Kokuhyo

[Sawa Ike]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJkOkh5gToU​

[member="Nine Lives"]

Seeing her... hearing her everythign came flooding back to her mind. She wasn't this.. she was standing there at the academy. On the platform overlooking the water gardens. The stone pale and a lighter shade of pink. Cherry blossoms swirling around them as the wind brought the freshly bloomed from the mountain side academies levels to them. In a sea of reds, pinks, purples and all colors in between. Sawa was holding her, the warmth of her hand, the smile on her face. They had... they had fun and she was trying to place this new evil being, this creature who wore her friends skin. Out of tragedy, her family had been set up to be slaughtered.

"Ni-ne." She said it low, quietly to herself as she didn't trust her voice, everything about this made her want to shed old tears... older still as her neck ached. Burning almost this close to her and then she spoke. The voice coming out older then them... someone from the past as images of the Atrisian princess came to her mind. Memories of them together and what she had been required to by honor and duty. Protect Midori, protect the chastity and honor of the princess... but Midori had ben spoiled and cruel. She had not cared for either of them and she showed herself several times but at the time Sawa had ignored it.

The more Ni-Ne spoke and condemned her, the use of her own voice was too much to her mind. She didn't become blubbering but she stood there. Still and stunned for a moment. Memories flooding back to her, things she had forgotten... or was made to forget.... Something warm, something fresh. Anger, Ni-Ne had done this... when she found her.... when she had. Sawa felt that part of her receding back deeper now. Buried beneath the weight of power that was Shojo. She could nurture that feeling, that inner hate and fire. IT was familiar, it was power, it gave her a way to resist wanting to cry for her part in this creature before her.

THen she saw it, something flashed and it was coming at her as Sawa reacted quickly her mind slowing down the processes to make Ni-Ne move at a fraction of the speed... but she was too late. Arms coming up, the palms not catching but snapping into place along the sides of the sword. Like a vice when she pushed them together to stop the blade from cleaving into her and making her two sides...... but then she felt something. A sharp pain in her shoulder, the warmth of blood and didn't have to look as her shoulder and upper chest were on fire... then cold and she couldn't feel it. Sawa looked at Ni-Ne and was pushing to raise the blade.

Her arms going up, her hands roving over to try and touch Nine's hands and hold her arms up with her sword as the blood in her shoulder was flowing now. Once the blade was free but she could heal. She knew she would have to heal and would have to feed while she looked at the woman. Standing this close she knew that familiar scent, saw those features... that bare hint of something in her eyes. Sawa wanted do reach out and just... she spoke moving to try and have her face within inches of Ni-Ne's. To lock eyes with her while she was starting to heal herself with the force and her own power. "I am sorry Ni-Ne."

It was a moment of weakness and the voice choked her coming out. THis close she wasn't even certain they could be heard as she whispered them so low. It was a private thought something that she never wanted to admit to others but she was looking at the woman. That moment of truth was enough as the anger and rage boiled up. Her lips curling back when she thought about her using Midori's voice... when she thought about this creature that wore Ni-Ne's face.... when she felt the pain now in her shoulder and neck.. she had violated her memories, taken from her that which was most precious to her and she had forgotten some things.

"You are coming back to the cage." Her snarl made her fangs snap into place. Silvery eyes glow with emotion, hunger, anger, lust, hatred, love..... She wanted to rip out her throat but something was holding her back.. something was keeping her from opening her mouth and finding that place in Ni-Ne's throat that would let her drain away her life energies. Sawa moved with the force pushing to break the hold after she moved her face forward. Mouth crushing against Nine's, everything there as she poured it out and searched for that familiar place... that familiar taste she could remember lingered there. Allowing the memories to flood back itno her.

THen she was back, releasing as one hand went to the sword she had brought. She had felt the sting of Nine's sword but moved fast, enhanced speed from the force to make her sword draw dangerous and the black blade. Folded jeweled steel tainted with the blood of her family gleamed. She had retrieved it from the jade at some point... the sword in the garden when she slashed with Shōjō at Nine's chest. The gleam of the blade catching as red lines like veins of blood could be seen. Where it had been tainted and used to kill, the empresses prize.. the blade she had taken to demand fealty to her by House Ike had been returned.

