Duel Bad Habit

[Allyson Locke]

//: B A D _ H A B I T //:
//: Lujo Wilderness //:
//: Darth Carnifex //:

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Lujo was a planet the Corellian nearly forgot. The planet had seen and changed hands several over the years, but now the Core had a savior. The Alliance. It would baffle many that this was the place that Carnifex found himself resurrected; Allyson stood outside the cavern as she flicked her fingers, counting each time the man had appeared from her knowledge. It was numerous, but on Lujo - she remembered seeing it for herself. Carnifex always got away. She was never able to get close enough to finish the mission she was given. His face was a stain on her life, everything that had happened was because of him. Her frustration and hate for him pushed her to keep fighting, revenge fueled her and fed the fires of this bad habit of hers. ​

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Caves, why did they always have to have caves and tombs as part of the whole Sith aesthetic. “Force, I hate caves…” Allyson spoke to no one in particular as she melted into the comfort of the Force. It hid her, protected her from anything; at times, she wondered if she depended on the power too much. It was her tool kit, hide, stalk and strike - nothing more and nothing less. ​

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She moved through the cavern carefully. Knowing the Sith, the place was probably covered in traps. Stopping every so often down the dark tunnel, she did a mental sweep for anything electronic and anything tied to the Force.​

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Coughing, she cleared her throat. The Dark Side lingered heavily; she was surprised the NJO hadn’t sent any Jedi to come to cleanse the cavern and help heal the planet. Maybe like her, they completely forgot the planet. With everything seeming safe, the Corellian continued further until she found the center. Staring at it, she looked down and noticed that it was a giant pit dug into the center. She couldn’t quite remember this being here, but again her memory wasn’t the best.​

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“What in the Force?” The Force dissipated around her, revealing where she stood in the cavern. Eyes scanned the room, as she could feel the Dark Side resonating all around her. Lifting her wrist, she made a quick voice recording, “Remind Jedi to come to Lujo to cleanse the cavern.” Her arm fell from her face as she continued to examine the pit, eye blinking as several holo pictures were taken and uploaded to her data cloud.​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

A specter was haunting Lujo.​

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It became known to the local villages gradually, for the specter was rather benign in those first few weeks. Nothing of interest was noted by the local parishes, the days progressed as they would from day to day without incident. Then came the random and seemingly isolated events of tragedy, a child would go missing after playing out in the yard, a mother would disappear on her return home from purchasing supplies from the market, or a father would vanish while on a hunt.​

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Search parties ended in failure, and the nights were stained by the wailing of sorrow and grief. Eventually, the search parties themselves began to disappear. Then whole villages, the abandoned and neglected cottages standing silent as tombs in the whispering winds. Communications with the larger settlements had been severed long ago, and soon enough the parishes which led the small insular communities were gone as well.​

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The wilderness was silent as the young Allyson Locke moved towards the cave's entrance, foliage having grown up around its entrance in the intervening years since she had last set foot upon the planet. Signs of habitation were apparent all around the cave, scuffs in the dirt resembling footprints, marks on the rock indicating the slashing of a sword, and faint smudge marks leading into the cave itself.​

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Inside there was only pitch blackness, no sources of light to illuminate her path. A faint chittering sound could be heard in the distance, not growing closer no matter how far she progressed towards the larger chamber several meters from the entryway. Evidence of a battle long-settled still remained within the cave, vitrified stone where a lightsaber's blade had carved a path, discarded daggers smeared with dried blood, and several skeletons in half-melted states resting at the bottom of the dug pit. ​

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It seemed like another dead end, there was nothing in the cave...​

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A flash of movement.​

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A hooded figure, small yet nimble, rushed past Allyson as she gathered her bearings in the darkness. Running headfirst towards a nearby wall, Allyson would be amazed to find that the small creature passed straight through the rock without stopping. Upon closer inspection of the wall itself, the illusion concealing a hidden passage would melt away. Torches lined the walls of the rough-hewn passage, which curved down further into the cold barren earth.​

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And the sounds of drums could be heard emanating from the deep.​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: B A D _ H A B I T //:
//: Spooky Cavern //:
//: Darth Carnifex //:

​

A chill worked up the Corellian’s spine as she let her eyes adjust to the emptiness. A few blinks of her eyes and the K’paur genes finally helped her adjust. Night vision without the aid of any equipment was helpful for the woman, especially in scenarios like this. She crept, examining everything. It was almost as if nothing changed, minus the growth of vegetation. Still young and naïve, she remembered attacking the Dark Lord. Some great advice Jorus gave her, as she remembered the shotgun attack backfiring on her. ​

Something scurried and caught the corner of her eye. She looked around and finally found the source of the movements. Allyson quickly moved towards the figure, and she watched as it disappeared into the wall. “What?” Her eyes widened slightly as she tried to make sense of what she had just seen. ​

Allyson glanced around, spotting the lightsaber burns, the daggers stained with old blood, and the skeletons. Her nose turned up as she realized this was where the ritual had taken place. This place was the center point of whatever was done to bring Carnifex back to life. Eyes settled back onto the skeletons as she wondered if they had known what they were getting into or if they were innocent sacrifices for the Devil himself. ​

