Ask Scrub Squad Strikes Again

[Dash Pavan]

Dash leapt through the trees as quickly as he could, the pack of weapons secure on his back and both hands out for balance, grabbing branches and vines to pull himself along. He sent his senses out ahead through the Force, like a repeating radar searching for his friends. There was a concentration of life and activity straight ahead, murmurs and shouts echoing across the sky.

The Rhinnalian neared the edge of the treeline to see the woods petering out into a clearing. Several dozen tribal warriors were stood on the open ground, their backs to Dash. Beyond them, a large spire structure reached into the sky. The natives were fixated on it, pointing and arguing with fear and anxiety in their voices.

Danger flashed again on the edge of his senses, a small echo of what he had felt back on the shuttle. Ezra and his friends were inside that thing, and they were in trouble.

Dash turned for a moment, crouching out of sight and putting his back to a tree while he thought what do to do. He needed to get past the Seiramese but they were not up for talking and he could not fight that many. How could he get them to move? Then he thought of the terrified look in the female warrior's eyes, the fear of unknown powers.

The Jedi closed his eyes, gripping the roots either side of him and diving into the Force. He felt the life of Eiram all around him, the flowing swamps, the growing earth, the heat and moisture thick on the air. Dash immersed himself in it all, connecting with the life and breath of the forest. Then he reached out to touch all that energy, his brow furrowing as he began to pull it all towards him.

It was more than he had ever tried to do with the Force before. His knuckles went white, his nails biting into the tree roots as he worked his will on the forest itself. He feared he would fail, but he kept his three friends in his mind and he knew that he could not.

Gradually, the heat of the day was siphoned from the ground and air. It was imperceptible at first, but then the change Dash wrought gathered a momentum of its own. Trees stiffened where they stood, swamp water froze solid and frost like the Seiramese had never seen began to race across the ground. The temperature plummeted in a matter of seconds and a shrill wind began to circle the clearing, gnashing at their scant tribal clothes and screaming a song of winter.

It was completely unnatural and completely unknown. The Seiramese were absolutely terrified, forgetting all that had gone before and fleeing wailing into the forest. Whatever three demons hid in the spire, they were now more convinced than ever that they brought the end of days.

Dash waited until the last was out of sight, needing a moment to gather himself anyway. There was no telling how far they might run before they rallied and he wasted no more time, leaping around the tree and sprinting for the spire. He found the outline of the entrance buried beneath creepers and vines, but they yielded quickly enough to a flash of his saber.

He slipped through into the pitch darkness and realised at once that the real danger was in here. "Ez?" he whispered.

@Zay @Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon pouted as he listened to Ferrin’s instructions. He turned to Ezra with an expectant look in his eye, almost puppy-like, “I’m supposed to punch you, doctor’s orders.” Ezra shot back his own quip and Leon was hurt by his supposed best friend's denial. Of course the back and forth was fun enough and made the whole having an actual arrow in his ass way more bearable.

Ferrin gave the countdown and fucking didn’t say THREE!

“OW, SH—” mid whine Ezra's hand caught him right in the mouth. The sound of the smack was loud enough to wake the dead and if Leon wasn't dreaming he was pretty sure one of the Shawshank Redemption's face contorted into an "Oooooo!" Ferrin got a hand full of that Emryc Throne routine cake, and Leon would have laughed if he wasn't bleeding out. The Pantoran's blue skin was cast in gold light from the flowing force "Ya know, you don't look half bad in my ass light."

The golden light faded and his pain followed suit. Leon stood, blushing a little as he awkwardly thanked Ferrin for fixing the hole in his ass. Honestly, he was glad he could think the thank you because actually saying it would have been way too embarrassing. The he saw Ez stiffen and hold a hand up for quiet. They’d worked together long enough for Leon to know the dude was sensing something, and then Leon heard it.

A shiver went down his spine, turning his skin to goose flesh as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. His confidence had been crippled on Berchest. The tribe had been one thing, but this… this was over his head. No. He had to hold his own. The only way they were getting out of this alive was by everyone doing their best. Ezra’s words drifted through his mind and he nodded. He paused for a second taking in the symbol. It seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Then again he wasn’t exactly transfixed by a history lesson when they were in mortal danger.

The path was pitch black. Leon’s normal ass human eyes were useless in this situation, luckily his force sense was better than it had ever been. He closed his eyes and reached out with the force. Aside from the physical contact with Ferrin, Leon could make out both the Pantoran and Ezra in the force.

Leon projected to the other two, “You guys think this was an old base or something?”

He was still on guard, but while they were running for their lives it might be nice to have some clue about what they were running into.

⌬⌬⌬​

As Dash slipped into the darkness of the strange metallic cavern he’d have no way of knowing what kind of danger lurked just beyond sight. As he called out the only response he’d receive was the sound of heavy breathing. As he focused closer on it he’d hear the sound of bare feet slapping across metal and finally an ear splitting scream that would not only accost his hearing, but a mental spike would slam into his consciousness.

Hunger, pain, loss, and fury were the motivators of this supernatural attack. The abomination seemed to materialize from the darkness face peeled back the way a flower blooms. It's maw hung wide wailing it's scream and exposing rows of razor sharp teeth.

@Alhon @Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ferrin couldn’t help but grin when Ezra made his comment - briefly glancing up from tending Leon’s ass. Those golden eyes settled on the quarter-Sephi, head tilting ever-so-slightly. “If you promise to do me next, Reed.” He projected shamelessly through the Force, following the statement up with a wink. Of course, his attention promptly returned to Leon - finishing up the bit of healing.

By the time he sat back, Leon had been healed and sported a bacta-pact against his cheek - which would serve to slowly steal the rest of the wound and prevent infection. “Shouldn’t scar bad. You’ll be back in your fishnets in no time.” He projected to Leon, resting for only a moment or two before standing back onto his feet. It took a moment for the Pantoran to find his balance and fully recover from the usage of the Force. Healing was a notoriously difficult ability and one that Ferrin had spent a significant amount of time practicing. The fact that he could do it at all was cause for the Pantoran to internally celebrate - though the drain on his reserves was perhaps not his wisest decision.