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

Sukai did not say a word throught the whole ordeal, following Sawa to a beat until they where standing in front of the cave, a stern face on the young Jin as they waited for this Nie Ni, who ever they where. Sukai half expected some strange Sith spawn looking thing, or a pale as death humanoid, instead she was greeted with an atrisan looking woman, tall well built, but that meant nothing coming from the personality which seemed to inhabit them. They looked like a demon possessed, their body position remaining Sukai of a primal beast about to attack, her words almost venom like in the ears, but if seemed, forced in a way, though she was unable to put a finger on it.

What was more it seemed to contradict what Sawa said, though small Sukai sensed a hint of regret from her great great grandmother, like this whole ordeal was never meant to happen, though this now [member="Nine Lives"] said otherwise. Yes Sawa was a Sith, but the woman was family and from what mother had said was not the unreasonable type, a little sinister, creepy, but below that a decent heart and almost just morals, what this Nines lives said just did not make sense, unless there was a side effect of her feeding. Did taking the memories of a victim make them your own? or was it similar to memery rub where they could see the past of a person a chose what parts to feed?

That may be correct, the vampire attacks and memories taken where almost selective... had that caused Nie Ni to go crazy? see all the bad things people had done? It was all so confusing, more so considering how the two beings present where thousands of years old, something Sukai was unable to comprehend at this point in time, only a baby to the world of vampires. What ever questions where on mind had to be put aside as a sudden pang through the force came to Sukai, the Atrisan woman charging at Sawa with unfathomable speed. It left Sukai stunned for a moment, her head turning to see a sword through Sawa's shoulder, the two vampires staring at each other in some sort of... well she was not sure how to describe it, but one thing was for sure these two far outclassed her in almost every area.

As soon as it had started Sawa was once again free, drawing a blade to attack Nie Ni, Sukai grasping the hilt of her own weapon, a Katana that was still new to combat, one she called Shishio, forged by her own hand and enhanced through Alchemy. Perhaps not as grand as those used by the other vampires, but a finely crafted blade never the least. Still she did not draw it... not yet anyways, her eyes keeping close watch on Nie Ni, waiting, waiting for the right chance. Partially out of inexperience with such a foe, but also adhering to her code of honor, so far this was a duel between two people, and unless attack or called to arms she would not interfere.

[member="Sawa Ike"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Alexandra's eyes focused in on the situation as she felt [member="Sawa Ike"] and [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] coming closer and closer, having chose the cave for a reason as a place to bring [member="Nine Lives"] to. It wasn't long before she had found the location she wanted but then her eyes turned on Nine Lives and she just smiled, the two others would soon be here and the words from Nine Lives did nothing to deter Alex. She wanted to see what this entire situation was and her illusion soon melted away. Silver hair turned dark, eyes turned a golden glow, and her body seemed to grow a fifth appendage as a tail reached out behind her, resting on the ground.

The words from Nine were interesting, specifically those pertaining to the sustenance and Alexandra stared at the woman for a short time. She was curious what more this woman had been forced to change into, what had been done to her and if this was some kind of sith ritual that ruined the woman, or if she had merely been forced into a body that was forced into such dark forms of preservation. Alexandra felt bad for the woman and would have rested a hand on her shoulder before she launched forward, not bothering to attempt stopping Nine, and instead taking the staff she so favored into her hand. It extended out and the metal scrapped on the ground as the pointed blade at its end was revealed.

Sparks crawled across the ground and her hand closed, those sparks growing and consuming the air around them, swirling into small flames that hovered for a moment before she reached out and those flames spread out and around to the entrance of the cave, crawling up into a wall to seal everyone in. It would not be hard to turn and focus on the task of removing that wall, but Alexandra's lips silently moved as she touched the ground, the air chilling around them all. Her hand turning as she seemed to etch a symbol into the ground and Ice formed where her hand touched. She smiled after and then took the staff in both hands, her breath stopping as the golden glow from her eyes grew dimmer.