Shoulders shuddered as she felt the cold breeze of the dark side tendrils crawling up her spine. Allyson patted her face and then examined where the specter had disappeared into the void. Frowning, she reached out and saw that she could easily slip through just like the ghost or whatever it was. Allyson felt her body shift as she fell through the illusion and found herself in a long tunnel. ​

“What is this place?” Carefully Allyson moved down the hidden passageway. The torches lit the pathway, and she reached back, drawing the compact bow. The metal unfolded, and she tightened the string while drawing an arrow into the weapon. She didn’t feel right about this place; at least she had come somewhat prepared.​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"A place of rebirth," spoke a voice from somewhere beyond Allyson's sight, one that was intimately familiar to the Jedi Shadow. It did not appear to have any discernable origin, coming from seemingly all around Allyson as she listened. The typical bass rumble was more subdued, the voice which assaulted her eyes coming in as more of a sibilant raspy whisper. ​

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The same voice heard in the dreams of so many, including her own.​

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"A place of new beginnings," continued the voice, an invisible force desiring to draw Allyson's attention further in the hidden cave. Beyond the well-lit passage was a large chamber, carved in the form of a half-circle that gradually sloped down to a single lowest point. The space between Allyson and the focal point of the cavern was filled with a great number of hooded individuals, each one of different size and profile, all muttering an incomprehensible incantation as their heads were tilted down towards the ground. If Allyson was to reach out and draw one of their hoods back, she would discover that each and every one of them was the missing residents of the deserted village.​

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Slowly, one by one, the nearest hooded villager approached the lowest point of the chamber in a slow shambling gait, as if their movements weren't truly their own. At the bottom was a pit dug in the shape of a circle, wide enough for many two to three people to stand in shoulder-to-shoulder with a depth of only about seven feet deep, and filled to the brim with a bubbling black liquid. At the unbidden instruction of their unseen puppetmaster, the villager who approached the pit brandished a ritualistic dagger from the confines of their robe. Without a sound, they drew the sharp edge across their own throat and pitched forward into the pit. ​

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The village disappeared beneath the black ooze, which seemed to pulsate with dark energies. Another one shortly followed, and it was obvious that each and every one of the villagers would commit the same act of ritual suicide as their predecessor, even the youngest child among them.​

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"A place that you were foolish to come to, Allyson Locke." ​

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A large stone suddenly slammed down behind her, sealing the pathway that she had just used to reach the chamber. The sudden rush of air caused several of the nearby torches to extinguish, casting dark shadows all around her.​

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"Did you think that I would not notice? For a spy of your renown, you were sloppy. You will find nothing here but death. Death and those who serve it."​

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Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: B A D _ H A B I T //:
//: Spooky Cavern //:
//: Darth Carnifex //:

​

The voice rang in her ears, one that she struggled to cope with, which she worked to ignore. It spoke to her revealing some of her deepest and darkest nightmares. Kaine Zambrano had his claws in her for as long as she could remember. Everything that she had become was because of him. Every fear burned with the stain of his essence. She wanted to run, but her feet felt heavy, locking her into where she stood. The hooded figures funneled in, and the voice continued to pour into her mind. ​

"What?" A rhetorical question that she knew no one was going to hear. Why had she come alone? There had to be someone in the New Jedi Order that would have come with her? Helped her with this mission? Her mind trailed back to the faces, but each one she had somehow managed to push away. All of them turning their backs on her, was she so focused on being an excellent asset to deny that she actually became what she didn't want to become? A thought trailed to Zaavik Perl ; he would have come along - but she didn't even tell him about this. Shaking her head, she thought it better he busy himself with the current state of the Jedi than to hunt his old master's past and ghosts. ​

Fear loosened its grip on her feet, and she moved forward, ripping the cowl off one of the figures. She had fully expected to see a form of Kaine, a face he had worn or even that devil's face - the one that she saw burned into his soul back on Muunilist. No, she saw the faces of the people she was supposed to be finding and bringing home safely. She backed away slightly, seeing that their movements were not their own. "No." she croaked out, fear crawling up her spine again, wrapping its tendril-like fingers around her throat. "No!" she forced out as she watched the first set of villagers end their lives in the name of the Dark Lord. ​

Panic sent in. It pulled her from this frozen state as she lunged forward to try and stop the next group of villagers from ending their lives. Her attempts were futile. They were determined and quickly tossed her aside. The villagers continued their dark ritual as the voice once more rang out. Had she been foolish? Where had she messed up? Was her obsession with ending the man that ruined her life hindered her ability to do her job? Questioned continued to spin in her mind as she moved towards the way she came in. Alas, the sound of the rock rolling into place locked her in. There was no escape. She was destined to watch this dark ritual. ​

The light disappeared, and Allyson was alone with the dead. She focused inwardly on the light side of the Force. She sought its protection in this horrible place. Finding that center, she found her bravery or a shell of it. Carnifex was her greatest enemy, but also her greatest fear. ​

