Private Apprentice to Metal

[Syd Celsius]

Wearing: Inferno Gown

Armed with: Wind and Fire Wheels

Objective: Clear out/ Renovate old military base to serve as a stronghold for Starlin Rand

Current Persona: The Sorceress of Coruscant (See Bio)


The Sorceress of Coruscant walked the long since destroyed ecumenopolis of Taris. Not really Syd save for the fact she was using her body, The Sorceress, created from absorbing the remnant of a Light Side Witch that resided in a Jade Death Mask, was about as elderly looking as Syd was, though her features were far sharper and more distinct, hair brown instead of black. She lacked Syd's psychological baggage, and had her own ideas about The Light and how best to spread it, create a haven of protection, a suit of armor around the world to protect against the Dark Side.

(Cutaway of The Vision destroying the last Ultron Drone)

It occured to her that in the process of this Starlin would need a sanctum of his own. As he grew stronger, he would make powerful enemies. Enemies who would know how to kill him. It was essential an aspiring knight have a castle. With steeds and armor and weapons at the ready. Somewhere he could hide when he was being hunted. The ancient Jedi Order had been too insular. Too easily located. It was part of what made Order Sixty-Six so easy to carry out. It would not be so easy to kill Starlin. She would make certain of that.

The Sorceress of Coruscant did not move like the Sorceress of Yurb. The Yurb Persona always was very slow and deliberate, but struck with great power. The Sorceress of Coruscant had a bold, direct stride like that of Syd. Which made sense, given how the fragment of the Witch absorbed indicated traces of flame magic on it.

The Sorceress felt an intense connection with the metals of the ruined cityscape. She vowed to bring order to it of some sort.

As she approached the ancient military base...it looked to have been a small base for starfighters--she tensed, flesh rippling as she sensed the Dark Side, the taint of magic corrupted by hate.

Refusing to allow pollution of this sort, The Sorceress of Coruscant hurried her pase, sensing pain and suffering and vowing to stop it. It was coming from a hangar. Her flesh wriggled everywhere as she got closer. She knew the tidings of an unholy ritual when she felt it.

The hangar was slathered in gore. The Sorceress felt a chill, as the Syd within her was familiar with these processes. The moon symbols painted on blood on the walls gave it away. The Cult of The Brain Demon was on Taris. Darth Phyre's cult. The bastards were trying to set up shop right under the SJC's nose!

She spotted the Concord soldier on the makeshift altar, surrounded by candles formed in the shape of a pentacle. He was gagged, stripped naked and covered in sigils that had been cut into his skin, was screaming and thrashing in chains, completely freaked out. But where were the Witches doing the ritual?

She got her answer when a lightsaber struck her from behind. Her skin, tempered like metal, barely absorbed the single blow to her shoulder, letting off an inhuman shriek with a metallic tone to it. But though her skin glowed bright orange where she had been struck, the blade had not cut. The Sorceress of Coruscant took out Syd's Indigo bladed Spinning Lightsaber both blades shooting out as a number of Witches, muscular and clad in white catsuits came out of their Force Camouflage to surround her

"We sense great power within you, fellow magic user. You could be thrice as strong with the Dark Side."

The Sorceress had only one response to this.

"None of you will be permitted to live."

The Witches whispered unholy incantations to her direction. The Sorceress snarled as her flesh bubbled but the gown was so heavily enchanted for situations like this it took the brunt of what felt like an attempt to rip out her soul and divide it amongst them equally.

The Witches eventually grew frustrated when their magic failed and they resorted to purple or red lightsabers. The Sorceress moved with speed and strength unnaturally paired with an elderly woman's appearance. With supernatural grace, she twisted out of their blade strikes, each combatant enhancing their speed and strength through various means as to not be taken out of the fight early. The Sorceress parried and counter-attacked at foes who often attempted to Force Choke or attack four at a time, some succeeding in glancing blows to her face and head, lighting the skin a bright orange and causing the hissing Sorceress to retreat in pain. But no matter how hard they struck she always managed a solid parry or block afterward, knowing another mistake like that could be fatal.

The Witches struck, and The Sorceress scored her first kills with an elegant dodge to the right of an attacker along with an unexpected spin of the track on her ringed hilt, that cut the first one in half and beheaded another that got close too fast.

The Sorceress felt the power build inside of her, without hesitating she unleashed it.

She opened her mouth and emerald flames rushed out, enchanted by the light. The Witches threw out their own corruption to try and hold them back but in the end it was a hopeless endeavor. The remaining Witches succumbed to the flames, some trying to escape, only to have the tissue burn up. Most disintegrated. All but that of the Lead Witch. Her skeleton, made of a more thorough alchemized process had survived the blaze but it was scorched and blackened. The emerald flames cut off, unable to destroy anything not of The Dark Side. The Sorceress of Coruscant turned back to the screaming man on The Altar, quickly cutting his bonds with her lightsaber. Without even waiting he sprinted off the table and ran screaming.

"WAIT!" She shouted, starting to run after him. But he had already gained a great distance. He had run off screaming into the ancient streets, and she soon lost sight of him. She could not afford to divide her attention between Starlin and that crazed captive. Besides, she didn't know how many witches there might actually be.

Retrieving a white ceremonial gown she found nearby, she quickly cleansed it of its taint, before focusing on the Skeleton.

She took a ritual knife and cut her palm, emerald blood with the sheen and consistency of mercury flowed out and made a circle around the skeleton.

She got on her knees and began to chant unnatural things under her breath, the flesh on her face warping and bubbling, bloody seams starting to make an out line around her face.

The wriggling flesh that had been her face detached itself from her head, exposing her muscle covered skull, oozing mercury like emerald blood. Tendrils sprouted from the face tissue and it crawled of its own accord onto the skull of the burned skeleton, settling over the teeth and eye sockets. The bubbling face, once attached, drew in the emerald blood which covered the rest of the skeleton in a thin, bubbling film. The tendrils from the face spread out, forming skin and muscles and vital organs slowly over the rest of the skeleton. Its skin bubbled everywhere before settling into the appearance of the elderly woman who had just altered it. The copy of the Sorceress sat up, immediately dressing in the ceremonial gown.

"Find that soldier. Even if you have to fight a dozen more witches. A hundred more witches." The Sorceress of Coruscant commanded her clone, her face healing as a nearby piece of metal liquified like mercury, flinging itself onto her exposed skull and molding itself into her likeness, gaining flesh like color and texture after a few seconds.

The Copy nodded, immediately flying off into the sky to pursue the crazed soldier before he got himself killed.

The Sorceress that had made the copy then tidied up, activating her beacon so Starlin could find her. They still had a lot to cover when it came to renovation...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Ho boy.

After Yurb, Starlin was beginning to realize how in over his head he was as Syd’s apprentice. Hell, Syd herself seemed pretty in over her head. Just how many different forms could she assume now? Did this technically make her a shapeshifter like… well, like Nimdok? (Don’t tell anyone, Starlin!) Were there any limits to what she could do?

And if not, would his lessons ever end? It seemed like she would always have something new to teach him.

“Hi Syd,” he called out in greeting, walking casually through the gate of the abandoned military base. Taris was an even bigger chithole than his home on Coruscant, though it had more to do with the planet-wide city having been destroyed time and time again. After the latest sacking by whatever forces, the ecumenopolis was more or less lawless. He’d had to scare off a pack of desperate scavengers with his sabers, and fought his way through a gang of roving bandits. No witches, though—not yet, anyway.

Heading further into the base, he at last laid eyes on the manifestation of yet another of his master’s personas. So far all of them had been older women, middle-aged and up, not too different from the form she had created for herself on Kashyyyk. This one reminded him a little bit of his mother, with her straight brown hair and sharper looks. The one on Yurb had been a slightly younger blonde with a certain air of elegance about her, but the Sorceress of Coruscant was more like an in-your-face biker chick than a feather-light svelte sorceress, and for reasons he couldn’t quite put his finger on, he found that he was more comfortable with her appearance and mannerisms here than he had been on Yurb.

Less soothing was the bloody mess he found her cleaning up in the hangar. The stench of gore was dissipating, but it lingered like a metallic aftertaste in his nostrils. Starlin whistled. “Damn, what happened in here? It looks like somebody forgot to unplug their blender before sticking their hand in.”

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

The Sorceress of Coruscant stopped her clean up as she spotted Starlin Rand . It had a high opinion of him based on Syd's memories, actually admired his efforts to explore the Light. He would make a fine champion when he was fully trained.

"Witches happened. They were trying to perform a ritual. Stopped them..." The Sorceress answered casually. "Its good to see you student. This new appearance of mine is a side effect of absorbing a fragment of another Witch's knowledge. My body had to...'partition' the knowledge off to remain stable at the cellular level. The same effect as Yurb. Interesting ability. Think of it as a high tier version of you absorbing the knowledge skills in the spell scrolls I drew for you on Azterri. Except those were only individual skills."