Body twitched for but a moment, the force slamming through her and twisting inside of her. It curled around her heart and her lungs, wrapping her bones and her reached towards the mark again, lightly touching it and letting a small frost crawl over the cave while the other three started their fight. She watched, cautiously waiting to see what might happen.

Alexandra's frost would begin to crawl upon the feet of those inside the cave, causing no damage or hindrance as of yet and merely existing as she smiled a bit and let out a breath finally, coming out cold and creating a fog. She focused her eyes on Sky'ito, the frost starting to crawl up her legs more quickly now and at the base of her feet Ice began to form. With her freehand Alex would simply shake a finger at the woman, telling her to stand down and let the two do their work on eachother for now. There would be no alteration to the events that happened today by those outside the personal spat these two seemed to be having.

"This is interesting..." Alexandra said, curious as to how this might continue on.

 

[Nine Lives]

Nine smiled savagely under her hood as Hundred-Handed Giant bit into Shojo's shoulder. She'd never been big on vengeance...not just because it was not befitting a Jedi, but also because it had proven impractical. But for Shojo, Nine had discovered a dark truth about herself: She was willing to cross many boundaries to see the woman before her suffer, and horribly at that.

But, kark it all, she caught the blade. Her reflexes had improved. And she was healing fast. But that wasn't what caught Nine off guard.

It was that simple I am sorry, Ni-Ne, that didn't come from Shojo, but from whatever part of Sawa still inside that hadn't yet been shredded by the Sith in her place. And then...gone, she watched the fangs snap into place, tried to draw away in case of a bite attempt, only for [member="Sawa Ike"] to plant an impudent kiss on her.

The kiss brought an unexpected surge of emotion that pierced through her fury, only to increase her revulsion. It wasn't Sawa's kiss. Sawa's had had a...purity to it. An innocence.

Shojo's kiss was the kiss of a fiend.

And then, Shojo tried to kill her with the namesake blade she had taken from Kagamiri. Nine wasn't surprised Sawa had taken her Sith Name from a sword with such a troubled history. Hundred-Handed Giant's history was more obscure. Nine had only known it was ancient and infamous sword, having passed through a thousand pairs of hands before her, and would likely pass through a thousand pairs of hands after her. It had been in such an obscure part of Shojo's Necropolis that she doubted even Shojo knew how it had gotten there.

Two Murderer's Swords crashed into each other, Nine having to enhance her own speed to keep up with her old nemesis. She glided backward, deciding to limit Shojo's advantages as best she could, not sure where the Jedi, [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] stood, but she was so far staying out of a very twisted lover's spat. Nine withdrew into the cave, not counting on the assistance of [member="Alexandra Feanor"], sealing off the cave with fire, and an ice that slowly creapt under her feat. Looks like Alexandra had decided her stance in this.

Nine decided to withdraw even further into the cave, crawling onto the walls and into the shadows, to force Shojo to follow her into the shadows, where Nine would have the advantage. Itd be the advantage of a Cave Spider, but it would be an advantage.

Meanwhile...

In the ancient, and unknown to the Onna patroling it, Nine's sort-of strategy in reconfiguring the stasis chamber release dates for her own band of fanatical bodyguards--breaking the bottle--was well underway.

Nine had had enough foresight to anticipate they might need to use their equipment immediately, and so had had her men preserved with their weapons. When one Onna had come across an empty chamber, he had to his credit immediately tried to raise the alarm, only to be stabbed through the back of the head with a vibrosword by a Knight personally trained by Nine.

The knight, whose name was Bobbi, immediately sprinted through the emergency life support section, quickly running through another Onna. There were intruders. Mother was missing. This was unacceptable. Bobbi heard a click and wheeled behind him, saw an Onna about to blow him away with a shotgun in the darkness of a vast and, given the architecture, almost organic looking section they were in, only to have his neck snapped from behind by a female Knight. Bobbi, first among Nine's Morpheus Knights, went over to his peer, gave her the traditional greeting, (A fist bump followed by an air guitar gesture for both of them at the same time) and they both set to work on the other stasis chambers of the knights.

