To train a Shade...(training of Blackwell.)

[Dan.]

"I...I....don't understand, Master." Blackwell said,"I didn't kill it. I tried to throw it away, because you said it would attack me, and then I assumed control of it, because you said it could eat my lightsaber or something else rare, and I would force it to regurgitate."

 

[Jabberwocky]

"I believe my instructions were to make the creature fall asleep." He was beginning to graw bored and agitated. Not a good combination for someone of his mental condition.

 

[Dan.]

"My Apologies, Master." Blackwell said, humbling himself...considerably. "Might I try again?"

 

[Jabberwocky]

"Yes. Just enter its mind and try to coax it into sleep," Criax said, his irritation disappearing slightly but not completely.

 

[Dan.]

"Thank you, Master." Blackwell said, and once again reached into the fire that was the Force, taking hold of it. With a renewed determination, Blackwell seized hold of the animals mind, wrestling it's conciousness away from it's control.

He murmered soflty into the fire, whispering words of power at the animal. Sleep, small one. Think of the past, of sweet, cooling dreams, and sleeeeeeeeep.....

 

[Jabberwocky]

"Good, now wouldn't putting people to sleep be easier than cutting them to pieces with a lightsaber?" Craix said sarcastically.

 

[Dan.]

"In some cases, yes, Master. But putting someone to sleep with the Force is slower than using my lightsaber." Blackwell said.

 

[Jabberwocky]

"In many situations your lightsaber is unneccesary. You will not kill when the Force gives you a less bloody and gruesome option. There's already enough pain and suffering in this world without people adding more. Keep in mind if I ever hear of you abusing your power I will hunt you down and will kill you..." Criax was angered by the boy's attitude and his eyes brimmed with a fiery anger. "And don't take that as 'Do it in secret.' either," he added on.

Even I'm scared a little, Demented said.

I was hoping to strike the fear chord, thank you, Maniac replied with a smile that didn't show on his outward appearance.

 

[Dan.]

Geez. That seemed a bit...unnecessary. Ah well. All the more reason for me to kill him after I've learned everything I can. Disguising his true emotins with some fear and newfound respect feelings, Blackwell nodded humbly.

"Understood, Master. Now, what shall we learn next?"

 

[Jabberwocky]

"You don't undersatnd. The concept of life and death is not something understood immediately after a lecture. Sit here and meditate. I will return later," Maniac said and walked off.

And what shall we do? Normal asked.

We shall contemplate what to do with this boy, Maniac replied.

 

[Dan.]

Blackwell was slightly miffed, so to speak, by this order, but obediantly sat down and contemplated the meaning of the universe and life.

 

[Jabberwocky]

(More than that. Put Blackwell's actual thoughts in. :CStern:)

 

[Dan.]

Blackwell didn't know what to think on or meditate, so instead, he tried to remember...remember his life, his life before the Shades.

He remembered running around a room. There was yellow carpeting on the floor, and beige curtains over the windows. The late-afternoon sun streamed through the curtains and the overall effect was tranquil.

Voices buzzed from an old audiobox, laughing voices filled with dry humor. His parents were there, laughing with the audiobox, laughing with Blackwell, laughing becuase they were happy.

Then, the memory grew cold.

A small trip brought young Blackwell crashing to the floor. His head...blood...pain...anger...his mother was yelling at his father for not paying attention, his father said nothing...such cowardice! What was wrong with his father!

Tears of anger flooded from Blackwell's eyes as he struggled to hold back the flood of memories of his fathers fear, tried to stem the flood of tears in his eyes...

Finally, the last memory. The last one of his previous life. The bad ones were attacking...killing people. Running to the spaceport, fire and shouting, panic, a mob! Round a corner, lines of evil men shooting into the crowd...pain, pain all over his back...a last vision of the father he despised running, always running, running from his mothers death, running from fear...Blackwell woke up 3 days later, and spent the next week in a bacta cell. Released, wondering where his father was...so lonely

Blackwell swore, his tears stopped and his eyes dried. Focusing his pain and anger through the Force, he reached to the boulder Criax had set before him before. He reached through the Force, and sent it's metaphysical tendrils around the granite. The Force flared as a terrible, imaginary fire around the boulder, and Blackwell willed the Flames to take life-

-and they did. Toungues of flame, a conflagration, real, sparked to life from nothing around the boulder, and it was charred black. Blackwell, scared, severed his connection to the Force and the flames dissapeared. He settled back to the ground, exhausted, and thought of what had happened.

 

[Jabberwocky]

"You probably don't want to hear me talk right now, but there are better ways to take out your anger. Talking being the best," Maniac said witha wink.

I suck at the emotions thing. Your turn? Maniac asked Normal.

Sure thing, Normal said as he took control.

Criax set down cross-legged across from Blackwell and waited for several quiet minutes before saying, "So I've gone through a list of things that could make someone react like that and I think I've got it... Bad childhood memory?"

 

[Dan.]

Blackwell nodded, wiping his nose on his hand. "The understatement of the century, Master. And talking isn't going to help...it's more emotion than can be put into words. But thank you."

 

[Jabberwocky]

"If it can't be put into words then I suppose it's time for a bit more training. It's simple in theory but will be difficult for you at first. All you need to do imagine what you're thinking about and then project it outwards, preferrably in my general direction," Normal said to the boy.

Good tie-in, that was, Maniac commented.

Thank you for the compliment, Normal replied.

I was just complimenting myself...

 

[Dan.]

"All right, Master. I can try." said Blackwell, but inside the boy was thinking something else. I can do anything, that's what I should've said. It's the truth!

Breathing in and focusing, Blackwell brought forth his anger at his father, his contempt for cowardice, his pain and grief at being abandoned by his parents at an early age and...found it was too much to put into words. That didn't matter, though. He had the Force. And the Force was receptive to his emotion. The Force encouraged him, whispered in his ear that he didn't need to express himself verbally, that the Force was all the expression he needed....

...a tree on the other edge of the clearing shuddered for a fraction of a second. After another second, it shuddered again, but harder. After another second, the tree...crumpled. Splinters flew in every direction, bark exploded, and the creaking of limbs was earsplitting...but not nearly as loud as the inhuman screeches emanating from Blackwell's throat.

"There we go, Master. But I hardly thing 'arrrrggghhhhhhh rahhhhhh' is a word."

 

[Jabberwocky]

"Hmmm... I suppose it isn't," Criax replied, off-handedly. He puased for a few moments and then asked, "Blackwell, what happened to your father?"

 

[Dan.]

The boy gulped, bringing back the painful memory. "The city we lived in was under attack by something, and they killed my mom on the way to the spaceport. Dad ran off, away from the bad guys...he abandoned me." Blackwell frowned in fury. "That blasted coward! He shouldn't have ran away from his child!"

 

[Jabberwocky]

"So you've had no contanct with him other than that?" Criax asked. "So that you may not be hindered by these emotions it may be desirable to search for your father when your training is complete."

Will you-- we aid him in this quest? Maniac queried.

Only if he asks. Getting involved in his personal life is none of my business.