A fact made all the more apparent when he heard that roar.

Ferrin immediately tensed in response, his hand shifting down to the saberhilt on his belt - only for Ezra to quickly grab that same hand. He blinked a few times and promptly ignored the instinctive way he smiled. Instead, Ferrin squeezed Ezra’s hand and reached back to grab hold of Leon as well, moving close together. There was a Darkness that hung heavy in the air - permeating through the Force. It send a shiver down Ferrin’s spine and filled him with a distinct sense of dread.

It was ancient and evil. It was something that shouldn’t have been. And it was hunting them through the halls of that Spire.

“Sure as shit looks like it..” He projected through the Force, glancing across his surroundings. Only vague outlines of the and corridors were visible, making details difficult to decipher. Similar symbols as the first decorated the walls and doors that they passed, though most attempts to open doors would be met with control panels that stopped functioning ages ago. They could pry the doors open, but doing so would obviously make more noise than they likely wished.

The hallway widened - just enough for two separate pathways to diverge at an intersection - going in opposite directions deeper into the structure. Ferrin walked forward, until he felt something knock against his foot - rolling across the ground until it hit the back of Ezra’s boot. A quick glance down would reveal an aged, ancient Lightsaber nestled against the quarter-Sephi’s foot. It’s filigree design and brilliant Aurodium finish were dimmed by dust and muck, though the crystal within still hummed with life.

@Sreeya @Zay @Alhon

 

[The Storyteller]

As they delved deeper into the Spire, the Padawans would begin to understand why the natives dared not venture inside. The Force was vibrant and alive all around them - but not in the way any of them would recognize. It was eclipsed by Shadow, the kind which filled them with dread and unease. The kind that burned across their senses whether they attempted to close themselves off to it or not.

They would feel the malicious intent of whatever resides within that Spire, and the stench of death that seemed to follow it like a shroud. They would feel the anger and hatred that roiled off of it in waves - directed towards the very people that imprisoned it, centuries ago. Anger and hatred directed towards them, who seemed oh-so-similar. They would feel the primitive, animalistic urges that drove it through the metallic hallways - scouring and scrambling to find them. Because it was so, so hungry.

Nothing jumped out from the shadows to attack them. Though perhaps that would’ve been an easier evil to confront.

By the time the Padwans reached the crossroads, the Darkness began to seep into their minds - turning and manipulating the environment all around them. It picked across their memories and worst fears, and drew out the images that were necessary to achieve its desired outcome.

Spoiler: Ezra Vision

No matter how many times he might attempt to ignore it, Ezra would be unable to shake the feeling of someone’s breath on the back of his neck - each exhale followed by a mechanized, modulated exhale. It was one that he would recognize at once - as it echoed through his ears and deep into his psyche. It followed him no matter what direction he turned. It was his history and his future - and there was no running from it.

As he glanced down the two hallways, Ezra would suddenly be able to make out a figure lurking within the shadows - waiting for him to approach. The Darkness seemed to ooze and flow around the hulking frame. It towered and dominated over him - growing larger the longer he seemed to stare. If there was any doubt in his mind, the red visor staring back at him would dispel such notions at once.

A quick glance around would reveal that Ferrin and Leon had vanished entirely - and the path behind him was sealed by a cement wall.

Slowly but surely, the figure in the Shadows began to approach - slow, methodical steps beginning to close the distance between itself and Ezra. Almost at the same time, the quarter-Sephi began to hear the familiar voice of Dash coming down the opposite hallway - far to the right - choked and gasping for air. Slowly strangled with every step that was taken by the Dark Lord.

Spoiler: Leon Vision

As Leon approached the crossroads, the Adumar native would suddenly see the spire around him come to life. Vines and blossoming plants began to slither across the ground and overtake the door frames, walls and ceiling - until they were surrounded by a canopy of verdant green. It was beautiful in its own way, if it weren’t for the thorns and wicked barbs that seemed to reach out to grab at them. Bladed limbs that suddenly surged from the walls, latching onto both Ezra and Ferrin, while binding the Padawan’s limbs into place.

He would only be able to watch as the thorny vines began to into the orifices of his friends - slithering up their nostrils and down their throats, while constricting around their bodies. Thick barbs pierced into the healed scar at Ferrin’s throat, reopening the gash that Vizim had inflicted. By the time he began to struggle against his confines, both Ferrin and Ezra were being dragged off into the Darkness - towards the left path and out of sight.

Spoiler: Ferrin Vision

Ferrin only had a few moments to glance down at the Lightsaber - staring at the engraved hilt - before his vision was suddenly clouded, as the world itself seemed to change all around him. Ezra and Leon would vanish completely from his sight, leaving him alone with no way to go. The sound of footsteps began to fill the air coming from both directions - though the faces associated with those figures were most definitely not his friends.

The familiar visage of Weequay and Zabrak slavers began to close in on the Pantoran - electro-whips and blasters leveled on the Padawan. The Force ignored any attempt to be summoned, and the saberhilt on his belt had vanished from sight completely. He was defenseless. Helpless. Just as he had been the very first time they came for him.

But they weren’t the only people the Pantoran might be able to hear. Deeper within the Spire - back the direction they had just come - the screams of his own family could be heard. Parents and siblings that had been gone for over a decade, begging him to get away. To come and find them.

To run.

@Sreeya @Zay @Alhon @Altaris

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra’s face actually turned a little pink at Ferrin’s quip. He was used to flirting, but seldom in such a crude and overt manner. He only coughed in response, focusing on venturing deeper into the ruins. He felt Ferrin grasp his hand, which was an anchor back to reality. Ezra felt darkness lingering around him, faint disembodied whispers resounding in ways he couldn’t tell whether they were physical or not.

He felt something touch against his foot and he looked down to spot the aged hilt. Unlike Leon, Ezra didn’t have a sudden compulsion to grab anything without thinking. He eyed the hilt and felt the power that pulsed through it.

