Ask Scrub Squad: Man Down

[Leon Baudelaire]

BRIGHTHOME​

The Freebird passed through the energy shield and into Brighthome. Leon had a love hate relationship with this place. It was where he'd been stuck for months after escaping Adumar. That had been the lowest point of his life. Alone and positive everyone you cared about was dead. If he wasn't running down the ramp of his ship, he'd have felt a shiver run down his spine.

On the same hand, it's the place he'd met Hera and gained the confidence to volunteer for survival training on Kashyyyk. His boots slid on the slick durasteel floor as he skidded around a corner making for broke toward the nearest lift. He smashed the call button for the lift over and over.

He wasn't alone. Ezra and Dash were right there with him. Same fear, same hope. The door opened and they piled in. Leon was on the close button before the other two were even in the lift and the door slid closed just as they got in. The ride up was the worst. Leon popped his fingers nervously, ignoring anyone's reaction. Once done he found he couldn't stop himself touching the tips of his fingers to his thumbs in rapid succession until—Ding!

They stepped into the medical center. The only way Leon could think to describe what he saw before him was barely organized chaos. It was all hands on deck. Leon's heart fell to the floor. The symphony of pain and anguish was deafening. The smell of bacta and antiseptic washed over him. His vision swam with the raw impact of Darth Raze's attack. This was the aftermath. He felt a hand on his shoulder and realized he was practically hyperventilating...

A Medical Droid shuffled up, "Name, Rank, Ailment?"
"We're looking for our friend," said Leon, the words spilling from his mouth, "Can you tell me where Padawan Ferrin Sipal, is?"
The Droid cocked it's head to the side and Leon could have swore it gave him a, "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" glare before saying, "Enter your friends Name and Rank there," it's arm lifted pointed to a wall.

Leon sighed and turned around to the wall, punching in Ferrin's information. His hands shook as they fumbled over Ferrin's name. Then the Pantoran's picture and room popped up.

Status: Alive, Stable. Unresponsive. Room—

They'd each be able to see it. Leon was running. Ferrin was close.

@Sreeya @Alhon @Altaris

 

[Ezra Thorne]

To say that Ezra was tired was an understatement. The Thorne did not do well operating on little sleep. He was already lost out on an Unknown Region world, then he was rescued by his friends, then they came straight here. He couldn’t remember the last time he rested his eyes for more than a few minutes. He was little more than a zombie as he walked with Dash and Leon to find out about Ferrin.

The moment it was revealed that Ferrin was stabled, Ezra felt relief. The unresponsive part, however, was alarming. The part Sephi rubbed his eyes and stifled yawns every other step, his eyes bleary and red. His hair was slightly disheveled and he looked miserable.

After a bit of walking, they were able to find his room. Ferrin was hooked up to all sorts of machines, but otherwise looked peacefully asleep. There were no signs of any external injuries. Ezra couldn't even imagine what he went through. A pang of guilt surged through Ezra - it was technically his father that had done this.

Ezra remained near the doorway, leaning against the wall as he stared at his friend. How many more near death experiences could they afford to have before their luck finally ran out? They always said a Jedi’s life was sacrifice, but what purpose was there to this? What greater good came out of this? Nothing. This all happened at the whims of a monster and countless paid the ultimate price. He thought of the Jedi Code and the hollow meaning that felt empty in the face of real threats.

@Alhon @Zay @Altaris

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash had only partly organised his thoughts by the time they got to Brightome. The journey to find Ez had been difficult and testing, but they had managed it and the three of them were back safe. The Rhinnalian did not trust Aunite Tia, not for a second, or much of what had taken place in their time away. He replayed those echoing words "choose to embrace your vulnerabilities or choose to deny them and suffer.”

The cryptic words meant little to Dash and they were quickly fading in his mind as they wound their way through Brighthome's medical center. Dash felt even more though the Force than he saw with his eyes. Dozens of people injured and in pain, crying out and screaming for any release. It was almost overwhelming, but the knowledge so many had died made Dash keep going. To be alive was to have a chance.

He followed Leon in a kind of daze, feeling like he knew what was about to happen at each stage, mere seconds before it did. Eventually, the screen confirmed it. Ferrin was alive, though who knew what his injuries might be. It was something. giving the Rhinnalian a boost to carry on.

When they eventually found Ferrin, Dash paused in the door. The Pantoran lay back in bed, hooked up to machines but otherwise appearing to sleep soundly. Was he ok? Had he the first clue what had happened?

