"You mean, you should be ready for him; you're the one with all the hoo-doo, pal!" I reminded him, my aching legs now climbing faster for now I could make out the dim glow of distant sunlight.

"I'll be ready as far as a good blaster can make me, but I'm gonna depend on you to see that the thing works against him!"

With those words my head broke into light. I paused a moment, letting go a sigh of relief to discover I had made it all the way to the little hut, and was poking my head out the little doorway that someone had left conveniently open.

Odd--

I didn't make mention of this, as I figured our resident Sith Lord had the wherewithal to figure it out on his own. Instead I just grunted, and soon found myself standing in the confines of little hut.

"Ok guys, hopefully it's all downhill from here!" I called cheerily, then bee-lined to the door leading out. Drawing my blaster, I poked a cautious head through the door, peeped around carefully...

And then scrabbled back as fast and as silently as I could.

"Dammit!" The word escaped me in a vicious burst of air.

"Those tomatoes are still hanging around; what in all the known universe are we gonna do now?"

--------------------

“If there are tuk’ata out there,” he said evenly, “they may be here because of the quake. I will see if they are of the clan of my bloodhunt companion, and if so then we have nothing to fear.”

Phalomir clasped down lightly upon Yaoksi’s shoulder and smiled slightly.

“I will let you know if they are rotten tomatoes,” he said. He then walked past Yaoksi and paused at the door of the hut. He then slowly peeked his head around the open doorway and looked out into the open. The night was approaching, and within an hour, Phalomir surmised, it would be dark.

Then he saw the tuk’ata. One of them was indeed his companion, and the other was the female that Yaoksi had ridden. But he understood Yaoksi’s fear, for there was now at least half a dozen other tuk’ata milling about. Phalomir swallowed hard and stepped forward into the open air.

“Ho!” he called out. A chorus of snarls and grunts rang out from the tuk’ata, all now staring at Phalomir. Icy chills suddenly danced up his back, and doubt crept across his thoughts. A huff from his large companion in the back brought silence to the group, and Phalomir breathed easier.

After a moment he stepped forward again to meet the advancing Md’diffnnd. A moment later Phalomir smiled and patted the huge animal’s head. He then turned and walked back to the hut, where he was met by the anxious eyes of his friends.

“These tuk’ata are friends,” he began. “They are confused and concerned about the quakes, and fear something strange is happening. It will be dark soon, but I have arranged transportation for us to the Temple. My power will be strongest there, and we shall reach it before nightfall upon the backs of the tuk’ata. What do you say?”

--------------------

Been there, done that, made it through okay... other than my nerves!

"Ok," I gulped, moving to one side so the others could join me in the clean, fresh air of this hidden world. I stared now at Phalomir, who more and more was convincing me that it was he indeed who was the Original Item, the one we had met in the halls of the temple back on K'eel Doba. He merely smiled back at me, and nodded to one of the beasts who as now lounging nearby the one Phalomir was patting, that one being the evident leader of the pack.

"I'm with you, buddy, and sure would like to get to your temple before the sun sets!" The thought of other tomatoes, and who knew what other beasties, that lurked about hidden in the dense foliage around us was enough to quicken my steps. I paused a moment before the lounging creature, who eyed me a bit diffidently, then made a queer purring yowl.

I took that to mean, "Climb aboard, sonny." Which I hastily did.

"As long as you're sure these tostadas are trustworthy--"

I couldn't help it, they were BIG, and their claws and fangs even BIGGER.

--------------------

"Ahhh, yeah," he said, eyeing the somehow blurry forms of the tukatas. "Let's just get going. My head is killing me, I think I must have knocked it back there."

Saying nothing further than that, Aaron headed for what he hoped was a friendly tuk'ata and clambered aboard, nodding for Link to climb aboard as well. "Say, can someone help me get her up? I'm feeling a bit off balance."

--------------------

“Help him to see,” he winked. He then looked at Aaron seriously.

“When we reach the temple,” he said, “we shall check your condition. If you have suffered a concussion then we should attend to this as soon as possible. Hang on to Link and tell her immediately if you feel faint. Link, you may stop the tuk’ata by patting it hard right here.”

Phalomir showed her where to slap the tuk’ata, and relayed the information to Md’diffnnd so he in turn could tell the tuk’ata that would carry Aaron and Link. He then turned to K’khil.

