through him and up his spine. He felt it go further, only half aware as his blonde hair turned a brilliant white.

He held up his hands, gasping and looking from himself to Jadis striding towards him. He prayed he had made the right choice.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Never in a million years could Ezra have seen an attack coming from Dash. Dash, his beloved, the man he trusted with his life. The only being in the galaxy that he fully trusted.

Never trust anyone. Sometimes not even yourself. Apply caution with everyone and everything and prepare for the worst.

Pops’ words echoed in his mind, words he thought were silly. Despite his detachment and suspicion of most people, he always thought Dash was different. The man he thought he would end up with, the little topic Dash always hinted at but Ezra always danced around it because they were so young. But in the deepest corners of his mind and heart he always thought it would go that way. That man, that Dash of his, attacked him.

The ice enveloped Ezra at once, the part Sephi only managing an internal defense to keep from dying instantly. The result was him frozen in place encased in ice. His expression was caught in a permanent display of genuine surprise and betrayal. His hand was up defensively in front of his chest and he was an ice sculpture. (reference here)

He had used the Force to keep himself alive, but he had no way to break the ice. Not when both Dash, and now, Jadis worked against him. This was her domain once more and she could do with it whatever she pleased.

Jadis was exceptionally pleased by the turn of events. She gazed at Dash, “To discover your true potential, you have to remove anything that gets in your way. Anyone that gets in your way. They only want you to falter..they only want you to fall behind while they advance,” She slowly turned to look at Ezra’s frozen from, “He was rushing to harm you,” She knew that was a lie, but did Dash? “You must destroy him. He is nothing but ice. He can shatter so easily. Do it, Dash," Already cracks began to form along the surface of Ezra's icy form. Jadis made it clear if Dash didn't go through with it, she would.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash felt so out of it. He was shaking, the power still surging through him made him feel like he might both explode and faint at the same time. But he had to move. He stepped away from the pedestal and the Casket, turning his back on the frozen maelstrom to try and find the Sith and Ezra.

When he turned, his heart stopped. The Sith was gone, but right where he had been - right where Ezra had been - there was now a gleaming sculpture. The figure of a man carved in ice. A man with Ezra's face.

Dash rushed forward, an involuntary moan escaping his lips as he reached the statue. "No, no, NO! Baby, no come on, no!" He reached out instinctively to touch his man's frozen face, but stopped himself at the last minute. He scrabbled frantically, not knowing what to do.

Then Dash saw the look on Ezra's face, betrayal etched in his perfect features.

He fell to his knees. This was a nightmare. It couldn't be real. He could not accept it.

Jadis was speaking, but she was making no sense. "He would never harm me!" Dash said, hyperventalating "and I would never...". Tears welled in his eyes. "It was the Sith - the Sith I saw - he was going to hurt us. I only meant-". He looked around in panic but the darksider was nowhere in sight.

"Shatter?! NO!" Dash staggered back to his feet at the thought, trying to put himself between Jadis and Ezra. "I don't need to be rid of Ezra, I need to save him! Get him out of there!". Her warnings fell on deaf ears; Ezra had only ever supported Dash in all his dreams. "He loves me" the Rhinnalian said firmly, gripping a frozen arm gently "and I love him".

Jadis glared at him. Why was she saying these things? Why did she not want to help him undo this right now and hurry after that Sith?

"There was no Sith..." Dash said slowly, the realisation dawning on him. This place heightened all his senses and he knew he was right even before he saw the gleam in her eye. "You made me see him, made me do this to Ezra". It hurt that she was maybe cruel and manipulative after all. Dash had wanted to trust her so badly. "You won't really help the Jedi at all will you?".

Her face hardened. "No. You and I are above tending the needs of narrow-minded clerics. You would have seen that in time, if you had lived up to your potential. But you are as blind as them". She half turned away from him, her face a mix of disappointment and revulsion. "But no matter. I have no need of you anyway. I can command the power here to do anything I want".

Dash braced, knowing what he had to do. "If you can, so can I!".

His free hand shot up, pulling the Casket across the chamber with the Force. It was a fulcrum for their power and the moment Dash's fingers closed on the handle he flared with icy brilliance. He sent a pulse of energy through his other hand into the frozen Ezra, not to shatter but to thaw. Seconds were not enough to free his man, but Dash could jolt him enough to give him a chance of freeing himself.

The Rhinnalian threw the rest of the concentrated power at Jadis, catching her off guard with the force of the blast and pressing the attack.

She was no friend, he saw that now. He was not sure he could stop her alone, but he at least had to keep her away from Ezra until he was free.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Dash’s efforts paid off at once, the ice rapidly giving away around Ezra’s skin until the part Sephi regained some form of control. After a moment, the icy layer shattered and he was freed from his cold prison. He was weakened, but his mind was intact, wisps of fog escaping with every exhale. There were abrasions all over his skin from the ice burns left from the brief time he was trapped. He felt a whirlwind of emotions ranging from betrayal to hate to anger.

However, he focused on not what the Jedi taught him, but what his father reminded him as he grew. He was reminded about tempering his thoughts and how clearing his mind offered him more options to act. Everything seemed to slow down as he opened his eyes, tiny bits of frost dusting off his lashes. The Force came to his fingertips, answering his call as it always had.

