Private Impromptu Spelunking

[Resh]

Wayland
Eloise Dinn
​

Resh tried for only a moment to contain the cascade of boulders headed their way, “It won’t work!” He assessed, diving deeper into the cave, lest he be crushed. He covered his head and fell flat on the ground, waiting for an impact that he thankfully avoided. When the pureblood opened his eyes, it was still dark. “You-- okay--?” He hacked, coughing away the dust that now blanketed them, which only shook more of that dust into his sinuses and led to more coughing.

Fumbling in the dark, Resh finally found his lightsaber, igniting it and illuminating the area in an indigo light. “It’s totally caved in.” He reached out a hand to try and pull at the rocks, but there was too much weight packed on top from the landslide. “It could take us days to dig out of this mess. And even then, we risk burying ourselves further by disturbing the earth.” Resh spoke more calmly than he felt. A few years back, the padawan may very well have gone catatonic in a predicament like this. But he had grown since then. He still had much more growing to do, but progress was progress. “We should look for another way out.”

 

[Eloise Dinn]

When everything else went to shit, Eloise could still count on Resh. So far he was the one person in her life who hadn't died, left, been sucked into the Nether, or gone crazy. He was just there, the last bastion of safety and normalcy, always around when she needed him. Somehow, the Pureblood was the one constant in the universe. He didn't change.

Except he had changed. Eloise didn't see him for a few months (or had it been a year? shit, she didn't know) and suddenly he was several inches taller. His shoulders had broadened, his voice had deepened, and his scrawny, skinny frame now sported lean, agile muscle from hours of daily training. He was still a bit dorky, as teenagers typically were, but looking at him now made her keenly aware of the difference a year could make.

Clearly she had missed out on a lot. It pained her that it had taken them being assigned on a mission together for her to reconnect with him. She'd just been so busy with her healer's work. At least, that was the excuse she told herself, to avoid pinning the blame on Diogo's disappearance and the emotional turmoil that had followed. She would never admit that she had gone no-contact with everyone because she was tearing herself to pieces over an ex-boyfriend.

Before she had a chance to so much as ask Resh about his old interests - was he still reading comics and getting all his dance moves from Spacenite? - they were being shipped off to Wayland. And just as quickly, it seemed, they ran into trouble.

“You-- okay--?”

Eloise groaned, slowly but surely peeling herself up off the cave floor. Throwing herself out of the way of the falling boulders had left her body bruised and sore, but she had no serious injuries. "Yeah," she grunted, blinking as her eyes futilely tried to adjust to the near-total darkness. "What about you?"

Resh soon found his lightsaber and ignited the blade. Bathed in indigo light, the cave-in almost looked pretty.

“It could take us days to dig out of this mess. And even then, we risk burying ourselves further by disturbing the earth. We should look for another way out.”

He sounded much calmer than she expected, given what had happened the last time they got into trouble. "Agreed," she said. "Who knows how long it would take for help to reach us." Activating her own green blade, she held it up, peering deeper into the cave. "You think there's any truth to those rumors about there being monsters down here?" Which was, incidentally, what they had been sent to investigate.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"Well, uh, let's hope not," Resh cleared his throat, a little more anxiousness creeping through as he became suddenly conscious of the echo of his voice. The sudden cave-in seemed an ill omen itself. These caves had a draw to them. Not overt, but an almost subliminal luring. There had to be something about this place, it was just a question of what exactly. And if it was dangerous, it was up to them to remove it.

