Sound of Silence

[Nikka Toren]

Ilum
15:32
Caves of Illusion​

The Alpherys had charted this route too many times for Tippy's comfort. Nikka, too, was not too certain what the future would bring... and to say she had a bad feeling about this was an understatement. She knew that they both had guessed their identities. Something she still wasn't too comfortable with... she still suspected him heavily. But she wasn't going to lie, having his assistance in finding the contents of this holocron were vital. But once she would lay eyes on it... she was bound and determined to take it for herself.

But fair was fair.

He knew the coordinates... she would simply try to vanish as soon as possible. The holocron possibly still had other secrets to share, other stories and whispered more knowledge. It was the Jedi creed after all; that not all knowledge was immediate and gratifying. She would keep it for herself, at least.

But should she lose those contents...

Her heart ached at the thought. It would be the equivalent of failing her Master. Something that would strain the very boundaries of her control. Back in the caves of Tython, before the takeover, she had had a brief moment of release from restraint; her frustration as a Jedi. Her compassion almost always warring with her Master's old ways; her need to fight alongside her companions, but to remain detached...

She was meant to be a pacifist. Yet she knew if she disembarked, she would be stepping into something that was irreversible. Did he tell others of his meeting a possible Jedi? Or if he kept this information to himself, would he use her identity later to elevate his status? Her fists clenched within the thermal layers and gloves she had donned. She still had on her outfit from before, paired with the thermals, her duster, tools, and visible stun baton and vibrodagger. However, to be safe... she still had both of her lightsabers strapped to her, as before, hidden. You could never be too careful.

No matter what... she hated the icy cold of this karking planet. He didn't know she had been here before, but she had a feeling he probably guessed what she was too. And sooner or later... he would betray her. It was strange that she got an ache in her chest, thinking about that. Oddly, she hoped he would... no. He was on the other side. She was here. She would not surrender anything beyond her assistance. And once they got close, she would claim the holocron's desired contents for her own.

They had landed further away than the rendezvous point, within the shelter of a frozen arc of snowbank and rock. Hidden and safe. Even though she had saved his life, there was no guarantee he would spare hers. She had given Nahlina and Tippy instructions, after their debriefing. Both would leave with the Alpherys if she either did not return within a standard day and a half... or that if she commed them in her last moments. All three were a grim sort when she finally stepped down from the ship, taking in deep lungfuls of the icy air.

She squared her shoulders, willfully still suppressing her signature. She didn't want to confirm his suspicions just yet... But her steps were guided. Soon, they would meet... the holocron stashed within her ship. She had the knowledge to get there. Now they just had to enter the caves, and face the music.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Of all the places for the First Blade to be, the idea that it would be on Illum filled Zeven with a sense of amusement he had to say. It felt somewhat poetic to find the first blade of the Jedi Knights on the planet that he been so corrupted by the creation of the Exiles, those who would take the identity of Sith as their own. It filled him with both a sense of pride and a sense of loathing for the Exiles who had become the Sith, his forebears.

They had accomplished so much.

They hadn't managed to find such a find right beneath their noses.

But the reason why he stepped off of his shuttle more nervous than before was because of the woman he was meeting. The blind woman who claimed that she was no a Jedi, the blind woman who was clearly a Jedi to his mind and the woman who seemed to already know that he was not what he had claimed either. The only reason either of them was here today was because they felt like they needed the other.

The initial challenge hadn't been anything to scoff at and it had taken the two of them working together to come away from it with the win but this? This was the endgame. This was going to be more important and more challenging than the last task and both of them knew it.

They could sense it.

Zeven stepped off of his shuttle into the cold, wrapped up warmly in a heavy cloak that rested on top of his typical Sith armour. His lightsaber was hidden at his waist alongside a replacement vibroknife for the one that he had lost in the leg of the droid that he had fought after they had found the holocron. Spotting his ally, Zeven stepped closer to her, moving across the snow until he was within speaking distance.

"Hello again." he greeted her with a small smirk, "I'm surprised you're actually here. I confess... I half expected you to have set up a trap for me. Should I be on guard for one regardless?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Nikka Toren]

Like on Tython, there was a strong presence here. Not one of Light... this presence was dark, hard. But the oddest thing of all was how she felt, regarding this place. It was not a place she enjoyed visiting... her last time there, she was faced with the very fears that once kept her from going forward. The Force was a comforting presence of Light, but ahead all was Dark. She did not, however, expect him to arrive quite so quickly.

