Come Rain on My Parade

[Keira Priest]

Theme

Outer Rim​

Unknown planet​

Ruined temple​

​

It felt as if all Keira had been doing in her life lately was spending time alone to simply contemplate the nature of things. The majority of her waking hours on Voss were whittled away in the wilderness where she could escape from the suffocating confines of the Temple there and simply exist. It was there she was slowly learning to find herself once more, relearning what it meant to be human and once more open herself up to others. The journey wasn't an easy one, and it was far from being over, but she was doing better now than she ever had in the past. With a support system behind her it was much easier to take steps forward rather than back, progress coming effortlessly and fluidly, with no hiccups in the process.

In her time among the Republic Jedi she had despised meditation as a whole, believing it to be a useless effort when one's problems could be solved just as readily in the physical realm. But it was that tactic she had utilized in the past week, drawing on the Force far more deeply than she had in her life before in order to determine her place in it and where she stood within the greater galaxy. The spider's web that comprised her thoughts was far from simple to sort through, and it had taken days to glean one rational thought. But, much like a tap turned on, the entirety of it flowed much easier after the muck was cleared out. Her viewpoint had shifted, granting her the ability to look at everything in a better, more welcoming light.

Of course, that hadn't lasted forever. After a brief clash with the only individual she could truly call friend among the Silver Jedi she had retreated from the jungle planet once more, isolating herself within the Outer Rim in order to complete some further soul-searching. It wasn't perhaps the best or most clear-cut method for dealing with what personal difficulties plagued her, but it was the only one she could think of that would prevent her from lashing out at others that weren't involved in the conflict in the first place. This was a different sort of meditation, one that allowed her to vent while still delving into the recesses of her mind so that she could continue to mend the cracks that had fanned out across it haphazardly.

Now she wandered the ruins of a temple discovered only hours earlier, breathing in the sheer ancient history of the broken down edifice and reveling in the energy that seemed to hum just beneath the surface. By this time she had passed the far more violent phase of her temporary self-imposed exile, settling instead into a far more contemplative state, one that brought about an appreciation for locales such as this. From within the building she stepped out into a courtyard, squinting against the light of day after having spent an hour or more beneath the surface, deep within the bowels of the building. Piercing blue eyes took in every last detail as she slowly stepped forward, holding a sort of revelation within herself at the untouched beauty present here. This had been a sacred place.

[member="Kezeroth the Beholder"]

 

[Boggo Flib]

Death was another beginning? This question never left his mind. Physical form was lost, burned into Oblivion during battle. Several months had passed and the oddity of being spiritual was a grasp Kezeroth had yet to master. He missed his body dearly, words could not explain how much he wished to commence in combat with a real body. The Nether was hell, A place you could roam forever and never actually live.

None were permitted to leave, but some of these rules could be broken and bent. Portals connecting the Nether and Physical Realm remained open causing unbalance forever in the Force. Following the events of his own Death Kezeroth's knowledge of the Nether was expanded by his experience dwelling there. The Nether restricted the Force, but reality did not. To cross the bridge was to be free and free he was... to a degree.

" You wander aimlessly. Why?" A deep voice echoed through the ruined Temple questioning [member="Keira Ticon"]'s purpose at this location. Remaining invisible to physical eyes Kezeroth observed his old apprentice.

 

[Keira Priest]

That was a question even Keira didn't have the answer to, or at least not one that would completely satisfy the inquiry. Never had she been the sort to have a comprehensive reason for any of her actions, doing most things on impulse and leaving any sort of rational thought or regret for a later date, if it even came at all. This scenario was arguably different, though not in many obvious manners. "Because there's nothing better to do." Absently she kicked a small pebble across the courtyard, raising another three with the Force and crushing them into dust. "It's better than sitting around on Voss. At least here I can breathe properly." Figuratively, of course. Here there was no pressure to be much of anything but herself.

Never mind the fact that it was a currently disembodied voice she was speaking to. In comparison to many of the events that had transpired in her life, this was fairly ordinary. Besides, the presence that accompanied the words spoken was intrinsically familiar. This was [member="Kezeroth the Beholder"], the only one she had ever called her mentor and arguably the only fellow sentient she had ever truly respected. Hearing his voice was some kind of shock, but the feeling quickly shifted to a sort of relief, if explainable at that. Next to Connor he was the only one she could trust in the galaxy, and the only individual she had connected to so deeply through the Force. Out of all the people she knew, he was the exception to most every rule.