Ez was standing off to one side, looking a little pensive to Dash. He was slowly learning to penetrate his boyfriend's impassive exterior and sensed Ezra did not know quite what to do. It was a bleak situation, but clearly Ferrin was in the best hands, wasn't he?

"C'mon, Ferrin" Dash managed, stepping up to the bedside. Whatever had happened, the Pantoran was clearly in no position to heal himself. The Rhinnalian had a sinking feeling they might come around to him.

@Altaris @Sreeya @Zay

 

[Ezra Thorne]

If Dash looked over at Ezra then, he would notice that the part Sephi was leaning against the wall. With his eyes closed. In fact, he was fast asleep while still standing. He was blissfully unaware of whatever the two Knights were discussing, happily dozing away. No doubt there were lots of speculations going on. But Ezra Thorne wouldn’t be a part of any of it.

It was almost ten minutes later that he almost fell over and woke himself up. Ezra rubbed his eyes and looked around briefly in confusion. It took a moment to get his bearings and he spotted Ferrin again. He didn’t have any context on what Dash and Leon discussed - likely they made some sort of grand strategy.

Instead, without any plan, Ezra stepped forth and abruptly entered Ferrin’s mind. He knew his strengths and he was freakishly good at mental things, so he was going to do some investigating.

@Alhon @Zay @Altaris

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Baudelaire slid to a stop just past Ferrian’s room then stuck his head in. The Pantoran was hooked up to a bunch of monitors, it was tough to see. Guilt threatened to close his windpipe as his breath got in the way. He stepped up to the bed and looked down at his friend. This was what Raze had done, this is what he’d done to everyone. This was what they had been called to face. Leon’s knees felt weak, and he was white knuckling the hospital bed’s rail.

He took a shaky breath. What were they supposed to do? How were they supposed to help him? Leon was basic at best with healing, and he was the least powerful of the three here. What were they supposed to do? He looked at Dash, the knight was doing his best, Ezra was in the doorway.

Was there anything they could do?

“Excuse me, what in the hell do you think you’re doing in here?

Leon looked behind Ezra to see a healer he’d never met before stepping into the room.

“Can you tell us what’s wrong with him?” Leon blurted, ignoring her question all together. The healer frowned looking at each of them as if vague— “Aren’t you the guys that fought that Sith Master on Berchest? The ones the Grandmaster shouted out?”

Leon blinked, “Uh,” he looked to Dash and Ezra then shrugged, “Yeah?”

“Huh,” replied the healer, she seemed to consider something, maybe weighing how much she was allowed to say. “Look, I wish I had better news for you,” Leon’s heart started to sink, “This whole floor is filled with people that simply collapsed during the attack. Their bodies are still functional, but their consciousness… it’s—it’s just gone.”

Ezra suddenly stepped forward, Leon saw the look in his eye and knew his best friend was about to do something ballsy. Then he was falling, Leon rushed forward and caught him. Ezra’s eyes were rolled back in his head. Leon looked over his shoulder to Ferrin, then to Dash.

The healer spoke up, “Uh, is he okay?”

Leon shrugged, “I sure hope so…”

@Alhon @Sreeya @Altaris

 

[Dash Pavan]

It turned out Ezra was just napping, stood up. Even if he had concluded Ferrin's recovery was a waiting game, how the hell could he nap somewhere like this. Every one of Dash's senses felt overwhelmed.

The healer's explanation was partly helpful. The Rhinnalian had certainly been wondering what had knocked Ferrin off his feet when there was no sign of physical injury. But the idea that his consciousness had done a runner was more disturbing than any wound.

Suddenly Ezra stepped forward between he and Leon, probably taking a closer look. Dash was totally unprepared for his boyfriend collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut, relieved when Leon caught Ez before he hit the floor. "Baby what the hell?!" Dash was down at his side in an instant, but Ezra seemed completely out, his eyes rolling and his face twitching gently. The Rhinnalian felt a curious sensation brush across his own face, like an unnatural breeze winding towards Ferrin and stirring his sheets.

"He's joining minds with him..." Dash surmised, looking from Ez to the Pantoran and back again. His first instinct was to try and stop it, but he had the discipline to pause, instead putting a hand on Ezra's chest. He was reassured to feel the strong heartbeat beneath and the gradual rise and fall of his boyfriend breathing. His body was ok, Dash sensed, it was just that his mind had gone wandering. Wandering to try and find their friend.