This place was once sacred to the Jedi. The last she was here, the whispers of the dead and those that connected to the Force after death resonated in her mind and heart long after she had left the desolate planet. But now... something, a relic of the Light, lingered here. She could not sense it, obscured as it was, but the holocron was very direct. Unlike the Pearlescent Caves with her Master last, these ones had not altered since their use to hide away something that was sacred to her Order. And now... it was close enough that she could feel it.

She sensed him before he even spoke. The wind whipped through the folds of her duster, the tight braid of her hair draped over one shoulder. She grinned in his direction, easy and light. But... she knew what he was now. That aura, that sense was unmistakable... and yet somehow it saddened her. Much as she would have anticipated getting closer...

There was a flash of intuition, a feeling of a vision. Something familiar. Of that voice, in a different setting. If she chased it, she would have seen it, but as it was... it soon passed. Her smile widened at his teasing mention of a trap, arching a brow. "If I had, would you still be first?" Came the light, teasingly amused response, arms crossed.

Slowly, her suppression fell away. Slow piece by piece... but unlike most, this Light was not quite complete. It was as if there was something missing... something within the woman that was not yet ready. Another subterfuge she would have to employ. It was true, she was of the Order... but not yet. Not quite.

This was not going to be a challenge of physical prowess. No... if she knew this planet, it was going to be more of a challenge to the mind. Something that would put them both to the test in extreme. Though she wanted this newfound ally to survive... But she would not back down if challenged. She would have offered him to their cause, but something within warned he would never suit their side of things.

Nor was she willing to try to bring him with her. They were not lovers, not partners besides their endeavor. Beyond that, who knew what would happen within the caves. Either one of them could perish... or both. With that grim thought in mind, and with her light teasing floating into the blizzard's wind, she turned towards the mouth of the caves. Without waiting for him to reply, she strode in.

Straight into the heart of darkness.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

She didn't bothering hiding who and what she was and he had already returned the favor. In all honesty, he had intended to shield his presence in the Force but when he had stepped out from his shuttle he just hadn't done it. Whether this was intentional or merely a slip up...? Well he wasn't too sure which it was and he was none too eager to try and find out which way round it actually was. He didn't want to examine it too closely.

He stopped and he couldn't help but smirk ever so slightly.

"Of course." he teased her in response, "I'm not afraid of a petite blind woman... even if she is one of those 'devilish Jedi'. Shall we go in? Or are you going to wait until 'the Force wills it'?"

He was bringing more sass to the table this time.

Now that he no longer had to hide who and what he was, Zeven wasn't going to even pretend that he was some bumbling archaeologist. He was far beyond that and she knew it so it was time for him to reveal himself to her in the ways that she hadn't managed to deduce yet. Looking at her through the Force, he felt the Light and felt how it wavered. He tilted his head to the side slightly as he observed her.

"Ew. You shine like a glowworm or a firefly. Please try to be less luminescent." he teased her as he turned and began to make his way towards their destination, "What do you know about our destination?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Nikka Toren]

She gave him a sardonic grin over her shoulder, and shrugged. "You should see yourself. So dim even a searchlight could barely penetrate," she teased right back, effortlessly.

How strange.

"I am not fearful of you either... though it is strange. You sure you want to trust me in a cave again?" Her voice seemed to curiously warp around her; perhaps it was the cave. But nonetheless, it shouldn't have gotten so dark, so suddenly. Not that she would have noticed; her Sight could grasp his own outline, as dark as night.. and yet, there was something. The Dark Side was cold, alien to her, like slogging through mud and mire. It was hard for her to breathe, such inky blackness did not take kindly to those of the Light. Like last time, there was an odd sense of pressure.

She gave him a slight shrug. "Not much... apart from the fact we may go through hell to get to what we need."

The cave seemed to swallow any echo that her voice may have produced; the rock and ice within not even shivering in their disturbance. It was as if... something held its' breath.

"Oh, and it's a shame I didn't get to See your face," she grinned in the darkness, almost a recalling smirk. "Although, is it because you have a horrific scar? Large nose?" She chuckled, pausing. "I'll admit... I'm the slightest bit curious. It is not often I..." she paused, then, the teasing mood lessening. "Usually by the time I See their face, it's too late." She then turned back, shrugging. "Not that it matters. I'm sure to you, I'm simply another enemy that happens to be useful."