"Careful..." the hidden illusion of The Sorceress of Zeffo warned the Coruscant Persona. "He may receive wisdom but do not inform him so well that he suspects what has happened. He does not know who Syd is. What Syd is. He does not fully appreciate the danger he is in."

"These Witches are a vile and nasty lot." The Coruscant Persona said to Starlin as she used her metal manipulating force power to make the armored hull of a rusted starfighter come apart and float to her.

"Ashla, repurpose this as a recepticle for the wretched."

The metal liquified like wax, Her will shaping some of it into a large pot and the rest into a large shovel that she used to scoop the rest of the gore into, which she shen breathed Emerald Fire on to make it disintegrate in seconds.

"Metallokinesis. The manipulation of metal. A highly specialized form of telekinesis. You can move it if it has metal, except when its being held or worn by living beings. As your skill grows you'll be able to lift common metals easier and heavier, denser metals will move faster at your command. It requires great concentration at first but grows moderately easier as you progress in using the ability, and you can learn to decrease or increase the magnetism of a given object. It won't function in an area of strong ionic interference, however. Paired with the right magics, you can create great wonders."

A hidden illusion of the Sorceress of Yurb waited in the corner, arms folded. "I still think we should tell him the truth."

"The resurrection of Darth Phyre cannot be risked!" The Zeffo Illusion argued with the Yurb Illusion, neither of which Starlin could see. "It will be difficult enough as it is stopping the Cult of The Brain Demon. It will be more difficult still to convince him to help us take permanent control of this body. He must trust us more than Syd when he realizes he has not been told the whole truth about her. The only way is to let him judge us by our actions. It will make learning the truth about Syd's bloody past all the more disillusioning to him."

"And if he decides to destroy us along with her?" The Yurb Illusion asked.

"That's why we leave copies." The Zeffo illusion replied smoothly. "But we will never have flesh that is as strong as that which we were made in. If Starlin can be convinced to help us sieze control we eliminate the one living fragment of Phyre remaining, and we can go forward and wipe out her legacy. Then we can spread the Light as we see fit. Something more imaginative then what the Jedi are trying..."

"We will have to tell him soon."

"Not too soon."

While this invisible argument was taking place, the Sorceress of Coruscant placed her hand on the ground of the hangar, flesh shuddering on the bone as she pulsed the light through the ground, burning away any remaining evil in the structure. She then gestured for Starlin to follow her.

She sweapt her hand over the ancient but intact structure of the base, though there was still metal debris from a thousand other battles imprisoning it.

"Starlin, this...is to be your castle. Every Knight to be must have a Castle, forged in their own hand. You will make incredibly dangerous enemies, and you will need a place to store your acquisitions and a place to defend youself. Obviously, I'll help you, but you'll have to lift what you can." The Sorceress of Coruscant explained.

"I still think we should tell him early. I'm not comfortable with him in the dark like this. Its wrong. Its not fair to him." The Yurb Illusion argued.

"If we talk now he will freak harder than a Sith whose lightsaber shorts out in the middle of the duel. Our asses will get deleted faster than you can say "Demonic Possesion." The Zeffo Illusion replied firmly. "My plan is not without pitfalls, but I feel the slow, patient method is the best."

The Sorceress of Coruscant paid the arguing personas no mind as she prepared the first lesson Starlin would need, grabbing a simple metal dish for him to test his powers on.

"The trick to understanding metal is to...well...think about your relationship with your lightsaber. When it is truly bonded to you, you and it are inseperable. That is what it takes to work with a specific element like metal...or fire..." The Sorceress trailed, breathing emerald flames on her hand, forming them into a sphere of green flame. She felt bad he was in the dark also, no matter what The Zeffo Sorceress claimed.

But she could do nothing. The creature created from absorbing a fragment of a Dathomir Heretical Lightsider was not only the strongest of the personas, but also the closest to Syd in terms of what elements she manipulated as well as the one who was created first. It was hopeless to override her will in this matter.

"Try to bond with the metal the way you bond with your blade."


Meanwhile...

The ritually scarred, terrified and naked soldier had retreated into an ancient underground tram tunnel, having not stopped running through the darkness of it over depowered repulsor tracks. He didn't know where he was going. He just needed to get away from that witch. The only way to do that would be to go so damn deep even she would not follow.

He froze when he saw the purple flames on a torch sconce, white blood written as runes on the tunnel surfaces...and a whole bunch of dead witches who had been shot or burned, remnants of their white catsuits in tatters.

The horror of realizing it was either the witch behind him, or the horror ahead only came out in a strangled "Oh no. Gods no." (You're becoming hysterical: 90 XP)

He made a timid walk forward shivering from the cold and the adrenaline. These things had butchered his friends. He wasn't sorry to see them dead. He didn't know the purpose of the runes. He didn't want to.

He found a blaster pistol and went into the poorly lit area once belonging to this cult, decimated by something much worse. He winced. He saw examples of their flayed alive victims mounted on pedestals, freshly rotting and surrounded by blood pentacles. His hand trembled as he held out the pistol, wondering what was so horrible down here even what had looked to be a few dozen platoons of them couldn't handle. He got his answer as her heard blaster shots and lightsabers coming from what looked to be a repurposed waiting station for commuters, decked in strange relics.

He spotted her, fighting a remaining witch on the platform, a single hilt sized double bladed Lightsaber, viridian blades spinning about her lithe but athletic frame as both it and she maneuvered in a drunken fashion, fending off the purple staff blades of a blue Zabrak witch in a white catsuit, attacking ferociously but frustrated by her opponents superhuman speed and unpredictable defense, drinking motions incorporated to confuse the opponent along with unexpected twirls and tumbles worked into her counter-attacks. She was wearing a black and white combat bodysuit with a white hooded mask that had large lenses.

The last witch grew more and more frustrated as she attacked the warrior, until she made the mistake of a shallow swing.

The masked warrior forced her blade to hover catching the other double blade, drawing a large black blaster pistol and shooting the witch in the head in one swift motion, exploding it.

The masked warrior wheeled her gun on the soldier as she caught her own blade, floating that of the Witch to her belt as a trophy. He pointed his pistol back, though he was in no condition to aim well due to his fear.

The woman instantly put together what was going on when she saw the nakedness and scars.

"You escaped, huh? Shhh...relax...I'm not your enemy..." the woman said, putting down her pistol and holding her hands up.

"Who are you?" he asked in a strained whisper, eyes wide with trauma and terror.

The woman removed her hood and pulled off her mask, revealing a young woman with tan skin, and anti flash goggles covering her eyes. She was quite pretty.

"My name is Maple Harte, I'm here to rescue you...I guess..." the schizophrenic bounty hunter replied...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Syd Celsius

Starlin began working out a rhyme in his head. Molten metal and a dozen witches duly dreaded; Ashla, repurpose this as a receptacle for the wretched...

Welp, that one wasn’t so hot. He’d have to iron out something better. Heh, ‘iron’ out.

Molten metal and cold iron where darkness fears to... tread?… nah, that doesn’t… well, ‘tread’, ‘wretch-ed’… ‘to tread’, ‘wretched’... Molten metal and cold iron mark where darkness fears to tread; Ashla, repurpose this as a receptacle for the wretched.

To his surprise, however, Syd didn’t ask him to repeat the words of a spell. She held out a metal dish and told him to bond with it the way he had bonded with his lightsaber.

Starlin fingered the hilt of the weapon hanging at his hip. To be honest, he didn’t see how it was possible to do what she asked. His lightsaber was bonded to him because he had made it, including cleansing the crystal with his own power. It became infused with his essence. But then, he was supposed to use this metal to build himself a castle, right? Could a home—no chit, of course a home was infused with its occupant’s essence. C’mon, Starlin! Get with the program!

He took the metal dish in his hands and looked it over. Closing his eyes, he envisioned it in his mind, sensing its matter through the Force. What was it the little green alien dude had said? “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter…” Starlin had Nimdok to thank for suggesting he rent that miniseries about the life of Luke Skywalker. Gave him plenty to think about.

Even a hunk of twisted steel like this had something of the luminous in it. Starlin went past the surface sensing and reached for the gleaming essence within. It was raw elements that he held, though they had been alloyed together in a factory and shaped for the urban sprawl. He’d grown up around durasteel and duracrete, though, and it was difficult to see anything new in the mundane and ordinary.

But find it he did, and that was enough. The metal suddenly liquified in his hands and trickled between his fingers. He gasped and opened his eyes, expecting it to be hot, but like mercury it ran freely without heat. Upon hitting the ground, the drops solidified into metal discs like lost coins on the pavement. Given that outcome, Starlin just had to ask, his tone only half-serious: "Could I use this to make counterfeit money?"