"Help me lift him onto there" he said to Leon, motioning to an empty trolley around the side of Ferrin's bed. They hauled Ez around and set him down as gracefully as they could, but he was a dead weight his body was as stubborn as him even when unconscious. "I hope you know what you're doing you crazy cat" he stroked Ezra's face "bring him back but don't get stuck in there yourself". He did not know if this was more or less dangerous than what the Father had put them though, given it was Raze's work. But he had to trust Ez knew what he was doing.

"I guess we give them some time and keep them safe for now?" he said puzzled. Leon was likely as clueless as him on what to do. Dash stepped back over to the Pantoran's bedside, studying him for any outward sign of what Ezra was doing. Ferrin seemed to have even more of a jawline than the last time, but he was otherwise still and out for the count. The tattoos on his arms and shoulders were surprisingly intricate, drawing the Rhinnalian's eye.

"All the small stuff we argued over" Dash said, half to Leon and half to the sleeping Pantoran. "We had no idea what was coming did we. You ever hear of one guy who could do all this damage?".

@Sreeya @Zay @Altaris

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

In the material realm, Ferrin didn’t move a single muscle. There was no external reaction to the arrival of his three friends, nor the Healer that had dutifully cared for the Pantoran. Those golden eyes remained closed to the word, with only the slow rising and falling of his bare chest - along with the multitude of machines and monitors he was hooked up to - indicating that the Pantoran was still alive.

The moment that Ezra delved into Ferrin’s mind, however, things changed drastically. The psyche of another sentient creature was a delicate thing - unique and crafted by the personality, experiences and circumstances of their life. It manifested in countless different ways, and the quarter-Sephi would’ve witnessed it during the brief moment he had delved into the mind of others.

But nothing quite like this. Not after what Raze had done.

Just as quickly as Ezra closed his eyes on the physical, the quarter-Sephi would open them once more - transported into the plain of Ferrin’s mind. The marshy tundra of Pantora stretched out all around Ezra, drawn from the earlier setting in the Pantoran’s mind. Of course, like Ferrin himself, Ezra wouldn’t feel the cold that normally gripped the planet. Icy mist stretched across the horizon, blanketing the landscape in a layer of haze. And through that haze.. Ezra would catch glimpses. Voices and memories that had been shattered all around him, listlessly drifting through the Pantoran’s mind.

He would see the deep fissures that ran through the earth, with islands of land floating through the air. He would see the endless void that dropped below, darkness swallowing anyone and anything that fell below. As time progresses, bits and pieces of the landmass began to crumble and chip away into the void. The very memories and pieces of the Pantoran that made him whole.

Ezra would feel that familiar presence that had been branded into Ferrin’s mind. A disease that found purchase, and continued to gnaw away at the friend he’d known since joining the Jedi.

Somewhere amongst it all, Ferrin was lost - trapped within the crumbling realm of his own mind. If Ezra was ever going to wake him, he would need to navigate and locate the Pantoran. Braving the risks of losing himself to the very same, endless void.

Ezra would have a choice. To bring Dash and Leon into Ferrin’s mind - and perhaps increase their chances of locating the Pantoran - while putting them at risk. Or he could navigate alone, risking only himself and placing the burden solely upon his shoulders.

@Sreeya @Zay @Alhon

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was instantly turned off when he realized he was in some icy hellscape. However, he soon discovered that he couldn’t actually feel the cold. He saw his breath coming out in a fog, but he didn’t feel the accompanying unpleasant chill. He looked around himself, catching the deep fissures and tendrils of black everywhere. It was as if someone had splashed a bucket of black tar into the otherwise stunning scenery. The black was corrosive, eating away at everything there.

“Ferrin!” He called out at the top of his lungs. Ezra looked around for the Pantoran and couldn’t see him anywhere, “Ferrin, I’m taking off my pants!” He ventured to quip with some humor. Even that didn’t work.

The part Sephi took steps forth, almost slipping into the void as one of the icy platforms gave away. Ezra leapt over to another one, continuing down the path forward. In truth, he was already on a trajectory. The thought of bringing Dash or Leon in didn’t even cross his mind. He took his time before coming here, made a calculated decision, and now he was following it through.

He arrived at a large gap and he had no way to cross. Ezra cursed as he looked around. Now was when Dash would have been handy to have with his icy abilities. And then he remembered that this was Ferrin’s mind. Everything here was a skill of mental manipulation.

Ezra closed his eyes and focused, shards and broken chunks of the icy land slowly coming up from the depths. They began to piece together, forming like puzzle pieces to build a bridge before him across the chasm. That was when Ezra realized something - he may not have been able to heal in the traditional sense of the Force - but he could heal the mind.