Ezra looked up to suddenly see a figure standing before him. He couldn’t explain the sudden sick feeling that overcame him, “Are…are you guys seeing this?” He whispered quietly, suddenly realizing that he couldn’t feel Ferrin anymore. Ezra felt nothing but the icy chill of the figure in front of him, and that cold red visor staring at him. He had seen it once before when he and Dash first opened the Winter's Casket holocron. He could vividly recall the terrified way Dash looked at him and when he said Ezra’s eyes had turned yellow.

“Who are you?!” Ezra shouted out, feeling the dark energies manifest. He felt nothing but anger and rage at this figure haunting his thoughts. Who was this? And why did he feel this presence whenever he used the Force sometimes?

And then he heard it. Or he thought he heard it - Dash’s voice. It was almost a whisper, but it was enough to cut through the darkness that was drowning him. Ezra was torn, however, because against every instinct telling him to go towards Dash, he couldn’t help but look at the figure before him. He had to know. He wanted to know.

After all, was it so different than Dash seeking out Jadis without understanding the risks?

“Who are you..” Ezra whispered again, taking one step and then another to absentmindedly move towards the figure.

@Alhon @Zay @Altaris

 

[Dash Pavan]

No sooner had Dash let out his whisper than the sense of foreboding seemed to rush at him.

Something breathed harshly in the darkness, a predatory snort of recognition and the sound of pounding feet on a metal floor. Dash was already straining against the darkness for some sense of his friends and he snapped around, feeling danger as clear as day charging at him from his right.

He span away as the creature reached him, drawing and igniting his saber. The crooked silver-cored blade crackled through the darkness, its ice-blue aura illuminating a horrific star-shaped maw. The thing roared at him, snapping wildly with row upon on row of razor sharp teeth.

Dash twisted away, slashing at the creature defensively, but it darted aside into the shadows. The Rhinnalian's shoulder hit a wall, but it was his head that felt an impact, smote by a mental wave of dark emotions. The thing was rotten and twisted to the core, and it was hungry. He could feel it.

The Jedi Knight scurried backwards, feeling out the walls of a metal corridor and hurrying down it as fast as he dared. There was barely a spec of light to see by, but the abomination had to be used to that whereas he was not. He had to put some distance between them while he thought. It was used to the darkness and had shied away from the glare of his saber. Perhaps that was something.

Fear tried to stir in him, but Dash would not let it. He was not just here for himself, even if the prospect of running into his friends bodies was already swimming before his eyes.

@Zay @Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

The tingle down his spine spread across his skin making the air on his arms and neck stand on end. He could feel his hands get clammy, which proc’d his insecurity, making him sweat more… The shame of it was too much, just as they we’re reaching a crossroads he pulled his hand out of Ferrin’s grasp and wiped it on his tunic, projecting to Ferrin, “Sorry, my hands were disgusting…” but he couldn’t feel the Pantoran’s consciousness. Leon expanded his search to Ez. He’d been able to feel them both with no problem at all a moment before.

He frowned, then called out, “Ez, Rin?”

Leon’s anxiety peaked as panic started to settle in. “Okay, you got me! I’m freaked out! You’re gonna have to show me how—”

The sound of bark cracking and popping made him start. His eyes whipped up as he reached for Daybreak, but he grabbed air. His eyes dropped, both sabers and his blaster were gone. What was happening? What was going on?

CRACK!

His eyes flicked back up, serpent like vines slithered over the metallic hall. Their blossoms were beautiful, but in a way that seemed more warning than invitation. Baudelare decided to obey the warning, taking a hesitant step back when Ferrin and Ezra were dangled in front of him like a pair of grotesque marionettes. Instinctively he started forward and then wailed in pain. Shocked eyes filled with terror and then rage as he saw the sharp tendrils constricting his arms and legs. Leon’s wail became a guttural scream as he fought against the vines.

Ezra’s ravaged body was shoved toward him, the razor sharp thorns ripping and tearing his flesh, “NO-NO-NONONONONO!” Leon screamed writhing against the binds as they grated against his bones. Razor sharp thorns biting into his flesh like a hand saw being drawn across a plank. Ezra’s body was ripped away, Baudelaire tried with all his might to look away to stop seeing the terror displayed but he couldn’t.

Ferrin was displayed next. His body hanging limp, it hovered suspended by the vines only inches from Leon’s face, tears burned his verdant eyes as he met the Pantoran’s dead orbs. Ferrin shook and hope began to bloom in Leon, then the invasive vines burst from Ferrin’s throat. Viscra splattered across his face, and Leon puked. Any hope he was clinging to withered.

His body sagged against the bings that bit into him. Tears slid down his cheeks. The niggling end of a vine prodded his cheek. This was it. This was how he died. On a blackwater planet consumed by carnivorous vegetation. What a joke. The vine pressed again, this time more insistent. Leon frowned. Something was off. Since Kashyyyk, he’d had a scar on cheek. The slanted “X” had become something he’d run his hands across multiple times a day for months and now as the vine pressed where his puckered skin should be… it was smooth.

Leon’s head snapped up his mind whirling with the implication. Now, that he wasn’t caught up in the gruesome puppet dance he was starting to see inconsistencies all over. Leon expanded his consciousness with the force that’s when he felt it. The hunger. He’d experienced this before on Dxun, but what did it mean? What was he missing? The vines loosened a bit as if wanting him to escape. Ezra and Ferrin’s bodies were dragged down the left path. He had no doubt this was a trap. Not a single part of him believed a sentient tree was murdering Jedi, well not anymore, well not like totally. Okay, most of him had a very strong suspension that this wasn’t real, but he had no idea how to get the hell out.

He reached up and brushed the smooth skin on his cheek. He took a breath in. “I breathe in the force believing it will fill my lungs…” he breathed out, “...and it does.”

