They do not answer that... and I am suddenly chilled...

[ 07-28-2006 03:31 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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...time did not at the moment permit this. For Erik had made his decision and was more than capable of defending himself.

Others here were not so capable, and had made no such choice of their own. Perhaps some would not understand this: but Shawn knew his place was here.

The Force had brought him here, after all.

Getting to his feet, Shawn headed towards Galen to assist her, pausing only momentarily to look JhinDarra's way. "She is not out of the woods yet," he commented unnecessarily. "But you did find a connection back there, on Tatooine, did you not?" he queried simply, non-threateningly. "Your strength and familarity with your mother is very valuable."

Shawn motioned to Galen then, offering her assistance once more as he began to move in her direction. He paused one final moment to glance the Master's way. "Your aid and guidance, my Lord?" he asked, the look in his greeny-blue eyes humble and non-assuming.

Sensing the urgency, however, Shawn did not wait to see if either would come along, but instead headed to Galen's side, once more opening a Force-link with Galen, probing into the very cells which made her, promoting the healing process by channeling the strength of the Force into them. And yet a small portion of him remained alert to sense the approach of much needed assistance of others nearby...

[ 07-28-2006 09:30 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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“I don’t understand,” he said. “I can feel her body, there is no sign of the toxin, and the bites are not severe enough to cause…”

His eyes widened.

“Wait…”

He reached further, diving into her mind, seeking out the force that gave her life. There something there, something pulling at him as well. He listened to its sweet voice, its soft music, and for an brief instant felt compelled to follow it.

But the cold balance of the Master came forward, preventing the sounds from having meaning. But he had felt and heard enough, and he now pulled back from Galen’s mind.

"It wants the All back?" he whispered, his blue eyes locking on Galen, his mind racing. "So what about Galen?!" he then asked, his eyes shifting to the Master.

"You said you could help her, that she doesn't know how to deny it...

...so help her."

He looked back to Galen then, wondering if she was even hearing him or sensing him there at all. "Come on Galen, fight it!" Fight for your right to live..."

He trailed at this, shaking her once more, feeling for all the worlds completely at odds with all of the dynamic aspects of what was happening. After all, something Galen had not-so-affectionately named Google Eyes was now fighting to take a portion of itself back, her life now hanging in the balance. But, despite what he did or didn't know or understand about the All and That Which Is or Was or Ever Would be...

...one thing he was certain of. He was not giving up on her, and on her right to live and thrive and have the things that she wanted.

Not ever.

He looked back to the Master, his blue eyes locking on the other in urgency and demand. "Do something..."

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Pausing at that, Shawn's greeny-blues defocused slightly as he considered the problem at hand. And granted, while he did know little of the All, he did know something.

"JhinDarra and Galen connected back there on Tatooine," he observed. "I'm wondering if the connection between the two of them, which is obviously strong as it is forged in blood, would give Galen the will to fight that which is trying to take the All from her. Still, I am uncertain to whether or not there is potential risk in this. As I mentioned, I am but a Jedi and know only a little of this. What do you think should be done?"

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“Come to your mother, child,” he said. “Reach out to her with your heart, with your mind. Connect with that part of her that is you, and allow her to feel the same within you. She needs an anchor, a life force made from her own spirit. Keep her here with us, let her cling to you, and I shall—“

The Master hesitated only the slightest, but a twinge of emotion tried to prevent from completing his sentence.

She blinked, torn.

"I-- I believe Ter- my stepfather has the strongest link in that regard," she said simply, taking another backward step.

Indeed was JhinDarra highly empathic, and had been since birth. She was well aware of a subtle change in the atmosphere of Lord Aelvedaar's Inner Sanctum, and it was the very subtlety of it that gave her sudden and instinctive cause for alarm.

[ 07-31-2006 01:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by JhinDarra ]

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“That link will not do,” he said. “It is a blood link that will save her. Don’t you understand, child? This force feels the strength of the All within your mother, and wishes it. There is no other way to say it, for if it succeeds, your mother will die. She needs your life force to give her the strength to resist, and your own innate power of the All to cling to. Fear not, I shall prevent harm to come to you.”

The Master continued to stare, kneeling before Galen with his hand on her head. Darra still did not come forth, and his expression hardened.