He did not even look at Dash, his silver gaze fixed on Jadis who was still reeling from the unexpected attack from her prized pupil. Ezra could see the vulnerabilities in the structures all around them and he sought to use it against Jadis. Without warning, he unleashed the Force along the ground and towards the walls and caverns that surrounded them. Cracks began to appear all around Jadis, the earth and ice all shattering into bits and collapsing into her.

Ezra operated with a deathly calm, expertly manipulating the debris and shattered chunks of earth to weaponize them and slam them directly into her. He went further than that, slamming his fist down to allow the Force to mimic his efforts and slam all the broken earth directly down into the nexus and everything that held it together.

Without warning, Ezra spotted the Casket and used the Force to call it to his hand. He would work to destroy it as soon as he snatched it out of the air.

Ezra no longer trusted Dash.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash's emotions raged as he struck at Jadis, throwing everything he felt at her in blow after blow. Frozen flurries of fear and crystal daggers of fury, balled fists of frustration that tried to grab her by the throat. She offered not help, but harm and he was so stupid for believing she could ever have been good.

She had not expected him to turn on her it seemed. At first, she fell back, her face thunderous as she worked the ice and snow all around into last minute parries and blocks. The nexus answered them both equally and, though Dash's opener drew blood, the wounds only seemed to embolden Jadis, driving her on.

She rallied and called forth a blast of blizzard that lanced from her palm like a water cannon, smashing against Dash's two-handed deflection. He gritted his teeth and held back the assault with the Force, but the effort was draining him quickly.

He suddenly became aware of a new energy stirring behind him and the sound of cracking earth. Ice and rock from all around fell away from the walls, drawn to Jadis and driven by a single will. Ezra. Dash's mouth fell open slightly as Jadis lost focus, trying in vain to contend with the debris slamming into her from all sides. Some of the larger chunks crashed into her slender body before she could stop them and Dash thought he heard bones break.

As her attack faltered, the Rhinnalian reworked the ice into spears of the kind he had conjured on Kashyyyk and struck back. Even now, she dodged one and grabbed a second from the air with unnatural speed. But a third found its mark, striking right through her cold heart. She seemed to pirouette on the spot, still strangely beautiful despite the horror on her face. Then she was obscured by the barrage falling atop her, pushing her back and down, tumbling screaming into the heart of the nexus.

Dash's head snapped around, overjoyed to see Ez free and more or less ok. The Rhinnalian could barely move, he was so wracked with the Force and shock. Was she gone? For good? Might it really be all over? He told himself it didn't matter, taking hurried steps towards Ezra before he froze again, seeing the look on his man's face and the Casket in his hand.

"Baby, are you ok?". Something didn't feel right, even with Jadis gone. "What are you doing with that?".

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra said nothing as Dash hurried over to him. He was no less frozen now in his demeanor than he was moments prior. He was no different than the completely detached and icy boy Dash first met on Kashyyyk years ago. Ezra did not respond to the question about the Casket, but he could identify the cracks and fracture lines through the artifact. A series of pops erupted and the Holocron crumbled under his might. It took a tremendous amount of his strength to collapse it, but he wouldn’t look back.

The part Sephi tossed aside the shards of the Casket, ensuring that no other could ever fall for the trap that Jadis set in the cursed Holocron. It may have brought strength, but at a great cost. He doubted Dash even understood the cost. It was then that Ezra finally looked over at Dash, noting the alabaster hair. There was a lump in his throat, and he fought the urge to close the distance between them.

He couldn’t hear Jadis, but he had a feeling she was trapped in the nexus and under a mountain of debris. There was nothing but silence as a million thoughts ran through Ezra’s mind.

"Is this what you were after the whole time?" He asked, venom dripping from his tone, "Anyone you could use to get you in Jadis' good graces? Whether it's me or that old creep?"

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Ezra didn’t answer, which was not unusual. But Dash needed reassurance right now and he realised too late that his man was focused on something else entirely.

Dash yelped as the Winter Casket suddenly shattered in Ezra’s hand. He took a step to stop it, but it was too late. The holocron that he and Ezra had journeyed to find, the first thing to help him understand his gifts, disintegrated before his eyes.

“Baby no wait, what the fuck!“. Ez knew how much the Casket had taught Dash. How much of his heritage was wrapped up in it. He couldn’t believe Ezra would destroy something so important without even discussing it.

Then came the accusations. The Rhinnalian was shocked and stung, even as he eyed the Casket shards on the ground. “Use you?!” Dash was speechless. Did Ez really believe that? He could be dramatic too, in his own way, but his voice was so harsh it seemed like he did.

He was not even going to address the old creep reference. He just glared disbelieving at his man’s face, part of him wanting nothing more than to hug him tight and never let go. Did Ezra not realise what they had just been though, how they had only survived working together?

“So you were right“ Dash said through gritted teeth, hugging himself instead “we came here for the nexus, but she had an agenda of her own”. He hated saying it, hated that it was true. “Happy?!”. Dash was sorry, of course he was, but he was not going to say it right now. A lot of stuff that had mattered a lot to him had just been destroyed and the only person left that did was giving him shit, here and right now of all places.

”Ez, she’s gone” he glanced again forlornly at the shattered Casket. “It’s all gone“. Dash flexed his fingers, still feeling the unusual energy radiating through him from the elements raging above. He did not feel quite the same, but he was. Surely Ezra had to see that?

@Sreeya