It wasn't as if she didn't acknowledge it. Once they both came to find what they came here for, she was certain he would try and dispose of her. One last Jedi to deal with, right? One more score settled in the balance, no matter how heavily it weighed in his favor. One less blind girl to clutter up the galaxy with antique ideas and dreams. But for now... they were allied. And it disturbed her how much she was enjoying talking to the male. So instead, she clamped her mouth down, and focused. Who knew what wandered these caves... and what would happen if they were unaware. But especially now more than ever, its' silence didn't seem like that of still air, but of something lurking... waiting for the moment to strike an unguarded mind.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

She wasn't as slow witted as he thought a Jedi would be - she didn't seem to want to spare his feelings as he expected they likely would want to and he was glad of it. If she had been like that it would have been almost like she believed that he was being weak enough for her to go easy on him and he hated that idea. Instead he just let that line of thought die and instead focused on something else.

"Last time we were in a cave I got kicked by a droid and threw you over a chasm." he told her with a smirk, "I think it's probably more appropriate to ask if you're happy enough to be in such a place with me. You should probably be afraid of me."

He hummed.

"Or maybe you're intrigued?"

The Dark Side clung to this cave in a way that Zeven had never experienced before himself. He had felt it in other places but never this powerful. The Darkness that clung to this cave was older than anything he had felt first hand and he could tell that it was this Darkness that had hidden the nugget of Light that was the Blade, further inside the cave system.

"Definitely intrigued if you're asking about seeing my face again." he declared with a smirk before absently holding out his free hand as he continued to slowly edge further in, "Tell you what - we make it to the Blade, first thing we do? You get to 'see' me. Deal?"

No matter what she said, Zeven would ignite his lightsaber in his other hand, held far away from her, as a source of light. Nikka might not need light to see but he certainly did. It was only as he turned his lightsaber on that he realized that the quiet was unnatural for a reason.

An illusion. It had to be but... but they looked so real.

His family, his mother, father and younger brother. They stood in front of him, barring his path and his advancement. Gritting his teeth, he held his lightsaber in front of himself as though to ward off the specters but he pushed on through. His gut twisted in a variety of seldom-felt emotions and his free hand clasped one of Nikka's own as he continued to push forwards, the specters of his dead family flowing around him like water to continue to be close to him.

"Fratricide."

"Matricide."

"Patricide."

Over and over they repeated themselves, satanic whispers into his ears as they tugged and pulled at his physical form. He could feel them, sapping away at his willpower, his resolve, with the power of guilt and regret. Zeven shook his head and continued to steadily put one foot in front of the other.

"Woman!" he called out to his ally, "What is your name? Tell me your name! We must resist this!"

@Killa Ree

 

[Nikka Toren]

"Should I be?"

She sounded almost... amused at the thought. Her head tilted up, and she exhaled slowly. "One needs another. Balance of Light and Dark. Too much dark... you consume until nothing is left, no life nor passion. Too much light, and you obscure the needs for others for a faceless judgement without value to life. So no. I am not afraid."

She tilted her head, a soft chuckle falling from her lips. "Intrigued by what? Your side of things? ...I already know." The last part was said softly, almost too soft to hear. "But about you? Oh, without a doubt. I am sure you, even full of darkness, have had a life that has been deeply embedded with scars that tell many things. It's all in your voice. But I doubt you're curious about me."

The smile returned, as she arched a brow. "And of course that's a deal. Have to put a face to a name somehow." She wasn't going to state that she doubted she would make it out alive; the last two times were a test enough. But when she heard the hiss of a lightsaber, she whirled around, almost prepared to make a reach for her own. Indeed, her hand wrapped around the hilt of her dagger.

But when he didn't strike her down, she paused. And then sensed something else. She whirled about, and ran straight into someone. Someone dressed in full armor, apart from his head, which he always preferred without helm. Massive, once her closest companion. His Elduröxi strapped to his back, twin blade axes. His blaster pistol. His smell, even...

She felt her throat close with grief. His hand reached out to her, as if to grasp her shoulder, and she flinched back, nearly stumbling into the Sith. She felt his hand grasp hers, and she held on. As they cleared past the Deucalian, she could feel his warm breath on her neck, like he used to in those few blissful mornings.