Every cell in her being cried out in pain, every molecule screamed for her to step forward, to kneel beside the fallen Galen, to open herself up to her mother and with the Master's aid bring her back from the strange realms into which she had apparently been dragged.

But yet she balked.

She couldn't define it. She hadn't yet the power, the ability to use what came innately to her to their fullest. All she could rely upon was her uncanny inborn sense of empathy, a sense that even now in before the very real threat of her mother's impending death was screaming for her to stay, to halt, to hold back.

She felt Terrin's incredulous look beat against her, the emotions that washed off of him ranging a gamut from disbelief to outright anger. That emotion was joined by Shawn's, calmer, cooler, but nevertheless very real: a deep concern for her apparent disregard for her mother's life.

Yet she balked.

"I-- I felt..." she began, floundering, her eyes filling with tears at her own futility.

"You-- you paused, there was a pause--"

She fell silent then, staring directly into the Masters stern and angry gaze as a lamb would try to stare down a lion...

...but a lamb which held the innate bravery of a young ram.

Darra held her ground.

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Help, oh help me...!

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“They will not leave without it,” he said. “They must have the power, and she does not have the ability to resist.”

He stood, smoothly, and walked gently to Darra. He reached his hands to her shoulders and held them over her, his eyes now very soft.

“But I do,” he said quietly, almost in a whisper. “I need only for you to be her anchor, and I shall free her of their pull. I will offer them more, and they will leave your mother. But we must hurry.”

He let his hands slide down to take one of hers within them.

She looked to the Master's hand, holding hers so gently as he urged her quietly forward.

Trust. Do I trust him? But if I do not, what will become of Mother?

Her mind raced, seeking answers, not knowing if the words he spoke to them were truth or deception. Felt the continued waves of anger flowing from Terrin, felt the cool concern likewise emanating from Shawn, sensed the confusion wafting from the remainder of their group.

Let her innate skills reach out to Galen... and felt her beginning to withdraw.

"N-no-!" she choked then, shaking her head, but now stepping forward in step with the elder Sith who led her.

"I-- I cannot let her die..."

Please, oh please, I pray to the god of the Sith, lead me down the correct path, that I might assist in saving the life of my mother. And should this prove to be a false path--

Then I pray strength be given to the others, that they might avenge me my fate.

Shuddering, she allowed herself to be led to Galen, knelt at the urging of the Master's hands on her shoulders. Gulping, she paused only a moment or two to compose herself before she laid a tentative hand alongside Galen's cheek.

"Mother, come back to us," she whispered, both aloud and via the Link which instantly sprang into being between them.

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The voices grew in intensity, sensing a new source beyond the link that had come into being. The Master could feel their desire begin to extend to JhinDarra, and that was when he acted.

He forced a link to open between himself and Galen, and fed a massive amount of energy into it. The force behind the voices diverted their path from JhinDarra and followed the much stronger force. As he had hoped, but in truth was not certain, the link between mother and daughter remained solid, and Galen rooted her spirit within that.

Soon all of the remaining power that had been left by the spiders had flowed from Galen and into the Master. It was more than he had to contend with when he himself was attacked on Tattooine, but still not so much that he could not resist the pull. He detached his link from Galen, allowing her spirit to be soothed and healed by her daughter.

The Master stood and quickly walked away, his mind filled with voices and soft whispers. How sweetly they beckoned, how lovely and pure the promise of their lullaby. He reached the wall, staggering the last two steps, and propped himself with a hand against it as he sank to one knee. He clasped his other hand upon his forehead and concentrated on what he knew to be his purpose for continuing in this world.

Life is a circle, an endless voyage from birth to death to rebirth from the pool. It is not my time to re-enter the pool, the Vong are coming and I must save my race. I must. I needed to live, to stay in this realm, to find my son and unite the Sith under one rule. I – must – I – must – I… I cannot go with you…. Begone!

The voices quieted, and a small echo of dust seemed to steam from the Master’s pores and vanish into the air. He sat quietly for a moment, holding his head, then turned to see if Galen and JhinDarra were all right.

He then turned bleary eyes to Aelvedaar, knowing what his next task had to be, but knowing also that the Dark Lord was under a much more severe attack.

Then it too skitters away, leaving me distraught and disheveled and shocked and filled with the most stupendous joy I have ever felt in my life--

I sat up with a jerk, my eyes wide open. Blinking, I took in the sight of the others, noted the ring of solemn faces which even as I watched were beginning to alter into expressions of relief and happiness.