Within half an hour, they were silently spreading across the ship, the A.I. going active on the system kiosks they passed by giving a pink smiley face as they passed by, happily listing the sections the Onna patroled...

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Nine Lives"] [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] [member="Alexandra Feanor"]

A snarl, pain in her shoulder and an intense burning sensation in her gut. She wanted to tear into that throat for a moment as she saw her moving to the cave mouth. Then she was slipping inside and Sawa stopped at the lip seeing ice and her hand came up. Someone was shaping the elements, a feat she knew well as she crouched grasping Shōjō in her one hand. The black blade gleaming before she was letting her eyes glow. The ground rising to meet her hand where she was looking into the cave and could feel the ice around it. "Why wait." She pushed at it, if someone wanted to make ice she would help them... ice and stone and air.

She slowly started to pull at the air, shaping it, drawing it out of the cave more like a vacuum, her hands making the rock and earth rise as ice started to enclose the cave mouth and drop the temperature. Being sealed alone was one thing, being sealed with another as hypoxia from lack of air started to happen would be something else. With a hand in the earth she could feel the cave.. feel the mountains as she started to draw on the spirits and force energies she had been practicing and training with for thousands of years. "Have fun." She said it standing up while sealing the entrance and the stone was iced over when what she could pull of the air came.

She had been focusing and closing the earth around it. To draw Ni-Ne out but if she wanted to be inside she could do that.. she could have her own tomb for a this world. It was peaceful enough. She turned to look at Sukai and spoke offering a hand for her to come close to her with a grin on her face. Wicked and dangerous yes but also one where she was prepared for anything that might be able to happen. "Hmmm you see how dangerous she can be." She said it and was focusing on her shoulder to heal it while she was hungry. "COme I need energy, food. That blade is ancient and made to kill. Maybe one day I'll figure out where she got it."

Meanwhile the Onna were moving through the ship and some of them had found her children. They weren't slaughtering them but they knew it was dangerous. Killing a few and ensuring the release for others could be disabled and if anything it was made to remain sealed after wake up. Depriving them of air and forcing them to wither or go feral to the point if they managed to get out they could attack their brothers and sisters. The sound of wheels on the metal flooring though, the beeps of the droid as one fo the knights appeared in front of him. THe small black astromech droid whooping as it turned its face towards him.

Then there was nothing, the plasma thrower sending a ball into his chest to make him go away. The droid moved as another came in and then a flamethrower was roasting her with screams. The astromech droid whooped and beeped moving around them with blaster cannon drawn as he chirped sending a stream of cryoban as someone twitched to super freeze and cool their limb.. then rolled over it as the hand smashed unde its weight to shards with a loud scream. He was here to protect his master but also the while part where he got to freely well freely smash and pew pew pew thing enemies of Sawa.

 

[Sky'ito Yumi]

The explosive wave of fire and ice that soon engulfed the cave just furthered how much Sukai was outclassed, though why [member="Alexandra Feanor"] was here seemed rather confusing, or why the woman was helping this creature that Sawa sought to kill. From what she had seen so far the woman was clearly harboring hatred and evil intent like no other, sure Sawa may have done something in the past but that did not really justify siding with such a creature with the ability to eat memories.

With each passing second the frost scaled up her kimono, anchoring it to the floor like a glue of super strength, Sukai more or less becoming stuck in an ice shell, unable to move without the aid of the force. Though Sukai knew any powers she mustered where no match for Alex, the Jedi master probably beating her in every aspect of the force and saber fighting. Separated and stuck Sukai could only be a bystander in the entire altercation, like a movie goer observing some climactic battle at the end of a tragic love story.

To her side Sawa offered a hand Sukai's arms reaching out to grasping it, herself focusing on the creeping ice below her, a sudden burst from a small combustion spell releasing her from Ales'x grasp. She turned to her great grandmother, looking at the open wound as it spilled blood, "she seemed insane in all intense and purposes, I can see why you want her defeated". The wound looked nasty, but she could feel Sawa healing herself quickly, but then the problem arose of where to find food. "From what mother has told me do you not have servants to satisfy your hunger"?