 

[Syd Celsius]

The Sorceress of Coruscant sighed.

"Well...yes and no. Many societies don't have solid currency though. And even if you, say, forged a coin, there are so many things you would have to get right that they would check for. Composition of alloy, tooling, radioisotopes. Only in the most primitive of societies might you actually get away with this, but they would check both consistancy and tooling the same as a major government would. To quote Obi-Wan: Don't try it." she joked to Starlin Rand

She then summoned the liquid metal to her. She focused and slowly but surely it formed into a solid sphere.

It takes a lot of effort to properly shape the metal once you have broken it down with your mind. Its not like Geokinesis where the shaping is usually instant. Metal has to be extracted from the Earth. Worked slowly. Tempered over time. If you want to speed it up quickly, that's where magic comes in.

The Sorceress focused.

"The Spell of Repurposement instantly shapes the metal to whatever shape you desire. Its very useful for fabricating tools, equipment casing...hull breaches. Quick repairs. That sort of thing."

She then spoke the words of power.

"Repurpose this to an aegis of the arm..."

The sphere of metal condensed and twisted rapidly into a simple vambrace of durasteel.

"If you wanna save money, you can always rely on recycled materials." Places like this have so much hidden assets waiting to be salvaged you could spend years building castles here and never get a tenth of it. Here. You try. Do your rhyming spell thing..."

"Rhyming spell thing? Gods 'I' articulated it better than you." The Yurb Illusion mocked.

"You 'barely' did better. I wouldn't pat myself too hard on the back, Yurby." The Zeffo Illusion mocked. The Yurb illusion flipped the Zeffo Illusion off. The Coruscant Persona maintained her focus on Starlin, to her credit.

Meanwhile...

Maple Harte had treated and dressed the soldier with whatever she could scavenge. Even evil dark side witches had a medical space set up in the old tunnels, though it was Sith medical kits, forcing Maple to pick whatever she thought the safest to treat him with, as Sith had a different idea of what constituted "help"

"Wow, you picked an absolute chit day to come to Taris. Right when a new branch was trying to set up shop..." Maple muttered as she finished treating. "There's more of them in the tunnels up ahead. What the hell is chasing you?"

"Some Witch...I don't know what it was, they died at its hands and I didn't stick around to find out what it wanted with me, so I ran." the soldier answered

"You ran into 'another' Witch Hive. I wonder what you did to piss off The Force?" the lithe Bounty Hunter mused before helping him off the gurney.

"I have an escape route. But I wasn't expecting there would be anyone to rescue. But I'm not leaving you." Maple said. "You got a name, soldier?"

"Mallard. Avery Mallard."

(Clip of Bond Theme Plays.)

Maple's schizophrenia caused her to become annoyed at the OOC music.

"Oh, please, he's barely even quest fodder!" Maple complained. "The Bond Theme should be reserved strictly for main characters only!"

The soldier looked at her and the crazed look on her face and realized he was dealing with a wildcard. Better that than a Witch.

Maple then shut off all the lights in the medical area.

"What is it?" Mallard asked quietly.

"Your witch. She is here." Maple whispered, taking out some enchanted chalk and drawing runes all on the walls. The soldier went pale. "You're a witch, too?!"

Maple looked at him. "Yes. But a junior one. And if you don't be quiet, we'll go into her pot for boiling."

"Can't you kill this one like the others?"

"Oh no, not this one. I felt her. She feels light sided, but its a lure. False Friendly Signal...now be silent. Get behind something..." Maple whispered as the runes she drew on the walls disappeared.

Mallard slipped inside the remains of a damaged surgical pod. Maple activated her suit's stealth field, drawing runes on her left arm to dampen her presence as the door opened and the Sorceress copy entered.

(Motion Tracker beats rapidly)

(Press and Hold L2 and R2 to Hold Breath while leaning backward)

The Sorceress peered around, looking for signs of the soldier. She wandered through it a bit before leaving.

"Crap, she's gone ahead of us!" Maple hissed as she sensed the creature heading down the route she had planned on...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Syd Celsius

“I just had to ask,” Starlin said with a lopsided grin.

"The Spell of Repurposement instantly shapes the metal to whatever shape you desire. It’s very useful for fabricating tools, equipment casing...hull breaches. Quick repairs. That sort of thing."

“Cool beans. I love recycling. I’m very into protecting the environment… and saving a small fortune in cash.” He blinked, oblivious to the argument between Syd’s hallucinations, but feeling a strange subconscious urge to explain nonetheless. “Oh, the rhyming spell thing—that’s just me practicing my songwriting. I see it more as being like lyrics or poetry. That stuff can come from the Force too, right? Inspiration and all that.”

Rubbing his hands together and cracking his knuckles, he intoned the words of the rhyme. "So that the innocent may not come to harm, repurpose this to an aegis of the arm..."

His vambrace was a little rougher in appearance and structure, but it looked enough like a vambrace to pass a casual observation. “Oh, I get it,” he muttered. “I’m supposed to use what I learn here to reshape this old abandoned base into my own little fortress. Spicy. I wonder if chicks are into big metal castles…”

 

[Syd Celsius]

"Are you kidding? They wouldn't build them if it did not attract people. But, well...that's a discussion you should have with someone else...because I have no experience with attracting people..."

She looked at his vambrace.

"A good first try. Remember, the metal becomes what your mind sees. Work on your visualization, and you will have the basis for high tier loot in no time." The Sorceress joked, before deciding to try a larger example.

She looked out in the distance, saw the hull of a destroyed shuttle, long rusted and grabbed it with her mind.

"Ashla, Repurpose my prize into a refuge..."

Her flesh rippled and shuddered as the magic escaped her, reworking the massive hunk of metal into a large, complicated and ornate metal pillar that was heavily detailed.

The Sorceress swooned, looking highly winded by the exertion coughing. Evidently manipulating such a large object and such magical exertion had overtaxed her.

But it was more than that. When Starlin had made the vambrace it had reminded the trapped Syd within of part of the design of Laertia's black armor. It was a cascade effect, one that triggered powerful emotions Syd still didn't fully understand.

She lost control of the body, flesh melting and warping back into Syd's red headed Atrisian form. She looked pale, and felt exhausted.

She stumbled, then caught herself. The personas within manipulated her memory, making her think she had been in control the whole time.

"Give me a moment, I think I drained my mana meter completely..." she joked darkly. She caught her breath after a few moments.

"It will be a while before I can channel Metallokinesis again...but I still have my blades. Lets get started on building this Castle. Which reminds me, what exactly 'do' you want in your Castle?" Syd asked him. "Personally I would make it defensible but not so defensible there is not room for escape routes."

Syd's flesh had clearly been weakened however...the flesh on her face still bubbled every few seconds, and she had to actively focus to keep it from moving on her bones.

(Narrator stops.)

(Vomits copiously into bucket.)

(Resumes.)

"It is harder to create than to destroy with the Force. But the benefits outweigh any drawbacks..." Syd explained, gesturing for Starlin Rand to follow until they reached the main base. It was ancient, and bore signs of heavy damage, consisting of three towers and an ancient main pyramid:

Spoiler

Around it lay a veritable wealth of metal wreckage of crashed ships.

"Oh my, if ever there was a loot drop..." Syd remarked. She headed to what looked like a wrecked defender class corvette, wondering at the unusual number of crashed ships in the area, poking around its hull. She spotted a few long decayed skeletons, one guarding a set of silvery boxes

"Huh..." she muttered, not noticing how the personas within were already building enough strength to resurface. She moved to investigate the boxes and the rest of the wreck. She took a look at the boxes first of course.

Upon opening one box she realized this had been some sort of precious cargo transportation...she stared at over two dozen silvery black Naboo Night Pearls. The transport was over two hundred years old by her estimate.

She picked up one of the lustrous pearls.

"Laertia's favorite..." she whispered to herself, pocketing it. She checked the other boxes.

"It pays to have assets that are easily converted to credits in reserve. In the sort of life you have chosen, the Force may provide many solutions but even it can't pay for fuel, medical expenses, arms and armor maintainance. Part of the reason the Order was hunted down so easily during and after Order Sixty Six was that they had no resources, no identity beyond what the Order provided...and definitely no contingency plan for defeat, which is one of the single worst failures of the old Jedi."

The second case contained nothing but a rack containing three dozen Fire Nodes . This was pleasing to Syd, and she collected one herself, fascinated by shiny things as could be attested by the baubles on her ship

But it was the third and smallest box that contained the true prize.

It was a small eye themed amulet. She hit a switch and was greeted by a bright green, glowing gemstone. She recognized the sigils.

"My...I don't believe it..." she whispered..."How did they get this?"

She held it up for Starlin to see.