Here at the entrance of the cafe, Resh could now see remnants of vegetation. But it had all withered and blackened, "There's nothing about the environment that suggests these shouldn't be thriving. At least, not while the entrance was open." Resh was mostly speaking to himself, but loud enough to keep Eloise in earshot. He stood up, ears perking at the subtle whistling of wind, "There's a current in here. Which means there should be another opening. Let's go." He headed inside, entering a narrow chamber of stalagmites and stalactites, giving the impression they were weaving through the gnashing teeth of a massive beast. What they didn't yet know, was that a very real beast was already aware of their presence.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise didn't know what to think of the caves either - and she didn't like not knowing what she was getting herself into. History wasn't really her forte, but she had learned enough about Wayland before they arrived to realize it shouldn't be underestimated. The planet's dark and strange past twisted like tangled roots, germinating weird tales like fruit on the vine. Secret labs where mutant monstrosities were bred, troves of hidden Sith relics, an insane Jedi ruling over the primitive locals like a demented king... It sounded a lot like her home. And much like Zaathru, every instinct was telling her that she didn't want to stay on Wayland for too long.

Resh seemed just as unnerved as she was, yet he took the lead with exploring their immediate area. She heard his commentary about the plants near the entrance and turned her attention to the withered ferns. They weren't just wilting, they looked like they were rotting, their flesh black and oily. "Could be a fungus or something," she muttered, almost trying to convince herself as much as him. "Something that would infect and kill the plants..."

"There's a current in here. Which means there should be another opening. Let's go."

Eloise followed him deeper into the cave. "So you're taking the lead?" she remarked, ducking underneath a low-hanging stalactite. "Always knew you had it in you." Truth be told, she was proud of him. A year ago he would've panicked. With maturity came confidence, she supposed. Unless something else had changed in the time since their last meeting...

They continued through the caverns, climbing over limestone formations and trying not to trip or hit their heads. Unaware of their stalker, Eloise decided to pass the time by catching up with her Pureblood friend. "So, Resh... What have you been up to lately? Besides training, I mean."

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"So you're taking the lead? Always knew you had it in you."

Resh glanced back at Eloise, an awkward, toothy smile on his face, "Heh-- If you say so." He certainly didn't see himself as a leader. But finding himself in an area that fit his expertise had naturally shifted him into that role, he supposed. Eloise didn't seem to have a problem with it, and he couldn't say he hated the thought of being a leader.

Or, at least the thought of being a trusted figure. Being a leader still sounded a bit scary.

As they continued to traverse through the cavern system, Eloise of all people made an attempt at small talk. Resh had almost exclusively heard from their peers that Eloise was... abrasive. And frankly, she didn't really dispel that notion from most of the times she saw him interacting with the others. But she had always been pretty lax with him. Perhaps it was his background, or just the fact that he seemed to hold no judgement over her. Either way, they both seemed to be one another's only true friends in the Order. Eloise because of her aforementioned attitude, and Resh either because of his shyness or his species.

"Well, I've been exploring more of the galaxy. The Vonnuvi always travels, which leads me to a lot of places, and Master Harth takes me on missions when she gets the chance. It's hard to get a grip on just how much of everything there is." He seemed to get lost in his own daydreams for a moment, reminiscing on the splendorous people, animals, and worlds he had now seen. Resh quickly recomposed himself, standing taller and more authoritatively-- They were on a mission, and he was (apparently) the leader.

"But uh, yeah, I've liked what I've seen so far." He glanced back again, "How about you? Still with Headmaster Serys-Organa?"

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise mirrored his toothy grin. It was nice to goof off for once.

So he was still training under Master Harth, and still attached to the Vonnuvi Enclave. "Glad that worked out for you," she said. "I know it was tough for me to fit in and find my place." Her restlessness aside, the Vonnuvi was still the closest thing she had to a home. It was where she usually ended up when she exhausted herself and needed to recharge.

"Well, I've been exploring more of the galaxy. The Vonnuvi always travels, which leads me to a lot of places, and Master Harth takes me on missions when she gets the chance. It's hard to get a grip on just how much of everything there is." He seemed to get lost in his own daydreams for a moment, reminiscing on the splendorous people, animals, and worlds he had now seen.

