Private Echoes

[Lief]

Mirar was asleep on his chest, curled up directly over his heart as though realizing that a giant ball of anxiety had made a home of it in recent days. The documents pertaining to his apparent betrothal lay on his bedside table, leafed through several times by now, weighed down by the Holocron of Tammuz Hoole, while his eyes fixed up at the ceiling. He didn't dare move lest he disturb the sleeping pup, but a restlessness floated through him all the same.​

​

So he reached for one of the toy balls he'd acquired for the rambunctious pup and set about tossing it up at the ceiling and catching it as it fell back down toward his face. If nothing else he was working on his reflexes, right? The last thing he needed was a rubber ball smashing into his nose. He'd already broken the damn thing once before.​

​

"Emotion," he was reciting, "Yet Peace..." He preferred the old school mantra to Odan-Urr's rendition especially in moments such as these where the forceful, black and white lines which made up his code seemed almost callous and cruel to hear much less speak, "Ignorance, Yet Knowledge..." He was on his fifth recitation at this point, and showed no signs of stopping. Each call line was met with another toss of the ball, which was caught on the response.​

​

Regular meditation had yet to work, so why not try this?​

​

Val Drutin​

 

[Val Drutin]

The Bright Knight was rarely silent. The hum of the ship’s engines was an ever-present backdrop; every now and then something would creak as it settled, or an air vent would activate. The wail of a newborn would break the monotony, followed by the footsteps of Miri or Kyell as one of them got up to tend to the baby.

But tonight, it was eerily quiet. There was an air of expectation in the atmosphere, as if something was about to happen, though no one knew what.

Eli tossed the ball up, and it came down. Up… but then it didn’t come down.

A spectral hand had caught the ball. The hand was attached to a graceful arm, which sprouted from a slender trunk, atop which sat a head with a familiar face.

The ghost of Val Drutin, bisected at the waist, hovered by Eli’s bedside. He turned the ball over in his bloodless fingers, as though amazed that he had managed to catch it. Then, he finally looked up at Eli.

“Hellooooooo!!!”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Ball went up.​

​

Ball did not come down.​

​

Eliphas stared upward in surprise as the damned thing just hovered there, then slowly but surely a spectral hand could be seen grasping at it. Then an arm attached to that hand, and so forth. It took him a moment to realize what, or perhaps more importantly who, he was looking at, and even then the reality of the situation would not dawn on him.​

​

"I didn't know you could astral project" he mumbled, "Must be really good at it if you can make yourself seen --"​

​

Then, then it hit him. He caught sight of the gnarly wound which had severed the manic dancer in two, and all of the colour rushed from his face. "No."​

​

Eliphas sat upright, unceremoniously dumping Mirar to one side (not that she minded, she soon shuffled over to his pillow and nestled down on the warm spot he'd just been occupying), and then seemingly glowered up at the phantom.​

​

"Not you, please tell me this is a trick... Please." Even before he could hear an answer hot tears flooded his vision. "It's not fair" he whimpered, "Everyone I love---..." Eliphas trailed off. Val didn't much like his woe is me mentality any more than Starlin did.​

​

But it really wasn't fair. Not one bit.​

​

Val Drutin​

 

[Val Drutin]

“Yeah, I may have gotten sliced in half by a Jedi’s blade on Exegol after launching myself from a cannon…” Val looked bashful, clasping his hands behind his back. “But anyway, I’m not-so-passively resisting becoming one with the Force. In fact, I came here hoping I could find a body to possess…”

Idly tossing the ball up and catching it in his hand, Val suddenly threw it. “Catch!”