He quickly made his way across the bridge, repairing a part of Ferrin’s mind as he did so, “FERRIN!”

@Altaris @Alhon @Zay

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Tempting as it might’ve been, Ferrin didn’t - as a matter of fact - appear around the corner at the prospect of Ezra pulling his dick out. The quarter-Sephi’s voice would instead roll across the pristine tundra and marshes of Pantora, echoing off the hills and reverberating in ways that wasn’t entirely natural. He could hear his own voice grow distant, grow deeper. Into a baritone he would recognize as his own father’s voice.. And then to a mechanized drawl that had haunted the Galaxy for some thirty years. As if to toy and get under Ezra’s skin as well.

It was clear that Raze had imparted a Darkness on Ferrin’s mind, shattering his psyche and leaving its corruption. It twisted and destroyed memories, and it reacted to the presence of an outsider. It was an infection, fighting and defending itself against an antibiotic. A living and parasitic thing that didn’t want to leave, until it consumed everything it found.

With every step Ezra took, he would catch glimpses into Ferrin’s own mind in ways he hadn’t before. From the Pantoran’s perspective, he would hear voices from a past life and family before the Jedi Order. He would hear the familiar laughter of the Pantoran and Scrub Squad through their houses spent together. He could hear the screams and cries the day the slavers had come.

But Ezra had abilities of his own - skill in mental manipulation that far surpasses his peers. Perhaps there was some poetism to the fact that only the Son could heal the damage caused by the Father, for that was precisely what Ezra had done. The earth formed together and bridges the divide, and somewhere within Ferrin’s mind, a memory was saved from the loss and oblivion - shining bright within the Pantoran’s mind.

Ezra would walk for what felt like an eternity - and the mist only grew thicker. It would feel like pulling his feet through tar, as if the land didn’t want him to get any closer. But as he pressed on, the faint silhouette of a familiar figure would take shape. Gaunt, lost in the shadows of his own mind.

“Y-you ain’t fuckin’ real!” He screamed back at Ezra, though he couldn’t see the quarter-Sephi. “You haven’t been…” How long did it feel for Ferrin, being trapped in his own shattered psyche? How many times had he heard Ezra, Dash or Leon? Tried to run to them, only to find fleeting memories waiting for him.

Something else began to stir in the mists once more - drawn by the sound of the Pantoran’s hoarse voice. The shadows seemed to gather in a single spot - sticking together like tar and materializing before Ezra’s eyes. Until the wraith stood between the quarter-Sephi and Ferrin, it’s eyes opening to reveal the very same color as the Pantoran’s own.

“Feeeeeeeeeeeerrin,” It crowed out, it’s voice high pitched and unnatural.

“No..” Ferrin muttered, his feet scrambling backwards and deeper into the mist. Whatever it was, the wraith had pursued Ferrin for what felt like an eternity. Keeping him trapped. Lost and unable to find his way back.

And then, slowly but surely, it turned to look at Ezra. And scrambled towards him.

 

[Dash Pavan]

They waited a while. Then a while longer. Dash had imagined it might be a little like their experience with the Father, perhaps Ezra and Ferrin would meet in some strange spirit place, have a chat and then both wake up. Sadly, nothing happened at all.

Dash thoroughly intended to let it play out, at first. He tried to find things to do, chatting with Leon, looking around the room, and regularly checking on both patients. The Mirialian healer kept coming round, at one stage telling him to stop looking in cupboards or she would have him removed. He then spent several minutes just stroking Ezra's hair, enjoying the freedom to mess with his boyfriend however he wanted. But as time wore on, it began to grate. Dash was not patient by nature and he began to worry they were doing the wrong thing.

"What if they're both stuck in there?" he asked suddenly, shooting Leon an anxious look. They had no way of knowing if what Ezra was trying to do was going good, bad or nowhere at all. Dash cursed himself for not developing Ez's mental skills, even though he knew it was more of a talent than something taught.

Talent. It suddenly dawned on Dash that he might have a means to improve things after all. Why had he not thought of it before. He had spent a good few years working in medical settings, using it almost daily.

He leapt up, deciding to try it on Ferrin as the one most in need. Scampering to the Pantoran's bedside, he did a quick check for the Mirialan before laying one hand on Ferrin's forehead and the other on his bare chest. It felt weird on several levels to be getting up close and personal with the guy, but he had always worked best by touch.