"Litla elskhugi..." came the low, almost intimate rumble. "Welcome home. It's been too long..." She could feel arms around her waist, and she shivered, feeling the darkness gnaw at her bones. The regret and pain was palpable, more than an ache in her chest. It was razors in her chest and throat, tears that would never be shed. But she turned into her companion, her voice a hard whisper as she paused for a moment.

"Don't listen to them."

There was a brief moment of an embrace; it was soon that she was released, and pulled him along, listening to Ivar's voice rise in anger. "Woman! I offered a home! A family! Don't you want someone to be in your corner? DON'T YOU NOT WANT TO BE-"

She savagely shut off his voice. She had to keep walking; otherwise these voices of the past would keep whispering, taunting them. "Tell me yours first," she smiled, but it was not a full smile, nor a seen one. It faltered, but she surged ahead.

No voices of the past would stop her now, nor regrets. There was always later in life for that.
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

She thought that she knew things about his side of things? She thought that she knew the Darkness? Zeven was certain that she had touched the Darkness at some point - it was natural to have had it tempt you after all - but he categorically refused to believe that she understood his time in the Darkness because of that. There were things in the Dark that you couldn't grasp without first having fully embraced the Darkness and when you fully embraced it?

There was no easy way back.

It was a mark, a burn, that stayed with you forever and there was never anything you could do to shake it. The only thing you could do was either throw your life away to keep from feeling the pain of the burning... or you could push forwards. You could accept that the burning was always going to be there and throw yourself into the fire so that the burning pain became the new normal for you and nothing else.

Zeven had thrown himself into the fire and embraced the pain and the hatred as what his life was always going to be. For her to say that she understood that irked him.

"No." he told her bluntly, "You think you know and that is worse. You touched it - you have not accepted it into every fibre of your being and until you do? You don't know."

The large man who appeared for his ally was distracting and that was, honestly, good. If he was distracted by her illusion then he would be harder for his own to ensnare. And then the specter of his mother took his head in deceptively gentle hands and turned him to face her.

Little Prince, Little Prince...

No.

Zeven pushed forwards, trying to rush away from the specter of his mother as she sang to him. His only clear memories of his mother from before his time as a slave was of her singing him to sleep. If the illusions were a stab to the chest, this was twisting the knife in his heart.

Where have you gone now, my Prince?
Where have you gone now, my boy?

Dragging his ally onwards, to an exit he could see up ahead, he spoke to drown out his mother's soft singing.

"Zeven Visz." he told her, being completely honest with her as a tear slide down his cheek, "Acolyte of the Old Empire."

Where have you gone now, my love?

@Killa Ree

 

[Nikka Toren]

So did she not know the darkness, he did not know the Light. To be so embraced, to feel it as gentle as a summer's rain, as though warmth had wrapped itself around your soul and knew your every flaw. To be empowered by it, to feel it answer your call and heal those that hurt. Bound you to your companions. It was a flow, a river that she could only channel so much of. For a moment, two moments, she didn't speak, merely ignored the insistent voice of Ivar. First furious, then gentle. And then...

"Ojegha'li..." Her other hand clenched into a fist. Her heart squeezed painfully as the voice whispered in her ear. Two boys... both younger than ten. Like her, their eyes were covered with veils. Dressed in shabby synthweave fabrics, they both tried to hold her, embrace her. The younger one began to cry; he was barely over three, his words nearly a babble as they gripped with phantom hands to her jacket, her boots, their pleads growing louder.

"Sister! Why?"

The why was a plaintive echo, a forlorn cry. "You left us alone... what about Mother? What about us? Ojegha'li!"

She shuddered in a breath, keeping a fast pace with him. Ivar still tried to speak to her, over her brothers, over the singing of the strange woman. "You will never know the light, maybe." She spoke this softly, gently, counterpoint to his mother's singing. But she tilted her face to his, briefly, giving a small smile. "But I don't expect you would want to. If pain is what you want, then that's what you'll receive. But I've lived in pain and fear most of my life... I will not let the past drag me there. It's all right," here, she shrugged.

"I'm not going to change you."

Her brothers. The last thing her father told her to do was to guard them, keep them close, but she had abandoned them. Abandoned Ivar. For what?

For fear. Fear of the future. Fear of commitment. Fear of losing what you loved most.