Reaching out through the ethereal she touched on his presence, allowing herself to feel his aura openly and granting the same to him in return. Despite the chaotic feeling that accompanied his being here she was at ease, calm in all that she found familiar. It was nice to have a taste of that volatility in her life once more. After being around the Jedi for so long she had forgotten what it meant to be truly untethered from any obligations or cause. And now that she had been exposed to such a thing again it was tempting to fall back into old habits and let that simple apathy fold itself around her like a comforting blanket until she wasn't certain of anything else. But she was trying to be better. She always had to remind herself of that.

"Where have you been? I felt your death. Of all the people to fall, I never thought it would be you. Must have been something to see, that." The two had sparred countless times, and no matter her rank or apparent skill level he was never one to be bested. "I would say you haven't missed much, but that'd be a lie. I left the Ravens a while ago after they fell apart, was enslaved by The Primeval for a time and eventually found my way out on Ziost." That was a short and sweet summary, but it wasn't the end of things by any means. "Ended up as a prisoner of the Silver Jedi for a few days, found redemption, and now I guess I'm one of them to a point. Never really bothered joining up, or thinking about that much. Guess it makes me one of the good guys."

[member="Kezeroth the Beholder"]

 

[Boggo Flib]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE​

" Netherealm. That is where i've been. The battle was short in time, My body had reached its limit... My Mentor, Father and Brother Saverok warned me that it would happen in the future if i kept on using the Darkside as I did and he was right." Moving around the temple Kezeorth phased through several objects as he walked. " Heh, There is no good or evil. There is only survival. I must admit it is good to "see" you once again." Kezeroth smiled wide but this smile was not masked with evil intent but rather something more real. The ghostly Gen'dai was changed he could see and understand more. The darkside was consistent around him as it was in his physical life, but the bloodlust that accompanied it was gone.

" In the end you are a survivor...My survivor." He paused and disappeared into thin air right in front of her. Over in a corner stones and rubble fell down in a crash as Kezeroths ghostly hand was waved knocking them down with the force. The he was one with the force and unrestricted to its power but he could only do so much. As the breeze steadily increased Kezeroth's hand reached for a metal bowl structure, Fire ignited within it on his command.

" I've always respected fire. Its destructive nature is a beauty in my eyes. The Temple of Pain, Fresia is where is met my end." He said as he stared into the flames. He was obsessed with them. His mind filled with sorrow and hate for what happen.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

Her brow furrowed slightly at what Kezeroth had to say about her being 'his survivor'. To her knowledge the two had never shared a relationship of such a remotely close sort, let alone one akin to something so similar to that of father and daughter. There was no denying that there was a connection that the two shared, but Keira would have never guessed that it went so deeply beneath the surface. To have another genuinely care for her was something almost completely new in her life. And, coming from him of all people, she was caught entirely off guard. "Your survivor? Do tell." It warranted some explanation, that much he had to know perfectly well. And it was that she was looking for.

A slight smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "Yeah, it's nice to have you around again, too. Been awhile. We haven't seen each other since before the Ravens broke up. That's a good year or so." Simply having him here with her in some manner or another brought on nostalgia in its purest form. The Gen'Dai had been one constant in her life, a factor she could always rely on regardless of the circumstances and what ailed either party. From her time as a Padawan to her fall to the dark, he had been present. When she gained the rank of Knight he had been the one to put such a thing in motion. If she had nothing else, his simple existence was one thing she could always fall back on. Even that was gone, now.

As he drew on the Force she did the same, five pebbles circling around her hand lazily, the motion really only requiring a subconscious effort. Slowly they were crushed were crushed to nothing more than dust in her ethereal grasp, slowly trickling down through those invisible fingers to join the dirt that already covered the majority of the ruins here. "Gotta say, for someone who died recently you don't look half bad." That was a poor attempt at humor, but it always helped to at least try and lighten the mood. The two of them had always been too serious with each other, anyhow. It was about time that was changed, even if most would have considered it too late. Even death itself wouldn't prove a barrier.