"This is a true rarity, Apprentice...see these sigils? The B'omarr Monks made this. It is one of their most prized treasures. Inside this amulet is a Regeneration Stone. I'm not sure what energy allows it to do this but it heals wounds. Hang onto it...you can never have too many insurance policies..." She said, telekinetically floating it over to him...

(Zelda Acquisition Theme Plays)

(Starlin got a new item!)

Item: B'OMARR REGENERATION GEM

Spoiler

Extremely rare precious gemstone with healing properties (Thrice the strength of a single basic biorestorative underlay). Believed to have come from the vaults of Jabba The Hutt's palace

"Now lets get to work salvaging. Pick where you want to start..." Syd encoraged, idly taking out the pearl again and thinking of Laertia again for a few seconds.

What are you up to, my beautiful spiky black pearl? Syd mused. Would she like it? Syd sensed she would like the pearl. She could feel it.

Her breath caught in her throat as she remembered their duel on Kashyyyk. The way Laertia moved, a cold and relentless machine in battle to Syd's unpredictable fluidity. She could see The Black Knight's genius in her relentless, instinctive answers to everything Syd had thrown at her, saw how beautifully she fought on Midvinter...

Syd caught herself, having no experience with such emotions and no idea as to how to process them where Laertia was concerned. All she knew was that meeting Laertia had made her a different person. She wanted to be a part of Laertia's life somehow.

(Cutaway of Darth Phyre butchering Laertia's parents on Dantooine during the Gulag Plague)

(Cutaway of Darth Phyre slaughtering an entire village with flames.)

(Cutaway of J. Jonah Jameson laughing in his seat uncontrollably)

She instead refocused on helping Starlin.


Meanwhile...


Maple and Mallard came across more dead, burned witches in the tunnel. The copy of the Coruscant Sorceress had been busy. Maple kept her rifle aimed forward, deeply paranoid as she moved with the wounded soldier.

"Where the feth is it?" Avery asked quietly.

"Shut up..." Maple whispered.

(Motion Tracker beats softly)

Maple paused, dived behind an ancient, rusted over toll booth, Avery following her in the barely lit metro. (By the way, have you noticed that so far nearly all of Starlin's threads involve a cramped environment in some way?)

She watched from cover, they both did. Mallard was covered in runes Maple had drawn.

The White Garbed Sorceress knealt over a charred skeleton, prepping the same ritual the possessed Syd had used earlier. The flesh on her face bubbled and melted, tearing itself from her skull and transplanting itself onto the fried one, which quickly began growing new muscles and organs, the mound of flesh on the skull at last starting to mimic her maker's visage. But it was still unfinished.

Maple got out a plasma grenade, arming it.

(When I give the signal, run for that maintainance access.) she told Mallard in sign language, who nodded.

She then tossed the grenade, drawing her pistol and opening fire, catching it right in the chest, even as its unfinished clone started to move.

The grenade blew as Maple dived for cover, shredding the unfinished, screaming clone to pieces, the inhuman shriek from the remaining clone telling Maple she had done damage. She began to run after Avery, collapsing the immediate structure behind her with a magnetic det charge attached to the ceiling...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Syd Celsius

Starlin smirked at Syd’s reply, but part of him was a little reluctant still. Taris was a dump, destroyed by countless wars, and littered with wreckage. He supposed that there was little reason for the star empires to fight over it now, but all the same—if he made his fortress here, wouldn’t that just make him the King of a One Horse Town?

As for metallokinesis, he was starting to really get the hang of it. Unlike his sloppier attempts at geokinesis on Yurb, here he was in his element. Pun intended. What’s more, he was starting to actually have fun with it.

While Syd repurposed the rusty hull, Starlin knelt on the ground, holding his finger and thumb in a closed circle. He passed chunks of liquid metal through the circle, and they came out on the other end as old-style coins that clinked against each other when they hit the ground. Then he lifted them up and minted them with the faces of people he knew. His mother, his stepfather, his friends on the streets and at the academy. Nimdok and Miri. Syd and each of her alternate forms…

He saw her body transform out of the corner of his eye and looked up in time to see her flesh wriggling in a less-than-pleasant manner. It was another situation like the one at Yurb. Truth be told, while he found the Sorceress of Coruscant easier to be around than the other, he was glad to see Syd back in her original form. This was the image of Syd that he knew from Zeffo, and the one he would always prefer.

"Give me a moment, I think I drained my mana meter completely..."

He stood up, leaving behind his fake currency bearing the likenesses of familiar faces, and approached her. She was pale and breathing heavily.

"It will be a while before I can channel Metallokinesis again...but I still have my blades. Lets get started on building this Castle. Which reminds me, what exactly 'do' you want in your Castle? Personally I would make it defensible but not so defensible there is not room for escape routes."

“I’m cool with super tall walls and hidden escape tunnels as long as it doesn’t take up too much room. Gotta have enough space for a hot tub and private training room,” he replied as they headed deeper into the base, trying to keep the tone lighthearted. He was grateful to have the old Syd back, but he didn’t like seeing her weakened and winded like this. “Oh, and a two-story bedroom suite—one of my favorite musicians had one of those in his mansion...”

His talk of incredible wealth and the lifestyles of the rich and famous gave way to the discovery of the two hundred year old transport carrying luxury items. As soon as he caught sight of the box of Naboo Night Pearls, the little thief in Starlin reared his urchin’s head. The boy swallowed, trying to re-bury the guilty urge to take, take, take, but Syd handing him the amulet and saying "Now let’s get to work salvaging. Pick where you want to start..." was the last straw. He might as well have been Aladdin before finding the magic lamp, rifling through the treasure trove with gold-struck eyes.

Scrambling through the wreckage, he managed to locate a fiery Corusca Gem before he caught hold of himself again. Shaking his head so hard his antennapalps fell out and flopped limply like a dog’s ears, he pocketed the gem and set to the actual work of building the castle.

“Well, I like the pyramid,” he said. It looked a little like the ancient structures in some of Nimdok’s books. “The towers aren’t bad either. I guess I could reinforce them with metal…” Trailing off, he focused on picturing what he wanted. Silvery towers and shiny spires, gleaming walls like mirrors; he wanted to be able to hook the exterior of the place up to a generator and run electrical currents that would shock any would-be intruder into thinking twice about trespassing on his property. Maybe set up some turrets in the towers… or was that overkill? Nah, better install anti-aircraft guns too. And shields. Can’t forget shields. Several shields layered on top of each other, surrounding the electrified wall with a thick layer of untouchable energy. Yes.

Satisfied with the basics of his architectural plans, he set about molding the durasteel reinforcements from the wreckage surrounding them.

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd smiled as Starlin Rand got to work. He showed vision, and Syd used her experience of working with electronics and energy systems to help him set up the ground work. She went and scavenged the area for salvageable and more importantly rugged parts for the systems. Nothing too out of date. The place could be retrofitted as time went on. She used telekinesis and Force Flight to make it easier to transport the items Starlin would need to build his Castle.

"Remember: Be one with the Metal the way you must be one with your Lightsaber and know every centimeter." Syd advised as she watched him work.

"Sometimes working in this manner can also act as a moving meditation. The most skilled Jedi do not practice solely the Force Studies. The most skilled bond with the environment around them as they move through it, and become involved in its toils, the work providing mental clarity. Why do you think I study archeology? That very reason..."

Syd began to explore more of the wrecks herself, salvaging cameras, computer systems, old security sensors...

She stopped as she found the skeleton of a man in brown and white Yovshin (Samurai) type armor with the symbol of the Jedi on the lacquered chestplate in black. He was in one corner of a crashed defender class corvette, surrounded by a massive amount of alien skeletons in white catsuits, smashed and sliced apart, with lunar imagery on their sleeves.

Syd felt that intense stab of guilt. The Brain Demon Cult. Phyre's legacy to the Galaxy. A legacy she could never fully escape.

She dreaded what would happen should Starlin Rand find out what type of monster she had used to be.

For some weird reason, she was horrified beyond words at the idea Laertia would find out.

(Cutaway of Caesar Romero Joker Laughing randomly)

She knealt to examine him. She felt the trace amounts of Darkness in the corrupted Witch Skeletons around her.

He had been victorious...yet he had commited Seppuku-a form of ritual suicide once very common on Ancient Atrisia...why?

She spotted the weapon that had done it. It was a stylized, flat bladed Lightsaber-Tanto he had dragged across his gut. The pain he was in must have been beyond excruciating at the moment of his death. His death had culminated when his main weapon, a Darksaber styled like a Katana had been activated into his own chest.

She removed the weapons from his grasp. They did not deserve to rot along the remains of the wicked...

She observed both. Each resembled a Katana hilt without the Tsuba, with a distinct flower print...and a note attached and wrapped to the main hilt. She removed it and read it:

"I have used the Light to Entomb The Conglomerate within the old Military Pyramid at the lowest level, near the reactor. Though I have killed the rest of her cohorts, my injuries are too severe and my Padawan is dead, struck down within the Pyramid. I have not the strength to retrieve him and I have no means of calling for help.