“I suspect you will be able to hang on with no problem,” he said. “But perhaps it would be easier if I took Thea with me?”

--------------------

"If carry Thea you will, than assistance need I not," he finally asserted.

"Fleet am I; require steed I do not."

With that he held out the slumbering girl, unfolding a third set of appendages as he did so. They were extremely long, and jointed apparently backwards, as are the jumping legs of a grasshopper. He flexed and wriggled these as he waited for the Sith Lord to take Thea, for this third set was normally kept hidden from view, generally being considered as "excess baggage" until the rare circumstance arose which would warrant them being put into use.

He wiggled the lengthy appendages again, clicking and chittering as if to remind all present that he was of an insectoid species. And as most insects, not only was he unusually strong for his size but could really cover ground should the situation arise.

[ 07-25-2007 10:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by K'kihl ]

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“For safety’s sake,” he said, “I suggest you stay behind the tuk’ata. Since there are more than what we need to ride upon, the others will go ahead to make sure our path is clear.”

With that, Phalomir climbed aboard his blood-hunt companion and held Thea close to him. Within a moment afterwards the group of free tuk’ata had padded off and the mounts followed after, followed closely by K’khil.

The group picked up speed as they progressed down the path, and were soon threading through the forest at a great speed. Phalomir glanced behind and was impressed to see K’khil scurrying along close behind. He stared for a while, amazed at the insectoid’s speed, then was even more amazed as K’khil launched into the treetops and scurried in the canopy at times when the underbrush became too thick.

The sky grew red as the group progressed down the path, eventually darkening as they reached the clearing that led to the temple. The lead group of tuk’ata had stopped, eyeing the temple suspiciously. The others drew up to join them, and all eyes turned to Phalomir.

“The temple has been damaged,” he said sadly. “Whatever shook the ground seemed to be stronger here. I fear what damage has been caused inside the temple, but I think we have no choice but to press on and enter.”

--------------------

He paused then, frowning a bit to himself, ignoring the throbbing in his head for the moment. "I'm guessing by the reaction of the animals that whatever happened to the Temple is disturbing to them?"

--------------------

The sound of gibbering and maniacal laughter came floating over the strange air. He turned to see Shayla step delicately through the portal, then he waved his hand to close it.

“Yes,” he agreed. “There is something not right here, or something in the temple itself that they are fearful--”

The whining tuk’ata suddenly stopped its noise and stood again, trotting off nonchalantly towards the temple. The others began moving also, letting their tense muscles relax a bit.

“Well,” said Phalomir as his tuk’ata also began to move. “Whatever it was seems to now be gone.”

--------------------

"Suddenly-- kinda like a door opening and closing, right?" I said as my tomato-beastie began trotting along again, jogging and jouncing me with every step she took.

I scarcely noticed, for I suddenly was harboring the sinking feeling that our ticket out of this place had vanished.

--------------------

The tuk’ata group had reached the temple steps, and soon everyone was dismounted and standing at the top of the great stairs. Phalomir peered sadly at the damage to the entrance area.

“If someone was in the temple, then they arrived before the quake or via a portal. There is no way anyone could have passed through this rubble. I will need a moment or two to clear a path.”

Phalomir handed Thea to Yaoksi, then set to work upon moving the large pieces of stone and rubble with his magick. As promised, his powers seemed to be stronger here, and large stones began to fly through the air and land on the meadow below the steps.

“It was on these steps,” said Phalomir as he worked, “that the Master stole Shayla away from us once. Long ago, I was here with her, Panthar, Jharmeen, and others – the Master popped in through a portal, grabbed Shayla, and disappeared. I learned that Thoran had been forced to serve the Master, and they had come to prevent me from – well, I never learned what they had intended, if anything really at all. All along he wanted to trade me to the Darker Realms, the rest is irrelevant. But we did manage to retrieve Shayla, and--”

Phalomir stopped, mostly done with his task.

“There is something you should know,” he said. “I have made mention of something called ‘That Which Is’. It is a – an entity of some kind. It was seen here once, and I do not know if it will be here again. It referred to a spot within the temple as its ‘place of places’, and was not happy with us. If it appears again, then-- well, let us hope it does not.”

Phalomir then continued his work, nearing completion.

--------------------

"Well either way, they shouldn't be too hard to find."