Leon could feel the hunger emanating from the left hall, so that’s where he went. He was still shaken up, the sight of his friends mutilated bodies was going to take a LOT of therapy to work though, the only thing he could hope was that he was right, and that this wasn’t real.

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ferrin barely had time to comprehend what was happening all around him. The Darkness loomed heavily across the Pantoran’s mind like a shroud - sending shivers across his spine and sapping all the warmth from his body. He wasn’t sure when Ezra and Leon had vanished from his side, but their absence immediately caused the Pantoran to tense with anxiety. His hand shot down to grip the lightsaber hilt that should’ve been clipped to his belt. But it simply wasn’t there.

Before Ferrin could search for the weapon, his gaze was drawn towards the figures approaching. He recognized them at once, and their appearance immediately caused the color to drain from his expression. It had been years since the Pantoran and his family were victims of those slave raids - and their faces had haunted his dreams in the time since. It was only recently that he’d begun to put it all behind him. To finally rise above it - and now they’d come back to haunt him once more.

The Force was distant and unreadable. He felt helpless and desperate - as every fiber of his being screamed to flee in the opposite direction. To get as far away from that nightmare as he possibly could, and he knew he could escape it. Just as he’d been doing for years at this point.

But where had that gotten him? He wasn’t stronger or liberated because of it. It always left him feeling like that same helpless boy on Pantoran, rather than the Jedi he had grown to be. Death had come for him on Berchest and he’d survived it. He’d faced Sith and worse and survived it. He would face this, and survive it.

Ferrin didn’t know where Ezra or Leon were - but he could feel the Force radiate down the left hallway. Beyond where the slaver continued to march towards him - electro-whip held high and crackling. Slowly but surely, the Pantoran began to march towards the figure - jaw set into a firm line and muscled tensed. Slowly but surely, each step brought him closer to the thing he feared the most. To confront it face-first. To move past it.

It isn’t real. It isn’t real..

It couldn’t be, could it?

@Sreeya @Alhon @Zay

 

[The Storyteller]

Spoiler: Ezra Vision

As Ezra began to draw closer, he would be able to see how the figure warped and twisted all around them. Like a shadow being projected on the wall, it stretched and grew tall within the hallway - to the point that the quarter-Sephi would seem almost miniscule standing beneath it. The whispers of mechanized breathing boomed loud within his sensitive ears, and the twisted, crimson visor never broke from its piercing, emotionally stare.

He could scream and shout for answers - but not a single word left the figures lips. It was as silent as the ghost that it was, and would only torment the quarter-Sephi with the questions and uncertainty that wracked his mind all this time.

But Ezra would be able to hear other voices - feel other sensations - as the environment warped all around him. The shadow-cloaked hallway began to ripple and fade out of focus, until the inky void began to flow and sway like plumes of smoke. Because they were plumes of smoke - clouds that parted just long enough for the quarter-Sephi to see an entire world burning all around him. He couldn’t be able to recognize the surface of Firrerre as it was bombarded and glassed from orbit, nor would he be able to understand the screams of the natives in their mother tongue. But they flashed across his mind’s eye as vividly as if he’d been there in person.

Voices spoke out to Ezra through the smoke and fire - though from no direction discernable. It didn’t come from the figure ahead, but they boomed in his ears all the same. Louder and louder with every step he took.

“I know what he is. I know he’s a monster.”

“I destroy everyone and everything around me.”

“Remind this all too proud disgrace of his place,”

They were words spoken through time. Words spoken by and about the figure standing ahead of him, but they were distorted to the point that Ezra wouldn’t be able to tell who had said them.

“Are you so afraid of what you have created?”

As Ezra came to stand before the figure, it leaned forward - its mask and visor sizzling and fading away like the smoke all around them. The final words echoed through the quarter-Sephi’s ears - repeating in his mind over, and over, and over again.

“Am I not your perfect design?”

Until the smoke finally faded - and Ezra would see his own face staring back at him, eyes bloodshot and iris’ tinted with animalistic yellow.

Spoiler: Leon Vision

It didn’t matter how fast Leon attempted to run - as the hallway seemed to stretch on endlessly. The vines and flora scaled up the walls and intertwined together, forming the deadly canopy that attempted to find the Padawan in place. He would be able to watch, but never quite catch up, as his friends were dragged deeper into the hallway by the predatory vines - thorns and spines weaving through their flesh as time continued to pass.

Whatever had inflicted the vision on Leon, it wanted the Padawan to follow. It wanted him to wander down the hallway and right into its waiting maw. But things had.. Changed. Others within the Spire had defies its intentions, and forced the creature to adapt the visions it forced on the Padawan.

As he marched through the hallway, Leon would be able to see the faces that appeared from the canopy-covered walls, poking through the vegetation and begging for aid. He would see bodies of people he knew from the temple, from his home on Adumar, tangled in vines and thorns - struggling and writhing to get free. After a while, the familiar face of Jayna was visible amongst those struggling against the vegetation. She attempted to peel the vines away as they dug into her flesh, snaking up her arms and coiling around her throat.

“H-help me..” She reached out to Leon, desperate for his aid.

Spoiler: Ferrin Vision

Whatever courage Ferrin had managed to muster surprised the entity responsible for the vision. It wanted to force the Pantoran to diverge from his allies and flee in the opposite direction. It wanted them alone. Isolated. Afraid. Easy to prey and feast upon. But each and every one of the Padawans had defied the intent of those visions - and it caused distinct surges of rage to pulse through the Dark Side.

It was the frustration from hundreds of years of starvation, and now to have its will defied by the Padawans it attempted to toy with. It was anger projected into the vision that Ferrin experienced - more so than any of the others. Anger that would force the Pantoran to suffer and writhe in agony, so long as visions persisted.

As he stepped closer to the slaver, the Weequay figure didn’t vanish or dissipate into smoke. It didn’t cower or change course upon seeing the Pantoran stand his ground - anger flashing its malicious eyes. Just as Ferrin stepped within range, the Weequay swung the electro-whip that it wielded - lashing the rope across the Padawan’s neck and coiling tightly around him. Ferrin would feel nothing but blinding agony as pulses of electricity surged through his body and forced him to his knees. He would fear nothing but the screams of his own family who suffered the same fate - lost deeper within the hallways.