"Don't worry" he whispered to Leon, expecting the Adumari's eyebrows to hit the roof "I'm not taking the opportunity to ice him. But I was going to try warming him up, real gently. I used to be pretty good at it and it might bring him round". Ferrin did not feel cold per se, but every species body temperature was a finely balanced thing. Maybe Dash could nudge the Pantoran's consciousness back into action by giving it some external input to process.

Slowly, real slowly, he channeled the Force into Ferrin, concentrating in an effort to gradually raise his temperature. If he recalled correctly, the Pantoran did not so well with heat. Surely it was more likely to disrupt his current malady then, than cooling him down. He put very little power into his work, but an awful lot of will, trying to will Ferrin back to health."Why don't you try giving Ez a little jolt" Dash suggested half-seriously to Leon, who nursed a talent of his own. "Might make him jump enough to stop all this".

----------​

In the mental plane, unbeknownst to either of them, Dash's efforts began to have an indirect impact on events. The Rhinnalian's focus on warmth and clarity began to dial up the light around Ferrin and Ezra, forming an ambient glow that burned away some of the mist and illuminated the shadow just as it charged.

@Zay @Sreeya @Altaris

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra began to see more positive memories and he knew he was piecing things back together. His efforts were having actual impacts. That was when he started running across the bridge. Normally cardio was not his forte, but thankfully it didn’t exactly apply here. He kept going as long as it took, making out a familiar outline in the distance, “Ferrin!”

But it hardly looked like him. He looked terrified, almost malnourished as if he had been trapped for an eternity. Ezra thought of those other memories he heard echoing - back from his past and with the slavers. The way Ferrin looked now was similar to how he looked in those memories. Scared, afraid, backed into a corner. It was a complete 180 from the Ferrin he knew.

“I’m here,” Ezra called out, “It’s me, Durr,” He said to the Pantoran. Raze may have been clever, but even he would miss mundane details like the dorky nicknames they had for one another. At the end of the day, everything Raze created was manufactured and drawn from tidbits of what he learned. Only the real Ezra would know the nitty gritty.

It was only then that he noticed the beast that began to corner Ferrin. Though the Pantoran withdrew into the mist, Dash’s external efforts began to disperse some of the fog. However, that didn’t help with the creature that now had Ezra in its sights. The part Sephi was caught off guard, quickly calling the Force in an attempt to send it smashing into a nearby pillar of ice.

Back in the hospital, Ezra's body reflected any distress he felt. There would be slight twitch when he was surprised by the wraith. If the wraith harmed him, his entire body would convulse upon impact.

Dice: 6/20 to attack wraith

@Altaris @Zay @Alhon

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ferrin wanted nothing more than to vanish into the endless mist and tundra. He only caught a glimpse of the wraith appearing once again, but it was enough to utterly shake the Pantoran to his core. How long had he been running, gaunt and exhausted beyond limit? Struggling to escape a foe that never tired or grew bored. That existed to torment him and embody the worst of his fears.

Perhaps.. Perhaps it would leave him alone, if Ferrin only stopped looking for a way home. He was so tired, and with every begrudging step, the void beneath his feet seemed to beckon him into its endless embrace. It would’ve been so easy. To let all of it go, once and for all.

It was only Ezra’s voice that gave him pause - echoing above his own doubts and fears. He’d heard a hundred times through the mist.. But this was different. It took him a moment to remember why Durr sounded so familiar. The memories flooded back - pieces of himself that had once been just out of reach. Though he didn't notice it, the shadows encroaching at his feet began to reel backwards. “R-Reed?” He muttered softly.

“Ez?!” He searched, attempting to find Ezra through the chaos and endless landscape all around them.

The Wraith, meanwhile, continued to shamble towards Ezra - staring back at the quarter-Sephi with eyes precisely like Ferrin’s own. It closed in on its newest victim, stared back into those familiar silver eyes and drank in the emotions that radiated off of Ezra. Blade-like arms raised into the air.

And it hesitated.

There was something so familiar about Ezra.. Something that went far deeper than the physical. It gave the beast pause for only a split second - as if hardwired into subservience to the stranger for reasons it wasn’t designed to understand. And that was all the time it took for Ezra to sent it hurtling into the column of ice only a few feet behind.

It collided hard enough to crack and fracture the ice, globes of tar-like substance slothing off its shadowy form. It stared back at Ezra with eyes filled with rage, desiring nothing more than to rip the quarter-Sephi’s psyche apart and leave him trapped in the confines of his own mind. It wants to charge at him again. But it didn’t have to.