[member="Sawa Ike"]

 

[Nine Lives]

Nine Lives crawled deeper into the cave network, letting [member="Sawa Ike"] track her Force signature, riddled with pain and rage. [member="Alexandra Feanor"] had done her part, and trapped them in this cave. But there were always exits. Always deeper and deeper nooks and crannies to head towards.

She could not figure out why a Jedi was working with a Sith. She couldn't stop freaking the hell out at that.

She had caught smatterings of what had been going on with the galaxy in the heads of others, but had not had a lot of context for it. She'd been too busy trying to stay alive and not freak out at all the super deadly technology crawling about. She hadn't even come up with a name for any of the realky weird stuff. The armor and weapons of her era had not been inconsiderable, but the stuff being pumped out these days was nightmare quality. And Sawa had only grown more powerful.

Did she actually mean that apology? Nine asked herself as she crawled into a larger chamber with an underground stream and plenty of natural stone pillars to hide behind. It was a gigantic chamber, she realized. Plenty of shadows. Plenty of ambush spots. Natural tunnels.

Nine had been caught off guard by that apology. Hadn't expected it. Hadn't wanted it.

Yet it lingered. Nine's fury built at it. Tightened her resolve. She knew that it was smarter to try and flee...Sawa had millenia to hone her skill. And even though Nine knew that all beings skills naturally plateau at some point, all the practice she had wasn't for nothing. Nine pretty much knew all she had going for her was her wretched disease, her mastery of the Katana, and her skills at force enhancement. Who knows what Ike was packing these days?

Nine knew she should flee. But fury made her stay as she shouted loud enough that she knew [member="Sky'ito Yumi"] and Sawa would hear it. She shouted in Sawa's voice, hoping to freak her out.

"IKE!"

Then she mimicked the roar of a rancor, before going deeper into the chamber, crawling on the rough, rocky walls, as she did, she spotted a skeleton, and went down to investigate.

The skeleton was clutching some sort of weapon. Nine pulled it out of her hand. It was a sawn off, double barrel shotgun. Nine broke open the breach, pulled out the shells. One shell was spent. The other, unfired. But she didn't know if it was any good. The weapon was old and scratched. Nine put it in her robes and continued crawling on the ceiling...hoping to draw Sawa into a more enclosed area...

 

[Sawa Ike]

[member="Sky'ito Yumi"] [member="Nine Lives"]

Sawa was looking at the entrance as she continued to seal up the cave itself. Looking over whens he heard the voice shouting to her from inside. her own voice... Ni-Ne had skill even if she was still well inexperienced in some things here. Sawa looked at her shoulder and then she was looking at Sukai with a grin on her face as she spoke. "Yes I do have servants for that some food that will be coming to us now." She said it with a look though while in the distance the silver armored Onna appeared here, where they were looking at all of it. THe Onna were fighters trained to handle things and they were bringing her someone who had managed to survive being attacked.

Sawa was looking at the victim of Ni-Ne and she spoke moving forward to look at her.. interest and something more though before she was opening herself up to reveal to Ni-Ne what was going on and the deeper she had gone into the cave, the more she had hidden had endangered this being this human. Sawa touched her face before she was speaking. "Oh my dear now don't you look good enough to eat." She said it and the girl was looking at her shoulder as Sawa moved and held the girls hand exposing her wrist and neck. She motioned for Sukai to come and join her while she slid around behind her and licked along her neck with a wicked grin on her face.

"Drink my sweet grandchild you are going to need your strength for when she gets out of there." Sawa said it and leaving the wrist exposed opened her mouth as her fangs appeared and eyes glowed silver for a moment. Clamping down on the woman's neck as she shuddered and groaned sinking into the sith lords body and embrace. Sawa could feel her body repairing itself as she drained her slowly of force energies and life force. Reaching out towards Ni-Ne to let her know what was happening when the sneer was on her face before heading deeper and deeper itno all of it. "Now this is delicious."