Answer Me

[The Eternal (?)]

Valentine knew where he flew to. He had just turned off the map and flew his ship straight into the direction of Korriban, escaping the known reaches of the Alliance and where the Empire had all the control. He had already said his needed goodbyes and it was for only Raz. That was all that was really needed for him, everyone else he knew had already left the Alliance or were dead. He was alone everywhere. To Valentine, it was wasted effort to him than anything else and a failure that rested on his shoulders. After meeting with Raz, he sunk into his own head, contemplating what he wanted his next moves to be before arriving at one solution. It was traitorous and simply dangerous but it was the only option that was viable to him, his only other being the Alliance and already experiencing the shambles that it was in. Valentine would have to forge his own path and it would be painful.

After what felt like hours and maybe even days, he stopped really keeping track of time, he eventually found the planet in his view. It appeared peaceful but most of all it was completely drenched in the Dark Side and was completely vile and he knew what it was really like. Valentine dipped the ship into the planet's atmosphere, it rumbling slightly before he broke through and was able to find a suitable landing spot away from any patrols and Sith. All he could see were empty plains with just simple sand being blown here and there. Valentine extended his signature just to double check, finding nothing else except his own and leaving him in his own perfect little world.

After a few hours and some miles away from the ship, Valentine found flat and barren land. Taking a few steps, he sat down in the middle of the open spot before taking out both of his lightsabers and laying them down in the open in front of him, "I'm an open target now," He lowered his mental defenses, tearing them down one by one and becoming an open book. There was no one there to listen but he was talking to something specifically, "Come on." Valentine sat on his knees before resting his hands on them and closing his eyes, taking a deep inhale of the corrupted air before taking the plunge.

He pushed his presence outward and laid it out to bare, letting it be exposed. There was no coming back from this if it answered, his fate would be sealed but something drastic was needed and he had no other options. Valentine didn't really know where he was aiming it for but he knew it would find it's a target. "Answer me."

 

[The Gatekeeper]

His presence was a scourge upon the lands here. He was poison, slowly bleeding into the sands and the earth below. He would feel the very air around him protest against his presence, while some of it beckoned and called. It was a plethora of emotions and thoughts swirling through his mind. This place housed the tombs of the great Sith of the past, and it looked peaceful and regal.

All of that peace was disrupted the moment anyone listened - especially when they did not belong here. Pained and anguished cries would echo within his mind, first from a distance, and then as if someone were right next to him. He would hear a quiet laugh - woman’s giggle directly next to his ear where he could feel the chilled breath against his skin.

Something was fighting through the cacophony of noise. It was a shark that saw its prey on the surface and was cutting through the water and all the other disruptions in the way. It had smelled blood - just a drop - but enough to send it charging. It had been hungry and starving, and now there was a meal that hovered just beyond reach.

Val would suddenly find himself pressed into the ground. He would be compelled to open his eyes, but he wouldn’t know if he had only done it within his mind or physically. Opening his eyes would reveal the sun above him quickly morphing into a blood red, and then turning darker as if the blood was coagulating.

The land around him would darken and turn black, the sands turning into rivulets of black tar that became oceans of it all around him. It was a crippling darkness, and he would feel as if he sunk into the earth along with the rest of the planet, everything spiraling into a vortex that led to nothing but darkness. It was an oppressive presence, and it was the most vile thing he would ever experience in the Force. This presence was an aberration and it should not have been permitted to exist.

There was a voice that spoke. When it did, it was converged of many voices. And it had trouble forming a unified sentence. It echoed all throughout Val’s mind, and it would feel as if he had beings whispering in both ears on separate accounts.

“You - does not belong here - might - he reeks of the Light - not - hungering for centuries - like - make him bend - the - nothing to lose - answer.”

 

[The Eternal (?)]

A woman had giggled in his ear and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Valentine was no longer alone but completely on his own at the same time, knowing exactly what was in his mind with him. Before he knew it he was pushed back into the ground and forced to look up into the sky, seeing the blazing sun above for only a few seconds before it came blood red and cast a red hue over the entire planet. The red reflected into his eyes and Valentine knew this was it but he kept his steel gaze forward, having spent days upon days in preparation for this. He would not let the fear find it's way into his heart, Valentine had been searching for this and he would not cower away. It felt real but he couldn't tell if this was all in his mind or not but whether the case it didn't matter at that moment as he had more pressing matters.