"I'm surprised you have time for sightseeing," Eloise muttered, her smile thinning. While Resh was lost in a starry-eyed reverie, her thoughts turned dark. Because of her work as a healer, she typically only traveled to planets that had suffered devastation. Instead of wonders, she witnessed the horrors of war, up close and personal. But she didn't want to spoil the mood. "Sounds nice."

Resh quickly recomposed himself, standing taller and more authoritatively. "But uh, yeah, I've liked what I've seen so far." He glanced back again, "How about you? Still with Headmaster Serys-Organa?"

“Yeah, sort of. I’ve also been traveling a lot, just… not always with the Vonnuvi.” Sometimes the herdship wasn’t where the action was, or they didn’t always get there in time. Utilizing whatever transportation could get her there fastest often meant she traveled alone. "I go where I'm needed.

"Hey, are you still into holo games and comics and all that?" she asked, wanting to change the subject away from anything work-related. Hobbies were a safe topic. “Seen any good shows lately?”

The sound of a stone falling echoed through the cavern. Eloise froze, listening. It was impossible to trace the echo's origin; for all she knew it was just the wind or the earth trembling. But she was on alert now regardless.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"Well, it's not really a vacation. It's work. But I usually find moments to make for myself." Eloise didn't go into much detail about her own exploits, but it wasn't hard to fathom the stakes were a bit higher with her. She was more experienced, and was apprenticed to a master who was herself pretty involved in galactic affairs. Add to that all the chaos currently sweeping over the galaxy, Eloise was probably more in the thick of it than Resh could understand.

"Hey, are you still into holo games and comics and all that?"

Resh seemed a little embarrassed to answer, but he didn't have a chance to before a sound interrupted their exploration. The sound of a tumbling rock echoed throughout the subterranean chambers, breaking the silence harshly. The source was hard to trace given the constant reflection of noise. Both Jedi paused, listening for anything that might follow. For a few seconds, nothing else came, and Resh had just turned around to resume delving; Then there was a low rumbling.

Resh swung around, his lightsaber illuminating a large, fur-covered beast just a few yards in front of him. Its hair was patchy and matted, gums blackened and bloody, eyes sulphuric yellow. Whatever it was, this state was not natural.

"Don't move…" Resh muttered, following the precautions he understood when it came to such creatures. But whatever had corrupted the thing had changed its behavior into something much more aggressive. It stood up to its full height, towering several feet even over Eloise. Its distorted roar seemed to reverberate across the entire cave system. "N-nevermind!" Was all Resh could think to say as he turned back and bolted toward his friend. The Dryax charged relentlessly, barreling through stalagmites as it squeezed itself into the chamber. Resh kept running, pushing Eloise along if he had to.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise's darting gaze finally found something to focus on. Glittering golden eyes stared back at her as a massive four-legged silhouette took shape from the darkness, baring sharp teeth. She felt its hot breath ghost over her skin, stinking of blood and rotting flesh.

It roared, a horribly distorted sound that shook the cavern walls. But Eloise was not afraid. She widened her stance, planting her feet on the rocky floor, and raised her lightsaber, ready to engage in sacred combat—

"N-nevermind!"

Resh crashed into Eloise, putting an end to her plans to fight the creature. "Hey!" she exclaimed as she was pushed deeper into the caves. The Pureblood was stronger than he looked. "That thing is what we came here for—!"

She broke off as a stalactite crashed to the ground a little too close for comfort. The Dryax was chasing them, paws landing like thunder with every step it took. The cavern walls trembled, dust trickling from the ceiling. She started running.

Sensing a sudden sharp drop ahead, Eloise skidded to a halt. Though she couldn't see the bottom over the edge of the cliff, the sound of moving water below indicated an underground gorge cutting through the earth. "Stop!" she called to Resh over her shoulder. "We can't go any further!" But with the Dryax still in pursuit, their options were limited.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"That thing is what we came here for—!"

"Uh huh!" Resh replied breathlessly, "And it will kill you at lot faster than you can kill it!"