To whoever reads this, you are in terrible danger. The Magics of these cultists prevent Force Users from sensing the darkness in the Pyramid. The barriers I created around that monster will inevitably fail.

Please. Send for Jedi. They must defeat the evil festering inside.

As for me, there is only one way to atone for the gravity of my failure."


"I'm sorry..." Syd whispered in guilt. "But I'll make sure your death wasn't in vain."

She inspected the blades. Weathered but intact. She activated them and blue, Katana-Like blades slid out...

She swung the long one experimentally, then the short. Good balance. Kasha crystals judging by the way her focus was improving. She then noticed both had split saber connections and the shoto had a dual phase switch...

(Syd has acquired new Weapons)

Weapons: RITUAL DAISHO

Spoiler

Custom Darksabers, one long and one short, designed to emit blue Katana like blades, and a stinging reminder of Syd's culpability in the events leading to the death of these weapons original owner. Built with split saber connections and a dual phase switch in the shoto.

Markings on the hilt indicate these blades were used in the owners purification rituals.

This man shouldn't have died. He was dead because of her.

This was her fault.

Syd got control of her emotions. She needed to be clear headed. So that's what the Witches were really here for. They wanted The Conglomerate. Likely a Master Witch.

She had the advantage of surprise still, though, and she was back to full strength. They needed to hit them with someone they wouldn't see coming.

Meaning she needed to access her Metallokinetic abilities...

Syd's flesh warped and melted, bulging and bunching horrifically as The Sorceress of Coruscant again assumed control, resetting to that Persona's elderly, dark haired appearance.

"Your Padawan shall be avenged, noble Jedi. That I promise..." The Sorceress vowed., leaving the ship. She soon reached Starlin and began drawing from Syd's memories.

"Starlin?" She called out in Syd's voice. "Change of plan. We have to get in that Pyramid. Turns out there's a reason the Witches I slew were here in this area in particular...and before you ask, its an evil Sorceress. Which is a pity because the Castle is starting to take shape...we'll finish it after we take care of this creature or whatever the hell it is. While you are at it...you might as well learn Emerald Fire..."

"Mention Combo Multipliers, its something she would say." The Yurb Illusion hissed into the Persona's ear

"Unlike normal Pyrokinesis, Emerald Fire's flames are empowered solely by the Light Side of The Force. They can't harm ordinary people, but against Dark Adepts, Dark Spirits, or Sith Spawn, it will chew through their flesh to the bone if they lack the spiritual strength to resist its effects. It requires great concentration however..."

She breathed a burst of it onto her palm, bright green flames, willing it to resemble a Lightsaber before disappating it.

"It'll tire you out fast if you use it too often or too quickly, so for a beginner like you? Take it easy. Don't spam attack."

The Coruscant Persona then gestured him to follow her to the entry point of the Pyramid. To her lack of surprise, it was covered in Jedi Wards, which she easily dispersed by breathing her green flames onto the door to disable them. The door slid open...

Meanwhile...

The Sorceress Copy that initially pursued them drew metal from its surroundings, which liquified as it hit her severely damaged flesh, becoming repaired tissue.

The copy she had tried to make had been obliterated. She was still no closer than reaching that soldier than when she had started. She began to pick up their trail only to find it blocked. An alternate route was needed.

She spotted a side access route in the ancient Metro. She immediately went through it, her pilfered Lightsaber going active as she made her way through its cramped confines.

The Dark Side was everywhere along with a recurring sense of death as she came to another long silent passenger station, she found more evidence of Maple's work.

More dead witches. Shot burned, sliced in half, their putrid yellow innards and white blood giving off a stench far worse than a normal gore ridden scene would have.

She was good, whoever she was, the Copy decided. She would have to be extremely careful. Twice now she had evaded or injured her. She must have years of field experience.

The Copy had to resort to floating above the ground of the station, so sordid with blood it was as she pursued her quarry...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Utterly focused on building his fortress, Starlin hardly noticed Syd’s alarm and distress until she caught his attention by speaking. He groaned at the mention of yet another Dark Side cult of witches headed by an evil sorceress.

“Again? Man, these craggly witches must be everywhere in the galaxy. Where do they all come from? Are they all different cults, or is it one big mega-cult of evil Force sensitive females?”

He was immediately excited at the prospect of learning Emerald Fire, which distracted him from his dread of the dungeon-clearing that lay ahead. Based on the way Syd explained it to him, Starlin figured that his version of Emerald Fire would probably work very similarly to his Force Light. Humor and other positive emotions would feed it best, though it was difficult to think of something truly funny when such grave dangers were in store for him in the near future.

So he closed his eyes, found a calm center, and proceeded to think happy thoughts. The castle as he envisioned it at full completion, a place of sanctuary here among the ruins. His friends back home, the goofy inside jokes and unforgettable memories they shared together. All the wonderful stories of the Jedi Nimdok had told him about. His mother, his home, his bedroom, his guitar and harmonica. The moment he first held his lightsaber in his hands and ignited the blue blade in the darkness on Zeffo. The moment he first truly touched the Force…

The Emerald Flame leaped for joy, danced across his fingertips, and then poofed out with a promise that it would return, as good times do.

Starlin opened his eyes and smiled. “Got it.”

He followed his master to the Pyramid, watching as she used the green fire to disperse the wards over the entrance. Technically speaking, he could do that too now. Breaking and entering never felt so right.

Syd Celsius​

 

[Syd Celsius]

"Ummm...the second one. Big, evil Mega Cult..." The Sorceress answered quietly as she ventured into a place full of dried blood stains decades old. The remains of a rusted over security checkpoint by a body sized scanner collapsed in on itself from disuse leading to military grade mag sealed doors.

The Sorceress sent forth her will to the door, and slowly force its internal lock mechanisms into full reverse, popping it open.

The Sorceress frowned as she spotted the jagged black crescent burned into one wall. The corpses of catsuit wearing witches were everywhere, sliced apart or skulls smashed. That Knight she had found had been pretty busy during his escape. He must have been a truly great warrior to kill so many of these abominations with basic tier loot. How many of his perk points went into One-Handed?

"I wasn't sure before but now there is no question...this is the same Cult we faced on Zeffo. The Cult of The Brain Demon."

She turned to him.

"You saw them at Zeffo. They are utterly depraved to the last witch. They slaughter innocents without regard. Torture them. They do things that make even ordinary Sith recoil in disgust. They are obsessed with spreading the Dark Side to every facet of society for its own sake. Never try to take one alive. They will kill you. Slowly and painfully and then shred your soul."

She said the last three sentences with utmost seriousness. There could be no room for Starlin Rand to misinterpret the mortal danger they were both in...

"Keep that shoto of yours handy...it harms SithSpawn..." she advised, venturing deeper into the facility past the charging stations for defunct security droids that were still salvageable.

"Its been a while since anyone was here--" she started to say before stopping spotting the open tunnel leading to a rusted over dead emergency tram leading to the Metro.

"I hate it when it gets ominous like that." the Yurb Illusion remarked glumly to the one controlling Syd's body.

"Never mind. They're here. Bet on it..." the Sorceress self corrected in the dark interiors. She conjured a ball of green fire in her palm to light the way.

She felt a swell of darkness as they literally melted from the shadows. Various women, all beautiful, all of different species, in white catsuits, but so utterly reeking of the darkness that it was clear nothing human was in their eyes when they looked at them.

"Oh, look Sisters, a nice strong Witch has wandered into our den with a fat little chickling to boil in the pot..." one Witch mocked. "How fortuitous it happens to be lunch time..."

The Witches sprinted at them, red lightsabers going active as they slashed at her and Starlin.

The Sorceress let out a blast of green fire that incinerated the first three that got close...

Meanwhile...

(BFG Division by Mick Gordon Plays)

Maple had found an assault blaster with an underslung flamethrower. She had gotten it from sneaking up on a witch and beheading her.

Naturally awesomeness ensued.

She dodged their Dark Side attacks with an alacrity that would have given her hated nemesis The Amalgam pause, setting the screaming Witches ablaze with her flamethrower or shooting them. Mallard fired a heavy repeater he had located as random loot drop (NOT via farming or save scumming) and covered her, Maple's telekinesis having grown more powerful since then, and she used it to regularly hurl objects, as, much like Thanos, going for the head was a sure fire way to kill them, and likely the only obvious one that would be both practical and effective. Witch heads burst like melons as loose bricks were hurled into them, spashing white blood and rotten looking yellow brains everywhere, precisely fired bolts shredding through saber defenses and getting her two hundred XP for every kill done in this manner.