It was an obvious distraction, meant to draw Eli’s attention away while the spirit of the mad dancer dove into his body and sought to seize control of it.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Val spoke so casually of his death that it seemed almost dreamlike, as though none of this was real. Force, he hoped he'd wake up soon. That this nightmare would end. He even went so far as to pinch himself for all the good that did.​

​

No, not sleeping. Then it was true, Val was gone. Or.... Dead. He certainly seemed here, for now at least.​

​

"You'll be stuck like some angry spirit in a Korriban tomb" Eliphas lamented, when he stated that he was purposely looking to keep from becoming one with the Force. Then again, at least he'd get to see him still in some way. "You can---" ​

​

Before Eliphas could offer himself up as a temporary vessel for Val to share in, the ball was tossed back his way and on reflex he reached up to catch it. Only to find that the manic dancer had apparently had the same idea, only he wasn't looking for permission.​

​

Val Drutin​

 

[Val Drutin]

Val plunged into the body of the invalid boy, swiftly taking Eli over. With their minds now intimately connected, Eli would have an unprecedented glimpse into the mad genius of the dancer—and he would also realize that Val had no intention of ever relinquishing his hold over his body. No, he was setting up shop for good.

Sucking in a deep breath, Val-in-Eli’s-body grinned. “At last! Death be not proud, for you’ve lost your hold over me!” he declared, his theatrical tone bringing out hitherto unheard notes in Eli’s voice. “Now to commandeer a starfighter and blow this popsicle stand…”

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he made to stand up—and immediately fell flat on his face. It was no mere stumble. He fell hard, the impact rattling the holocron on Eli’s nightstand and practically shaking the entire ship.

“Ow,” Val muttered, before trying to stand up again. Only to collapse once more. “Argh, Eli! You weren’t kidding when you said your legs didn’t work…”

Clenching his fists, he called upon the Dark Side of the Force. Searing pain filled the atrophied muscles of Eli’s body, but in that pain was a newfound strength. Only then was he able to rise to his feet…

Lief​

 

[Lief]

His puppy dog infatuation and genuine grief was set loudly within his mind as their consciouses seemed to merge together, before he realized even what exactly had happened. At first he felt strange, cold and in shock, then as he realized the thoughts that now shared his head he shivered. "W-Wait, Val, please..."​

​

Only it was too late. In a battle of wills it was clear who would come out on top, and while Eliphas could still speak he found his body wrought from under him, as though a puppet on strings.​

​

Attempts at rising soon landed him flat on his face, and Eliphas howled in response. His howl of pain had Mirar fast howling too, then barking, growling, she jumped up and down on the bed and made quite the ruckus.​

​

"Stop it, stop it" he begged of Val, as the man tried yet again to force his body to rise. The pain he felt was immeasurable, and he felt thoroughly sickened by the attempts. But what came next dwarfed even that, dwarfed everything in truth. Anger, rage, hatred, sadness, all of this ran rampant through his body and fueled him as the Darkside made a home in him.​

​

Then he was standing, in so much pain that tears flooded down his cheeks and his mind sought sanctuary from the physical bounds of his body. "P-Please.. Y-You're hurting me..." He could feel his heart beginning to break as he realized that Val did not give a damn. Eliphas was just a means to an end, a bridge between two planes of existence.​

​

Val would not stop just because he asked him to. The connection Eliphas had felt upon first meeting him did not fly both ways.​

​

Val Drutin​

 

[Starlin Rand]

The impact of Eli’s body with the floor jerked Starlin out of a deep sleep. Then Eli’s screams and Mirar’s barking were joined by the wailing of the twins and the panicked footsteps of Miri and Kyell. Starlin himself was already on his feet, rushing to the door to his apprentice’s quarters. “Eli? What’s—“

He opened the door to find his invalid Padawan standing on his own two feet… and radiating Darkness. It foamed and frothed about the boy’s aura, leaving his skin bloodless and his eyes bloodshot. He looked insane.

“Starlin!” “Eli” exclaimed. “I’m leaving now—don’t get in my way!”

“Eli, what’s going on? What’s happening?” Starlin stared at him in disbelief. Had Eli finally snapped? Was the pressure all too much for him? “Just wait a minute, okay? We’ll figure this out—“

A blast of the Force struck him square in the chest, blasting him against the opposite wall. Wincing as pain shot through his back, he slumped to the floor.