He didn't want to trifle with a dryax on any terms. Let alone one that was juiced up on whatever dark energy permeated these caves. They needed a much better strategy than to just meet it in a charge.

"Stop!"

Resh could hardly stop in time, skidding to a halt and bumping into Eloise. If that wasn't enough to knock her down, then the impact of a massive ursine monster into the both of them would surely do the trick. Resh spun around to try and put up a resistance, his saber raised just in time to make contact with one of the dryax's claws. There was a hiss, a roar, and then a peculiar feeling of weightlessness and Resh found himself suddenly falling into the cave depths.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Resh crashed into Eloise, pushing her over the edge. She managed to grab hold of the cliffside with one hand, reaching out with her other arm to grab Resh's wrist as he fell. Her lightsaber was abandoned in the process, the green light spinning away into the depths.

Roaring in pain from the wound Resh had dealt him, the dryax lunged forward, teeth snapping. Eloise reared back, feeling globs of spittle splatter her cheek as the creature's hot, foul breath blasted her face. With a burst of ferocity, she reached out with the Force and shoved the dryax violently away.

But his chaotic charge through the caverns had dislodged more than just a few rocks. Eloise looked up just in time to see a broken stalactite knifing through the air above them. There was no time to stop it or divert its path. She could only get out of the way.

She released her grip on the cliff's edge. A few seconds of free fall, and the heavier stalactite sliced through the air past them. She tried to slow their descent, but it was hard to tell what was happening or where Resh was. All around her there was only the stifling Dark, endless and everlasting...

ok we do visions now? Resh​

 

[Resh]

Resh's descent was abruptly stopped, and he looked up to see Eloise had made a quick save. Unfortunately the effort was futile, and when a jagged rock threatened to skewer the both of them on its way down, she had no choice but to let them both fall. Resh watched as the last vestiges of his tumbling vision were blanketed in total darkness.

Resh awoke to a flickering light. He couldn't even tell when it was he had fallen unconscious. There must have been some kind of impact— judging by the aching pain in his head and leg— but he hadn't felt it in the moment. The light was bright, but it wasn't that of a saber, nor that of the sun. It was an open flame. He looked up, and saw a torch carried by a figure in a dark hood. It's features were difficult to make out, but they were large and masculine. The presence was familiar, yet Resh could not fully recognize it. That sense of familiarity is what kept Resh from immediately freaking out.

"Are you hurt?" The voice said. It was a deep baritone, but calm and even-toned.

"N... Not really." Resh claimed, gritting his teeth and wincing as he stood up.

There was pause, then the man answered, "Good." He turned around and began to walk, expecting Resh to follow. Which the boy did.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

It was so dark at the bottom of the pit, Eloise couldn't tell if her eyes were open or not. Though she had no memory of the impact, she knew she must have hit the ground hard. Her back and shoulder and head all ached. But she was alive and conscious and...

Her thoughts turned to her friend. "Resh?" She called to him, but received no answer. Her fumbling hands searched for his body, but grasped only rocks and dust. She tried to sense his presence, but the Force was strangely distant. "Resh!"

Her voice echoed in the silence of the cave.

Is he dead? Am I alone down here?

The blackness was impenetrable. It was like being submerged in oil, inky and thick. She remembered the disorientation of falling through the void, not knowing which way was up or down. Crawling on her belly, she clung to the sensation of dirt underneath her nails, the metallic taste of blood in her mouth—anything to keep herself grounded.

You're not dead yet. Keep going. Survive.

Up ahead, she saw a faint light. She wasn't sure if it was real or an illusion summoned by sheer desperation. Slowly, it went from a flickering flame to a brighter, warm blaze. Out of the light, a familiar voice spoke.

"Eloise?"

It wasn't Resh.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

Resh strained himself to keep up with the long strides of his apparent rescuer, limping and wincing with each step, "What are you doing down here?" He asked.

Without turning to look at him, the man answered, "Searching."

"...For what?"