It could only assume why Ezra was here, and what he was searching for. Without moving, the Wraith grew upon all the memories and emotions that it had learned - thrusting them upon Ezra without remorse. He would see flashes of those same memories, yes, but he would experience the emotion attached to them. The pain of loss and longing that died with his family. The feelings of jealousy that stemmed from seeing Ezra and Dash together. The fear that slavers, Vizim, Raze, the Drengir - had all brought out in him, and all the pain associated.

All of them emotions that Ferrin kept beneath his own smirk and non-serious demeanor. All of them emotions Ezra would gain an intimate understanding of for the first time.

“You weren’t there,” The Wraith hissed. “When he needed you most. You’ve already failed. You can feel, can’t you? Everything he does right now - and always will. Even if he leaves this place.”

“Why not let him go?” It whispered to Ezra. “Let the suffering end. It would be so easy. It would be mercy.”

@Alhon @Sreeya @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

He set Ezra down and stepped back, giving Dash some space. His mind was reeling from all of the force shit he’d been through so quickly. He wasn’t sure if Dash was talking to him, but he couldn’t help but shiver.

“This is only a part of it,” Leon said hollowly. The immensity of Raze’s… Well, razing of Ithor was impossible for his near delirious mind to fully comprehend. Leon sank to the floor, a part of him relieved to be left out of the mind games for once. He drew his knees up and leaned over resting his chin on them. This was the stillest he’d been since ditching Hera… He still couldn’t bring himself to reach out. He couldn’t take the blow if she were gone.

His lids were getting heavy, he was rocking slowly back and forth… back and forth… back and for— Dash was up and excited. Leon jumped, that sensation of falling disappearing as his consciousness slammed back into his skull, “Wha?”

Baudelaire scrambled to his feet. It felt like his senses were on overdrive. The room was too bright, the monotonous groans of the instrumentation was too loud, and Dash sounded like he was underwater. Then he blinked and everything fell into focus. A shiver ran down his back. He’d let his guard down and the painful negative emotions swirling within the hospital nearly sent him into a breakdown. He took a shaky breath as Dash mentioned shocking Ez. “I’m sorry?”

In some ways he’d waited a lifetime for permission to shock the shit out of Ezra Thorne… and here it was. Baudelaire sighed, “Can’t, if I mess up there's a good chance I’d disrupt his heartbeat,” he added an apologetic shrug. The Healer let out a breath she’d obviously been holding.

“Please don’t endanger my patients, I’m trying to be cool with you guys being here, but I could get into big trouble,” she sighed, “Look, I’ve got to make my rounds, please don’t shock anyone.”

“We need to trust Ezra. It’s hard, but we’re moral support right now bud,” then a thought occurred to him, “Do you think that because of our connection to Ez we could lend him our strength?" He was sitting back onto his knees as he said, "Like, we channel the force through us to him in order to boost his power?"

Baudelaire was already reaching out to the force. He wasn’t exactly sure how this was going to work, but intent was like nine tenths of the law or some shit right?

@Alhon @Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra stood as the barrage of memories and thoughts all washed over him like a tidal wave. For a moment, he closed his eyes, bracing himself for it. He saw all the pain Ferrin suffered, felt the pangs of jealousy, saw the glimpses of his thoughts and feelings the Pantoran would never want shared. Ezra took it all in, but he didn’t lash out, opening his eyes after a moment to gaze at the wraith.

He heard the voice, he listened to every word. He exhaled softly, interrupting mid-speech, “Are you quite finished?” He asked flatly. The wraith would perhaps realize that Ezra Thorne was the only person in the group that wouldn’t be swayed by terrible guilt trips. The same thing that made him a non-traditional Jedi who didn’t leap into danger for everyone else was exactly what made him immune to suggestions like these. Dash or Leon would have been overwhelmed by guilt, but Ezra Thorne already calculated that him not being on Ithor was the most strategically sound outcome. He didn’t exactly care what anyone said to the contrary.

Ezra didn’t entertain the wraith’s words, keeping his focus strictly on getting Ferrin out. As someone that had been gifted - or cursed - with superior mental manipulation, this remnant of the very thing that empowered him had less of a hold on him. He channeled the Force to himself, silver gaze fixing on the wraith.

Instead of any outwardly blast of the Force, he looked for weaknesses in its construction. He was more powerful now, channeling the strength of a Jedi Master. He could see the joints in the beast, the vulnerable places. Without warning, cracks began to form along the beast. They would start to get deeper. Ezra intended to keep going until the entire thing imploded in on itself. There was no mercy for a construct of pure evil like this.