Lief

 

[Lief]

"Please" he wailed, as Val forced him to take a step, "Let me go, please..."​

​

Dog barking, babies crying, footsteps rushing, he felt thoroughly overwhelmed, and the darkness which pulsed through him sickened him to the pit of his stomach. Starlin's appearance made him feel relief, at least until he was thrust back by Eli's own hand.​

​

"S-Starlin, help," he begged, before remembering that they were not the only beings on the ship. "M-Miri, Miri!" He continued to move onward though, at Val's urging, "He... He won't let me go..."​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

If Starlin had failed to realized what was happening in time, Miri recognized the signs of possession at once. After all, her father had been what Eli was now—two souls in one body. <Eli, you must fight him! Take back control!> Her telepathic command rang through the Padawan's mind even as she vocalized the revelation. "Starlin! He's been possessed!"

That got Starlin to snap out of the haze of pain and confusion. He staggered to his feet, chasing after his Padawan.

Val-in-Eli was already halfway down the hallway. When he sensed Starlin pursuing him, he broke into a run, pushing the artificial strength he had siphoned into Eli's muscles to their limits.

Starlin followed him to the far end of the corridor, where he burst through the door to the hangar bay. All the while, he was gathering the Force around him. It felt distant—normally he needed laughter and humor to channel the raw eddies of the Light Side, but the ache in his back and the seriousness of the situation weren’t very funny. Evil is ridiculous, he told himself. Evil is banal and absurd…

Though “Eli” managed to climb into the pilot seat of Starlin’s old starfighter while his master collected himself, Starlin had what he needed. "You son of a schutta!" he shouted, his body practically glowing with energy. "You don't get to steal my Padawan's body!"

Sorry Eli, this is probably gonna hurt. He unleashed his power all in a rush. The Light washed over Eli’s body, seeking to burn away the Dark Side—and with it, Val’s clingy spirit.

Lief

 

[Lief]

It was soon too much to even try and speak, to beg or plead, Val was pushing him to his very limits and he felt himself slipping away as a result, faint strands of light held him in place but the more pain that pulsed through him, and the more darkness which spread, the more that warm embrace he'd known for a year, that comatose state, seemed to appeal to him.

If he let it be he could forget everything. He would not have to deal with Val, or poor Lissa, or the engagement fiasco, or his family, or Empress Teta, or his broken body, or... Or... Or...

Miri was there then, reaching him in the cocoon he'd begun to form, and though her presence seemed distant and weak it was familiar. They'd done this before, in a sense, he'd reached for her from beyond his body while Astral Projecting with her Father. He knew her presence intimately as a response, the ebbs and flows which made her Miri.

Sink further, or fight ... Did he want to fight? Did he want to go back to feeling all those things, to dealing with life as it was? Why not shut down his mind and give himself over to the manic dancer? Surely Val would do more with his body than he would, achieve more.

Lissa he reminded himself.

Lissa was a reason to keep going. Beyond everything else, his sister deserved to wake up to someone she loved, and who loved her. So he had to fight, didn't he?

So he began to focus, drawing upon the Light as best he could, feeling for Miri, and Starlin, and Kyell, and the Twins... A family he'd gained unintentionally. Whether or not they saw him that way too, he didn't care.

They were his light in that moment.

So as the searing pain of the Light struck him from the outside, wrenching blood curdling wails of pain from his lips, he hunkered down and tried to expell Val from the inside. It wasn't easy. It wasn't fair. He didn't want to send the man away, didn't want to force him to the afterlife, to whatever came after this, his heart still yearned for him even now.

He couldn't help the way his heart felt.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Though Val fought to remain, his spirit was soon blasted out of Eli’s body. The ghost hovered in the air, fighting against the searing Light emanating outward from Starlin.

Seizing the first container he could find—which happened to be a soup thermos—Starlin uttered the words to a spell his Padawan had never heard him use before: “"Molten metal and cold iron mark where darkness fears to tread; Ashla, repurpose this as a receptacle for the wretched!’”

“NO! DON'T!” Val howled as he was sucked toward the thermos. His ghostly form warped and stretched as he fought to escape the clutches of the spell, but it was no use. With a final scream of rage, he was drawn completely into the thermos. Starlin quickly fastened the lid on tight, his sorcery sealing the spirit inside.