--------------------

I came up next to the Sith Lord, who was busily engaged in shifting smaller bits of rubble from around a couple that looked as if they weighed tons. I gave him a look, then cycled my blaster to a higher setting, took aim, and fired.

The multiple-ton piece promptly cracked, portions of it crumbling away in more manageable bits.

"And this is the guy who's our best hope of getting out of here," I commented as I took aim and fired once more.

"Why do I suddenly trust him even less than I did before; what if all this--"

I paused a moment and waved the blaster about myself.

"--is nothing more than a ruse to capture you and fulfill his promise to-- to, well, to whoever the hell it is he promised you to? What if, Fates help us if we actually do find him, he just takes you and leaves us stranded here, or even worse, drags us all back to that horrible place and strands us there?

"Are you willing to risk that? Isn't there anything else you can do? I mean, if he can open a door into that place, why can't you?"

--------------------

“I do not have knowledge of the All,” he said. “That is the power he uses to open portals, and is the power wielded by both Shayla and my love Jharmeen. The darkness within them will now be able to access that power, but it is my understanding that some type of a balance must be maintained within the individual in order for this power to be used. It is my hope that each person still exists within the controlled body, and with my help the darkness can be driven out.”

Phalomir exhaled deeply and turned to move the remaining pieces of stone from the doorway.

“I must have hope,” he said. “I saw Terrin brought back from the dead inside this temple, I must also believe the darkness can be defeated here as well. I refuse to believe otherwise.”

Phalomir motioned wide with his hands and the last rock flew to the side of the massive steps, then dropped several meters to the ground. He turned back to the others and smiled slightly.

“Are we all rested?” he asked. “Shall we proceed?”

--------------------

And look what happened to them.

But I didn't say anything; I just plastered a relieved grin on my face and stepped forward.

"Ready when you are," I announced as I passed the Sith Lord, who was still standing where he had been crushing and moving debris. My blaster was out and steady, my heart admittedly thumping like a frightened dzool, but since what I presumed to be light at the end of the tunnel was so close at hand I was able to put aside any lingering trepidation. In other words, my feet found the ability to move out on their own accord.

Hey, how hard could it be? There was just this corridor stretching into... well, who knew, but it looked enticing and scarier than hell all at the same time.

I tiptoed along, not knowing when I had slowed my pace to that, not knowing if the others were behind me or not, not knowing what was ahead. Only knowing that I was moving, that I could move, that moving would resolve all our issues and we'd get out of this blasted nonreality we were stuck in because of--

"What's that?"

I didn't pause, common sense seemed to have dwindled into a tiny speck. For there in front of me was the most beautiful blue glow, shining like an ultraviolet star, filling the corridor with a radiance that was soft and harsh, demanding and commanding all at the same time. My hand lowered to my side as I continued forward, my blaster dropped from unfeeling fingers; all I could see and think of and yearn for was that beautiful, beautiful radiance.

"What is it, it's so pretty..." I murmured somewhat stupidly as I proceeded toward it like some unthinking automoton, unknowing and uncaring of anything or anyone else around me.

And then the fingers of my outstretched hand entered into the light...

--------------------

But something about the entire situation was familiar, and that little fact wormed into the forefront of his mind, somehow.

Remember this Aaron, remember? a little voice whispered. You thought you were following K'khil, and BAM! He disappeared entirely, and you ended up somewhere other than him. Or perhaps it was the reverse. Don't go to the light, don't!

With a fair amount of effort, Aaron was able to dig his feet into the ground and make them stop. Still, he couldn't look away from it and still felt its pull.

"The light!" he managed to yell, his eyes still fixed. "I've seen it before...

...when I lost K'khil and the kids..."

His voice trailed off, and he concentrated on not giving in to the power that was suddenly pulling on him.

[ 08-16-2007 09:50 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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He turned behind to address Aaron just as the man stepped past to follow Yaoksi. As he prepared to call out, Link brushed past like lightning and broke his concentration. Phalomir turned his head back to catch K’khil’s questioning eyes. The insectoid still held Thea in his arms.

Phalomir shook his head, not knowing what was happening, then turned to enter the rubble-strewn hallway. He walked quickly, then nearly bumped into Aaron as the man yelled out and stood in the hallway, apparently in deep concentration. Link and Yaoksi were nowhere to be seen.