The presence was revolting, nearly making Valentine choke on his own vomit before swallowing it back down. He wouldn't show weakness, it would be fatal in this situation. While he wouldn't be able to really move his head he could still move his eyes and he saw the descending darkness that swallowed the landscape. Valentine was in its playground now, nobody would help him if he needed it. A killer chill came through, making the Jedi shiver in the tar as he couldn't control it, a direct opposite of the burning air that usually resided on Korriban. Whatever this was it wasn't natural, it made Valentine feel completely empty and alone, it was something he had never experienced before and it was almost terrifying. It felt like his very signature was being drained, like the presence of it was just enough to make his dimmer.

Something spoke or a group of them spoke, different voices of different tones trying to work in conjunction but failing, like they were all wanting to get their point across. Valentine didn't hear it from his ears but inside his head, feeling its influence seep deeper and deeper into his skull as he continued to have contact with it. It took a moment for the Jedi to decipher the real message behind the sentences, it difficult with the concoction of them but he was eventually able to find the answer. "Actually, this... was the answer I was looking for." It was hard to croak the words out like the air was trying to suffocate him itself but he still managed to do it. "My name is... Valentine." He tried to lift his head but the tar acted like hands and stuck to his skin, forcing his head back to the same position it had before, "And I... need the mask." Valentine didn't know what to look at, he didn't know where the thing speaking to him was so he just stared up at the sky where the sun used to be, focusing on just staying conscious through this. The Jedi's request was simple and he wouldn't leave this until the abomination either agreed to give it or be forced to.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

As he began to speak his name, he would feel a harsh force constricting around this throat. It was an unseen force, but it was tremendously powerful. He was in its lair now, deep within its domain. There was no one to save him and no one to help him out of the mess. He walked deep into the lion’s den and he found exactly what he had been looking for waiting. For the unseen voices, this was the pleasure they had been craving for many years now.

“You…” The voices whispered. There was the stench of death as the voice rattled and spoke, and it was as if the world around him was decaying before his eyes. The skies were pitch black and they abruptly flashed to a morning sky, then back to darkness. The tombs around him flashed to a time where none had existed, “Are…” The voice continued as the world around him broke apart and pieced back together. The chunks of the world fell away like puzzle pieces, melting into the cesspool of darkness around him.

He could see faces - faces that belonged to those that walked these paths. There were abrupt flashes to red skin and yellow eyes, droves upon droves of ancient Sith before humans ever set foot upon the planet. The voices of Emperors and Empresses past echoed all around, promises of greatness, promises of conquest, all of it turning to dust. He saw their bones turn to ashes and melt into the darkness swirling around him, “...Nothing,” The voice hissed collectively as one.

The Light in him fought against it, causing him excruciating pain throughout his entire body. This was fundamentally against everything he knew, against everything once stood for. The darkness tried to force its way in but the Light formed the thinnest shield around him, “Tainted,” The voices hissed, echoing a million times in his mind - left ear- right ear and within the psyches of his mind. He heard the word repeatedly, reminding of the filth he carried with him.

“Only for those worthy,” The words began as the voice of a woman, then changed to another man’s, and finally back to a woman again. There were different dialects, different intonations, and they were all very different people. He would have to chip away at the Light he carried with himself, the weakening resolve still fighting against the darkness that so very badly wanted to consume it.

“Give in,” The voice was now sultry and that of a woman’s, followed by an almost playful laughter.

 

[The Eternal (?)]

Before Valentine could finish his words something clamped on his throat, cutting them off as the malicious voices returned now, unified in their words. Even though the force was invisible it felt like it stood right in front of Valentine, inspecting him from the shadows as the rancid smell filled his nose. The essence of the mask was vile, disgusting, it was formed from nothing but pain and hatred and he felt it in every word. The Jedi could only glance around as his throat was closed off enough, seeing the world that he once knew start to fall apart and have the past brought back, showing the years of history that the mask had lived through and what it had experienced. The mask was thousands of years old and it had seen everything up to this point, making Valentine try to realize that he was an insignificant speck. Compared to the mask, he was but his resolve didn't shrink in the slightest. He could feel the mask try to breach through the light that was housed in him, making Valentine scream as it felt like fire spread throughout all his veins while the mask tried to break in.