Roll: 17/20

@Zay @Altaris @Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

The mention of stopping Ezra's heartbeat made Dash look up, losing his focus. He had never meant for Leon go all high voltage on his boyfriend, more of a tingle, like when you felt static. But even as he thought it, he realised how silly it was. They were messing with the unknown here, which was no better than leaving Ezra to his work.

Dash gently lifted his hands off Ferrin. He did not seem to be making a difference anyway. The Pantoran showed no sign of awareness, though there were a few beads of sweat on his forehead now from Dash's warming. The Rhinnalian grabbed a tissue and wiped them away. "You know you're blushing" he whispered ruefully. He really did wish Ferrin would wake up, it was not right for someone so full of zest to lay here like a zombie.

He stepped away from the Pantoran and did not miss the healer's glare. "Ok, ok, no one is getting shocked" he assured her, glad when she slowly turned and left. "You're right" he conceded, shrugging his shoulders at Leon "it just kills not knowing if anything is happening in there". Dash went and sat on the edge of Ezra's bed, studying him again. There was the slightest twitch in his face now, but did that mean anything at all.

He was over the moon when Leon came up with something other than waiting. "Yes" Dash said slowly, thinking it through. He did not have Ezra's mental talents but this sort of thing he knew about. "You have all the good ideas L. Even if we can't get in, we should at least be able to channel more of the Force to him than he can call on his own. Especially given the bond". Dash still did not read as much as he should, but he understood certain aspects of the Force instinctively. Redirecting its flow was not all that different from manipulating heat.

The Rhinnalian reached down, entwining his fingers with Ezra's. He offered his other to Leon. "It's just like when we were trying to find him, except this time we're just sending him what he needs". Dash looked back at those striking twitching features, before slowly closing his eyes. "I just hope he knows what to do with it".

@Altaris @Zay @Sreeya

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ezra had only cut the Wraith off mid-speech, but it caused the shadowy figure to reel backwards nonetheless. The Wraith was created to be the perfect tool of torment - a parasite designed and inflicted upon Ferrin alone. It wasn’t accustomed to dealing with an outsider, especially one that was seemingly immune to the guilt and suffering it tried to force upon its victims.

“No..” It hissed, raising its claws once more. Despite its previous hesitation, the Wraith felt its own survival at risk. It couldn’t manipulate or get in Ezra’s head and that made the quarter-Sephi entirely too dangerous to be left to his own devices.

It began to lurch forward - just as the Force began to coil around its body. The Light pierced through cracks and weaknesses in its figure. Through its joints and bones comprised of ichor and shadow. The Light pierced through it all, shredding everything that it touched to banish the darkness.

“NOOOO!” The Wraith shrieked. Ezra would see the golden eyes of Ferrin blink away, to reveal a crimson gaze all to familiar. It lasted for only a moment of two, before the wraith finally broke into a thousand, drifting pieces of shadow - tar-like substance spreading across the ground and slowly dissipating at well. As if a weight had been taken off Ferrin’s conciousness, the Mist continued to disperse - until the Pantoran was once again visible to Ezra.

Slowly, Ferrin approached - his eyes briefly plasters to the remains of the horrific creature. As if to confirm it was dead and couldn’t torment him anymore. The Pantoran was gaunt and thin - eyes sunken in and muscle seeming to fade from his physique. Even the rich blue of his skin seems to pale as time went on and he had wandered alone. He stared back at Ezra, the emotion clear across his expression. He didn’t say a single word - but the quarter-Sephi would see the relief and hints of joy that were there. He had been so, so alone. But he didn’t have to be anymore.

“Liar,” Ferrin broke the silence, staring back at Ezra with flat voice. Slowly but surely, his lips began to tug upwards. “Here I thought you ditched the pants.” He said with a disappointed huff.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Time was endless in the prison of thought. In the plane of the Force. It would have felt like a century of torment for Ferrin even if it had only been weeks. Ferrin looked like the shell of his former self, but it was all within his mind. He had been tormented in a way that would take ages to recover, if he even would. However, for the time being, he was there. He was alive.

Ezra stood across from him, his demeanor calm as always. The weight of everything that happened both here and outside pressed down on him. Did Ferrin realize what happened to Ithor? Did Ferrin realize he stood across the son of the monster that did this to him? To his friends? The part Sephi’s face was difficult to read. For a moment, there was nothing but silence, the tranquil landscape returning all around them. He heard Ferrin’s words, but he didn’t respond just yet.

After a moment, the faintest smile touched his lips, and he jutted his chin to gesture behind him. It was time to go home.