They were nearly to the exit. She let go of the breath, and chuckled. "At long last we meet, Zeven. You can call me Nikka Toren... Padawan." She let it fall there; she was neither Old Empire nor Imperial, so what did it matter? The order was fractured anyways... no use declaring alliance yet. And yet.. she did not let go. Not just yet.

Not until these ghosts of the past became just that again--ghosts.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

At least she could admit that she knew she was never going to be able to change him.

Change was something that you had to do yourself - there was no way to push someone until they changed. It was an internal process and she seemed to accept that he did not want to change so he wouldn't. Part of not wanting to change came from not seeing a reason to change and the other part?

He stared at his father and brother as they looked at him with wide, pleading, eyes.

Well the other part was that he was honestly afraid. He knew that if he continued to submerge himself in the Dark Side, he would be able to burn the doubts out of himself with strength of will and determination. If he were to pull back from the Dark Side, he would instead have to actually acknowledge what he had done. He would need to accept his failings and feel the full weight of everything he had done and let it overwhelm.

And that?

Sounded awful, no lie.

"Glad you understand that."

Reaching out with the Dark Side of the Force, Zeven began to wrap his own Force around the illusions of his family members. They began to scream as if in pain as he squeezed. He asserted his control, his dominion, over the Force used to create the illusions in the first place, for both himself and Nikka. The illusions of Nikka's loved ones would scream and beg for her to stop him, to stop him from hurting them.

But it would be too late.

Just as they reached the end of the passageway, a thick metal door, the illusions would disappear as if they had never been there at all, burning away into nothing as Zeven crossed the Force technique that had been making them. He closed his eyes for a moment as he just savored the silence.

"... This was harder than the other cave."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nikka Toren]

Her brothers fell before her, screaming, clutching at their throats.

"Sister! Help... us... it hurts! It hurts! IT HURTS!" They both choked, twitched. Rasped out screams when they could barely breathe, and writhed on the floor as if flayed. Borro. Veren. She almost stopped. Almost knelt down to them. But it drained her. It drained her to dwell on this regret. So... she stepped onwards, her heart spiking with pain every step she made away from their cries.

They were just illusions.

They were just the Dark Side's taint, grabbing onto your worst fears.

But yet... she felt sick to the core. Hearing Ivar bellow in pain and torment and her younger brothers cry out for her was the worst kind of torment. Her shoulders trembled slightly with the inability to do anything. She couldn't even cry; the evolution of her kind meant also no tear ducts. But a tremor wavered on the Force.

She faced her demons every day. But this... this was harsher than anything else. Because then, she was suddenly confronted with the knowledge of what she had been doing all this time. Running away, going from planet to planet, always in fear, always unable to form attachments. But seeing Ivar again... it brought with it the regret of staying true to her unattachment. Those three weeks together were her only experience where she was tempted to leave the solitary life. But at the last moment, he had given her an ultimatum: to find a place again, a family, a home, or live alone and in fear.

She had chosen the lonely path. Those nightmares now had his face in them, and they refused to let her go.

She remembered how he had disappeared the next morning; how every now and then her thoughts turned back to him. But the past was the past. It was now only the future she looked to. Whatever future she would have left... she would use it to the fullest.

Feeling their screams melt away, she shuddered, then sighed. Yet, oddly, she did not let go. Instead, she turned her face towards him. He still had the saber blazing before them; her face, her body, drenched in a bloody red light. "Facing the mistakes, horrors, and abuses of your past is the true forging in fire," she said softly, giving his hand a light squeeze before releasing. "But facing your regrets determines just how strong you really are, Zeven. And you are... of that, I have no doubt."

She knew he would disagree about facing the past. Or stay silent. She lifted her hand a moment, as if to touch him, and thought better of it. No... he would perhaps view it as a sign of weakness or pity. So instead, she lowered her hand, and turned to face the door. "We still have a long way to go. Are you ready to face what's ahead?"

She would not turn back to See that passage again; she would move forward, the fire in her heart blazing all the brighter. The Force was still hers to command, to move with her and flow within her. No matter what... she was ready. So she squared her shoulders, and pressed her palms to the door.

The metal groaned... and then slowly sank into the floor.

The darkness yawned ahead, oppressively silent. Who knew what challenges lay beyond? She knew it was far from over.