After the mask retreated from its efforts, Valentine couldn't help but chuckle softly despite what was happening, "The funny thing is..." He breathed hard, trying to recollect his breath from the pain before speaking again, "We're both nothing." The Jedi suddenly shot his body up, peeling it away from the tar as it seemed to squeal itself. Valentine raised himself to his knees before getting one foot underneath him and resting his arm on his knee, "You're here... talking to me. The great mask, the fabled weapon of Emperors and Empresses." He then got his other foot underneath him, wobbly getting up to his feet as he still couldn't see anything but darkness still after the display, "Appears we both... need each other." If there was one thing that he knew about the mask, it hated the Jedi. Valentine had read the stories of when the Eternal itself invaded the Jedi Academy itself, it's hatred knew no bounds. If it was willing to speak to his kind, then it would seem that there was something in him that was worthy. The word "tainted" continued to be repeated into Valentine's ear but he blocked it out the best he could, wildly glancing around to try and find the mask.

That's when the voices changed back and forth, from a woman to a man then back to a woman. Valentine kept turning where he stood, facing different directions every few seconds until he heard the words "Give in." It made the Jedi stop and stare down at the black ooze that swallowed his feet, thinking to himself as the chill continued down to his bone. Valentine's mouth formed into a hardline before he lifted his head once more, his bright hazel eyes darkening by the second, "I already have." He was here, he was alone in this galaxy and he had already said goodbye to the one person who held any meaning to him. Valentine had nothing left, he had given everything and shredded himself of any burdens to hold him back from this, there was nothing else that could change his mind and bring him back from his decision.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

There was a momentary pause in the onslaught as the Jedi mentioned the need being mutual. There was a duality in the response. There was anger, sudden anger. It was immediate, and it would feel like a sudden punch to the gut that was hard enough to make him vomit from the blow. The voices screamed in rage, a weakness exploited in its design. The ego - the collective ego - was enraged and seething, reeling from Val’s insolence.

There was just one voice that strayed from the rest, and it only had the subtlest and lightest little chuckle. It was accompanied with the abrupt flash of a face appearing within Val’s psyche - appearing only for the blink of an eye. The only memorable and defining characteristics were the striking silver eyes and the clearly amused face. It disappeared as soon as it appeared, drowned out by the chorus of protests.

The voices had been starved. The spirits had little choice. They had been thirsty and hungry for so long. This was the most promising prey to walk into its layer, and it knew it held bargaining chips. The darkness reeled from this, defiant in ever admitted that it needed a host so desperately. No one worthy had approached, and it had been left behind starving and trapped for an eternity.

The Light was its own battle within Val. As soon as he muttered that he had given in, he would be hit with a sudden influx of memories. It was Tin’s smiling face when Val had helped rescue him. It was Rabbit telling him he could count on him any day. It was Bilbo pulling him into a hug after they had lost a fellow soldier together. It was Raz gazing at him fondly. It was Raz taking him to a place only she knew and her sharing her love for him without uttering a word. It was Aurora laughing and calling him a friend. It was Leah crying and admitting her love for him. It was Alysanne coming to his defense at the trial. It was an entire group of Mandalorians and Jedi all standing with him as he revealed himself to the Sith. It was a slew of Jedi hopefuls that all sided with him for his decisions. It was unity in the Jedi that he had single-handedly influenced. He saw himself as a beacon of hope across the galaxy, the first thing to send a chill down the Sith’s spine. The first spark of a rebellion.

Every memory was vivid. Every image was tangible to where he could see it, feel it, breathe it. He could smell Raz’s hair, feel her skin against his. He could see the smiles of the Jedi as if he stood within feet of them now. All of these memories were suddenly interrupted by abrupt flashes to the darkness that had been there moments prior. There was fire and agony flashing in and away from the positive memories. The good memories were paper and the fire began to burn from the corners of that paper, slowly beginning to consume and expand across the fragile tapestry. It was rapidly beginning to go away, and it would do so unless he did something to stop it.

As the burning continued, he would see flashes again of that same man. The same face, with the same silver eyes that now marked the limbo he found himself in. The man’s face vanished again and Val was faced with his own goodness peeled away from him. It would feel as if he were being skinned alive, the light side being raked back by the clawed fingers of the dark side.

 

[The Eternal (?)]