This time, he glanced back, but even with the torch so close, no features were highlighted beneath the shade of his hood, "...For you."

"Me?"

Now, the man did not answer. He kept walking, through endless corridors, yet with a clear, deliberate destination.

"Where is Eloise?"

No answer.

"I need to find my friend!" Resh insisted, hobbling forward and putting himself ahead of the man.

The man stopped, "...You should not worry about her."

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise stared in disbelief as the figure of Diogo Talon emerged from the light. At first little more than a dark silhouette eclipsing the portal, his features grew clearer as he approached. He had the same green hair, the same golden eyes, the same dorky, wonderful smile.

It can't be him. He left. He's gone.

But she didn't fight the ghost of her past as he reached out and lifted her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and she melted into his comforting embrace.

"I've been searching for so long," he murmured into her hair, pressing his cheek to hers. "I was afraid I'd never find you. El, I'm so sorry. I regret everything. Please forgive me."

"Where did you go?" she asked.

"Nowhere, really. It's not important." Pulling away, he looked into her eyes, holding her gaze. "I'm here now. I'll never do anything to hurt you ever again. I love you, Eloise."

He's telling me what I want to hear, she thought. Yet her first instinct was to forgive and forget. This must be how her mother had felt every time her father returned from one of his sudden disappearances. All of the pain and suffering she had endured faded the moment Dio held her in his arms again. She knew she ought to reject his pleas for forgiveness and refuse to give him a second chance, but she couldn't. She... didn't really want to.

She just wanted him.

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. She kissed him back, holding him tight.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"Why not?"

"What are you doing down here?" The man continued with hardly a pause. Resh grimaced, unsure of how to react to this strange man's behavior. None of this made sense. The logic was dreamlike, without rationality, and yet Resh couldn't (or wouldn't) bring himself to focus on anything but this moment.

"...We fell. We got lost."

"No. You are searching too, aren't you?"

"For Eloise!"

The figure turned away and continued marching forward, as if irritated by the answer, "I told you not to worry about her. You should let her go. She would be better off without you."

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

For a few moments, there was no sorrow and no pain. Eloise felt warm, safe, and loved for the first time in ages. She closed her eyes, immersing herself in the kiss.

Until she felt something thrust into her nose.

Eloise's eyes flew open and she reared her head back, instinctively trying to evade it. Her body knew what was happening even before her brain caught up, muscle memory kicking in as she grabbed hold of Diogo's proboscises and yanked.

Red gushed from her nose, but her nostrils were clear. Diogo writhed in her grasp, still trying to force his way to her brain. She screamed his name, voice gurgling from the blood running down the back of her throat. She was desperate to reach him, to convince him to stop.

The Force around them screamed danger! and suddenly she was on her back. He had knocked her down with a telekinetic shove and lunged at her again while she was on the ground.

He's too far gone, she realized. He had lost the battle against his Anzati nature, and his humanity with it.

Survive.

She screamed, a raw animal sound, and punched him in the face. The blow landed with a brutal snapping of bone, his jaw and her knuckles fracturing on impact. Stunned, he rolled off of her, proboscises twitching limply while he clutched at his cheek. He looked up, his golden eyes meeting her green.

Too far gone.

She hit him again.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

Resh stopped, stumbling back a half-step, "...Who are you?"

The hooded man turned once more, his grin unseen and yet all too evident in his voice, "You know the answer to that." He threw the torch to the ground, and suddenly the walls of the cave became engulfed in flame. Resh raised his hands in fear, the heat immediately making him break into a sweat, stifling his breathing.

The man loosed an ebon hilted blade from his sleeve, igniting a blood red saber that seemed to intermingle with the flames. He lifted up his hood to reveal a red-skinned face with sulfurous yellow eyes, a black mane, and spurs protruding from his chin. His fanged smile was wicked with delight. "You'll be the death of her! Not just her, either!"

"No!" The man laughed at him. Laughed at Resh's futility, as if he already knew how the story would end. "Shut up!" The man kept laughing.