"What in Hell's Seven Circles is going on?!?" I hollered, sneezing a couple times before bringing my glance round to Terrin. Off to one side was an anxiously hovering Darra, tears standing in her eyes. I reached one arm to her even as the other snaked in Terrin's direction, my own eyes now flooding as the aftermath of whatever it was I just went through struck me with supernova force.

[ 07-31-2006 06:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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Mother would have died. She would have died, and I stood by letting her suffer.

Her tear-filled eyes glanced to the Master, who was straightening up somewhat shakily, one hand still propping his weight against the wall.

I hadn't trusted. I did not listen with my heart, only my ears and my eyes and my knowledge.

When does that change? When will I know how to use that which I have, to not bring further risk to those I love and am beginning to love?

Sniffling a little she turned away from Galen entirely and glided instead to the Master's side. He was breathing heavily, glancing every so often at the grim form of Lord Aelvedaar, who yet moaned and thrashed upon the couch where he lay.

Darra swiped the tears from her eyes with a movement both angry and swift, then reached out and took one of the Master's great hands between her two small ones.

"I have much to learn," she said softly, peering up into his face, hanging on even as by the touch an empathic bond leaped into being, disclosing to her his trepidation at the task he had yet to perform.

"I shall help you again, if I can, if you will only teach me..."

[ 07-31-2006 06:45 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Okay. So maybe this Master character wasn't so bad.

"Thank you," Terrin said then in the Master's direction. "And Darra..."

He trailed, not knowing how to say what he was thinking, but feeling that he must. "Trust in what's inside you. It's a hard thing to do but..."

He paused, not certain if he was speaking them to Darra or to himself. "Sometimes you have to simply trust."

Holding on a moment longer to Galen, he then spoke to her. "It's so good to have you back," he said softly.

After another moment, he pulled back just a bit to look at Shawn. "We should get back and determine Thoran and Erik's whereabouts on Degobah. After all, if either of them fared as well as you, the Master and Panthar, they are stuck out there somewhere unconcious as well."

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...I'm certain he is in trouble as well, but his circumstances are quite different. He was wanting to go blazing after Shayla, and he really needed to just calm down and think first...

...but he wasn't willing to do that. He stunned the three of us; I don't know when Thoran came into play after that, and I have no idea if Erik successfully tracked down Shayla. All I know is that he did have some bearing as to which direction she went, as did the rest of us. I have no doubt he headed that way after he stunned us all.

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"Shawn," Terrin spoke up, "You all were more than stunned by Erik. The Master said that your sleep centers had been violated, and that Shayla had been close by." He paused a moment. "I think you can do the math," he said a touch darkly.

Then, he turned his attentions back to Galen. "Is there anything you need?" he asked her, clearly still concerned. "Maybe some water...

...or some food?"

Yeah buddy, you remember that stuff...? It has been a few days, after all...

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“I don’t drink,” he said flatly. He then popped the top off the bottle and drank deeply. He stopped and leaned against the wall, sinking slowly to the ground and letting the bottle rest on the floor beside him.

He looked around the room, his eyes focusing a bit more. He counted heads and shook his own in confusion.

“Erik is an idiot,” he said. “Now we are missing Gray, Phal, Shayla, Erik, and Thoran. And I bet they’re not all having a wild party together in the jungle, either. So, what the heck do we do now?”

[ 08-05-2006 12:54 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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"Oh wonderful," I muttered, struggling against the cushions; dang, but the Sith made deep sofas! Straining, I managed to get totally upright, my back against the back of the sofa, my feet dangling over the edge like a little kid's. Terrin shifted, hanging on to me like he would never let go.

"Does someone want to fill me in on what in Hell's Seven Circles happened? To me and what's with Erik shooting people?"

My brow furrowed, then my stomach reminded me that Terrin's earlier words held great merit. I cast a look up into his eyes.

"And yeah, if someone would go fetch me a little something to nosh on, like maybe a whole nerf or something, I'd be ever so grateful--"

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The Master stood, forcing his bearings to slide into place.

“For the time being,” he croaked, coughing to clear his throat. “I suggest we concentrate on the here and now. I know you all care for those who are missing, but if try to wrangle too many neks at once we shall fail with all of them. Our immediate situation is grave, for although Galen and those who came back from Dagobah should recover quickly, I will be frank and tell you that Lord Aelvedaar may die if we do not do something quickly. I now know what ails him.”