Out of nowhere there was a blow to his stomach, making Valentine fall into the black ooze as he kept himself up by his elbows, throwing up the contents of his stomach as the ooze seemed to burn it and swallow it whole. The Jedi could feel the hot air, the chill now seeming to disappear as he knew he hit a touchy subject. Not only did it prove that he was right but that he was getting somewhere with this. As Valentine tried to get to his feet once more something stood out even amongst all this, a laugh that seemed to separate itself from the mask like it just wanted to spectate instead of actually partake in this. Whatever held the voice flashed in front of Valentine's vision painfully, only catching a glimpse of silver and a smile before it disappeared as quickly as it came.

Even Valentine could feel the hunger that the mask had, it craving him as he felt every single thing in this dark underworld be drawn to him, mostly the force that flowed through his veins. The moment after the words of giving in came out from him it was like he was hit another blow, sending him straight to the ground again as Valentine stretched his arms out to support himself. Without warning a flood of memories flooded through him, reminding him of every single thing he had given up and that had led him to this moment, Rabbit, Tin, Bilbo, Raz, Aurora, Leah, Aly, all of it was shown and it was painful, beyond painful. It made his vision blurry and his eyes water, Valentine just seething as he attempted to control and mitigate whatever this was but it continued to comb through his skull, digging up everything that made him who he was. More memories flashed through Valentine's head, the mask starting to hone in on what he found closest to his heart. He felt her laugh, her skin, her hair, tasted her lips and enjoyed it all one last time before it slipped away again.

Before Valentine could stabilize himself he suddenly felt a burning sensation in the back of his mind, the mask personally destroying the last remnants of who the Jedi was and making him its pet. The only thing he could do was a scream, a scream of pure pain as the skin on his neck and face begun to turn red. The veins in his neck started to pop out more, the tears flowing out more freely as it felt like someone just had a hot iron and was cutting up everything inside his head. Valentine could feel himself piece by piece being torn away and destroyed, the mask laying him out raw and bare. But as the burning continued the Jedi grimaced before the screams were silenced, Valentine just groaning instead as he managed to swallow it. While he agreed to give in to the mask, Valentine wouldn't let it destroy everything that made him who he was and instead decided to direct it to the one thing could be the only thing that would draw him back. Instead of letting the mask raid through his mind, Valentine put certain thoughts forward and let those be burned and each one of Raz.

This time he couldn't hold back the screaming, it too painful to keep it internalized. Each memory of her was connected to his heart and as each one was torn apart it felt like it was knife straight through it. Valentine had always cherished these and never wanted to forget them but he had said his goodbyes to Raz and sacrifices needed to be made, even if it was the most agonizing thing to do. As it continued, the feeling of Raz's skin felt like sand, her hair disappearing from his fingers, the taste of her lips now horrid, everything he cared for burned away or marred and left without any resemblance of once being there. If it wanted to burn the light away from Valentine then it had succeeded, it had destroyed anything that could shine any hope for him.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

The memories, the touch, the warmth, all of it began to shred away. With Raz went some other visions that extended to his friends. Rabbit, Bilbo, Tin and the others began to pull back. They would look at him with disgust, and he would be reminded suddenly of the day of the tunnel collapse. He would see Rabbit screaming for him. All of those memories that had been blocked out came suddenly flooding into his mind. What Tin had told him wasn’t even the half of it. Val would see the brutal and graphic way Rabbit was crushed. He would hear the sick crunch and see the blood and bones poking out of his skin.

He would hear a million screams, and he would see himself standing there to witness it all. Glimpses from his childhood would pass, and he would see the disgust in his parents’ faces upon questioning that he was different. Upon realizing that he could be a Force sensitive. He would see the fear in his little brother’s eyes. All of that happened in tandem to the world around him turning into black again.

His scream echoed and pierced through the air, and it was accompanied by laughter. The voices were unified in their laugh, and he would feel the darkness clinging onto him. The thin film of Light began to get cracks that streaked up along his torso. The cracks delved into his mind, and he would feel the pain and agony of the Light being torn away from him. At long last, the pressure was too much - the thin sheet shattering and allowing all the darkness in.

He would feel it pour into his mouth, his nose, his ears. It flooded into him where he would feel as if he were plunged deep into icy cold water. The depths were pitch black, and he would feel his hair rise up from being submerged. The darkness poured into him just as he was plunged deep into it. He would see no surface above him, just sent into despair with no way out. There was no sand now, and no sun. There were no tombs, nothing but black.

“There is…” The voice started female and slowly turned male, “...no going back.”