It was nothing but a figment of the Pantoran’s imagination - but it felt real all the same.

The Seedling had hoped to isolate the Padawans as they delved deeper into the Spire - approaching the prison it had begun to escape from. It wanted to send them fleeing in opposite directions, and to consume them one by one, siphoning the Force energy from their very bodies. After centuries of hunger, it was desperate to feed and wanted no chance of resistance from its latest prey.

But it had been defied. For one reason or another, each and everyone of them had funneled into the left hallway - drawing closer to the Planetoid creature that lurked in the dark. It send spikes of anger and anxiety through the Force, as it was suddenly surrounded by more enemies than it had anticipated.

It didn’t matter. The visions continued to play out vividly in each of their minds - and the other Jedi foolish enough to enter the Spire had already encountered his sibling. The Seedling only needed a moment to catch one of them off-guard. One moment to lunge from the shadows and pick one of them off before the other two realized. Just. One. Moment.

Regardless of how the trio handled their respective visions, the Planetoid Creature began to stalk forward from the hallway - its attention fixed onto the group entranced just ahead. It’s maw dripped with venom, and its razor-shard, wooden talons were poised to strike - prepared to sink deep into the flesh of its first victims. Perhaps the trio wouldn’t hear the shambling that brought it closer. Perhaps they wouldn’t see the figure emerging from the shadows. But there was no doubting they would hear the ear-splitting scream that tore from its maw - just as it lunged forward to attack.

---​

Elsewhere in the Spire, that same scream echoed through the hallways and corridors - and made itself audible to Dash and the Sister Seedling that the Knight battled against. The Plantoid could sense the distress and intention of its sibling elsewhere fighting against the Padawans, and it ultimately gave the creature pause for the briefest moment. It reared its head towards the direction of the sound - talons poised and pulled back.

It provided Dash a single opportunity to strike - and likely left the Knight with an idea of what was happening elsewhere within the mysterious Spire they'd wandered into.

@Sreeya @Alhon @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon trotted down the beautiful hallway of death. In the bodies along the wall he glimpsed faces that looked familiar but weren’t quite right, kinda like seeing someone you knew in a dream. The hunger he’d been following called to him like a siren’s song. He kept his pace just out of the slithering vine’s reach as he continued down the hall.

If this wasn’t real that meant there had to be a way out. There had to be a way through the illusion and back into the real world where, he had no doubt, he and his buddies were in serious trouble. The dark expanse before him continued to unravel. He wasn’t getting closer, and he wasn’t getting further. Ezra and Ferrin’s mutilated and ravaged bodies hung by tendrils of rent flesh. Leon took a breath.

“It’s not real,” he told himself. As if offended by the accusation the foliage that was consuming the hallway began to descend upon him like spiders dropping from their webs. The Padawan slipped past, refusing to touch them. He found the less time he spent in contact with the vines the less direct the influence his adversary seemed to have.

The was a wail followed by a whimpering sob. A voice that cut through him like a hot knife through butter called out, “Leon…”

His head whipped around and he saw her. Trapped in the wall, being consumed by the invasive vines. Her porcelain flesh was striped with crimson tracks as the saw-like teeth of the vine constricted. A delicate hand reached out to him, “H-help me…”

Leon laughed. Leon laughed hard. Like, doubled over sucking wind through a snorting nose laugh. Jayna Throne didn’t ask for help. The image before him shimmered, the weight of his weapons returned to his waist and without a second thought Leon Baudelaire’s ancient Lightsaber, the weapon he’d named Daybreak, sprang into his hand. The weapon's pale-yellow blade ignited casting light the color of an Adumarian sunrise across the grotesque scene.

To the fake Jayna he said, “I owe you, beautiful.”

Then he drew back with his weapon, as he pulled back he called out to his most faithful companion, the force. As if it had been waiting for his call the omnipresent power burst forth with the raging might of a maelstrom. Leon channeled the power into his blade, and swung at the wall. His goal was to destroy the illusion, and he had no doubt it would give way under his onslaught.

@Altaris @Alhon @Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra bristled as he saw the images of Firrerre, the agony of the suffering hitting him like a speeder. He clutched at his head, grimacing as he tried to make the noises stop. The darkness was overwhelming, and he hunched over as he tried to remind himself this wasn’t happening. It felt so real- he coughed from the smoke, he could feel the heat against his skin, and he could hear that cold voice again.

The voice was jumbled, but there was something so familiar about it. It was the same presence from when Dash opened the holocron. There was something that his parents didn’t tell him. Things happened one too many times for him to ignore it. If he made it out of here, he would confront his fathers because he was done with the secrecy.

Ezra saw his own face mirrored before him, his eyes yellow. He was suddenly reminded of the terror in Dash’s eyes when he gazed at him with the yellow eyes. It was that stream of thought that anchored him. Ezra refused to be that, whatever it was. He had to rise above it and now was not the time for questions. He had already fallen for it, and he needed to get out.

He found himself in the present, quickly grasping the saber hilt on his hip. He ignited his blade, the purple hue burning against the darkness in the ruins. Ezra didn’t hesitate, charging ahead to slash at the figure in front of him, which was the creature stalking them. He pushed through the mists of the illusion, driven by his confidence in himself and faith in the Force.

@Altaris @Zay @Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash pounded down the metal hall, blue blade held outstretched to light the way. He was breathing fast, picking up speed and marshalling the Force with increasing momentum. The Sister Seedling thundered behind him, snapping viciously at his heels, an age old hunger fuelling the chase.

The Rhinnalian knew he had to face it, wishing, willing for better ground to do so. But the metal walls ran on, refusing to yield as he was dragged further into the darkness. All too soon a wall appeared ahead of him, the passage turning and becoming even narrower.