The Master walked to the couch where Aelvedaar lay, the healer still attending but glancing up to see the Master stagger once before reaching the couch.

“The spiders that attacked him are more than mere animals,” he continued, resting his hand on the arm of the grand couch. “They are part of the cycle, an embodiment of that which – well, that which is. The life that thrives in that jungle is part of it as well, and the bit that is the living All has touched Aelvedaar deeply. This in itself is good, but it tastes the All within him, the essence of it that is attached to his life force. It wants to bring that back to the center of everything, to feed upon it. He struggles, resisting, but he needs help.”

The Master smiled to JhinDarra.

“Galen suffered the same way, but not as severely. I managed to coax the essence out of her, by offering my power to them instead. Your daughter held you firmly through her own powers, Galen, anchoring herself to you so that you would remain grounded while the strange voices emptied from you. I must do the same for Aelvedaar. But although powerful you are, my dear JhinDarra, you cannot do this alone. There is more than simple power that is needed to keep Aelvedaar’s spirit from giving in and following the voices as they depart.”

The Master turned his head to Aeylmaar.

Then he turned to Galen, sighing. "Erik is thinking with his heart and with testosterone," he replied to her question regarding his brother-in-law's actions rather bluntly. "The situation is not good. While I don't know what is going on with Jharmeen or Shayla...

...I do know that if Shayla had wanted Erik to find her, she wouldn't be blocking her Force-signature from him. I have a bad feeling about this. In the meantime, I fear Lord Aelvedaar's recovery will take quite some time, and in that time, Thoran and Erik will remain missing."

He paused, pursing his lips, considering. "It may be advisable that we go back to Degobah and look for both of them now, for perhaps they too have only been left unconscious somewhere. If we discover this is not the case, we should wait, I think. Our team can only be at its best when every member can contribute...

...and we will need all."

[ 08-07-2006 09:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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The younger Sith blinked in surprise, for to tell the truth he had never considered himself in this light when it came to his adopted father. Apprentice of long standing, eager student, and yes even Adept he had been to Lord Aelvedaar, but he had always supposed it was for those reasons he had been taken as the Dark Lord's adopted Heir.

Loved?

He blinked again, cutting his eyes to Shawn, who looked as though he wanted to do something, just didn't really know quite what.

"I-- I--" he stammered, still taken somewhat aback; then he firmed with an audible swallow.

"Shawn, I will keep this portal open for you if you wish to return to Dagobah. Please, whoever would remain behind, make use of the Crystal Octahedron; it will show the path your comrades will take, although you will not be able to hear the words that they speak."

Casting another look around himself, he drew in a deep breath. Then he hastened to Lord Aelvedaar's side, where he stood waiting for the Master to join him.

"I am ready," he said simply, and fell silent.

[ 08-07-2006 09:18 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aeylmaar ]

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...I will follow the path."

Stating nothing further, asking no one to follow, Shawn moved to take a few steps into the portal, and then into the Degobah swamps. He sensed outward with the Force then, the thronging life of the forest reverberating through his senses til at length he found one of the two essences he searched for...

...but not the other. Although Shawn's look, which usually remained serene, darkened slightly. He stretched out to the one essence he did sense, sent a force-niggle across a the link he had created to it, and came up with not a response, not even so much as a recognition of the call he sent.

He stepped back through the Portal to fill the others in. "Erik is somewhere on the planet, some distance from the portal...

...but he does not seem to recognize or respond to any Force-link I send his way. It's almost as though he is sleeping...

...or unconcscious." He frowned once more. "As for Thoran...

...I don't sense him at all. I will continue sensing for him, however, and will go to find Erik. He doesn't seem to be a long distance away, but some distance away at that. I do not sense either Graysith or Shayla, which has not changed from my last brief visit there. My concern is that one or both of them discovered them, unwelcomed, in the swamps. I will return as soon as possible..."

He paused, looking back towards Aeylmaar and the Master, "And if there is something you need me for, I trust you will be able to find me quickly."

Stating nothing futher, Shawn stepped back into the portal and into the swamps of Degobah.

(((OCC: Follow Shawn into Within the Web of Life in the CSWU.)))

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