One witch spun purple blades for her face only to have her neck forcibly twisted backward by Maple's anger, who then sprayed three more Witches with flames as they fought their way through the dark tunnels, Mallard's repeater overwhelming their saber defense with an endless volley.

Finally, all were down. All except one.

Maple spotted the snarling, blasted apart creature crawling, trying to get away. She immediately went over and turned it over, sticking a pistol in its face.

"What are you monsters doing down here?" Maple growled.

"The Mistress commands the Conglomerate be exhumed and ressurrected..." The burned Witch seethed.

"You mean The Amalgam?"

Strangely, the Witch only smiled at this.

"Sure..."

"How many of you are here in the Metro?" Mallard wondered, curious in spite of how terrified he was of all this.

"Oh, you got most of us..." the injured Witch coughed, but then the monster smiled.

"But the most powerful are conducting the ritual as we speak. There'll be no one to stop us this time--"

This was cut by a bolt going through her head.

Maple stood up.

"C'mon, lets keep moving..." Maple told him, already feeling the copy pursuing them...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Syd Celsius

“The cult of the… The Cult of the Brain Demon?”

Starlin’s blue eyes blinked once, twice, thrice. Then he burst into laughter.

“Is that really the name they picked?” he blurted as soon as he had enough air again. “It sounds like the title of some cheesy old horror movie, or an edgelord heavy metal band. I mean, were they trying to be completely obvious? I can’t think of anything that screams ‘evil cult’ louder than that.”

"You saw them at Zeffo. They are utterly depraved to the last witch. They slaughter innocents without regard. Torture them. They do things that make even ordinary Sith recoil in disgust. They are obsessed with spreading the Dark Side to every facet of society for its own sake. Never try to take one alive. They will kill you. Slowly and painfully and then shred your soul."

“Okay, okay,” Starlin replied, holding up his hands. One corner of his mouth was still quirked upward in a smirk. “I get it. I haven’t forgotten how nasty they are. But still… what a name…”

He followed Syd into the facility, his lightsaber and shoto in either hand. During the walk, the cogs in his head started moving. Despite the silly name, there was a clue in the cult’s title—Brain Demon. Who or what exactly was the Brain Demon? Was it something that infected the witches, altering their minds and turning them into inhuman, depraved monsters? Wouldn’t that make it an illness that could, logically, be cured? Maybe only a short time after infection, like rabies.

He was still thinking about this when the group of witches came into view. They were all different species, and yet all of the ones they had fought had white blood and yellowish viscera. So maybe the infection changed their innards in specific ways. Their brains too, obviously. But if it stemmed from the Dark Side, it would be less like a traditional pathogen and more like an ailment of the soul. Something that affected the spirit or life energies of these women. And that was another thing—were they all women, or were there some men witches too?

"Oh, look Sisters, a nice strong Witch has wandered into our den with a fat little chickling to boil in the pot..."

Starlin grinned and shook his head. “Lady, you must be blind. I’m a lot of things, but fat definitely isn’t one of them.”

Even as he spoke, they charged forward, lightsabers ignited. Starlin ignited his as well, but his good humor served another purpose. These positive emotions made it easier to channel the Light, and it emanated from him like a candle. He liked to think that he looked like a rockstar onstage at a concert, backlit by a spotlight. Several of the witches skidded to a halt like deer in headlights, then shrieked as the kilowatt glow burned their foul flesh.

“Warning!” Starlin exclaimed, imitating an amusement park announcer's voice. “Those in the front row may get wet!”

Now, the Light had been rather mild in comparison to some of his earlier uses of the ability, but for good reason. He was saving up for a blast of Emerald Fire that was sure to set their pants ablaze. Well, their white catsuits.

As a few stragglers managed to crawl their way through the beaconlike halo of Light that surrounded the gawky teen, Starlin unleashed what he had been building up. The green blaze sent the witches sprawling and jumping out of the way, rolling across the ground and screaming as they tried to put out the flames. Starlin brandished his weapons. Any that still tried to come at him, he swiftly cut down, making good use of the shoto’s ability to annihilate Sithspawn.

 

[Syd Celsius]

The Sorceress of Coruscant breathed green gouts of flame upon her enemies, burning them up to their skeletons, which soon began to disintegrate under the powerful blast, her blades ripping and tearing through their defenses as they fought viciously. Starlin Rand in the meanwhile impressed her with how quickly he learned to use Emerald Flame. The Light seemed to call to him deeply.

This gave The Sorceress hope Starlin could be swayed away from Syd. Once he learned the extent of Syd's horrific crimes surely he would reject her, and the actual Lightsiders created from her flesh could do some actual good...

Her blades beheaded another witch, the white blood bursting out and smoking on contact with the blade, sizziling like melted fat. She flung shards of metal into the brain, even using a random coin through the skull in a manner that would have made David from Prometheus proud. The Emerald Flames of Starlin hit what she missed. Other, stronger witches barely resisted the flames trying to hit her with lightning from their mouths.

The Sorceress dodged, whispering a spell that increased the magnetic properties of a bunch of metal debris that happened to be around the remaining witches. The metal shards ripped through the torsos of the witches to clump together at the center, before she used the newly formed clump of metal to smash through the last few witches with extremely, ludicrously gory results.

The Sorceress stopped, exhausted, having to actively fight down Syd's re-emergence, like acid reflux. She had barely reserved enough power to stay in control of the body.

"Hold on...that...that taxed me..." The Sorceress admitted. "I can feel them though...deeper in the complex...we will have to be extremely careful moving forward...these witches are stronger. They burned way slower than they should have. Had to really exert myself..."

She looked at Starlin.

"You have learned emerald fire much faster than even I anticipated...but do not grow cocky...the Cult is treacherous...most treacherous..."

The Sorceress blew plumes of green flame, whispering something to make the flames sustain themselves.

"That should make them more hesitant to attack us..." she remarked. "We have to decide if we really want to take on a whole hive of bosses or do the cheap cheating bastard move and heavily weaken them first, THEN charge in and kill them. The latter approach requires time and preparation, which we may not have. The former option truly 'is' dangerous though. The Elites trying to ressurect this witch are not pushovers. We make even the teensiest mistake and we will probably die against them. We could retreat, but that would let them have an unacceptable beast returned to life. Back up would take too long getting here. I'm going to let you make a tactical judgment, Padawan, and I want you to think carefully...Patience would likely create many problems and leave our enemy with more time than we can possibly spare. Brute Force would immediately disrupt their plans, but also leaves us far more vulnerable if we make a mistake while taking the fight to them. What should our option be, Starlin? And before you ask, no, there is no option where we get into a fistfight with sport mascots from teams we don't like. That only happened that one time for me, personally, it ended in Rocket Launchers, and I've never been able to replicate the freak conditions that led to this scenario no matter how hard I have tried."

The Sorceress scratched the back of her head awkwardly the way Syd would have, amazed that this was an actual memory Syd had. Ordering Pizza shouldn't result in Shinobi ambushes...any attempts at a normal life on this Monster's part were doomed.

(The Only Thing They Fear Is You by Mick Gordon Plays for a few seconds.)

"I tried twelve times, if anyone asks. All failures." The Sorceress admitted.

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Aw, yuck!” Starlin cried as the last of the witches exploded in a shower of white and sickly yellow gore.

Syd seemed weakened, though he wasn’t too concerned. He checked the chamber, searching for any stragglers they might have missed, while she recovered from the strain of using her powers.

“I mean, I do seem to have a knack for this stuff,” he admitted. “Powers that use the Light in its rawest, purest form. At least, I think that’s what this is… it certainly does feel like it.”

It felt good, and not in the indulgent way he assumed using the Dark was like. This was what it meant to be happy without hurting anyone. There was nothing to disapprove of. It felt… safe.

Maybe that was why he found Syd’s talk of tactical decisions so jarring. He was going to be making the decisions now? Or at least, he’d be making this one. Which according to Syd would determine whether they lived or died at the hand of the Cult.

Chit.

“Uh…” Starlin began, just to break up the tense, awkward silence that followed his master’s weird joke about pizza and sports mascots fighting each other. “I… I think we shouldn’t waste any time. If they have a chance to resurrect the head honcho witch, we’ll really be in trouble then. So let’s go—take our chances with them while they’re strong, but not at their strongest.”

He hoped he had made the right call. Strategy games had never really been his forte.

Syd Celsius​

 

[Syd Celsius]

"I agree with your assessment. While Jedi shouldn't be eager to fight, normally, in some cases it is warranted. Like fighting an invading army trying to destroy everything for example..." The Sorceress of Coruscant trailed at Starlin Rand before activating her new blades and willing away the Green Flames, channeling it in more limited amounts as she moved through the passages of the old base, spotting Clone War Era banners everywhere. The gore sacks hanging from chains in bags like it was a Bethesda title began to add to the ambience, along with the numerous skulls upon which half melted candles rested.