"Where are you! Kaine! Stop playing games and show your face - I failed to end your life on Bastion, but I won't fail again!" Allyson waited, looking through the dark with her K'paur eyes. She would send him to hell and if she needed to drag him there herself - then so be it. ​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Isn't it obvious, Allyson?"​

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One by one, the lights in the cave began to blink out as if snuffed by an invisible hand. The dead were numerous, their ranks far mightier than the living. The stench of blood was overpouring as it emanated from the black pool, the pitch-black surface roiling and bubbling with intense fury and heat.​

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"I've been with you all along."​

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Suddenly, the shadows behind Allyson began to move and writhe, something that the agent's K'paur eyes would be able to detect with ease. A sharp glimmer of light was the only warning to a blade of immense heft and size erupting from the darkness, the tip aimed at Allyson although not directly at it. It was clear that the movement was designed to get her to react and move away from danger rather than outright attempt to kill her, to force her where the shadow wanted her to go. ​

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"I have been with you in every thought, in your every dream. I have occupied your mind since those days on Bastion, little Locke, you have given me ample soil to root in that scared little mind of yours." ​

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The shadows moved to take on density and mass, coalescing into the shape of the man that Allyson had been so desperately chasing down. Though still murky in visage, it was obvious that it was the former Dark Lord of the Sith, the former Emperor of the Sith Empire.​

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Darth Carnifex.​

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He spread his arms wide before Allyson, burning eyes staring directly into her own as he took several slow methodical steps towards her.​

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"And now what will you do now that you have me right where you want me, little Locke?"​

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Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: I M _ R E A D Y //:
//: Spooky Cavern //:
//: Darth Carnifex //:

​

The voice continued as the cave grew dark as the light, and the villagers' lives were snuffed out. Heat rose from the ritual; the black pool bubbled and made her step back. Whatever it was - it had to be the source of this voice - he couldn't be in her head. Allyson had done everything in her power to protect herself, to protect her mind, and eradicate his grip on her. It had been nearly a lifetime ago, but she knew he was still there. ​

Moments of doubt, desperation, and suffering, his voice echoed in her mind instead of her own. A hand rested against her head for a moment, trying to push him out. So many years of mentalism training, just to ensure that he would never penetrate her thoughts again. It seemed, though, despite her defenses and shielding - all she did was lock him in her mind. "Get out, please, get out..." The Corellian's voice small, stuttering in disbelief at the revelation. ​

Eyes looked up, seeing the figure that she had been chasing. For so long, she had been chasing him, not just here, but the Spy felt as if her whole life was so focused on chasing this man down - to destroy him. Shaking her head, she narrowed her gaze; this was her chance. There wasn't going to be another like this. He was here in front of her - begging for her to act. ​

It's a trap. Allyson knew better, the numerous times she had faced him, even when she was discovered while working to destroy the Sith from the inside. Everything had a reason; everything was part of his grand scheme. Carnifex was constantly a step ahead of her; she was always chasing and never finding a footing where she could see the upper hand. It was a trap, every time he found her, it was a trap. How could she have been so stupid? ​

"I'm going to carve you out of my mind. I'm going to kill you - if it's the last thing I do. No more, I'm tired of you haunting me, ruining every good thing I have." Everything was his fault. Her failed relationships soured friendships and her overall distrust of allies - people that cared about her. Her shoulders straightened as her hand tightened around the lightsaber in her hand, the same saber she had been thrown when she fought Vaylin on Bastion. She could feel the resonating Force that lingered from the Jedi that it had belonged to. ​

So many lives had been snuffed out by the Sith in front of her. It was his turn. Stepping forward, Allyson swung the blade with the strength of the Force, fueling her body and the two-handed grip she held the weapon with. The ion blade swept quickly, almost bending as she put everything into the strike, sweeping from the shadow's waist to his shoulder - in hopes to cleave him in two.​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Killing me won't set you free, little Locke."​

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A beam of crimson plasma ignited from Carnifex's hands, showering them in the glow of his lightsaber. The blade crackled and hummed with the latent energy stored within, the dark energy of the Sith Lord focused through a glossy black obsidian crystal. It was the same one that he had wielded against Allyson on Muunilinst, the black cerakote casing easily recognizable in the towering man's hands.​

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He swung it lazily upwards, blocking Allyson's first strike and deflecting it down towards the dirt. The retaliatory strikes and the subsequent defensive ones were similarly lax as if the once-Emperor was toying with Allyson more than he was seriously engaging her.​

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"To truly free yourself, you will have to kill the side of you holding you back."​

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Over time, his attacks progressively grew more and more ferocious. Each hit seemed to hit harder, the period between attacks seemed to grow shorter and shorter. The Dark Side of the Force was oppressive in the cave, smothering the light as the once-Emperor served as both generator and conduit. The Dark Side flowed through him just as much as it flowed from him, his entire being channeling the dark energies as they continued to grow exponentially. ​

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"Become as I have become, Allyson Locke. Let your humanity go, give in to the Dark Side!"​

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The sword which had embedded itself in the dirt and stone now rose up into the air, tip angling towards Allyson's back before it rushed forward to spear her from behind.​

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Allyson Locke ​