“Aaron,” he asked, “where are the others? Where are Link and Yaoksi?”

Aaron stared straight ahead, looking down the hallway, his face set hard as if struggling against some unseen enemy. The hallway was barely lit this far in, the ancient orbs that were still set into the walls giving off only a faint light, most of the rest had fallen to the floor and broken.

Aaron made no move to look at Phalomir. The Dark Lord, concerned, turned his head to call back to K’khil.

“Something is happening here!” he yelled. “Aaron is not responding and the others are gone!”

--------------------

The entire hallway seemed to explode in a burst of chromatics... which was immediately followed by a weirdly external sensation that I was being somehow condensed... both which led to the sudden realization that I was down and rolling and tumbling, and that a soft fuzzy white thing was rolling and tumbling right along with me.

I came to a somewhat disorganized halt, and managed to right myself. All about me reality -- or was it nonreality? -- spun on some sort of universal axis, everything about me -- whatever that was! -- going round and round in a blur, until all settled and I found myself shivering and hugging the equally astounded form of Link. Equally, I say, because although I couldn't see my own expression I could feel the rictus of overly-stressed muscles as gut-level fear made itself known on my face.

We were sitting in what appeared to be some kind of alpine tundra, in the dead of night. Above our heads a maze of brilliant stars twinkled, stars whose patterns I'd never seen before in my life. I blinked, fighting back the gibbering insanity which strove so hard to overwhelm me, and hugged Link so hard it was a wonder I didn't break a rib.

"Where the hell are we?" I whispered into the uncaring dark, trying to swallow but finding my mouth far, far to dry to do so.

((OOC: Yaoksi disappears Into the Blue in the "CSWU" forums, dragging Link along with him, thank you.))

[ 08-20-2007 11:36 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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He trailed then, redirecting his energies to keeping himself where he was. He wasn't sure how much longer it would last. "They just disappeared..."

--------------------

“It may have been another teleporting trap, but I do not believe that to be true. It may have been a doorway out of the Elseness, which vanished when Yaoksi touched it. If so, it is impossible to tell where -- or when -- he and Link have emerged.”

Phaomir looked back at K’khil, still holding Thea. He motioned for the Verpine to join him and Aaron.

“There may be another doorway,” he said. “We must be on the watch for them. Until then, we should stay together and continue on with our plan. Shayla is in the same situation as we are, relying on the master or Jharmeen to open a portal. If we find her, then perhaps she can be reasoned with somehow. If we find the Master, then we force him to help. While here, we make our way to inner chambers to see if any devices remain intact, perhaps there is something that can help us.”

Phalomir already knew that would not be the case, but it would give them purpose. His hope was that another doorway would appear and they could use that to escape.

--------------------

I step out through madness from somewhere into nothing. That is, into a place very familiar to me, for it is here I once took Jharmeen to teach her, here where she bonded with her Blood-Hunt companion, the tuk'ata who shall remain faithful unto her until death. But now this place is indeed nothing; caught between one moment and the next it is mere dream-fluff...

Of the nightmare variety.

I am uneasy, and cast a glance around as I await the coming of the others. Around me is jungle, from whence come the cries of those innocent beasts who were caught up in the transformation of this system. Aye, transformation, for now they shall find life unending, for that is the gift of the Elseness.

A gift Men would kill for... and in the taking would go mad, for it is only here, in this great Eternal Now that life unending exists. That Which Is has deigned this as his Place of Places; nothing of flesh and blood, other than the beasts, belongs here.

For life unending is, as I am beginning to be painfully aware, against the Rules...

[ 08-23-2007 09:23 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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A glint of light reflected far down the hallway, and at once a snarl shot towards the group. Phalomir froze and held his hand up behind him to signal the others.

“Tuk’ata,” he whispered. “And not one of Diffy’s. Be ready with your blaster, Aaron.”

--------------------

Whatever genus created tuk'ata should be incinerated from the universe. I thought, pausing at the steps to look for an obvious entrance, taking the moment to also check for any threats nearby.

After only a few seconds of observation, I noticed a rather obvious trail of destruction in the ruins. Well, looks like someone has left us a trail to follow. I thought, not taking a moment to realize the pronoun I'd chosen for myself.

"Let's get this over with." I murmured, taking the steps in bounds and beginning to enter the "path".

--------------------