A primal scream suddenly split the air, reverberating down the passage behind. It was too distant to be this creature, so it had to be another also chasing its prey. Ez!

Dash sensed his Seedling halt, pausing to turn back and sniff the air. He had to take his chance now and try to reach his friends.

Reaching the wall, Dash leapt and twisted in the air, pivoting around to spring off the metal with both booted feet, launching himself back towards the abomination. Arms outstretched ahead and both hands on his hilt, he pushed off with the Force and flew through the air like a streaking blue comet, lancing into the Seedling's midsection.

The Force of the impact buried his saber all the way, jerking his arms as the crooked blade dove deep. Dash felt the sickening warmth of the creature's insides as his hands and wrists followed the hilt in, his head and shoulders bowling into the beast and knocking it backwards off its feet. It's many-faced maw let out a desperate wail that would reverberate throughout the Spire.

Hunter and prey collapsed to the ground. Dash rolled off the thing and awkwardly dislodged his saber, furiously wiping his forearms on his flightsuit as he tried not to wretch. The creature was down, but he was sure one or two of its fanged fins were still twitching in the dim light. He slashed at it again to be sure, burying his nose in his shoulder at the stench of something that should have died eons ago finally breathing its last.

He staggered back in the direction of the other scream, one hand holding his blade ahead of him and the other checking himself for wounds. The Rhinnalian did not know what he had just faced, but he was just glad to have survived it. His friends had to have made it too, they were mad as hell to have ended up here, but they were the best he knew.

Lights flashed down a far hallway but Dash resisted the urge to cry out this time. He ran faster instead, drawing the Force to him as he raced to his friends' aid.

@Altaris @Zay @Sreeya

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ferrin wailed in agony - falling to his knees as the electro-whip coiled around his neck. Within the confines of that vision, pulses of electricity surged through his body and forced his muscles to contract and spasm - the smell of his own hair and flesh burning filling the air. It was molten agony to endure, and it was familiar in ways that the Pantoran wished that he could forget.

For years, he’d danced around any questions about his past. He’d tried to bury down all those fears and horrible memories within the recesses of his mind - to a place where it couldn’t haunt him any longer. It was the demon that he could never face - and it was the very thing that manifested through the Dark Side to cripple him in his place. And for several moments, that was exactly what happened.

It wasn’t until Dash struck down one of the Seedlings - deeper in the Spire - that he was able to ground himself in reality. The screams of the dying creature echoed through the corridors and permeated even into the visions that their kind created, and reminded the Pantoran at once of where he was. His golden eyes flicked up to the figure before him, staring down into the Weequay’s sickly, yellowed eyes.

This. Isn’t. Real.

Slowly but surely, Ferrin began to force himself to his feet - fighting against the pain and spasming of his own muscles. He stepped forward, eyes narrowed upon the figure in front of him. This wasn’t real - there to cripple him with fear and force him to run away. Ferrin was done running - done letting the memories of the past haunt him any longer.

His slow steps brought him right up to the face of the Weequay towering above him. Without a word, Ferrin swiped his hand through the figure - watching as his arm cut through the man and causes his visage to dissolve into a plume of black, inky smoke. The world shifted all around him again, and Ferrin found himself back in the hallway - watching as Ezra and Leon both battled against the Planetoid creature ahead. He watched as it reared and prepared to lash out once more, and immediately caused the Pantoran to step forward in action.

The Force swelled and flowed through Ferrin - extending outwards as invisible tendrils of energy. He attempted to pin and hold the Plantoid creature in place, perhaps allowing either of his companions an opportunity to finish it off.

@Sreeya @Zay @Alhon

 

[The Storyteller]

A horrible, bloodcurdling scream tore through the hallway and corridors of the Spire - echoing off the metal walls and piercing into the minds of the opposing Jedi. For centuries, the Seedling had survived and subsisted within the confines of the Spire that had once been its prison - and for the first time in centuries, it felt pain. Ezra’s lightsaber found purchase through one of the thorn(e) covered limbs that reared back to strike, sizzling and burning as it was severed from the Plantoid’d body. Spittle and venom dripped from its maw, and it immediately began to lung forward - attempting to bite down into the quarter-Sephi’s arm or torso.

Just as Leon slashed into the wall, the vision around him began to fade. The faces of his friends and Jayna began to fade into a cloud of black smoke - hissing and fading with the faintest gush of wind. In an instant, the Padawan was back within the same hallway - just in time to see Ezra carve his lightsaber through the vine-like arm of the Plantoid that had apparently been attacking them the entire time.

It struggled and roared to overwhelm them - and was only momentarily slowed by the Force-grip from Ferrin. A lone Padawan simply didn’t have the strength to hold it in place, but was able to give his companions an opportunity to attack

—​

“My dear boy,”

As Dash rushed through the hallway and towards his friend, the Knight would hear a familiar voice echo around him - piercing deep into his mind and seeming to drown out the sounds of combat. Reflected against the smooth, metallic panels, he would see the face of Jadis staring back at him - the woman suspended in the frost-covered walls just as she had been on Rhinnal. Her face was twisted into a soft, almost sad smile - watching as he ran.

“Don’t you see how they are holding you back? How he is holding you back?” She repeated. If Dash kept running, her visage would simply appear on the next wall around the corner - following him through every twist and turn. “Abandoning your duties to rush to their rescue. Fighting and struggling against an enemy you were able to best on your own,”

Dash would feel his body begin to slow, even as he rushed through the halls. If he glanced down, he would see mounds of snow that he had to trudge through - slowing his gait as Jadis floated against the reflective surface. “If they aren’t strong enough to fight on their own, they aren’t worthy of you.” She smiled with pride. “They aren’t worthy of the man you have grown to become.”

“I can offer you everything they can’t. The knowledge and power that is your birthright. Our legacy,” She stepped closer through the wall. Dash would be able to see as her spectral hand began to pierce through the surface - reaching out for him to take hold. “You once done me that you’re done running.” The words were almost snide. “All you need do is reach out, Dash.”