Despite it all, the man was wrong. Resh didn't know the answer. He didn't know if this was Bael-- or himself.

And that was the worst part.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise abruptly stopped swinging her fists. Diogo lay unmoving beneath her, bruised and bloody and struggling to breathe, but alive.

Panting, she sank back on her heels. Her heart was pounding in her chest. It had all happened so fast. He... He hadn't just tried to kill her. He tried to eat her fucking brain.

Eloise's shoulders trembled, her expression crumpling. She wanted to cry and wail and sob, but she couldn't. All she could do was rock in place, pressing her bloody and broken hands to her face as the darkness smothered her.

Until it stopped. She wasn't sure when she noticed the change, but when she next opened her eyes, the cave was gone. She was in another dark and cavernous place, but this time the rock walls and vaulted ceiling were carved by sentient hands rather than ancient currents.

In front of her was a great stone table heaped with food, mostly charred meats. At the other end of the feast stood Dev Ossian, her mother's former apprentice. The red-skinned Shaal was angry, snarling at her through sharp teeth, his massive black horns looming over her. "Is this not what you eat at home?!" he roared.

Dread filled her. She knew what was going to happen next. But some part of her was beginning to understand what was going on.

The nexus must be influencing me. It's conjuring up my worst memories and biggest fears. I need to find a way to stop it.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

The cave walls crumbled away to reveal a once-verdant landscape, now engulfed in the same lashing inferno. Trees splintered and fell as their leaves became cinder. Fields of grass shriveled as a wave of flame blanketed over the plains like the shockwave of an explosion. In the middle of it all was the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, decidedly out of place. But it too burned. From its center, a black spire suddenly burst fort, climbing into the smoke-choked clouds above: an altar to his dark future. The seat of his power. He need only seize it...

"I won't let you!" Resh lashed out, igniting his lightsaber and charging the man. He skewered him through the stomach, holding the blade in place , shocking himself with his own action. The man stood there, his grin still fixed. Then, he laughed,

"Let me?" He backhanded Resh, knocking him backwards with the force of his strike. "You'll light the match yourself." He walked forward, the plasma beam still embedded in his gut, "It only takes a spark. Why do you work so hard to fight it?"

He reached down, grabbing Resh by the face, "Would you not serve the galaxy better at your full potential?"

"N-not like... this..." Resh muttered, blood trickling down his nose.

"Why not?" He replied, "The ash makes for fertile fields, does it not? They will grow again. More bountiful. More pure."

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

In the past and in the present, Dev's expression began to change as he stared into her face. Understanding dawned in his corrupted eyes, and a cruel grin pulled at the corners of his black lips. "You don't know?" he murmured. "By the Force, they must have hidden it from you all this time. To think I believed they had no shame..." He laughed suddenly and uproariously, throwing his horned head back. "I will reveal the truth to you, goddess," he sneered. "There will be no more secrets!"

There was another bright flash of light, just as there had been when Diogo appeared in the cave. Dev seized Eloise by the arm and dragged her toward it.

But unlike she had when she was fourteen, now she resisted, wrenching her arm free from his grasp.

"I do know," she said. "I saw what my parents were doing. I watched them consume the people who were sacrificed to them. My mother drained their energy and my father ate their flesh."

How could I ever forget?

"Once I saw it, I vowed to stop them!" she declared. "And that's what I'm going to do - as soon as I get out of this damned cave!"

Dev laughed at her. "You know it isn't that easy. Your brothers and sisters are steeped in the Dark Side. They were born on Zaathru, molded by it. Will you forsake them in the name of the Light? You couldn't even kill the boy you loved after he tried to devour your brain. How can you kill your own father?"

The darkness was closing in again, smothering her. Though she fought, she couldn't defeat it, not the way she was now. Not by herself.

"Resh!" she screamed. "If you can hear me, wake up! Resh, you have to wake up!"

Resh​