"The Dark Side is suffering and cruelty for its own sake. It is a complete denial of compassion. The more you give into anger, or fear, the more it grips you. At times, you will be under severe pressure from the reality of being a Jedi. Your decisions can become messy, and complicated. It will require often great sacrifice...some prices to protect the galaxy can often be terrible ones. One may have to take the long view rather than satisfy the obvious instinct to do what seems like the right thing at the moment it is happening. You are still very early on your path, Starlin. It is still not yet obvious to me what sort of Jedi the Force shall allow you to become. Life spent in battle may not be the best thing. Maybe ultimately you will find your path to be in the healing of others, or the resolution of conflict with words as opposed to the sword. If that is who you are, then you should embrace it. The one who spends their life as a healer of wounds spends their life using the Force in one of the most noble ways it could possibly be used. I was created to destroy. To burn away the dead wood..." The Sorceress said, using Syd's memories and feelings on herself to make the subject ring truer.

"But it is much better to create, to save, as opposed to destroying...even if reality doesn't always allow us to engage in the former. But personally? I'll be damned if you leave my tutelage without knowing how to chainsaw massacre these monsters. They 'totally' have it coming, along with anyone who would willingly act like them.".

The Sorceress stopped, sensing danger ahead, silently gesturing for Starlin to stop and hang back as she went forward.

"Something isn't right..." she said as she stepped in the desecrated remains of a server room.

Runes lit up under her feet and she wasn't fast enough to step away.

Her flesh shuddered as she was magically stopped in place, She tried to move, skeleton shifting about independent of the skin and muscle in an attempt to pull herself out of the magical trap...succeeding after a few seconds. Her flesh reset on her body as she gasped for air at the exertion.

"Watch out for traps on the floors..." she gasped, moving ahead much slower and more cautiously...

Meanwhile...

Maple walked ahead of Mallard, having recovered an assault Slugthrower with an IR Scope. No more witches so far. They were hurrying as quick as they could through the ancient metro.

Maple went still as she felt the Witch that had been pursuing them.

"Mallard..." Maple hissed. "This isn't working..."

Maple turned to him, handing him a map.

"Back the way we came, there is a route out of these tunnels. When I engage the Witch, I want you to run..."

"But I thought you said you were no match for it!" Mallard protested.

"I'm not. But I have something it doesn't..." Maple said.

"What's that?" The wounded soldier asked in the near pitch black of the metro.

Maple checked the mag on her rifle before popping it into the well.

"Plot Armor." She answered.

(Motion Tracker beeps quicker)

"Hide. Its coming..." Maple told him.

Mallard hid in a fallen ticket booth, while Maple took position on an upper level in the metrostation.

The White Garbed Witch soon floated in, her wizened face scanning for her targets.

Maple squeezed off a few rounds.

The Copy of the Sorceress sinced the danger, and caught the bullets with her metallokinesis.

Maple had a surprised pikachu face at this but used a line from Arnold.

"Bad idea..." she muttered as the bullets were hurled back at her, forcing her to dodge as they ripped apart the spot she had been in seconds prior...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Syd Celsius

Starlin was used to hearing about the tragedy of Syd’s existence by now. Part of him had hardened himself to it, but he did understand, deep down. Or at least, he thought he did. Syd didn’t want her apprentice to make the same mistakes she had or wind up walking the same path. Whatever path that was, exactly…

Oh, it was hard not to suspect there was more to her dark and troubled past than she let on. Maybe she’d done a stint with the Dark at some point. It seemed pretty common among the Jedi, especially the more powerful and talented ones. Starlin had no notion that his master had once been Darth Phyre, a vicious and truly evil Sith Lord, but he knew she had to have some charred skeletons in her closet. That was her business, and if she didn’t want to discuss it with him, he was fine with it.

“I want to fight,” he replied. “Or at least, I want to know how to fight. I'm glad you're here to teach me.”

He blushed at the thought of admitting it out loud, but in his heart he wanted to be just like the Jedi heroes of old. Luke Skywalker especially appealed to him—the know-nothing farmboy who had risen to become perhaps the greatest Jedi who ever lived. He knew he would never be as powerful as Luke, who according to legend was technically the grandson of the Force itself, but if he could mimic Luke’s noble attitude and hone his skills… would that be enough? He hoped so. Even if he had to spend his entire life chasing Skywalker’s shadow, he considered it a worthwhile pursuit.

They came upon the server room, and Starlin paused where he stood at Syd’s orders. He sensed something off about it as well, but was startled when Syd stepped on the runes and her flesh seized violently.

“Traps?” he echoed, blue eyes darting across the floor. “Oh, great…”

He took a cautious step forward, still sensing danger. There had to be some way of seeing the traps, right? Steadying his breathing, Starlin waited a moment, closing his eyes, and sank into the cosmic web. If the Force was his tool, his ally, then it could be whatever he needed it to be, without fail…

When next he opened his eyes, he could see everything. The sudden shift in his perception overwhelmed him, but he stayed still, recovering his balance and adjusting as needed. There were indeed numerous rune-based traps on the floor, especially near the entrance and transitions between rooms. But it was possible to avoid them, provided you knew where you were going.

Armed with his newly acquired Force Sight, Starlin crept forward, stepping slowly and carefully after Syd. He caught a glimpse of his mirror image in a reflective surface and found himself staring into glowing blue-within-blue eyes.

“‘What do you call the mouse shadow on the second moon?’” he whispered, then grinned. “‘We call that one Muad’dib.’”

Growing serious again, he resumed following in Syd’s footsteps—until a shadow leaped in front of him.

It made no sound, not even in landing on the floor before him. He heard himself gasp, his lightsaber activating in his hand and swinging automatically. The shadowy figure met his blade with a violet saber; the clashing plasma crackled, yet the noise seemed muted.

The shadow pushed against him, trying to shove him back through an open archway, where he knew he would stumbled across one of the runes. “S-Syd!” he tried to call his master, but it came out in a weak rasp. His breathing had grown ragged. He felt as if he didn’t have enough air in his lungs to scream.

With the shadow advancing upon him, he fought back viciously, refusing to submit to death here in this place. His blade swung wildly, a line of blue fire in the dark, beating against the thing. The violet light abruptly flickered out; he smelled smoke and glimpsed the orange glow of molten metal from where his lightsaber had sliced through the hilt of his opponent’s. The shadow scurried away from him, and in Starlin’s mind he heard a silent howl.

Mercy! Have mercy, please!

Starlin hesitated, holding his weapon out both as a threat and for the light it provided. The shadow-creature’s body ignored the blue color radiating from the blade—it was black, faceless, featureless, a void devoid of light. This thing was not human, though it had a vaguely humanoid shape… and yet it had pleaded for mercy.

“Who are you?” he demanded. “What are you?”

I am a shadow. You see me… nothing that sees me can be permitted to live…

Starlin felt something wrap around his ankles, cold tendrils of darkness that tried to knock him off his feet. With a cry he lunged forward, plunging his blade into the heart of the shadow. It dissipated like a black mist beneath him, revealing the runes of a trap beneath it…

With little more than a second to spare, Starlin caught himself with telekinesis, holding his body suspended just off the floor. He flung himself backwards, landing hard on the cement, then gasped for breath, coughing. Swallowing to wet his parched throat, he clambered to his feet and scrambled to find his master, dodging more traps as he did.

“Syd! There was a thing—a shadow—I saw it with the Force—I can see with the Force now—” The words came tumbling out of him in a jumble the moment he caught up with her. But if Syd had not initiated any second sight ability herself or otherwise altered her perception, it would seem as if no time at all had passed, everything had been quiet, and her Padawan was speaking nonsense. Perhaps it had all been in his head.

 

[Syd Celsius]

The Sorceress of Coruscant moved around and past the traps carefully, the thing puppeting Syd's body listening to the undertones in the voice of Starlin Rand that betrayed his desire to emulate his heroes. The Coruscant Persona was only really starting to get into the idea of active emulation herself...all of the Personas in Syd had their own ideas about spreading the Light.

The Sorceress couldn't help Starlin when the Shadow thing started attacking him, because a number of the same creatures started to attack her as well, trying to herd her into the wards. Her ringed LightStaff spun through the shadow creatures, even as they slashed at her, until her blade diced through them dispassionately. As they were only level 5 enemies she got only 3 XP for each. But the magic of the rune traps visibly tugged on the flesh of her face the closer she was herded, and she was forced to rip metal paneling out of the walls and hurl them at her attackers to stop the high frequency with which they conducted their attacks. Finally, summoning enough focus, she breathed out green flames that chewed through the mass of living shadows, getting rid of her problems for the moment, as well as destroying some of the rune traps. She immediately headed to Starlin after clearing away more rune traps, breathing green fire on all of them.