It was never this easy.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Zeven held his lightsaber up and away from himself, using it to cast light into the darkness... and there was a lot of darkness because the area ahead of them was marked by a deep chasm. It seemed that chasms were a thing when they were together. This chasm was wider than the one before however, being so wide that Zeven was actually certain that he would not be able to make the jump, even with the Force, as it was simply too far to jump.

Which was made more aggravating because across the chasm was the end goal, a series of stone steps that led up to an alter with the First Blade just sitting there.

He turned back to his ally in this quest, finding it odd that she still held onto his hand. The way she squeezed his hand... a small part of him hated it. Hated the way it suggested that she thought him weak enough to require some measure of emotional support from her. It was, however, a very small part of him. He let his hand fall from her's and just stared at her as she reached up as if to touch him.

He stared for a moment longer.

"The distance is too great for us to pass." he told her honestly before frowning, "At least not without some crazy plan. With that in mind, and our goal close at hand..."

Zeven reached out and took her hand, tugging at her glove to pull it off.

"This might be the best time." He said quietly as he looked down at the shorter woman, letting her hand go so the decision would be up to her, "This might be the last time. See me, Nikka Toren, Jedi Padawan."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nikka Toren]

"Too far to toss me either, I'd guess," her wry voice broke the silence, lightly clenching her hand before her chest. "You are sighted, but still blind Zeven. Do you really need to have a path to cross a chasm?"

She turned her head briefly back to the yawning great space beyond; far enough to make one lose hope. But close enough for someone to have hope... to find a way through. She was about to say something else, mention something, when she felt him take her hand. "Zeven... what..."

She paused at him, lips slightly parted, then exhaled slowly. She let the glove fall to the ground, and she gave him another small smile. This one, however, had an edge to it. It was not quite sadness, but an odd reluctance. She took one step closer, chin tilted up towards his face. "If it is the last, I'm not sorry in the least. We both know what will happen." The words were spoken with finality; it was as if she truly did expect the worst to happen, and acknowledged it. But now was not the time for war.

She shed the thermal layer, tucking it and the other layer with glove into one of her pouches. She then brought her hands up to either side of his head, feather-light.

First, her thumbs skimmed over his forehead gently. Her fingertips grazed lightly over his ears, and as hands trailed down, thumb pads skimmed over the bridge of his nose. Her face was a study of intense focus, as if memorizing the planes of his features. As her hands continued, the tips of her fingers traced over the hard angles of his cheekbones, and then...

The very lightest of touches felt the cool dampness of the tear. She recalled the words his own ghosts had whispered... so he killed his family. She did not recoil, but that sadness was a well within her where her heart had been. She did not pity him, but rather... she ached. The pain he would endure, that darkness would eat him alive, and she would not step to change that. It was his choice.

She skimmed with the lightest caress over his lips, then lower, feeling the slight stubble scrape against the sensitive pads of her fingers, then down to jawline, and neck. For a moment, her hands paused over his pulse, and then she withdrew, pulling on her gloves, picking up the other ones.

"I See." There was a hint of something that caught in her voice; was it regret? before she turned back to the chasm. "I have an idea... but I'll need your cooperation to do it."

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Sighted and yet blind... what a typical Jedi thing to say, full of philosophy and yet only managing to say very little. Very Jedi from what little he'd been able to observe during his time with Nikka. He still managed to surprise her by tugging one of her gloves off though so he was glad that she wasn't going to be the awkward type of Jedi who pretended that they knew what they were doing at all times when, clearly, they did not.

He smiled a little bit.

"Indeed - we knew what would happen the moment we arrived."

It was a sad state of affairs but that was only due to some lingering sense of sentiment he seemed to have picked up towards her. Something that he would have to bury alongside this blind Jedi when the time came. He hummed a little bit as she pulled off the under glove as well until she was finally ready. He bristled with the Force, as he was preparing for some treachery, but when none came he would just hum with the Force as he held it.

She touched his tear, all but forgotten from a moment ago.

In an instant he wanted to stab her - he wanted to gut her for seeing, for feeling, the proof of his weakness. The urge was strong, sudden and fleeting. As quick as it came, it died down and he could accept that she would know of his weakness. Each of them knew that combat was to occur soon and, one way or another, it would no longer matter that she knew of his moment of weakness because either she would never live to tell or it, or he would not live to care.