He ran over to the starfighter, his gaze wandering over Eli in a panic. “Hey, hey, it’s over,” he said softly. “You’re safe now.”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

He could feel Val expelled, and with it the corruptive darkness which had seared itself through his veins; Eliphas crumpled in the seat. Exhaustion gripped him like a vice, and an agony tore at his heart.​

​

Why did this keep happening? Everyone he got close to, everyone he loved and cared about...​

​

Not Lissa. Or Starlin. Or Iris. These things he had to firmly remind himself of, it was not as hopeless as it seemed. Still, he could not fully deny that death seemed to linger around him like a bad smell.​

​

Starlin was there then, and Eliphas broke into yet more of his signature tears to see him.​

​

"S-Sorry" he whimpered, head leaning forward against the control panel of the starfighter. A whimper which soon turned into a devastated sob. "I... I thought he cared too" he confessed, "Thought he felt the way I did... B-But he didn't. And now he's dead, and he's gone, l-like everyone else."​

​

For once Eliphas did not succumb to the woe is me act any further, did not utter phrases about how unfair everything was, no this ran deeper than even that.​

​

"I... I don't want to feel anymore" he breathed instead, "Please, I just..." Eliphas closed his eyes. "So... Tired."​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

While Eli was blubbering about Val, Starlin was mainly concerned with his physical state. A quick glance down at the boy's legs made him wince. Undoing the crash webbing, he lifted his Padawan out of the starfighter cockpit and ran straight to the medical bay, though his own injuries screamed in protest.

"I... I don't want to feel anymore. Please, I just... So... Tired."

"It's okay, you can go to sleep," Starlin said, laying Eli on the hospital bed. "But promise me you're not going back into another coma, all right? You have to be there when Lissa wakes up. You have to finish your training and become a Jedi Knight. You're not alone, and you're much stronger than you give yourself credit for."

While the medical machinery began to do its work, administering painkillers and other treatments, Starlin paused, looking at Eli with a pained expression. "This is my fault. I knew what Val was, but... I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I never should've brought you anywhere near him, Eli. I'm so sorry..."

Lief

 

[Lief]

He knew that Starlin was talking, but not necessarily the content or context; still he was soon freed from the cockpit of the starfighter, carried by his Master, and his eyes drifted closed as he felt a sense of acceptance at the idea of resting wash over him.​

​

"Twins..." he was mumbling, as they made their way to the medical bay, "Woke them... Sorry." Were they okay? Was Miri okay? "Are... Are you okay, Star?" he added, he'd witnessed what had happened at his own puppeteered hands, knew well the pain that his patient Master had been put through.​

​

Soon set down, he tried to turn over to his side but found himself returned to his back so that all of the relevant pieces of medical equipment could be set into place. It was his personal Hell all over again, being tied up to machines and monitors, the sights and sounds and smells of sterile medical facilities overwhelming him.​

​

"I'll.. I'll wake" he promised. "For you, and... Lissa."​

​

Eyes were so heavy he could no longer even try to open them, and when Starlin made his own apologies he was quick to shake his head. "You're... the best person in my life" he whispered, as he began to fade, "Don't apologize..."​

​

And then he was gone, out like a light.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin muttered a few assurances, but he doubted Eli heard him. His apprentice was unconscious again.

He allowed the medbay machinery to inject medicines into the injured muscles of his back, along with enough painkillers to kill a horse (his Balosar physiology would resist anything less). Then Starlin retired to his quarters, where he forced himself to get some sleep. There was nothing else he could do…

In the morning, Eli still hadn’t awoken. Starlin shuffled off to the kitchen, heated up a burrito for breakfast, and was in the process of eating it when his comms went off. “Mm?”

“Am I speaking to Mr. Eliphas Dune?”

“Uh, no. He’s currently incapacitated. I’m his Jedi Master, though.”

“Ah, you must be Mr. Starlin Rand. My name is Glup Shitto. I’m a probate attorney representing the estate of Mr. Valentin Drutin.”

Starlin fought desperately to contain his laughter when he heard the name, going pale as the man continued to speak. “Uh, okay. What’s this all about?”