 

[The Eternal (?)]

The pain was blinding, each memory of his history and especially the ones he couldn't stomach came back centerfold, each shown specifically to him and making him relive it. No matter where he looked or what he tried to do with the force he was forced to continue living through, the pain, the sorrow, the grief, everything. It went from Raz to his squad mates and now to his childhood, seeing his family look down upon him like they were currently watching him, seeing the acts he was committing and adding another reason to try and erase the memory of him even more. Valentine even caught glimpses of his younger brother, that one especially being a guided blade to his heart before it was all washed away once more, now replaced by laughter as he tried to just focus on staying alive.

Valentine felt the darkness enter into his system, the light that once brightened his entire soul became dimmer and dimmer by the second. This wasn't peaceful, this was a hostile takeover and trying to combine two things that could never naturally coexist. It was tearing each and every one of Valentine's molecules piece by piece and rebuilding them to the mask's purpose. He could the feel the cracks form before they eventually gave in, like an appliance being unplugged from a wall, Valentine lost all of his power, feeling an emptiness that was beyond terrifying for a few seconds. But that only lasted for a few seconds before something even worse replaced it, the darkness and the mask now finding it's an opportunity before flooding the Jedi's senses and his body. Valentine wouldn't be able to see anything, feeling more like he was drowning without being in any water, gasping for air that was right in front of him but couldn't reach. Valentine hear the mask's words, telling him there was no going back but moments after he lost consciousness, unable to experience the pain anymore.

---​

Valentine's eyes slowly peeled open and almost painfully, like they haven't been opened for days and was just getting used to it. He had to cover his eyes from the sun even though it was setting, casting another red glow over the entire barren planet. Valentine flipped over onto his knees but the moment he did it felt like his whole body was flipped upside down multiple times, causing him to vomit the contents of his stomach once more. But the contents of his stomach didn't come out, it was the black ooze that flooded the ground when Valentine spoke to the mask. It burned his throat and he grabbed onto it, feeling how cold to the touch his skin was. Valentine started to breathe more quickly and that's when he felt the sharp pain in his chest when he tried to stand up again and causing him to fall to the ground again.

He grabbed onto his chest and stared down at it before lifting his clothing and finding the root cause. All of his veins were now black, showing the entire infrastructure of his internal body as each one led to his heart, what looked like a black burn mark right where it was supposed to be. Valentine groaned as he finally got to his feet, lowering his shirt before rolling up both of his sleeves, finding the black veins travel all the way down his arms and to the tips of his fingers and starting to making the tips black. Despite being in the blazing heat of Korriban, Valentine could help but shiver, feeling nothing except that. He had no clue where he was but after he took a step in a random direction that's when he felt it, a certain pull that was almost irresistible. Valentine slowly turned his head towards that direction, seeing that it led deeper into the heart of Korriban. Without wasting another second he started to follow the pull, weakly walking towards it as his gaze was focused in that direction, refusing to break from it.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

There was nothing but silence when he awoke. He was back on Korriban, and he had the poison in him still. The memories he once cherished would cause him agonizing pain if he tried to visit them. The Force had left him, and he would have to find it all over again. He had only known the Light, and that had been repelled and destroyed. It couldn’t stand up to the might of the dark side, not when he was here in its domain and he had opened himself up entirely.

The lure could speak to him now, louder than it ever could before. It was almost comforting, and it felt like a cure to the illness that consumed him. He would look at the tomb and see it as a sanctuary. The many voices were quieter now, faint whispers resounding within his mind from all sides. No one voice spoke out over the rest, but they were hushed whispers and the gentle brush of someone’s breath against his skin. The valley was alive and teeming with life he couldn’t see, and they all existed in the plane of the Force.

He had unplugged entirely, and he was slowly coming back in. This was an entirely different world than he had known, and this was what it was like to truly know darkness. He could never truly be a Jedi again, not after what he had allowed to be done to him. He had forsaken all his teachings, and he left behind all those that ever looked up to him or had seen him as a beacon of hope.

As he drew closer into the darkness and stepped into the tomb, he would find a sense of comfort in the chill. It was an icy embrace, but it was one that pulled him in and held him close. He was welcomed like a guest that had been expected for a long time. Val would hear the voices again, whispering and speaking softly while attempting unity in its delivery, “Find...ussss…” The words trailed off like the wind, a chilling whisper that made his hair flutter.

~Fin​