Just up ahead, however, Dash would be able to see a light amongst the darkness and snow that closed in all around him. The ancient saberhilt - the very one that had been left by the others - still hummed with the Light, and it shone like a beacon through everything he was seeing. The weapon and his friends were only just ahead, just barely out of reach. But it was his own choice whether he’d run to their aid.

@Sreeya @Alhon @Zay

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra knew it was real when his saber cut through the tendril of an arm, the appendage seared and dropping with a thud. There was a shrill cry from the beast that almost made his ears flatten against his skull. His eyes watered and it staggered him for a moment. That allowed just that brief span of time for the maw to open and clamp down on his arm.

“ARGH!” He cried out in pain, agony shooting through that arm. He repeatedly stabbed the thing with his saber until it released him, his pain driving his rage. Ezra used the Force, but once again in that curious way he had in that cave with Dash. He could suddenly see through a different plane in the Force, and he could see where the creature’s severed stump was and how it attached to the rest of the body. All of a sudden, that line began to fissure and extend throughout the creature, the wound growing deeper and worse, starting to spread throughout the body.

The part Sephi stared at the beast, his jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed as he forced his will on it. His right arm had deep bites and was bleeding, jet black ooze pulsing at the puncture wounds where the venom seeped from the jaws.

@Zay @Alhon @Altaris

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon’s saber collided with the wall and the illusion gave way. He felt himself stumble forward, into the real world. Baudelaire’s mind reeled as it struggled to process what it had been through. Ezra’s lightsaber was out and moving. Leon watched as the blade sliced into the ugliest bush he’d ever seen and then the fucking thing screamed. A TREE WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO KILL THEM!?! OH HELL NAH!

Baudelaire swiped for Daybreak and grasped air. He glanced down then swore as immediately began drawing the force into him. The force sensitive foliage wailed in agony as one of it’s tendrils dropped to the ground. Leon could feel Ferrin’s tug of war with the creature and decided his best course of action was to help the Pantoran hold this thing in place so Ezra could finish cutting him up.

Leon held up an outstretched hand and envisioned a tendril of his own encircling the plantoid and then constricting. He was looking to restrain the seedling’s snapping jaw. He almost lost his concentration when Ezra was bitten, but a flash of the part Sephi mutilated by vines put him right back on track.

@Sreeya @Alhon @Altaris

 

[Dash Pavan]

The hallway almost seemed to lengthen as Dash ran, a strange sensation descending on him and making him feel light-headed. The ethereal voice of Jadis whispered through the gloom, so close he felt a breath on his neck.

What was she doing here? How? She had taught him how to commune with her without the Casket, but she had never come unbidden. Now she was in every metallic panel he glanced at he tried to reach his friends.

"My duty is to rush to their rescue" he shot back, not sure what her game was. She had never liked Ezra from the beginning and she often seemed to want all of his attention, but it was new for her to challenge him like this.

But it hardly mattered, his friends needed his help urgently and he could not waste time on her ramblings. He pressed on, but something almost tripped him up. He looked down to see snow gathering around his ankles, several inches covering the ground ahead. Where had it come from, how had it fallen down here? He tried to trudge through, but it was slowing him to less than a walk. Jadis was there through it all, talking Dash up and telling him his friends were not worthy of him.

The Rhinnalian was indeed the first to be Knighted and he did feel more powerful than he ever had before. He had managed to take down the mawed creature on his own it was true and he had not even called his potent Force talents. Perhaps he was really streets ahead of the others, but even if he was it was not enough. Dash was still not sure he was strong enough to keep them all safe.

The snow was thickening before his eyes, in a rising white tide that made no sense. Jadis's pale hand actually pierced through the metal wall ahead, reaching out towards him, offering a way out. A chance to become even stronger. Perhaps he should listen.

A light glowed faintly in the distance beyond Jadis, a pure warm pinprick that beckoned him on. But it seemed to be dimming with every passing moment and Dash found he was not so sure why he needed to keep going. He looked again at the delicate pale hand extended towards him, at the promise of strength in those fierce eyes.

A sudden cry split the air, a cry of pain. It was Ezra.

Dash's love for the Thorne relit a fire inside the Jedi, burning away Jadis's shadows so he once again saw clearly. The snow around his legs seemed to ripple and warp. It was not real. None of this was real.

Dash had been rallying the Force since he first ran towards his friends and he bundled it in his fist now and swiped at the image of Jadis. "You don't make my decisions!" he yelled, upper cutting the illusion and tearing it asunder. Jadis shattered in a scream and a ripple of shadows, the snow fading to wisps as Dash ran on towards the light.

He burst into a chamber, overjoyed to find Ezra, Leon and Ferrin all alive, but locked in a pitched battle with something vicious and gnarly. Ez had an arm trapped inside the beast's massive maw.

"Leon, go long!" Dash shouted, pulling the Adumarian's blaster from Charlie's pack on his back and throwing the sidearm to his friend. Leon was a deft shot and could give the thing hell.

Meanwhile Dash pulled the ancient saber hilt from the ground and ignited it with his own, leaping towards the creature with twin blades. Sliding in low across the ground, he would try to carve it up if needed. Whatever it took to get the thing off Ez.

@Altaris @Zay @Sreeya

 

[The Storyteller]

Agony surged through the Seedling as it was attacked from multiple adversaries and additionally restrained by the Force. It’s pain and rage manifested profoundly through the Force, and drive the Planetoid forward as latched onto Ezra’s arm - razor-like fangs digging into the flesh of his exposed arm. Venom pumped into the quarter-Sephi’s wound and bloodstream within seconds of first contact, taking the form of inky-black bile that oozed from the wound and mixed with the Padawan’s own blood.