“Your Padawan, Mr. Dune, is listed as a beneficiary in the late Mr. Drutin’s will. If you’ll give me his contact information, I can send him a copy of the Last Will & Testament…”

Still in shock, Starlin rattled off the necessary info. “What exactly did he give to Eli?” he asked.

“I’m not allowed to disclose that information to anyone other than Mr. Dune.”

He probably left everything to him as part of a plan to take over his body later, Starlin realized. What a scheming mad bastard you were, Val… “All right. Thank you, Mr. Shitto.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Rand. My condolences, by the way.”

Starlin winced as he hung up. The whole affair reminded him that Val’s ghost was still trapped inside the thermos. How the hell was he going to get rid of that? It wasn’t like he could just pitch it out the airlock. He’d have to find a safe place for it…

Lief​

 

[Lief]

It took a while, but eventually Eliphas did reawaken just as he'd promised. Everything hurt, his head was heavy, groggy, and he felt a pit of nausea rolling around his stomach. Despite this he forced himself to sit up in the medical bed, then dragged one leg at a time over the edge until they were dangling. He'd stood, he'd walked, yes it had been painful, yes the Darkside had pushed him through it, but he'd done it.​

​

Did that mean... Maybe there was hope after all? Real hope?​

​

A large clatter answered his question initially, as he fell to the ground and tugged at the wires attached to his body prompting some sort alarms to start blaring. He hastily disconnected everything from his person, pulling off sticky pads and even tugging out needles (big mistake, because boy was he not expecting blood), and reached up to the bed in even firmer determination. He was going to stand. He was going to walk. One way or another.​

​

He dragged himself back up to a stand before anyone could arrive, legs wobbling; he kept hold of the bed of course, but he allowed a little bit of his weight onto his feet.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Eli!”

Starlin stood still in the doorway, blinking in surprise. The alarms had sent him running to the medbay, where he found his apprentice up on his own two feet. Mirar followed close on his heels, rushing into the room and barking up at Eli excitedly.

“Ha ha! You did it! You stood up!” he cried, grinning. Truth be told, he was just happy to see Eli alive. His standing up was just icing on the cake. “Whoa chit, you’re bleeding!”

He grabbed some bandages and applied pressure to the puncture holes left by the needles. “How are you feeling, man? I got some crazy news, if you’re up to hearing it.”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Starlin was there in the doorway lightning fast, as was Mirar who jumped up at him and forced him to lean yet more of his weight back on the bed. He wanted to lean down and pet her, but knew that the moment he tried he'd flop back down to the floor so instead he cooed at her.​

​

"I'm trying" he said, when Starlin remarked with glee about how he was standing. There was an odd determination which settled over the previously defeated boy, yes he looked haggard and weak but for the first time in weeks he didn't look so defeated. "Figured... figured if someone else could make me stand, I could too."​

​

At this point Starlin was before him, tending to the blood spraying from where he'd stupidly ripped out long needles, and he sat in silence and let himself be tended to without issue. Closed his eyes, settled more weight on the bed, then when he was done, reached down to gently scoop Mirar up onto the bed so she could more readily climb on him. "Hey belly" he teased her, before finally seeing fit to respond to Starlin's questions.​

​

How was he feeling?​

​

"Like I was hit by a rancor bull" he said truthfully, "But... I don't know how to explain it, like I'm... actually here again?" Did that make sense? He blinked before remembering the second part. "Crazy good, or crazy bad..?" Either way yes, he wanted to hear it.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"But... I don't know how to explain it, like I'm... actually here again?"

"Eliphas Dune has arrived," Starlin said. He sort of got it—Eli hadn't really been all there since his awakening, really. “A rancor bull? You’re one tough cookie.”

"Crazy good, or crazy bad..?"

“Just plain crazy. Val left you an inheritance.” He held up the boy’s datapad, where the will was projected. “As in, everything he owned is yours now. His ship, his droid, his lightsaber collection, his weird dancer costumes… His credits. The dude was a millionaire. I know that sounds hard to believe, given how he lived, but he was insane…” And not spending the money had allowed it to grow. "Ope, sorry for snooping, by the way. I promise I only read the documents the probate lawyer sent you."

Lief​