"The Temple of Pain, huh?" A locale she had only heard brief words spoken of, but she knew full well which galactic power it was in the hands of. As if she didn't have reason enough to despise that particular Order already, here was another that had presented itself. "Which Sith was it?" Retribution seemed a fine enough goal, and it wouldn't hurt to allow herself time to focus solely on such a destructive goal for a time. Besides, the galaxy would do well without another Sith mucking things up. And she was more than willing to be a part of that rather permanent and final solution. "You know full well I'll kill whoever's responsible if I get the chance. I don't need to come up with excuses anymore."

[member="Kezeroth the Beholder"]

 

[Boggo Flib]

" The connection between master and apprentice something I dont need to explain especially to you. When took you under my wing you were one of many, I accepted everyone because in the end only the strong would survive. My teachings were not one sided either, Each fight, Each lesson I learned more and more as you did too. You survived me and I you." he said as he moved his ghostly head around. As he heard the question of "who" killed him he grinned some and extended his hand to Flames that quickly showed a scene of the battle from Kezeroths perspective.

" Two Sith Knights, Darth Mythos and Lord Sebastion. Both opponents with mundane power. It was my body that failed me and my Mind. Pushed my power to its limit using Deadly Sight." he chuckled as he knew from past encounters with his Mentor that this would happen eventually. " If I hurt them, you can with ease. You should get my Lightsaber back..."

Pausing the Ghostly Gen'dai examined [member="Keira Ticon"] body. " Do you ever grow?" he jeered randomly to counter her joke about his sexy ghost form. Talking with Keira without combat proved very odd despite his cleared mind. " Heh, When I died you where one of the first people I thought of and remembered. In life I never could understand what you humanoids called Love but in Death that became clear."

" My Survivor? I see you as a daughter. That is the reason." he said aloud revealing a side of himself that had always always been hidden deep inside.

 

[Keira Priest]

The bond they had shared, the same one that still persisted, was most certainly something that didn't need any explaining. It had been experienced enough countless times over for her to learn intrinsically just what the boundaries of such a thing were, along with all that was included. No matter the distance that separated them physically that connection in the ethereal had always pulled them closer than anything else was capable of. It allowed her to perceive what he felt and vice versa, which had ultimately ended with his eventual death. But even that hadn't ended things permanently, instead bringing the both of them here, to this otherwise meaningless planet and the ruins dotted about its surface. "No, you don't need to explain anything."

Those were two names Keira wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon, and for all the wrong reasons. With their being Sith the pair wouldn't be easy to get at by any means, but she was content to play the long game. Besides, something told her Kezeroth would be back eventually, regardless of how finite his death may have seemed. Neither of them were of the sort to be brought down permanently, no matter the circumstances. "Consider them as good as dead, then." Her words may have been overconfident, but she was sure enough in her own ability. She wouldn't have survived this long if she wasn't somehow talented. Eventually the Sith themselves would be brought down. It was only a matter of time.

A solitary blink was her only immediate response to his admittance of seeing her not only as family, but as his daughter of all individuals. If there ever was a side of him that she hadn't been privy to in life, it was the considerably more sentimental and emotional half that was only being revealed in this private moment shared. A strange sort of silence hung between them, one that was at once tense and yet relaxed and at peace with all that had been divulged. One surefire way to stun her into complete speechlessness was through showing any kind of genuine affection. That feeling was only doubled when the source was an individual that she never imagined having such thoughts in the first place.

"Well, you do know how to surprise someone, I'll give you that." Her smile was just a little forced, and she shook her head. That was far from a proper response to such a statement, of that she was acutely aware. "I've never really thought about it. Not until now." Her brow furrowed slightly, and she studied the flames that he had summoned for a moment as if trying to find an answer there that would somehow cause all of this to click immediately into place. When nothing immediately came to mind she sighed quietly. "I don't know. It does feel empty without you being around anymore. Even if we never really did talk, just knowing you were alive somewhere was enough. Now that that's gone, I'm not sure anymore."

[member="Kezeroth the Beholder"]

 

[Boggo Flib]

The ghost smiled. " The best way to get to know someone is too fight them. Something the Jedi never do." he chuckled some and then looked to the sky. " I missed you too." He muttered as an idea came to his mind. " We shall see each other... Soon." he laughed to himself and faded into the wind. The fire burned out and all returned to normal. Even in death Kezeroth traveled freely. There were no limits on what he could do, not now or ever.

Somewhere in the galaxy a familiar darkside presence would grow soon.

[member="Keira Ticon"]