"Depends what the idea is." he replied at once, looking at her, "I have an idea as well."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nikka Toren]

Such rage and pain; she could feel it coming off him in waves, like an inky ocean threatening to drown her in emotion. His emotion. And it was hatred. It was swift, but it left something in its' wake. Awareness. Much as his Darkness threatened, along with the cave's own despair, she had the Light. She would always have the light. It sang in her blood and bones, still an edge but nonetheless still there.

She really would never tell a soul of his weakness, not that he would know it. But she held it close to herself. She wouldn't want to hope for any sort of redemption; that was his choice and his choice alone, and she would not judge him for that. Instead, she would judge him on his reactions here, despite everything.

She knew him now. By face and voice, signature and language. If by some miracle they somehow both survived, they would know each other. No matter how far apart, she knew that the Force was not done with this one yet, no matter what happened. Still, it was a pity. That fleeting sense of a Future flitted before her again; more palpable, but with the same tinge of bittersweetness. There was no redemption here for either of them.

"Oh really?" She said lightly, to dispel the serious atmosphere that had hovered around them. "I'm sure it is far wiser than mine." Her hand went to the small of her back, as if to stretch absentmindedly. "What did you have in mind, apart from murdering me and leaving my body at the foot of an altar?" But she grinned at the thought, arching a brow. "Because, although most Jedi are very into symbolism, I'm afraid that sort of symbolism is a bit beyond me." However... her lips twitched with the humor. She spread out both her hands, and shrugged. "Joking, of course. So then... what is your plan?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

He smirked ever so slightly at her suggestion - mainly because it was something that he honestly had thought about but he knew that he was rather unlikely to actually do it. Well, he was rather unlikely to do it right now because it wouldn't actually involve him getting to the Blade so it was something to be avoided for now.

"You know... that's not a bad idea..." he joked with a roll of his eyes, "No, idiot. I meant that I have a plan for getting across the chasm. Now give me your hand and let's get this over with, eh?"

Taking her by the hand - he stepped off of the ledge into the chasm, tugging her into the abyss with him.

Except they didn't fall.

Instead, Zeven stepped onto inky blackness, which began to recede into the walls of the chamber as the chasm was revealed to be nothing but another illusion. It had been designed as a final test of resolve for those seeking the blade and the two of them had the resolve to make the step and that was all that was needed.

He didn't let go of her hand as the two of them approached.

"When I let go of your hand, Nikka, our time as allies comes to a close." he told her somberly, a touch wistfully, "We will be a Sith and a Jedi again - no longer bound by common cause because... well because we're here. Because we've done what we both set out to do and we have found the Blade."

Taking the steps up to the area just before the alter, he looked at the First Blade, the first Jedi Lightsaber, for a moment. He tilted his head to the side slightly.

"It looks so plain. So... ordinary." he decided at length even as he twirled his lightsaber in his other hand, "But still."

He slowly let his hand fall from her's and he took a few steps back from her, keeping her firmly within his sight. Zeven moved to make the distance between them roughly ten meters, the alter with the First Blade midway between the two of them. He nodded to her.

"It is time, Nikka Toren."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nikka Toren]

She smirked at his reaction, taking his hand once more. Nonetheless... she was ready. And now, at the foot of the chasm, she felt it all of a sudden. A wave of power, of the Force, lighting up before her. She was still disappointed things were going to end so quickly. But no matter what happened.. she would savor the time left. That brief, fragile peace that lingered between them, even if they were on opposing sides.

They took the first step, together. The echoing was in sync, hers matched with his without any hesitation or thought. She felt the darkness and emptiness recede to simple rock around and beneath them, and then the steps. She heard his words, and nodded once, all teasing having left her face. She took a deep breath, then released it. Her voice was surprisingly calm, as much as she was inside... but there was a hesitation to her voice, before she released his hand.

"...I know. And it's a shame." Her voice held the same note, as if she regretted what they had to do next.

She paced backwards, left hand withdrawing to the small of her back. With a twirl, one of them blazed to life, a deep viridian hue. Its' light competed with the glow of her tattoos, her face a grim mask as she moved to a defensive stance and her right hand letting the power flow. It always answered her call; now it did so in a great rush, a becalming energy. But... perhaps it seemed like she kept her other hand open for the vibrodagger.

He was never once out of her Sight or focus.

"Let us begin, Zeven Visz."

@Nefieslab
/End Thread