"Yeah, I saw it too..." the Sorceress said unironically. "This is one of their tricks...shadow manipulating rituals...Force Light or Emerald Fire are the best solutions for these, just don't let them get close...and you got Force Sight?" She asked as an afterthought.

"Holy chit, he's figured out how to level up mid fight." The illusion of the blond Yurb Sorceress that Starlin couldn't see or hear remarked.

"You uhhhh...you look for more traps with that sight of yours...and be ready to torch this place like a light sided arsonist..." she warned, breathing more green fire on a few passages ahead of her, destroying more invisible traps...

Meanwhile...

Maple had ditched her rifle, moving through the metro tunnels as the Sorceress Copy pursued her, ripping metal out of the walls to try and trap her, but Maple was so fast and agile she dived or leaped over the metallic projectiles.

The Sorceress pursued, intent on catching her, intent on finding where she had taken that soldier. She sensed the taint of the Brain Demon on her target. She would get the information the witch had, one way or another.

Soon, Maple was cornered. The Metro ahead was caved in, and Maple turned to face the Sorceress.

"You will tell me what you did with that soldier." The Copy spoke.

"Feth you." Maple snapped, remembering a power she had learned a while back, not sure if it would work...

As the Copy advanced Maple pulled the moisture from the air, forming a water tentacle around her on. As she got within range using her stolen saber, Maple whipped the water tentacle in her face, and smashed into it. The flesh on the copy's face rusted and split open, eliciting a squeal of pain from the copy as Maple tackled her.

"Damn, am I glad I learned Hydrokinesis really early in my storyline!" Maple remarked as she delivered a Wonder Woman-esque punch to the copy's rusted face, which shattered on impact.

The Copy retaliated, ripping up ancient mag rails and hurliing them at her from behind, but Maple leapt out of the way Tobey Maguire-style, and the copy got smacked by her own projectile, Willem Dafoe-style.

Maple sprayed a jet of water at the Witch, which hit her entire body, horribly rusting a good portion of her flesh.

But Maple grew quickly exhausted from such a powerful exertion of such an elemental ability for the first time. She wasn't like a Force Spawn...merely human. She had to work to understand what she had acquired and the schizophrenia made that extremely difficult, coupled with her depression over The Amalgam made it frustrating, forcing her to rely in sheer combat ability most times (which oddly left her in the same department as Laertia).

She was too winded to completely dodge a fallen lamp hurled at her by the copy. It clipped her in the stomach, breaking a rib.

Maple tumbled to the ground, in pain as the Witch forced herself upward.

"You will tell me what you did with that soldier..." it repeated through slurred speech in a rusted mouth.

Maple pulled herself up.

"Feth. You." Maple repeated back.

Maple forced herself past her madness as The rusted Witch summoned back its Lightsaber. Forced it away harder than she had in weeks.

She clapped her hands together as hard as she could...and the Copy's green mercury like blood and bits of rusted flesh hit her as the duracrete sides of the metro tunnel she had been chased down to smashed together telekinetically, crushing and instantly killing the copy.

"Ewwww! Gross!" Maple remarked...and then fainted in the tunnel from the overexertion...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Shadow beings didn't like Light Side offensive powers. Gee, who'd've thunk? Not Starlin, apparently.

Face reddening, he nodded his head and gulped. He had overreacted, panicking at the first sign of something unfamiliar. He needed to be better prepared to face whatever the galaxy had in store for him.

The next time a Shadow appeared, he stretched out his hand. Orange lightning crackled in his hand, arcing from fingertip to fingertip before bolting forward like a snake striking its prey. The Shadow was burned away, leaving behind only a thin tendril of smoke that rose in the air above where it had been.

Intrigued by the image, a strange idea popped into Starlin's head, partly inspired by the fire Syd breathed onto her enemies. The next time he killed a Shadow, he quickly leaned forward and sucked the smoke it left behind through his mouth the same way he would puff on a pipe. It smoldered in his lungs and fumed out of his nostrils. Holding it in, he blew it in the face of the third Shadow to try and attack him. It came out of his mouth white as morning fog, having been purified by his body and the inner Light he held within.

The Shadow stilled, but did not die. Rather, its body started to glow pale white. It turned on the other Shadows, fighting them. Starlin's eyes widened. He had just been playing around, not really expecting anything to happen, and now the Shadow had become a... a Luminous being? Was that a good name for it?

He rejoined the fight, helping the Luminous to destroy the other Shadows, but his mind was preoccupied. Every time he thought he had a good grasp of the Force and how it worked, something bizarre would happen that would make him question everything he had learned. Well, not everything. It was just really weird that he had been able to convert this being that was meant to represent the Darkness into a creature of Light. His Force Sight confirmed that was more or less what had occurred.

Had the Shadow possessed a free will of its own? Had he taken away its ability to choose? Or was it just a summoned familiar, enslaved to whoever had conjured it regardless? He hoped it was the latter. Mind control, even of spirits and demons, didn't sit well with him.

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

The Sorceress observed the strange power Starlin Rand manifested, twisting a shadow spirit to his own purpose.

Indeed, he was powerful each of the Witches hiding within Syd observed. The Sorceress carved through more, breathing green fire in addition to the attack of the Luminous.

It was a severely effective tactic, the pair shining with the light, driving back the fragments of Syd's truly vile past from swallowing them.

The Shadows were eventually all destroyed, and the Sorceress took great care to destroy the remaining rune traps with green flames.

"For a moment, I thought that bullchit would never stop, The Sorceress of Coruscant said, approaching a door sealed with runes of white blood.

The Sorceress tried breathing the green flames upon it, only for the enchantment to utterly disperse it.

"That...is some powerful fething blood magic..." The elderly looking Force Spawn remarked. *I can't break it. Not as I am."

It was time to summon one amongst the coven. New but silent until now, watching the others deliberate.

"I've been busy, in-between our missions. Try not to freak out."

The Sorceress's flesh shuddered, bubbling hidiously as her face rearranged to that of a pale to fair skinned, elderly woman with golden hair, Not the Sorceress of Tython. Nor the Sorceress of Yurb. Her eyes were bronze with crimson pupils.

The Sorceress of Ossus who had been absorbed into the hidden coven in an earlier event (See Bio) stared at the rune covered doors.

"Any time you see runes like these..." The Sorceress trailed, not missing a beat as it used Syd's memories to talk to Starlin naturally.

"They are only passable through the application of blood magic, or a slower method. Known as Hematokinesis. But a warning, Starlin..." The Sorceress said in a firm but patient tone.

"Hematokinesis is a...very arcane form of Telekinesis. It controls blood. It can make armor, manipulate open locks. Create minor weapons. But much of this can be achieved with other Force powers. It's real gifts lie in converting blood to useful chemicals and materials, penetrating otherwise inaccessible areas with the smallest of openings. Or breaking down Alchemized Materials slowly, absorbing the magic into itself for use in Blood Rituals. Be extremely careful exploring that discipline. It isn't evil...but it isn't good either...it's how you use it. Hematokinesis and Blood Magic are among the most powerful disciplines and can lead to great wisdom...but there is also terrible risk. Employ this art Sparingly, and only when absolutely no other choice exists."

She then focused on the blood, flesh bubbling again as the runes started to bubble and then burn up to ash. Her flesh soon reset in her skeleton.

"The Door's open. If there is one blood enchantment, there are more. Don't touch one if you can possibly help it...the consequences could be...unpleasant..." The blond Sorceress warned as she moved ahead...

The dark presence grew stronger past this point...

 

[Starlin Rand]

"For a moment, I thought that bullchit would never stop.”

Starlin smirked and nodded his head, wiping the sweat from his brow as he caught his breath. He was growing fatigued, as though he had just finished one hell of a workout routine. To restore his strength, he drew upon the energy-feeding technique Syd had taught him earlier. It worked; in just a few moments, he no longer felt like he was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

The Padawan watched as Syd transformed yet again, this time taking on the appearance of an older blonde woman, then used her power to evaporate the locks. His interest was piqued by Hematokinesis, although he had to admit it definitely seemed like a sketchy use of the Force that could be easily abused. “Do the Sith call their version of it ‘blood magic’, or is that something different?” he asked. It was a term he had heard used before, though he couldn’t quite recall where. Hematokinesis seemed to follow the same basic principles, but the blood magic of the Sith was used to brutally murder their victims, using the motion of blood to liquify their internal organs. Gross.

Syd advised him not to touch any of the runes, as it was too dangerous. Starlin looked hopeful. “Can I try to undoing an enchantment too?”

He knew it was probably too advanced for him, but it couldn’t hurt to try, right? Unless any attempt at interacting with the enchantments was dangerous. Still, his success at creating the Luminous had made him feel confident, and he was eager to push the boundaries of his own abilities.

Syd Celsius​