–​

In the real world, hours passed by. It was late at night and still Ezra was caught in that trance-like state. His eyes moved unnaturally fast behind the lids to suggest that he was active the entire time. It was almost close to midnight when the monitors hooked up to Ferrin tracking brain activity would begin to beep. It would start with that and slowly the Pantoran would start to twitch and move before ultimately coming back to consciousness. Alerts were sent to the doctors and healers, a barrage of people suddenly flooding into the room.

Meanwhile, Ezra’s eye movements stopped. He rolled over right on the bed he was in, one of his arms dangling over the edge. It would be apparent the Thorne was dead asleep. Dash would recognize it as one of those sleeps after the two had a rather adventurous night together, complete with quiet snoring. He wasn't waking up anytime soon.

@Altaris @Alhon @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

”I don’t think we need to discuss how concerning it is you think I have good ideas.” he said with a tired smile.

Baudelaire was forced out. He’d been in mission mode with no sleep for days at this point. He was starting to hallucinate, but it wasn’t bad. It was mostly Janya in a bikini where it made no sense for her to be. He turned, she sauntered past the door. He looked back and she was on the bed where Ferrin had been, moonlight eyes locked on his, he heard laughing, she reached out, he wanted to stay, but who in the fuck— aaaaaaaaaaaand there was Ezra, Dash, and Ferrin paying in a sprinkler wearing nothing but long white t-shirts.

“AH!” he screamed starting from his meditative stance. His whole body hurt. The hospital was quite now. Dash was tending to Ezra, who was for sure asleep, and not mind melding now. Leon could pick that snore out of a line up. His eyes slipped to Ferrin. Leon felt his face go crimson with shame. He’d failed his friend, and there was nothing he could do to fix it. He was helpless, but he was here.

Leon stretched his arms and back then pulled a chair over next to the pantoran. He wasn’t sure why, but he reached out and grabbed Ferrin’s hand. Something someone had done for him once, it’d been weird, but reassuring. He wasn’t as close to Ferrin as he wanted to be. He’d been on plenty of missions with the other guys, actually he and Dash would be working together on bringing Starlight back online, but for whatever reason he and Ferrin always seemed to miss…

But Ferrin was always the first one to join the chant. Even on Eraim. He was their Rodman. A reference he was sure the other two wouldn’t get, Ferrin was part of their core. Without him there wasn’t a squad.

“Alright, very funny, jokes over, wake up. Time to make fun of Dash and oogle Ezra,” he said, with a hopeful squeeze. He remembered people sometimes heard when they were spoken too during a coma, Baudelaire’s mischievous little smirk settled on his lips, “Pssst, not gonna lie, I’m pretty sure Dash has a crush on you now, he and Ez keep talking about a Cathar Love Knot?”

@Alhon @Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Weeks had passed since the events of Ithor - and from the first day when Ferrin had fallen into his coma. In that time, the Pantoran hadn’t moved a single muscle. He hasn’t reacted to any external stimulus, or attempts at healing from the medics that frequented Brighthome. For all intents and purposes, Ferrin was gone and dead to the world, even if his body continued to perform its most basic functions. There was no warning or indication that anything had changed - until the machines that Ferrin was attached to began to beep. Doctors and medics flooded into the room at once, beginning to remove the variety of tubes, IVs and other medical devices that had helped to keep the Pantoran alive and functioning.

For several minutes, Ferrin continued to slip in and out of being truly ‘there’, his golden eyes fluttering open and closed. Even still, Leon would feel the Pantoran’s hand tightly close around his own - squeezing the Adumarian’s digits with every bit of strength that he had.

Slowly but surely, Ferrin’s eyes began to open - golden iris’ fixed upon Leon. There was an immediate look of fondness that flashed across his expression. Ithor was gone. His home was gone. But.. His family was still right there when he needed them.His gaze flicked over to the side - immediately feeling a sense of relief upon seeing Ezra, the peaceful look on his face and the exhaustion that claimed him. The effects of his torment would linger.. But Ferrin was here because of the quarter-Sephi.

Only then did he glance back to Leon, acknowledging the playful whisper that he’d heard. “I’ve known that since I suggested the threesome..” He said with an almost hoarse voice, playful and shameless grin plastered across his face.

“Why else would look so happy to see me with my shirt off?” He grinned, his gaze finally flicking over to Dash.Despite their differences and the constant arguments between them - the look of fondness lingered, happy to see him alive and well. They were family, the two of them, and things just wouldn’t be right if Dash wasn’t there.

@Sreeya @Alhon @Zay