It was more than a lethal dose, and it was the final act of vengeance before the Plantoid was completely overwhelmed. It reeled back from the repeated stabbing from Ezra, unable to fully defend itself as the Force of two additional Jedi attempted to hold it in a formof stasis. It was enough to completely sever a piece of the Seedling’s jaw from its body, writhing and moving on its own as it fell to the ground. The final blow came as Dash - the fourth and final Jedi - emerged from the shadows, arcing the ancient Lightsaber to bisect the creature. Green plasma hissed to life, slicing through layers of plant material, thorns and vines.

For the final time, the Seedling roared out in agony - once more tapping into the Dark Side. There was no last-ditch strike or bite, but instead a final invasion of their minds. A combination of every vision and memory that has been analyzed was thrown back at the group, weaker and more desperate than the initial manipulations. There was no individual target, forcing them all to endure the same images that flashed by at almost lightning pace.

They would feel the heat and smoke of Firrerre as the planet burned, and yet none of that could challenge the chill of Darth Raze’d presence - looking over them like an oppressive shadow. Through the plumes of smoke, they would see Leon standing among the mangled bodies of all those he failed to protect - wrapped and strangled by the vines. They would see the slavers they ferried Ferrin off in chains, torn from his own family. They would hear the voice of Jadis echoing on the wind, booming in their ears and through their minds.

All of it flashed in mere seconds, volatile and aggressive. Curiously, Ezra would be the only one capable of resisting the mental intrusion to some degree - as the vision appeared almost faded and translucent from his perspective.

As then it began to fade. The Seedling tensed and began to wobble, before finally slumping over onto the side of the hallway - as its final moments of life were spent. The writhing mass of vines and teeth came to a halt, until there was nothing left at all.

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Through their combined efforts, Ferrin watched as the Seedling was assaulted from multiple angles - a combination of the Force and lightsaber-strikes delivering mortal injuries. He watched as the creature staggered backwards and gasped for its last breaths, but couldn’t have predicted the visions that would be forced upon him in those final moment.

Grasping the sides of his skull, Ferrin watched each image that flicked by, flashing across his mind involuntarily. He witnessed his own nightmares, and those of everyone close to him - from the burning of Firrerre, to the voice of Jadis, to the oppressive visage of Raze staring through his very soul. It was enough to completely overwhelm the Padawan and cause his knees to buckle inward, struggling to remain upright through the mental intrusion by the Seedling.

And then it was gone.

As abruptly as the visions were summoned, Ferrin was returned to the present moment - as the Seedling slumped over to the side of the hallway, dead and dismembered. Almost at once, Ferrin could feel a palpable lightness in the air for the first time - as the oppressive shroud of the Dark Side was, at least in that planteoid form, banished from the Spire. The Pantoran could see further down the hallway for the first time, spotting a stone door at the very end. Four, cylindrical slots were etched into the surface - though for what purpose wasn’t entirely clear.

For the moment, Ferrin’s attention and concern flicked towards his friends - and inevitably towards Ezra, having seen the Quarter-Sephi bitten. His eyes narrowed at once, spotting the black pus that oozed from the wound, and the darkened veins that spread out across the Padawan’s forearm. He didn’t need to investigate to know the bite was likely venomous, and they likely didn’t have much time to act upon that knowledge.

Without a moment of hesitation, Ferrin pushed from where he was standing - approaching Ezra where the Thorne was nursing his injury. He placed a hand in Ezra’s wrist and gently lifted the arm to level horizontally, golden eyes flicking up to his friend. “Trust me, yeah?” He projected through the Force, his expression still knitted into a playful smile. “Never did mind getting my hands dirty with you,” He winked, still able to manage his commentariat in even the most dire of situations.

Taking in a breath, Ferrin began to open himself to the Force - allowing the current of energies, connecting all life, to flow into and around him. It filled every extremity of his body and gathered at his fingertips with the intensity of a raging rapid, manifesting as a soft glow of sunlight - shining from within the center of the Pantoran’s hand. It illuminated the space between his fingers and against Ezra’s injury, as the comforting energies poured into the quarter-Sephi. Ezra would feel the comforting sensation of healing as Ferrin did his work, the pain and discomfort beginning to subside. Like water washing away contamination, the Force flowed deep into the quarter-Sephi’s veins - through his bloodstream and to find poison that pumped through him.

Slowly but surely, it began to dilute and purge the toxicity that coursed through his body - causing the darkening of his veins to retract. It wasn’t an instantaneous process, and took every bit of Ferrin’s concentration to maintain - brows knitting together and eyes closed. It sapped the vast majority of his remaining strength, but it would perhaps be enough to save his friend from the effects of the Seedling’s bite.

@Sreeya @Alhon @Zay

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra collapsed from the bite, his vision growing blurry. His skin felt clammy, and he was rapidly losing his bearings. He thought he saw Dash somewhere in the distance, and he knew he was heading for his end then. There was no way Dash fucking Pavan was out here on this random armpit of a planet.

He heard the creature make all sorts of noise and he wasn’t sure what was happening. All he could feel was pain, and then he looked up to see familiar golden eyes. Ezra blinked a few times before a familiar voice resounded inside his mind. How Ferrin managed to maintain his wit even through the darkest hours was beyond him. Ezra gave a weak smile and fell against the Pantoran, his eyes closing as his face buried into his shoulder. He was drifting away from consciousness, the poison in his arm beginning to take a paralyzing hold of his body.

Ezra was largely oblivious to Ferrin working his magic, utilizing a skill he always failed at. Ferrin’s efforts paid off after a moment, though it would badly drain him. The poison seeped out of his wound, the Pantoran’s healing done timely enough before it completely took over Ezra. The Thorne began to regain feeling and he blinked his eyes open.

He drew back and stared in surprise at Ferrin. Ezra’s mouth opened as if he was going to say something, his eyes for once missing their usual ice. There was even a brief moment where he smiled at him in a way he never had before. However, before words spilled out, his gaze flicked to the side to catch sight of a familiar blond.

“Dash?!” Ezra called out, genuinely perplexed, “Does everyone else see him? Or is he an illusion?” He looked around at Leon and Ferrin to confirm that Dash was actually there in the flesh.

@Zay @Altaris @Alhon